JUBILATE, EVERYBODY!
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for opening a way for us into your Father’s house so that we can enter with forgiveness and joy to worship you.
Read PSALM 100
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Footnotes
- Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How easy is it for you to express gratitude to God, even when you do not see his gifts as good or perfect?This refreshingly direct psalm calls us to rejoice in the Lord, and reminds us why we gladly give him thanks and praise. (‘Jubilate’, the psalm’s old title, simply means ‘rejoice.’)
First, the Lord is global. The whole world is summoned to join in (v. 1). Secondly, the Lord is good news. He touches our emotions deeply and happily. He generates joy, gladness, and singing (v. 2). Thirdly, the Lord is God (v. 3), sovereign in the affairs of heaven and earth. Just as he fashioned Israel to be his people, so we, too, belong to him, and he is our Shepherd. Fourthly, the Lord is forever (v. 5). His goodness is constant and his loving commitment to us is unshakeable. He will prove true to us to the end of time. There is so much for which to praise him!
Both praise and thanks are necessary in healthy human relationships. It is all too easy to praise someone, say for good work or a special kindness, but omit thanking them. In view of what we know of the Lord’s sovereignty and kindness, the psalmist insists that we make a point of praising and thanking him (twice in verse 4). May our devotion to the Lord be like the psalmist’s—joyful and grateful.
Apply
As part of your worship today, make a point of thanking the Lord for something specific—and rejoice!
Closing prayer
Lord God, help me to be more attuned to all that you do for me, to respond with gratitude in ways that proclaim your goodness to those around me.
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