Shout for Joy!
Opening Prayer
I praise You, Lord, that You are good and Your love endures forever. Your faithfulness continues through all generations (5).
Read Psalm 100
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
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;
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.
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
Think of the words of a popular praise song. What do those words really mean to you personally?Christians, especially in liturgical churches, will have sung or said this wonderful psalm regularly. In five brief, crisp verses the psalmist offers us a whoop of unrestrained joy. But, unlike so many hymns or songs, which only encourage our participation, the psalmist gives us solid reasons exactly why we should shout out to God in thanksgiving.
First, there are the unchangeable aspects of God’s nature (5). In a
world where some nations had no certainty that God even liked them, for Israel to appreciate that God is good and faithful was enormously good news. Even today some people imply that God is either not very good or at least not able to do us any good.
Second, there is the close loving commitment to us as his people (3). This is like a bride who is thrilled that her fiancé is so keen on her that he wants to bind himself to her for life in the sharing covenant of marriage. The image of the sheep and shepherd underlines the care and protection that God promises to those who are his.
Apply
Commit this psalm to memory so that you can use it any time and in any place to praise God.
Closing prayer
Pray through this psalm slowly and out loud, if possible, making it truly your own song of praise to God.
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