UNIVERSAL PRAISE
Opening Prayer
I praise You, Lord, for the opportunity I have to meet with others and worship You. May I never take it for granted.
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
a. 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
Consider the ways that gathering with your church or fellowship group encourages you in your faith.The church that I attend has people from different cultures sharing together in worship. It makes for a rich and vibrant experience, perhaps a foretaste of heaven (Revelation 7:9).
This psalm reminds us that such worship has always been part of God’s plan. It starts with a call for all the earth to ‘shout for joy’ to God (1). No holding back in praise here, nor limiting of worship to Israel alone. God our creator and shepherd deserves it (3).
Note then the command to enter God’s gates and courts that we might praise Him (4). How amazing that all have access to God’s presence. Why such praise? Surely there is nothing less that we can give to a God who is good and loving, ever faithful to His people (5).
What a witness to the world – God’s people from all nations expressing their worship with exuberant praise and inexpressible joy. Is this a picture of your church? If not, what might you do to begin to make a start?
Apply
Reflect on the description of God in this psalm. If you know a sung version of the psalm (eg ‘All people that on earth do dwell’), use it in a time of personal worship and praise.
Closing prayer
I give thanks and praise Your name, Lord. You are good and Your love endures forever (4b, 5a).
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