Click on the image to see it full-screen.
Banksia flower
Psalm 100 (NIV)
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 for ever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
The psalmist wants the people of God to celebrate! There is much reason to celebrate and, for a moment, let us all put the cares of this world to one side. Let us isolate ourselves from the distraction of trying to right every wrong that is brought to our attention. Instead, for a minute or two, let us concentrate on our Maker.
The psalmist has not tried to list every one of the wonderful and positive attributes of God; he allows a few to suffice.
First, the Lord is God. To recite the first commandment may not seem necessary however too often we allow other matters to take precedence in terms of what dominates our attention. We can accept as fact that the Lord is God but then focus on our most pressings issues as if these need to be resolved in our own strength, without any external help. The Lord, as God, is sovereign even over what is now going wrong in the world or in our own small part of it. God has not surrendered his sovereignty to any other power. The Lord is God.
Second, The Lord is good. Whatever is not good in the world cannot overwhelm the goodness of God. The one who made us, whose possessions we are, has in store for us a good end so long as we desire the end which he offers and provides. Only if we desire to be separated from our good God might he allow us to exercise the free will that he has given us and permit us to depart from him.
Third, God’s love endures for ever. That love continues beyond our earthly life. It remains a good love despite all that distracts us. It remains more powerful than everything else that now calls upon our affections. It is a purposeful love. Jesus demonstrated this through his willingness to suffer torture, isolation and crucifixion so that we may be able to receive God’s love.
Fourth, because it is love with a purpose, there is a guaranteed commitment from God that his love continues; it is faithful love. God’s faithfulness continues (as the psalmist has written) “through all generations”.
These are just some of the reasons for celebration. God wants us to celebrate his sovereignty, his goodness, his love and his faithfulness – not with long faces and serious moods or motivated by the fear of punishment and retribution – but with joyful hearts. The psalm entreats “all the earth”, inferring in particular the people of God, to shout for joy, to worship with gladness and to sing joyfully. Rather than acting deferentially in God’s presence, the psalm wants all God’s people eagerly to flock to him, inviting us boisterously to shout to him our thanks and praise.
How well Psalm 100 anticipates the great multitude of Revelation 19: 6b-7a:
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!”