PSALM 100
Celebrate time of worship verse 1- 2
Make a joyful noise to the LORD – all you lands
serve the LORD with gladness
come before HIS presence with singing
Sheep need to recognize their Shepherd verse 3
Know you that the LORD HE is God – it is HE has made us
not we ourselves – we are HIS people
we are the sheep of HIS pasture
Thanksgiving is necessary verse 4
Enter into HIS gates with thanksgiving
and into HIS courts with praise
be thankful to HIM
and bless HIS name
Unfailing love of the LORD verse 5
For the LORD is good
HIS mercy is everlasting
and HIS truth endures to all generations
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands. (7321 “joyful noise” [ruwa] means to shout a war-cry or alarm of battle, to sound a signal for war or march, to shout in triumph, to shout in applause, or to shout with religious impulse)
DEVOTION: The LORD has enjoyed hearing HIS followers sing praises to HIS name. They were singing as they left the land of Egypt. They were singing in the wilderness, they were singing in the Promised land.
The Temple services were always accompanied by singing and the playing of instruments. HE wants us to sing praises in the New Testament church as well. They had times of worship that lasted all night with singing and preaching.
Today we have times of worship in singing before the message from the Word of God. God even states that those who can’t sing should make a joyful noise in praise to HIM. HE wants to hear us use our voices in praise every chance we get to tell the world that HE is the joy of our life.
Sometimes our worship service can be more singing than the preaching of the Word of God. This should not be a something that is happening. God wants the singing but HE wants us to know and understand HIS Word, so that, we can not only have our emotions involved but also our intellect.
Too often we can get excited about singing and don’t take the time to really listen to the teaching of the Bible. There are some pastors that don’t really have a message from the Word of God but had a message from society.
The preaching of the Word of God has to be the best part of the worship service. We need to come away from a church service praising the LORD for what we have learned from the Bible but because we are excited about learning more truth from the Bible we have a song in our heart that makes us want to share the teaching of the Bible.
We are at war with the world, the flesh and the devil. In that war we need a song in our heart and a message in our head, so that, we have a smile on our face as we share the truths of the Word of God with others.
If we look like sour Christians than people will not listen to our message. So a smile as we sing and a message from our heart will reach they better.
CHALLENGE: When an unsaved person sees us coming will they see someone who has happy with a message of salvation or someone who looks sad and then tries to share a message of joy?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 “Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Serve – 5647 עָבַד [ʿabad /aw·bad/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1553; GK 6268; 290 occurrences; AV translates as “serve” 227 times, “do” 15 times, “till” nine times, “servant” five times, “work” five times, “worshippers” five times, “service” four times, “dress” twice labour” twice, “ear” twice, and translated miscellaneously 14 times. 1 to work, serve. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to labour, work, do work. 1A2 to work for another, serve another by labour. 1A3 to serve as subjects. 1A4 to serve (God). 1A5 to serve (with Levitical service). 1B (Niphal). 1B1 to be worked, be tilled (of land).1B2 to make oneself a servant. 1C (Pual) to be worked. 1D (Hiphil). 1D1 to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve. 1D2 to cause to serve as subjects. 1E (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: This is a psalm of praise to the Lord! As we celebrate Easter and the Resurrection of Christ this day it has been a day of celebration. As people have come together to worship and to give thanks we, like Israel, give thanks for God’s work in our lives. As the Lord stood before the women at the tomb and the disciples later in the area of Galilee He challenged them to go and to serve Him through the proclamation of the Good News! Are you a follower of Jesus? Then you are expected to serve the Lord with gladness regardless of whether you were in the Old Testament psalms or the New Testament church. The Lord wants people to go forth with gladness and serve Him!
CHALLENGE: Don’t be afraid to proclaim the truth of God’s love to those around you! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 3 Know you that the LORD HE is God: it is HE has made us, not we ourselves, we are HIS people, and the sheep of HIS pasture. (3045 “Know” [yada] means to be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information, perceive, understand, discern, recognize, or confess.)
DEVOTION: The Psalmist wants each individual to understand beyond any doubt that the LORD HE alone is God. There is no other God in this world or in the universe that equals or even gets close to the God of the children of Israel. There is only one true God and they are to worship HIM only.
The verb here is an imperative. This is very important if we are going to truly worship the LORD alone. If we are not sure of who HE really is it will affect our worship of HIM. If we have any doubts it will affect our worship of HIM.
Once we establish this fact in our mind we can act on our settled decision and realize that we are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture. This means that we understand that HE is the one taking care of us and not we ourselves. Too often we think that we are in control and think that God is just an add on. This is not Biblical thinking. Either HE is in control of our life and we allow HIM to work in our life in a way that HE sees fit or we are just pretending to be followers of the LORD.
Most of the people in our world think that they are self made individuals who are in control and need no one else to help them. This is not what the Christian life is all about. It is a life that is totally depend on the LORD with individuals who are waiting on and worshiping the LORD twenty-four seven. Once this is our lifestyle we will worship the LORD in spirit and in truth like Jesus instructed HIS disciples during HIS earthly ministry.
CHALLENGE: Are you and I truly worshiping the LORD with not only a head knowledge of HIM but also a heart knowledge that HE is in total control of our life?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (3034 “thankful” [yadah] means confess, praise, shoot, extol, to revere or worship.)
DEVOTION: We hold out a hand in friendship to those who want it. Friends are important in our present life. We need them around us. Friends enjoy eating together. Friends enjoy celebrating together. The LORD wants us to celebrate in HIS honor. This psalm is used for worship of the LORD. It is a praise psalm. It is the last of the royal psalms in this section of the book of Psalms.
It is concerned with God’s people serving the LORD. It is concerned with God’s people knowing the LORD by personal experience. It is concerned with our entering a place of worship with the idea of confessing the greatness of our God’s blessings.
When the Israelites entered the temple court, they were supposed to be singing praise to the LORD. When we enter our churches, there should be singing in our heart and on our lips. We should think of all the things we have to be praising HIM for in our lives.
Can we list all the blessings we have from HIM on from one Sunday to the next? Are we even thinking those thoughts as we enter church on Sunday or our devotional time each day? Should we be thinking those thoughts? So often we are rushing to church (or through our devotional time).
Our time at church could be spent looking for people. We could be wondering if we are going to be hearing a good sermon from the pastor. We could be wondering if there are going to be any complains come our way regarding our responsibility in the church.
We are thinking of our family, our bills or our job instead of thinking of all the blessings the LORD has given us. Can we stop thinking wrong thoughts as we come to worship the LORD?
We need to realize as the psalmist realized that the LORD is good. Secondly, that HIS mercy is new every morning. Finally, that HIS truth is found in the Word of God and it will endure to all generations. Isn’t that great news!!!!
CHALLENGE: Memorize this Psalm. Practice each verse in our daily life. Realize the last verse is TRUTH!!!
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: 5 For the LORD is good, HIS mercy is everlasting and HIS truth endures to all generations. (5769 “everlasting” [owlam] means perpetual, evermore, ancient, antiquity, futurity, for ever, unending future or perpetual.)
DEVOTION: It is soooo good to know that God’s mercy toward us is without end. HE is dealing with humans who are fickle. HE is dealing with humans who let them emotions control them over the truth of the Word of God. HE is dealing with people who are afraid to witness to the truth of the Word of God because they are afraid of losing a friend for a time period rather than losing them for eternity.
We need to realize that if we witness to someone and they accept our message we will spend eternity with them because they will have received the greatest gift they have ever received in the gift of salvation from God.
We have the truth if we are believer. If we don’t believe this we need to go back to the basics and relearn what salvation is all about. Jesus died for our sins and because our profession of faith we have the gift of eternal life with HIM.
Our relationship with HIM doesn’t end in death. Those without a relationship with HIM also have eternity to spend with the devil and his angels in hell. Which would we rather our friends spend eternity: heaven or hell?
We might be the only ones who will truly witness to them.
Do we realize that the LORD is the only one who is truly GOOD. Everyone we know and meet is not going to be as good as Jesus. HE keeps HIS promises. HE gives us mercy each day which is something I need and all those who are genuine believers need.
We have the only true truth. Salvation in found in no other name. If we realize this truth we want to share it with all those we meet.
CHALLENGE: Do we know just how GOOD the LORD has been to us? Do we understand the MERCY HE gives us each day? The answer to both of these questions is “NO”
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Joyful noise verse 1
Singing verse 2
Enter HIS gates verse 4
Thanksgiving
Praise
Bless HIS name verse 4
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Truth endures to all generation verse 5
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1- 3, 5
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 3
LORD HE is God verse 3
Creator verse 3
Bless HIS name verse 4
LORD is good verse 5
HIS mercy is everlasting verse 5
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
All lands verse 1
All generations verse 5
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Think you are a self made man verse 3
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Joyful noise verse 1
Serve verse 2
Gladness verse 2
Singing verse 2
Know the LORD verse 3
HIS people verse 3
Sheep verse 3
Thanksgiving verse 4
Praise verse 4
Bless verse 4
Mercy verse 5
Truth verse 5
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
HIS people verse 3
Sheep verse 3
Gates verse 4
Court of the LORD verse 4
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
3. To know is to have firm ground underfoot, the prerequisite of praise (cf. 40:2f.), and this knowledge is ours by gift; indeed by command. In the brief space of this verse we are first reminded who God is (revealed by name, Yahweh [the Lord], a name richly annotated by his words and works); then whence and whose we are; and finally in how favoured a relation we stand to him.
The middle line of the verse, in the written text and the oldest versions, runs ‘… and not we ourselves’. Almost all modern translations, however, supported by Massoretic tradition and some ms(s) and versions, take it in the sense ‘and we are his’. The ambiguity arises from the Hebrew words for ‘not’ and ‘his’ (lōʾ and lô), which sound alike. Either of them would be appropriate here. But the Hebrew sentence continues more smoothly with the second option (his), as the av’s need of two extra words in italics confesses. The rsv could have dispensed with these, letting the sentence run: ‘and we are his; his people, and the sheep …’. (Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, pp. 389–390). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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3 This verse shares the language of 95:7. The imperative “know” (from y-d-ʿ) signifies acknowledgment or confession (cf. Deut 4:39; Isa 43:10). They confess him as covenant Lord (“the Lord”), their only true God (cf. 1 Kings 18:39). In addition they confess their accountability to him (“It is he who has made us”; cf. Deut 32:6, 15; Isa 43:1, 21; 60:21) and their privileged position (“his people, the sheep of his pasture”; cf. 74:1; 79:13; Isa 40:11; Ezek 34:31). The lordship of God connotes benefits, also clearly brought out by the shepherd imagery of “sheep” and “pasture” (cf. Ps 23; Luke 15:3–6; John 10:1–18). (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 639). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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100:3. The Lord should be praised and worshiped joyfully because He is sovereign. He is the Creator, and those who trust Him are His possession. They follow Him, for they are the sheep of His pasture (cf. 74:1; 79:13; 95:7; also note 23:1; 80:1). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 865). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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100:3 Know. In the sense of experiencing and being completely assured of the truth. the Lord Himself is God. A confession that Israel’s covenant God, Jehovah, is the only true God. made us. Though God’s actual creation of every human being is understood here, this phrase seems to refer to God’s making and blessing Israel as a nation (cf. Dt 32:6, 15; Ps 95:6; Is 29:22, 23; 44:2). His people … His pasture. The shepherd image is often ascribed to the king of Israel, as well as to the Lord (cf. Ps 78:70–72; Is 44:28; Jer 10:21; Zec 10:3; 11:4–17; also Pss 23:1; 28:9; 74:1; 77:20; 78:52, 53; 80:1; 95:7). The figure suggests intimate care (cf. Lk 15:3–6). According to the NT, the Lord is also the Shepherd of saints in the church age (Jn 10:16). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 100:3). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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God never promised the people with Moses a good balance of the four food groups: just manna and water. (p. 91)
Though he owned a luxurious estate, Henry Ford said at the end of his life, “I was happier as a boy working in a mechanic’s shop, though we had nothing.” (p. 92) (LORD, CHANGE My ATTITUDE (Before It’s Too Late) by James MacDonald)
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Love for the Law of God is rooted in the relationship between the Law and the lawgiver. God does not learn the Law from some cosmic legal manual and then pass it along to us. Rather the Law of God comes from within him, from his own internal character. It is a reflection of his own righteousness. (p. 97)
To love the Law of God and to keep it is not legalism; it is obedience. …. Affliction is seen by the psalmist not as a calamity, nor as an occasion fro bitterness, but as a kind of discipline through which he can learn obedience. (p. 101)
The ancient heresy of antinomianism is firmly entrenched in the modern church. (p. 106)
Joseph did not deceive himself with convoluted rationalization. His understanding of the Law of God had progressed from consciousness to conviction to conscience. (p. 139) (The Soul’s Quest For God by R. C. Sproul)
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GOD’S POWER
…his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.
Ephesians 1:19-20
God’s power is endless. He is omnipotent. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” God asked Abraham (Genesis 18:14), and the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). His might, His power, His strength are endless. The Bible is full of this! He made everything out of nothing; He spoke and it happened. He said, “Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). He sends His frosts and His snow. Read the Psalms, and you will find that they glory in the endless power of God. This sovereign will and power of God have been manifested most of all, and most clearly, in three ways: in creation, in salvation, and in providence. And I suppose there is no greater manifestation of the power of God than the one to which Paul refers in the first chapter of Ephesians: “…his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.”
This idea of omnipotence is staggering! There are many things we do not understand about the will of God. But we are not meant to understand them; we are meant to look at them with reverence and awe and worship. We are meant to realize that there would be no hope for us at all were it not for the omnipotence of God. I say with reverence, nothing less than the omnipotence of God could save a single soul. But thank God, He is omnipotent, and we are saved by the power of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The glory of God is the biblical way of describing God’s greatness, His splendor, His majesty. We read of the glory of God filling the Temple (1 Kings 8:11) and of the glory of God being manifested in dimmed vision to certain people. This means they had some conception of the greatness, the splendor, the majesty, the might of His being.
A Thought to Ponder: Read the Psalms, and you will find that they glory in the endless power of God. (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 67-68, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Daniel 3
God supernaturally protects Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.
INSIGHT
What courage it took to defy the king! Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden image and orders everyone to bow down to it. When the Jews are brought to him in violation of the order, they say, “God may protect us from the fire, but even if He doesn’t, let it be known that we are not going to serve your gods!” Surely God gives His grace in times such as these. For those of us who are living in easier times, our total dedication to the Lord must be seen in our selfless commitment to serving Him. (Daily Walk)
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Rejoicing Greatly
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” (1 Peter 1:6)
Our lives today are continually badgered by various trials, or “manifold temptations.” The trials are to bring about a pure and effective faith, pleasing to God. But the apostle Peter is not referring to trials or their results when he declares: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice.” On the contrary, he is summing up a list of blessings given in the preceding three verses. As we delineate them, let us rejoice as well.
“His abundant mercy” (v. 3). Mercy implies a compassionate act on one who is in desperate need. In context, God’s mercy was granted to us in salvation when there was nothing we could do to save ourselves.
“Begotten us again” (v. 3). We have been born again! We are now His children, born into His family. We now have spiritual life—eternal life.
“A lively hope” (v. 3)—not just a living hope—it is much more than that. We have a hope that is actively, vibrantly alive. This “lively” state was accomplished in and through the bodily “resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Our eventual, eternal resurrection is thus assured.
“An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (v. 4). This inheritance could not be more secure or more glorious.
“Kept by the power of God” (v. 5). The protection of God extends far beyond the inheritance; it encompasses the individual heir also—the one who has tasted of His mercy “through faith unto salvation.”
“To be revealed in the last time” (v. 5). Though the saved are now freed from the penalty and power of sin, there will be a final deliverance from the presence of sin.
Indeed, there is much about which to “greatly rejoice.” (JDM, The Institute of Creation Research)
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