Give Thanks Unto The LORD!

Thanksgiving holiday celebration is a time we should pause and reflect on what it is that we are thankful for in our lives.  Psalm 100 is a psalm calling on God’s people to greatly praise, worship and give thanks unto the LORD.  This psalm (song) animates us to greatly praise God and give thanks to Him for who He is and what He has done for us.  I pray that you will not take for granted or be blasé about what our LORD has done for you.  The very next time you come into His presence, take a moment to give Him thanks and praise His name!  Amen

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1-2)

The psalmist opens this psalm by immediately setting a tone of exuberant praise and worship of the LORD as we come into His presence. The psalmist exhorts everyone on earth to make a joyful shout unto the LORD. We show our thankfulness to God not with meek and demure acknowledgment for who He is and what He has done.  No, we express our thankfulness and gratitude by making shouts of joy!  Additionally, we are implored to worship the LORD with gladness. There is an air and a spirit of gratitude for our God.  We are not called in this psalm to come in sorrow or begrudgingly, but to be genuinely glad that we can come before the LORD who has been so good to us.  Finally, we are told to come before the LORD with joyful songs.  In addition to shouts of joy and gladness, we are told to come into His presence with joyful singing.

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. (Psalm 100:3)

The psalmist reminds us that the One who we are to worship is the One who made us.  God created us, we did not make ourselves, and so we belong to Him.  He is our LORD and He watches over us as a shepherd watches over his sheep to make sure they have all that they need.  He leads us to good places, and we are to follow Him as sheep follow a good shepherd.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

This psalm (song) of Thanksgiving invites us to enter God’s gates (originally Jerusalem gates) with our expressions of thanks to Him.  And to proceed to God’s courts (originally the courts at the temple) offering praise to Him. We are told to continue giving thanks and praising the LORD because He has been good to us and because of His eternal love for us.  Finally, we are thankful that He is our God in whom we can trust, because He has proven faithful throughout the generation. 

The LORD has blessed us so greatly!  But do you make time to praise Him and thank Him greatly?  Psalm 100 is meant to call us to a great celebration of the LORD. A celebration where we are called to be full and exuberant participants in giving praise and thanksgiving to Him.  This psalm call us to give thanks not only for what God has done for us, but also what He has in store for us as His children. Imagine walking through the gates of His city in heaven and into the courts surrounding His throne. What a great celebration of joy! There will be shouting and singing in pure jubilation as we look on in amazement and gratitude that we made it and we are in His presence forever. But the good news is, you don’t have to wait until that day. You can thank him now for His love and His faithfulness to you. Join in with the universal congregation of believers…. and let us all give thanks unto the LORD!

Blessings, Rev. Glenn