Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;Come before His presence with joyful singing. Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His].We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with a song of thanksgivingAnd His courts with praise.Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name. For the Lord is good;His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting,His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

Psalm 100

What’s the difference between happiness and joy? The word happiness has as its root the old English word hap, from which comes the related word, happened. If, therefore, a good thing happens, you feel happy.

But what about the times when difficulties or losses occur? If you’re not happy, can you still have joy? Hard to believe, but the answer is yes. Psalm 100, affectionately known as “Old One Hundred,” shows us how.

George Wood

Psalm 100 opens by inviting us to worship God. “Shout…all the earth.” The all leaves no room for exceptions for us- it embraces everyone.

But, perhaps shouting is not our present mood so we review our calendars for days past or future and it doesn’t contain any shouting events. It just might be that we feel more like shouting from boredom or pain. But Psalm 100 summons us out of grief, sadness, or depression by saying, “Shout for joy….worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs.”(verses 1-2).

We may even feel like saying, “Lord, I don’t feel like doing that today. I’m more in the mood to sing a dirge, to to sit on the dung hill with Job or to recite the alphabet of Lamentations- listing our woes from A to Z- with Jeremiah. It may even feel more like the evening of Gethsemane than Resurrection morning. How can we turn off the faucet of sorrow and wash ourselves from the spigot of unrelenting joy?

The psalmist in Psalm 100 provides our answer to the question of how. “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 provides four fundamental realities which serve as our sources for the fountain of joyous worship.

First of all, the Lord is God. Underneath and supporting the universe and our own personal world is the reality of God. We have a foundation of sureness, a solid floor of hope. No matter what stage of life we’re in or what we may be passing through; whether we are in the pit or at the peak, the Lord reigns.

Second of all, He made us, both you and I and God never does anything without purpose. That includes making us. Please, let’s don’t limit “made” just to our births as babies. While it is true we were made then, but God isn’t finished making us until our last breath.

Third of all, we are His- God’s possession and far more than that, we are His family. Even as a husband says of his wife or a wife says of her husband, “She/he is mine,” or as a parent says of their child, “They are mine,” God affirms without any hesitation our relationship to Him as His beloved.

Fourth, and finally, we belong to the community of God. We are not simply solitary souls valiantly struggling through life alone- we are one among “his people, the sheep of his pasture.”(verse 3). We are in His flock, not the only one, but one nevertheless. He knows us by name, leads us to green pastures, rests us by quiet waters, protects us us from ravaging animals, find us when we’re lost, holds us when we are wounded, and places us secure in His fold, safe against the elements and the fears of night.

It’s no wonder that the psalmist can’t contain his enthusiasm at public worship(verse 4). We won’t find him mumbling through congregational singing or watching passively while others express their love for God. He has reasons to give God praise and thanksgiving; so do we!

Psalm 100 uses temple language to describe the psalmist visit to the temple. What an exciting time as he approaches the gate. The psalmist has reviewed his relationship with and understanding of God and he is ready to enter with joy. When we choose to fill our hearts with the contemplation of God and how He watches over and cares for us, thanksgiving rather than complaint or confusion expresses itself from our hearts. In those times when we’re in pain, we become overly focused on the world within us rather than the realities outside of us. That’s why it’s important for us to begin our day with a visit to His sanctuary and to return to that sanctuary frequently during the day to lift our hearts and voices in thanksgiving for placing people and circumstances in our lives to help us and for His watchful care over us.

As we move a few moments later beyond the gates and into His courts, we feel calm and security. In that moment, we know “that the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.”(verse 5).

George Wood offers the following prayer:

Thank you Lord, for Your goodness. That means there is no deceit in You. You will never tell me something untrue about yourself. I will never discover in You a flaw that will rock me to my foundation. And I can always count on Your love. There will never be a moment when I am not loved by You- even when I fail You.

Your love endures-endures during all my neglect, carelessness, and rebellion. You will never abandon me nor betray me, for You are faithful throughout all generations. So Lord, I will go ahead and join the other worshippers today who understand Your truth; I too will shout for joy and worship You with gladness.

Dr. John Thompson