Make A Joyful Noise

Psalm 100 (May 22, 2011)

1) The Text

1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. 2Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 3Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. 5For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

2) The Context

Psalms is a collection of collections. The psalms were written over many centuries, stretching from the days of Solomon's temple (about 950 BC) to after the Exile (about 350 BC.) Psalms are of five types: hymns of praise, laments, thanksgiving psalms, royal psalms, and wisdom psalms. Within the book, there are five "books"; there is a doxology at the end of each book.

Psalm 100 is known as the Jubilate Deo, its first words in Latin. While the psalm does not specifically refer to God as king, its mood is similar to that of the preceding kingship psalms (95-99), all of which deal with the kingly rule of the God of Israel. This psalm is a doxology to these psalms. This theme was especially emphasized during the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). Psalms 96; 98; 99 also call on Israel and other nations to join in the worship of God; they seek acknowledgement of his divine rule.

Vv. 1-3 form one hymn (a call to joy) and vv. 4-5 is another (a call to thanksgiving). All people everywhere (“all the earth”, v. 1) are invited to praise God, to be joyful in him. Why? Those processing to the Temple would, in “The Lord is God” (v. 3), be reminded of the first of the Ten Commandments. (That he is the only god is implied.) The covenant brought the people into a special relationship with God. V. 4 was probably spoken by the priests: they invite the faithful to enter the Temple to give thanks and praise. Both the Temple and royal palaces had “gates” (v. 4) and “courts”, so God the king, present in the Temple and reigning from there, is envisaged. God is goodness; he is eternally compassionate and faithful to those who keep his law and follow his ways. In the original context, his goodness was specifically his concrete acts of love promised in the Sinai covenant and shown to Israel.

3) Interpretation

The psalmist in Psalm 100 encourages us to worship the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts! Often, however, there can be certain factors that obstruct us from worshipping the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. These include obstacles such as: (1) Anticipating an important future event (e.g., a job promotion, a scheduled surgery, a vacation we’re looking forward to, etc; (2) Sickness or poor health; (3) Worry or anxiety over something in our lives (e.g., something we said to a friend that we regret, or something we failed to do for a loved one, or worry about keeping our job, etc.; (4) Something that happened unexpectedly during the week that surprises us; (5) Preoccupation with what we don’t have.

How can we worship the Lord while contending against the many obstacles that prevent us from worshipping the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts? We can pray and ask God to give us the ability to focus our hearts and minds on Him. If worry has dominated our hearts, we pray for forgiveness. If we don’t feel good due to poor health we acknowledge our poor health to God. Through prayer we can worship the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts!

The final verse in the psalm, vs.5, functions as the climax or high point of the psalm. Verse 5 has been written as a causal clause. The psalmist uses it to outline the reasons we can worship the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. What are the reasons?

1. The Lord is good and He does good things! The psalmist begins vs. 5 with this declaration: ”For the Lord is good”. The Bible tells us repeatedly of God’s goodness. The Psalms record numerous instances of God being called “good”. For instance, the psalmist in Psalm 34:8 writes “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. Thus, we observe that scripture both labels God “good” by nature and describes the good things He has done.

2. The Lord has an enduring love for us. The next part of vs.5 says “and his love endures forever”. We can worship the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts because His love for us never ends! Knowing and experiencing God’s constant love serves as an impetus for worship.

An elderly man lay in the hospital with his wife of 55 years sitting at his bedside. “Is that you, Ethel, at my side again?” he whispered. “Yes, dear” she answered. He softly said to her “Remember years ago when I was in the Veteran’s Hospital? You were with me then. You were with me when we lost everything in the fire. And Ethel, when we were poor-you stuck with me then too”. The man sighed and said, “I tell you, Ethel, you’re just bad luck!!” How easily we can twist reality and fail to recognize the enduring love of someone who truly cares for us.

3. The Lord remains faithful to us throughout all times. Even in the most upsetting and tumultuous times of life, God still remains with us! On a short term mission trip to a leper colony on the island of Tobago, the Pastor leading worship asked if anyone had a hymn request. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. The pastor recalled, “it was the most hideous face I had ever seen. The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked “Can we sing “Count Your Many Blessings?”

Worship the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in your hearts! Prayerfully ask the Lord to remove sin and self-pity and other self-oriented distractions from you. Give him your worship, the worship He alone deserves! God deserves our worship for He is good, His love endures forever and our God remains ever faithful to us.

4) Thought Exercise

What are some examples of God’s good works in your life?

In what ways do you acknowledge God’s enduring love for you?