There are 575 references to praise, singing and music in the Bible. The book of Psalms in the middle of the Bible and has 150 poems or songs of praise. Music is often the form where we express our gladness, joy and praise. From the beginning, music has been an important part of the worship of God. Today we are looking at Psalm 100.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” – Ps. 100:1-2. To make a shout for joy is making a loud noise like cheering at a ball game or concert. We are to be happy and excited. God wants us to be excited when we worship Him. We can be so excited that we lift up our hands in praise and worship. We are to recognize who He is and sing His praises. He invites us to serve Him and He wants us to be happy about it. It’s a privilege and duty to worship God.
Are you happy going to church?
Is it just a chore for you?
Do you feel you have freedom to lift up your hands to Him or does it embarrass you?
Do you consider it a privilege to be able to worship in freedom?
We worship in gladness because He is God. “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.´ – Ps. 100:3. We didn’t make ourselves although some call themselves self-made men. Christians recognize the origin of their being. It makes sense to be thankful and worship the One responsible for making us and our world. Nothing and no one else is worthy of worship. When you think about it, we owe it to God. Where would we be without Him? We are His sheep. Sheep gather around their shepherd who looks after them. It’s the same for us as we gather around the great Shepherd of mankind who provides and protects us.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” – Ps. 100:4. We are to come together in His house to praise and worship Him. Of course we can worship Him in private, but we are to publicly worship God, too. When we do, we are to be thankful. There is something very special when fellow believers come together in worship. It unites us and we become stronger in our faith. Our praise and thanksgiving should be in our hearts as well as on our tongues. Be thankful in all circumstances, in the good times and in the bad times. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thess. 5:16-18.
Do you only praise God when things are going well?
Do others see your praise and thanksgiving as fake?
This Psalm tells us to do 7 things:
Shout to the Lord
Worship the Lord
Come to where the Lord is
Know who the Lord is
Go into the Lord’s house
Thank the Lord for everything
Say good things about the Lord
Why must we do these things? “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” – Ps. 100:5. The Lord is good. If you are going through difficult times right now, it may not be easy for you to believe He is good. Satan wants you to doubt God’s goodness so you won’t trust Him. If you don’t trust Him, you won’t obey Him.
Verse 5 sums up God and His character. God is always faithful and good. He is good, gracious, kind, and loving. He does what He promises. He is good in His plans, in His grace, in His forgiveness and in everything other thing in life. He is faithful to us and we should be faithful to Him. His mercy is everlasting. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus to die for our sins. Do you know anyone else like that? Do you know anyone else who would take your punishment and die for you when you didn’t deserve it?
Principle: Our hearts are to be full of praise and thanksgiving for our Creator.
God is willing to meet us anywhere, anyplace and at anytime. However, we need to come into His presence with a heart and mind that acknowledges we are in the presence of the King. What a privilege we have to have an audience with the King. So don’t take Him for granted.
Do you praise God even when you don’t feel like it? If you are experiencing doubts and don’t feel like praising God, remember every believer has doubts at times. It’s a part of being human. Having faith has nothing to do with how you feel. Don’t let feelings dictate you life. They go up and down with your blood sugar. Faith is resting on Jesus. So when in doubt, embrace more Jesus and focus on Him rather than your doubt. Then those feelings of doubt will soon fade.
Join me here next week for the next time. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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