Psalm 100 - A Psalm for Thanksgiving

Introduction

[READING - Psalm 100]

Psalm 100 NASB95

A Psalm for Thanksgiving. 1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

[PRAYER]

[INTER] Look carefully at Psalm 100:1, “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth...” Everything this psalm says it to every single person on planet earth.

Why should all the earth shout joyfully to the LORD?

Why should all the earth serve the LORD with gladness?

Why should all the earth come before Him with joyful singing?

Why should all the earth enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise?

Why should all the earth give thanks to Him and bless His name?

Because in His goodness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness toward Israel, the LORD has blessed all the peoples of earth.

God created the world and everything in it. He made Adam and Eve in His image. He surveyed it all and said that it was very good.

He commanded Adam and Eve to work the Garden of Eden, to be fruitful and multiply, and to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of God and evil lest they die.

But succumbing to the temptation of Satan, Eve ate from the tree and so did Adam. They wanted to choose right and wrong for themselves but only succeeded in choosing death by separating themselves from God.

But God promised reconciliation between Himself and sinners like Adam and Even through the Seed (i.e., the Son) of the woman. God was going to bring forth a Savior who would crush Satan and redeem God’s people.

That Seed, that Son, that Savior came down through the the line of Adam’s son, Seth, and continued to come down through the line of Abraham and David until that Seed, that Son, that Savior arrived in Jesus of Nazareth who is called called Christ.

He is called Jesus because He is the Savior who saved God’s people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).

He is called Christ because He is the Anointed One, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16).

Philippians 2:6–11 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It’s through Jesus that all the peoples of earth have been blessed!

This promised Seed, this promised Son, this promised Savior, this Jesus is the Savior of all who trust in His righteousness, His death, and His resurrection to give them new life with God!

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before Him with joyful singing! Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Gives thanks to Him! And bless His name, for He so loved us that gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!

Jesus is the reason for thanksgiving in Psalm 100; He is why all the earth is called to shout joyfully, serve gladly, and enter thankfully!

The Psalms tell the good news about what God will do to not only save His people, but to bring salvation to the whole world through His Son, Jesus. Obviously, Jesus is not mentioned by name, but there is the promise of a Son, a King from the line of David who will save God’s people.

Psalms 1-41 exalt God, His Law, and His Son, the chosen Davidic King.

Psalms 42-72 highlight Israel’s rebellion against God through it’s failure to keep God’s Law.

Psalms 73-89 emphasize God’s judgment against Israel and Israel’s cry for salvation.

Psalms 90-106 call Israel and all the earth to thank God and acknowledge Him as the only King, the King who will deliver His people through His Son, the chosen Davidic King.

Psalms 107-150 climax with praises to God for His faithfulness, a faithfulness promised in God’s Word and a faithfulness soon to be revealed in God’s Son, the chosen Davidic King.

Jesus is, of course, that Son, that chosen Davidic King!

We know this because Matthew and Luke are careful to trace the lineage of Jesus back to David.

We know this because the angel announced that God would give Jesus the throne of His father, David.

We know this because people cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us, Son of David?”

We know this because when Jesus entered Jerusalem, people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

We know this because Jesus refereed to Himself as the root and descendant of David (Rev. 22:16)!

Jesus is the chosen Davidic King through whom God has brought salvation to all the earth.

Thus, Psalm 2:12 warns…

Psalm 2:12 NLT

12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

[CIT] Psalm 100 expresses the joy of all who take refuge in Jesus!

[INTER] Have you taken refuge in Jesus?

[TS] I pray you have; and if you have, there are three REACTIONS as seen in Psalm 100 that you will have to being saved by God’s grace in Jesus Christ…

Major Ideas

Reaction #1: You WORSHIP the Lord (vv. 1-2) If you have taken refuge in Jesus, you worship the Lord.

Psalm 100:1–2 NASB95

1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

[EXP] These two verses call us to react to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ with worship.

Notice that our worship should be aimed at the LORD.

We shout joyfully to the LORD! We serve the LORD! We come before Him (the LORD) with joyful singing!

Everyone worships someone or something, but because we have been saved by the LORD through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are careful to aim our worship at Him.

Notice that our worship includes all of life. It includes serving the Lord with gladness wherever we may be and coming before Him in the assembly of God’s people with joyful song.

True worship that is a grateful reaction to God’s grace includes private devotion and public praise.

Notice that our worship should be characterized by delight, by cheerfulness, by elation. It should thrill us to worship the LORD because of what He has done for us in His Son!

Our worship is not unhappy or cheerless; it is joyful and glad!

This worship springs from the heart that has been thrilled by God’s saving grace in Jesus!

[ILLUS] Imagine that as a child, you were hungry and told your mom that you would like something to eat.

She marches into the kitchen in a huff, slams around some pots and pans, throws some food on a plate, and tosses it in front of you with exasperation and says, “There!”

Do you think you’d enjoy the food?

Probably not because it wasn’t served with joy.

[APP] Many of us try to worship the Lord without joy.

We serve without joy.

We come before Him without joy.

We sing without joy.

But God doesn’t enjoy our worship when it isn’t a joyful and glad response to His grace toward us in Jesus Christ.

[TS] If we have taken refuge in Jesus, we worship the LORD with joy!

Reaction #2: You KNOW the Lord (vv. 3, 5) If you have taken refuge in Jesus, you know the Lord.

Psalm 100:3 NASB95

3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:5 NASB95

5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

[EXP] To know is to acknowledge. What is it then that we acknowledge about the LORD if we have taken refuge in His Son, Jesus?

In v. 3, we acknowledge that the LORD (i.e., YHWH) is God, Maker, and Shepherd (v. 3).

To acknowledge YHWH as God is to acknowledge Him as the true, living God.

To acknowledge YHWH as Maker is to acknowledge Him, not only as Creator of every human being in general, but Maker of His chosen people in particular.

To acknowledge YHWH as Shepherd is to acknowledge Him as Guide and Protector.

If we have taken refuge in Jesus, we acknowledge that the YHWH is God, Maker, and Shepherd.

In v. 5, we acknowledge that YHWH is good, loving, and faithful (v. 5).

To acknowledge that YHWH is good is to acknowledge that He is the standard and judge of goodness.

To acknowledge that YHWH is love is to acknowledge Him as the source and initiator of love.

To acknowledge that YHWH is faithful is to acknowledge that He is perfectly steadfast, trustworthy, and reliable.

If we have taken refuge in Jesus, we acknowledge that the YHWH is good, that YHWH is love, and that YHWH is faithful.

We acknowledge these things about Him because we acknowledge them in all in His Son, Jesus.

As Jesus said, “If you have known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him,” (John 14:7).

[TS] If you have taken refuge in Jesus, you know the Lord.

Reaction #3: You THANK the Lord (v. 4). If you have taken refuge in Jesus, you thank the Lord.

Psalm 100:4 NASB95

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

[ILLUS] Preacher, J. Wilbur Chapman, and song leader, Charles Alexander, conducted evangelistic campaigns in the early 1900s.

At one meeting, a paralyzed man was wheeled down the aisle and placed before the platform. Moved, Charles Alexander came up to him and asked, “What is your favorite hymn?”

To Alexander’s surprise the man said, “Count Your Blessings.”

What blessings could this paralyzed man have? In his condition, what reasons could he have to thank God?

Well, the same reasons any do who take refuge in Jesus!

[APP] When we enter the sanctuary, we should come to Him giving thanks and blessing His name no matter our earthly circumstances because our eternal blessings have been secured in Jesus Christ!

[ILLUS] A kind lady applied to the charitable Richard Reynolds of Bristol, England, on behalf of an orphan. After he had given generously, she said, “When he is old enough, I will teach him to name and thank his benefactor.”

Reynolds replied, “Stop—we do not thank the clouds for rain. Teach him to look higher, and thank Him who giveth both the clouds and the rain.”

[APP] When we enter the sanctuary, we should enter it with thanksgiving, but not for the preacher or song leader; we should look higher; we should look to and thank the God who has given us His Son, Jesus, the One who should be exalted in all preaching and singing!

[TS] If you have taken refuge in Jesus, you thank the Lord.

Conclusion

I hope this Thanksgiving you are thankful for more than food, family, and football.

I hope that you thankful for Jesus.

If you have taken refuge in Him, it’s thanksgiving day everyday.

[PRAYER]