Psalm 100
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Introduction
Introduction
[ILLUS] J. Wilbur Chapman and his singing partner Charles Alexander conducted evangelistic campaigns in the early 1900s. At one meeting, a paralytic was wheeled down the aisle and placed before the platform. Alexander came up to him and asked, “What is your favorite hymn?”
The man immediately answered, “Count Your Blessings!”
When do you struggle to be thankful?
When we feel bad.
Sick
Lack of sleep
Lack of good health
When things go bad.
Circumstances beyond our control (e.g., pandemic)
Bad choices
foreseen (i.e., knew it was a bad choice)
unforeseen (i.e., it turned out to be a bad choice but we didn’t know it as before had)
When we do bad.
Sin
In what ways do we typically show thanklessness?
Silence
Complaining/Accusing
Thanking the Wrong Person
(e.g., Nebuchadnezzar)
We struggle with thankfulness because we so often root our thankfulness in the shallow soil of circumstances that are bound to change (the way we feel, the way things are going in our lives or the lives of those we love). But storms inevitably come, and our thanksgiving is quickly uprooted.
Psalm 100, however, calls us to root our circumstances in the deep soil of who the LORD is, and who He is doesn’t change with our circumstances. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
If we root our thanksgiving in God, then we will give thanks at all times—fair weather and foul—in good times and bad.
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.
This psalm teaches us how to fight for thanksgiving. Here’s how...
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Know the LORD (vv. 3, 5)
Know the LORD (vv. 3, 5)
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.
5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 3045 דָּעָה, יָדַע
1 to know. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to know. 1A1A to know, learn to know. 1A1B to perceive. 1A1C to perceive and see, find out and discern. 1A1D to discriminate, distinguish. 1A1E to know by experience. 1A1F to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess. 1A1G to consider. 1A2 to know, be acquainted with.
דְּע֗וּ deʿûʹ
ידע ydʿ know, notice, hear of, learn; reveal, be or become known; realize
ידע ydʿ to know, notice, hear of, learn; to reveal, be or become known; to realize
VaM2MP verb, Qal, imperative, second person, masculine, plural
H3045 Hebrew Strong’s
to know (cognitive) verb
What do we need to know about the LORD (vv. 3, 5)?
------- (v. 3)
He is YHWH (LORD).
He is God.
He made us.
He owns us.
He is our Shepherd.
------- (v. 5)
He is good.
Good means to be pleasant, desirable, in order, appropriate, valuable, correct.
The New Bible Dictionary says that good is not some abstract quality or secular human ideal. It is first and foremost what God is. He is good.
Because He is good, what He does, what He creates, what He commands, what He gives, and what He approves in the lives of His creatures is good.
Good is defined in terms of God… Accordingly, the biblical position is that God, and God alone, is good without qualification… and He is the arbiter and judge, as He is the norm and standard, of creaturely goodness. Man is good, and things are good, just so far as they conform to the will of God.
He is love.
The Holman Bible Dictionary says this is the OT’s highest expectation for love. … It is a love that remains constant regardless of the circumstances.
God show His lovingkindness to us… in redemption from enemies and troubles… in preservation of life from death… in quickening of spiritual life… in redemption from sin… in keeping covenants with Abraham, Moses, Israel, and David...
His lovingkindness is abundant, great in extent, everlasting, and good.
He is faithful.
He is steadfast, trustworthy, faithful, firm, reliable, permanent.
Even when we are faithless God remains faithful because He cannot disown Himself (2 Tim. 2:13).
How do we come to know the LORD?
JESUS!
Jesus is good (Mark 10:18)
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
Jesus is love (John 15:13)
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus is faithful (Revelation 3:14; 19:11)
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
How do we come to know Jesus?
The Spirit and the Word
8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
How do we continue to get to know Him?
The Spirit and the Word
Thank the LORD (v. 4)
Thank the LORD (v. 4)
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
What’s your favorite Scripture, hymn, or saying related to giving thanks?
Based on what we’ve already studied, why should we come to church with thanksgiving in our hearts?
[ILLUS] A lady applied to the benevolent 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.”
How do we tend to show other people we are thankful?
Why do you think we are so concerned that others know we are thankful?
What would we do differently if we were just as concerned to let God know we are thankful for Him? How would we show Him?
Praise the LORD (vv. 1, 2b, 4)
Praise the LORD (vv. 1, 2b, 4)
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
How do these verses describe praising God?
------- (v. 1)
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
------- (v. 2b)
Come before Him with joyful singing.
------- (v. 4)
Enter… His courts with praise.
Bless (Praise) His Name.
If we are not in the right frame of mind or heart to praise God like this, what should we do?
What passages, hymns, or songs help you praise the Lord?
Serve the Lord ( v. 2a)
Serve the Lord ( v. 2a)
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
------- (v. 2a)
Serve the LORD with gladness
[ILLUS] Imagine that as a child, you were hungry and told you mom that you would like something to eat. In a huff, your mom marches into the kitchen, slams around some pots and pans, throws some food on a plate, and tosses it in front of you with exasperation, saying, “There! I hope you eat and like it!”
Do you think you would enjoy the food? Why?
Do you think God enjoys it when we serve Him with exasperation or frustration?
What are we to be glad in when we serve the Lord with gladness?
The LORD!
Deuteronomy 28:47-48 describes the price God’s people paid for not serving Him with gladness.
47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;
48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
We too will pay a price if we do not serve Him with gladness.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This psalm teaches us to root our thanksgiving in who God is.
To know Him.
To thank Him.
To praise Him.
To serve Him.
Tonight, before you sleep, I’m challenging you to thank God for who He is—He is good! He is love! He is faithful!
