We Thank Thee Lord

NOVEMBER 22, 2020 STUDY NOTES PSALMS 100 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WE THANK THEE LORD INTRODUCTION Psalm 100 is a Psalm for “giving thanks” and a Psalm of praise They would sing it in the temple as they offered sacrifices of praise It was to be sung with the giving of their thank-offerings Today we are to enter His presence with thanksgiving because He is good and faithful, Psa 95:2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. OVERVIEW OF PSALMS 100 We are called to worship (vs. 1-2) We are told why God should be worshiped (vs. 3) Again, we are called to worship (vs. 4) Again, we are told why God should be worshiped (vs. 5) Identify the points of emphasis, notice the “Spirit” of worship: 1. Shout with joy 2. Serve the Lord with gladness 3. Come before Him with singing 4. Enter-into His gates with thanksgiving 5. Enter-His courts with praise 6. Be thankful to Him 7. Bless His name We should praise Him because of Who He Is: 1. He is Lord 2. He is God 3. He is Creator 4. He is our owner 5. He is our Shepherd And because He is Who He Is: 1. He is Good 2. His mercy is everlasting 3. His truth endures to all generations LET EVERYONE PRAISE HIM Psa 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. The original wording means “to shout” or to sound forth with a blast It is a shout of joy expressing praise unto the Lord God’s people are called upon to praise God and rejoice in Him At sports activities people gather to shout and praise the athletes And when they realize they don’t deserve their shouts of joy, they begin to shout “Boo” God always deserves a shout of “Praise” because He is “the Lord” Don’t hold back your “joyful noise,” do not put a limit on your praise unto “the Lord” 1 Praise Him at all-times and through all things Know that He is Lord and understand the meaning of “Lord” God called Moses through the burning bush, Exo 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses asked God what he was to tell the children of Israel, Exo 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? The answer that God gave Moses is still good for us today, Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (We must personally know who He is in-order to tell others about Him) The Lord that we are to praise is “I AM THAT I AM,” and everyone should praise Him All ye lands are to praise Him, we must pray that America will once again praise Him The nation of Israel was to bring to the attention of all people the truth of “The Lord” The Church is called upon to do the same thing today, we must do better than we are doing Whether the church accomplishes it or not one day it will happen The day is coming when people everywhere will praise Him as “Lord” The whole world, all the nations of the world will shout praises unto the “King of Kings” All will not be saved but all will identify Jesus as Lord, Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Don’t wait for that day, today is the day to praise God and serve Jesus because He is “Lord” GLADLY SERVE THE LORD TODAY Psa 100:2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. The word “serve” is often used with the meaning of “worship” When the focus of the labor is upon the Lord it speaks of a religious service to worship the Lord The point is, no labor for the Lord is toilsome, it is always a joyful experience to serve the Lord You cannot serve God without entering-into worship, to serve Him is to worship Him Our worship is identified in the way that we are to serve Him, “with gladness” “Gladness” describes the experience of serving the Lord To serve the Lord is a joyful and cheerful experience There is no greater experience than serving the Lord “with gladness” In the O.T. “gladness” is often expressed with singing and playing musical instruments, Psa 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. Singing praises unto the Lord should come from a “glad heart” and a “Joyful Spirit” Come before his presence with singing. This is a strong invitation to Worship God, either in private or public worship “With singing” has the meaning of a “joyful shout” It indicates “lips of joy” offering praise to God, Psa 63:5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: It is singing with a melody in your heart, Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; In Heaven you will sing, Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 2 Negro slaves were deprived of their freedom, but their masters could not take away their praise They would sing their spirituals as they toiled at their labor Negro spirituals greatly influenced the Southern Gospel music of today Paul and Silas were placed in the inner prison because they served the Lord, Act 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Their bodies were beaten and locked up, but their praise and worship could not be locked up, Act 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them Praising God because they knew that they were not in the hands of man, they were in God’s hand WE ARE HIS PEOPLE Psa 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. “Know ye” means more than to have something in mind It means being completely assured of the truth and to personally experience the truth of it Meaning “to know by experience” and to acknowledge the truth of it by action We have every reason to sing unto God and praise Him, “we are His People” We already know what we need to know in-order to sing with gladness? that the LORD he is God: The title translated “LORD” is the same in verses 1,2,3, and 5 It refers to the proper name of the God of Israel, Exo 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. The word translated “God” identifies the “One True and Living God” It is the word used to designate God as the Creator, King, Judge, Lord, and Savior The word that is used when describing His character as compassionate, gracious, and faithful The first thing that we need to know is “that the LORD He is GOD” We have another reason to sing praises unto Him--it is he that hath made us, The meaning is more than God is the Creator Unto Israel it means that God made them to be the nation that they were God chose them, God called them, God made them a great nation Israel was to praise God as their maker, Psa 95:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. and not we ourselves; we are his people, That thought makes us realize what we are apart from Him, what is life without God? There is no life without God in your life, scripture calls life without God death, Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Another thought is that we are not our own, “We are His people” 3 We are “His Possession,” we belong to Him, we are God’s people by spiritual birth, Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: As “His people” we are to praise Him, 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: and the sheep of his pasture. “Sheep” are often used as a symbol for the people of God The Lord is the Shepherd, we are in “His Pasture” and He tends to the sheep, Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psa 79:13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations. Psa 95:7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, BE THANKFUL UNTO HIM Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. The word “gate” identifies the main entrance God’s people can enter God’s main entrance, we enter to worship Him and to praise Him In the O.T. the Tabernacle was the spiritual house of God and then it was the Temple N.T. Christians have a unique nature, in Christ we are “living stones” As living stones, we now make up the “Spiritual House” of God We are a “Holy Priesthood” and qualified “to offer up spiritual sacrifices” Our sacrifice is not a dead animal, it is the offering of our own spiritual life What a privilege it is, Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Praising God is the fruit of righteous lips With our voice we should tell God how much we love and appreciate Him With our voice we should tell others how much we love and appreciate God Giving thanks to God for anything and all things is a praise unto God Giving thanks unto God for all-of His blessings is also an act of worship and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Israel was to go to the temple and praise God Today Christians are to go to Church and praise God, gather-together and give glory to God The thought is to come together with God and give glory unto Him (take note Baptist) “Thankful” is another word that is often translated “praise” To give thanks to God is a praise to God The point is that you are acknowledging God by giving thanks unto Him God is worthy of your praise and deserves your thanksgiving, Psa 106:1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. To bless God is to offer Him praise for who He is and for what He has done for us, Psa 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. THE LORD IS GOOD 4 Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. James agrees with the Psalmist, Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Paul believed it, Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. his mercy is everlasting; “His mercy” indicates God’s kindness, loving kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and love Psalm 136 is the classic chapter presenting the eternal mercy, kindness, and love of God The significance of the word translated “mercy” is found 26 times in Psalm 136 (Read it) It begins, Psa 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. It ends, Psa 136:26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever. His goodness will never end and his truth endureth to all generations. “His truth” means that God is faithful and trustworthy Moses exalted God as a faithful God who does no wrong, Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. God always speaks the truth, God always keeps His promises God is always faithful you can trust God at all-times and through all things From one generation to another generation He has been faithful So, from one generation to another generation, “Praise Him” and “Thank Him” Pray that our generation will come before Him to praise Him and thank Him CONCLUSION Understand how important it is for God’s people to praise and worship God with thanksgiving Look at the emphasis of Psalms 100 Christians are to be joyful (vs.1-2) Christians are to submit to God’s will (vs. 3) Christians are to be thankful (vs. 4-5) Study “Thanksgiving” in its context of New Testament teaching: Eph. 5:18--Be filled with the Spirit Eph. 5:19--Be joyful Eph. 5:20--Be thankful Eph. 5:21-6:9--A Submissive spirit Col. 3:16--Be filled with the Word of God Be joyful Col. 3:17--Be thankful Col. 3:20-25--A Submissive Spirit Are you thankful to God for everything? Can you honestly say, “I thank you Lord for everything?” Listen to the sing 5