A PSALM FOR THANKSGIVING (Psalm 100:1-5)
INTRODUCTION:
Several years ago, I followed many on Facebook as they posted 30 days of thankfulness during the month of November. Each day for 30 days they would post one thing for which they were thankful. I believe this is good, this is healthy. Unfortunately, I have not seen this continue for several years now. God’s Word certainly calls us who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be thankful people. Our Scripture reading this morning from Colossians 3:12-17 admonished us to be thankful 3 times in those 6 verses. We are truly to be a people whose lives are characterized by thanksgiving. Instead of making a commitment to be thankful for 30 days a year, we should be committed to be thankful for 365 days a year. This story is told of Alexander Whyte, a Scottish minister of the late 1800s, the story goes, “Dr. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh was famous for his pulpit prayers. He always found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy morning a member of his congregation thought to himself, ‘The preacher will have nothing to thank God on a wretched morning like this.’ But Whyte began his prayer, ‘We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.’ ”[1] Might we be like Dr. Whyte and always be thankful, I believe if we were we would see a real difference in our lives. This morning I chose a psalm that is probably familiar to many of you, I grew up singing this song at camp and in church. Even though it is familiar, have we ever stopped long enough to give thought to what to what it is saying? This is a fitting psalm for this week as we head towards Thanksgiving, the header for this psalm is my message title, “A Psalm for Thanksgiving.” Before turning to Psalm 100 this morning let’s give thanks and ask God to teach us from His Word this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Psalm 100. It is a short psalm of only five verses, and we will look at all five this morning. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Psalm 100:1-5,
“A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 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. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1–5, NASB95)[2]
THANKSGIVING RESULTS FROM A RIGHT ATTITUDE (Psalm 100:1-2)
The psalmist begins with three imperatives that should characterize the life of a thankful Christian. These three imperatives should set the attitude of our hearts and should control our words, our actions, and our thoughts. His first imperative is: “Shout joyfully to the Lord…” (Psalm 100:1a, NASB95)[3] and this word translated “shout” is a Hebrew word that means “to signal with a loud noise.” Literally, it means to make a loud, vocal, public noise that signals a feeling or a future action. This was the word that was used to shout before rushing into battle, or it would be the noise raised by those who had triumphed over their enemy. It would be the noise brought on by elation or joy. The psalmist calls us to shout, to raise a noise of joy to the LORD. This first imperative is how the attitude of the heart is to be demonstrated by our voices, by our words. We should sound like joyful people because of our relationship with the Lord and we should make a joyful noise as our worship and as our testimony.
In the second imperative we are commanded to “Serve the Lord with gladness…” (Psalm 100:2a, NASB95)[4] This is a demonstration of our heart attitude in our actions. This word translated “serve” is the Hebrew word used for those who serve as subjects of a king. It is a word that can mean to make yourself a servant or a slave. To serve the LORD with gladness is to humbly bow before Him and surrender your life to His Lordship. To allow Him to dictate your actions so that all you do brings glory to Him. This must be done with gladness of heart, or it is not true surrender to His Lordship. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29–30, NASB95)[5] We serve the Lord with gladness because He has promised to be right beside us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. So, it does not matter what God has given us to do in service to Him, whether a menial task or an honorable task we can do it with gladness of heart. Listen to Paul’s words to the believing slaves in the church of Colosse, “Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (Colossians 3:22–24, NASB95)[6] So, it does not matter if you are the one who works behind the scenes where no one sees you as you make sure that everything runs smoothly or if you are the one who is up front all the time. In whatever way we serve the Lord we do so with gladness of heart, remembering what Jesus Christ has done for us.
The third imperative that the psalmist gives us demonstrates our heart attitude of thankfulness as expressed in our worship of God. The psalmist writes, “Come before Him with joyful singing.” (Psalm 100:2b, NASB95)[7] When is it that we come before God, it is when we come to worship. This can mean public, corporate worship or it can mean private worship. Whenever we exalt the Lord, we are worshipping, and it can come in many forms. We call our morning service a worship service because we believe that every part of this service is an act of worship. The opening Scripture reading is worship as we publicly proclaim God’s Word. Joyful singing is worship as we exalt the Lord through music and singing. The time of public praise and prayer as we praise God for answered prayer and for working in our lives and as we show our dependence on Him as we present our requests to Him, this is worship. The giving of our offerings is worship as we give cheerfully from our hearts to the work of the Lord through the church, the means which He has chosen to reveal Himself to the world. The time that I spend teaching you God’s Word is worship in that we are learning and grasping what God has written to us and how we can take His Word and live it out through our lives. That is just corporate worship; private worship is much more intimate. But just as we spend time each Sunday morning singing joyfully as we come to the Lord, this should be a part of our private worship as well. As we come to the Lord and are struck by His glory and come to understand the price that He paid for our salvation, our hearts should erupt in joyful singing. Notice the psalmist does not say good singing, or singing that is pleasing to the human ear. You do not have to have the voice of an angel to sing joyfully to the Lord. Your joyful singing will be a sweet sound in His ear even if you are off key. The demonstration of the thankful attitude of our hearts is revealed by our voices making joyful noise to the Lord, by our service to the Lord being done in gladness of heart, and our worship being accompanied by joyful singing.
We cannot leave these two verses without looking back at verse one to see to whom the psalmist is giving these three imperatives. It is not to his fellow Israelites alone, but to all the earth, to all those of the earth who have put their faith in God for salvation.
THANKSGIVING RESULTS FROM A KNOWLEDGE OF WHO GOD IS (Psalm 100:3)
After teaching us what that thanksgiving results from a correct attitude towards God, the psalmist now teaches us in verse three that thanksgiving results from a right understanding of who God is. We must first acknowledge that the LORD Himself is God. To fully understand what the psalmist is saying we must understand the words that He uses for LORD and God. The Hebrew word translated LORD in our Bibles is the word “Yahweh.” This is indicated and set apart from other words that are translated Lord by putting those that are “Yahweh” in all capital letters. This word carries the meaning of the self-existent One, the I am that I am. This is the name that God gave Himself as His covenant name with Israel. The word we have translated “God” in this psalm is the Hebrew word “Elohim” which is the term used for God, the Sovereign and Creator of all things. This is the word used for God throughout the creation account in Genesis 1-2. When the psalmist commands us to know that the LORD Himself is God, he is telling us to recognize that our LORD is not just a national deity or a local deity that the other nations and peoples of the earth worship, but to recognize and understand that He is the Sovereign Creator of all, He is the Lord of heaven and earth. Once we have acknowledged and understand this, we must know that it is God who has created us. We are His creation, our existence is not anything we have done or that our parents have done, it is completely a creative act of God, He made us and not we ourselves. Because He created us, we belong to Him. If I build something, using my own materials, who does that belong to? To me, I made it. God created each and everyone of us, to whom do we belong? The psalmist expresses it this way, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:3b, NASB95)[8] This phrase, “the sheep of His pasture” is a phrase that refers to our status before God. This word translated “sheep” refers to a ceremonially clean animal fit for sacrifice, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, as those who have put our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin; believing that He died for us thus paying the price required for sin and then being raised from the dead three days later proving that God the Father accepted His payment on our behalf, when we believe this then we are seen as ceremonially clean, we are covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and we are fit to enter the presence of God as a fragrant offering to Him. The word “pasture” is significant as well. As the word “sheep” speaks of our relationship to God through Christ, the word “pasture” speaks of God’s relationship to us. This word “pasture” speaks of being shepherded by a loving shepherd; it has associated with it the meaning of care and concern for the sheep. We are not just turned out into the pasture to do it on our own, but we are cared for and guided by our Shepherd. Jesus expanded on this idea in John 10 when He said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (John 10:11–15, NASB95)[9] When we have a right understanding about God, about who He is and His ownership of us and the care and concern that He displays to those who belong to Him, this should cause us to be thankful people, very thankful people.
THANKSGIVING IS OUR RESPONSE (Psalm 100:4)
The psalmist in verse 4 speaks of our response when we have a right attitude, and we have a correct understanding of who God is. The result of both of these is thanksgiving. The psalmist frames this response in our coming to the temple of the Lord and he teaches us that the core, the root of worship is thankfulness and praise. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4, NASB95)[10] This should be our response to the Lord daily as we recognize who we are in comparison to who God is and then as we stand in awe of what God has done for us and does for us because of His great mercy and amazing grace. Of all the people on the earth, those who have been washed in the blood of Christ should be of all people the most thankful. We have been redeemed from the slave market of sin; we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light. We have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High God. We are the recipients of eternal life. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who guides and cares for us. This is just a few of the blessings that are ours in the Lord Jesus Christ. This should cause us to: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4, NASB95)[11]
THANKSGIVING FOR GOD’S CHARACTER (Psalm 100:5)
As if we do not have enough already from the psalm to make us thankful for the rest of our lives, the psalmist ends by giving us three attributes of God that can only increase our thanksgiving. He begins by reminding us that God is good. God is not an evil tyrant that wants to rule us and ruin our lives. God is good. He is a loving and caring Shepherd who is deeply concerned for us. The ultimate example of His goodness was expressed in His death for you and me, taking upon Himself the penalty for sin, suffering the wrath of God against sin, the penalty and wrath we deserved.
Next the psalmist reminds us that God’s lovingkindness is everlasting. Lovingkindness speaks of God’s mercy on us as sinners and His devotion to us when we believe in His Son for salvation. God’s lovingkindness is demonstrated in His covenant relationship with Israel. Even though He disciplined them for their unfaithfulness to Him; He never failed to show them His mercy and grace when they repented and His devotion for them never faded and will be seen in its fullness when He returns to set up His millennial kingdom on earth. God’s mercy and devotion truly is everlasting. We never have to fear that He will not extend His mercy to the repentant and we never have to fear that He will go back on one of His promises to us because He is eternally devoted to those whom He has saved.
Finally, the psalmist reminds us of God faithfulness to all generations. This phrase “faithfulness to all generations” means that God will not change ever. God will faithfully continue to be the same God forever; His attributes will not change. He will remain the same through all generations. What He has revealed to us about His character will be the same throughout eternity. He is and will always be holy, just, loving, full of grace and mercy, truthful, and compassionate; just to name a few of His attributes. Faithfulness to all generations speaks of His ability and trustworthiness to fulfill all of His promises. What He has said, He will do. We can hope in the Lord because He is faithful to all generations.
CONCLUSION:
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday this week, a day set aside for giving thanks I thought that it was fitting this morning to look at A Psalm for Thanksgiving. The theme of this psalm is that for the Christian everyday should be Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should be the foundation of our worship and it becomes that way when we approach God with a right attitude, when we understand who God is and understand His ownership of us. When we recognize what God has done for us through the Lord Jesus by providing for us salvation, by expressing His care and concern for us, and when we meditate on His attributes, His goodness, His lovingkindness, and His faithfulness; our response should be continuous thanksgiving. Are you a thankful person? Instead of just being thankful on Thanksgiving, instead of just being thankful for 30 days of thankfulness, lets be thankful everyday of the year, 365 days of thankfulness. One year could not even begin to exhaust the things we have to be thankful for in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let our worship be founded on thanksgiving, let our service be out of thanksgiving, and let our speech be infused with thanksgiving.
[1]Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 1456). Bible Communications, Inc.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.