Somewhere in a box in a closet (or maybe in an attic or a garage) in a small town in North Carolina is a cassette tape. On this cassette tape is a recording of a very confident, very southern 6 year old, reciting Psalm 100. That very confident, very southern 6 year old was me. It's a recording of one of the first scriptures I ever remember learning.
I have clear memories of my first grade teacher, who I absolutely adored, pressing record, telling me to speak slowly and clearly, and there I went, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness..." For the record, I had absolutely no idea what the King James "all ye lands" meant, but I could totally get down with making a joyful noise and serving with gladness.
Let's look at Psalm 100. In the King James, it's titled "A Psalm of praise." In the NIV, it's titled "A psalm. For giving grateful praise." In the ESV, which I'm using today, it's titled "His Steadfast Love Endures Forever: A Psalm for giving thanks." Read it here:
1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD,
all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
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 steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Full disclosure: it may be summertime, but the livin' ain't easy right now. I'm navigating some things, both external and in my own soul, that are just plain hard. There have been very recent times that I have been angry and sad. I have said, even and sometimes only to God, "it's not fair!" And the reality is, it's not fair. (Holy Spirit has reminded me that also not fair was Jesus going to the cross in my place...) I want you to know that I'm not writing this from a place where I feel like making a joyful noise. I've felt that before, and I know I will again, but it isn't today, and that's okay. My feelings aside, there are some things I want us to know about Psalm 100, verse by verse.
verse 1: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!"
This isn't a suggestion- it's a command. For all of us. The verb "make" tells us this is something we have to consciously do, and if you're on this planet, this command is for you. This includes the parts of the earth that tell of God's beauty, and it includes the parts of the earth that tell so clearly of the fall. All means all, and we're all to make a joyful noise.
verse 2: "Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!"
There is a reason we begin our church services with music- it's a biblical command to "come into his presence with singing!" We are commanded to serve with gladness, not with grumpiness. When it came to household chores or any undesirable task, my mom used to tell us as kids, "Do it with a loving heart." We rolled our eyes at the time, and we sometimes joke about "the loving heart" as adults, but my mom was teaching us about serving with gladness. We are commanded to serve with gladness, not grumpiness, because y'all, we get to. We get to serve him. God doesn't need me- the Kingdom and the power and the glory are already his- and yet, his banner over me is love. He invites me to be a part of what he is doing, and I get to say yes. Loving as he is, he lets us choose, knowing full well we won't always choose right. But by his grace, we can choose more and more correctly. We can choose to serve Him, and we can choose to do it with gladness.
verse 3: "Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."
To me, this short verse speaks of so many things. First, it speaks of God's sovereignty- He alone is over everything, and we are not actually over anything. He is the author and perfecter (Hebrews 12:2), which means I don't have to write my own story. It also means He may include some things I would like to skip, but He alone is God.
This verse also speaks of God making us, and if He made us, there are some things we can know about ourselves.
-He made us in His own image, and He called His creation of mankind "very good" (Genesis 1:26, 31). The people around us are also His image bearers, and should be treated as such.
-His works are wonderful (Psalm 139) and a masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).
-No matter who else forgets us, He will not forget- He has engraved His people on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:15-16).
This verse also reminds us we are the sheep of His pasture. Jesus is the good shepherd (John 10:11), and He tenderly cares for us, friends (Isaiah 40:11). We can rest in His personal care.
Also, this is completely a side note but I feel like someone reading this needs to hear this. My fellow Collective writer Jennifer Smith said this when she spoke at a women's conference this past fall, and I have carried it with me ever since. She said, "God didn't make you to hate you."
Boom. I also feel so compelled to add:
You're a part of the "all people" in Luke 2:10, and you're a part of "the world" that God SO loved and the "whosoever" in John 3:16. He loves you so and wants to give you eternal life. Jesus wants you to have it- He came so you could have life, and have it in the fullest possible way (John 10:10), and He died so you wouldn't have to be separated from God anymore. Go re-read that bit about His creation being very good and His works being wonderful and a masterpiece. Those aren't my words trying to make you feel good, those are the very Word of God, and it never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).
Back to our regularly scheduled psalm...
verse 4: "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!"
I don't know if my parents explicitly taught me this or if I just picked it up from listening to them pray, but I begin my prayers with a simple "thank You." I actually usually start with the phrase "thank You for today." I fully believe that we can bring our thoughts and feelings to God, and I trust that He wants me to tell Him what I need (Philippians 4:6). Let's bring our thanks for what He has already done before we start rattling off a list of needs, even when, perhaps especially when, our needs are great. I say this because (just like everything God does, because He's so loving like this) it's not just for His glory, but it's for our benefit! It is good for me to say thank you, because it makes me remember all the ways He's already been faithful. Remember that time I told you that the best predictor of what God is going to do is what God has already done? Saying "thank you" helps me recount those things He's already done, those prayers He has already answered, those ways He's shown Himself good and faithful. He gets the glory, and He uses it for my good, building my confidence in Him.
verse 5: "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."
All those things I've told you about in verses 1-4? Serving with gladness, acknowledging His sovereignty and living under His protection, giving thanks and praise? They are ways we get to experience the goodness of God. His faithful love lasts forever. For. Ev. Er. He's faithful to all generations- to my grandparents, and to my tiny daughter. This part is so important to me, because even though I say I trust God, and even though I want to trust God, the reality is I have to continually return to Him by His help and His grace. I have to continually return because I worry about my people- my husband and my child and my grandparents and my parents and my siblings and my nephew. Four generations I just listed, and I choose to trust Him when He says He is faithful to all of us and beyond. He loves me and mine, and He loves you and yours, with a love that never, ever ends. He is good.
Father, thank You for today. Thank you for your Word, and that it always achieves Your purposes. We praise You for your goodness, for your always and forever love. Help us serve you with gladness, from a place of love for You and not as an act of striving or as a way to try to earn Your love, which You give us so freely. Forgive us when we forget that it's something we get to do, not something you make us do, and forgive us when we make it about us when it's all about You, Jesus. Help us choose wisely; help us choose You. Lord, may it be so.
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