notes

Main point summary

Worship and serve the God who created you and made a covenant with you. Put another way, thank him because he is good and you can count on him.

Arc

editing

OT

Psalms 100:1-5

esv

mine

p Make a joyful noise to the Lord , all the earth!

Every living thing should praise God!

q Serve the Lord with gladness!

Obey him and do good works and be joyful as you do so!

r Come into his presence with singing!

Sing praise songs to him!

series

Know that s the Lord , he is God!

Acknowledge that Yahweh is God!

It is he who t made us,

He made us,

and u we are his; 1

and we belong to him;

we are his v people,

that is, we are the people of God,

and w the sheep of his pasture.

the flock of which he is shepherd.

ideaexplanation

progression

actionmanner

x Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

Have a thankful demeanor when you approach him,

and his y courts with praise!

as well as a demeanor filled with praise!

Give thanks to him;

Thank him;

z bless his name!

declare his greatness.

a For the Lord is good;

God is due all of this praise and thanks because he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

his persistent love will last forever,

and his b faithfulness to all generations.

and his trustworthiness will never end.

ground

Thank God for who he is and what he has done.

Acknowledge God as our creator and sustainer.

Joyfully serve God and worship him.

Joyfully serve and worship Yahweh, acknowledging him as creator and remembering the covenant he made with you.

discourse

Phrase

Psalms 100:1-5

Joyfully worship and serve him

The command to worship Yahweh, Israel’s God

Make a joyful noise ... all the earth!

to the Lord,

Destination

Serve the Lord

with gladness!

Manner

Come into his presence

with singing!

Acknowledge who you are worshipping

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.

Reference

The command to thank Yahweh

Thank him

Enter his gates

with thanksgiving,

and his courts

with praise!

Give thanks

to him;

bless his name!

The reason for thanks

For the Lord is good;

Ground

his steadfast love endures forever,

Explanation

and his faithfulness to all generations.

phrasing

Short exposition

Worshipping God is an essential part of being a Christian. But how do we worship God? What does worship require of us? Rather than assuming that our understanding of how to worship is correct, we should look to the Bible to see how God wants us to worship him. Psalm 100 commands us to worship God and shows us what worship requires of us. Specifically, this Psalm shows us that worship requires all of us and that worship requires our thankfulness. Point #1: worship requires all of us Point number one: worship requires all of us. Worship is not something that we do half-heartedly for an hour once per week. Rather, God requires us to worship him with our emotions, our bodies, and our minds. Put another way, we are to worship him with our emotions and by taking action, and we should undergird this worship with knowledge of God. Worship requires our emotions In verses 1 and 2, we see how God requires us to worship him with our emotions. Specifically, God wants us to worship him joyfully. Verse 1 commands us to make a “joyful” noise to the Lord. And verse 2 tells us to serve the Lord with “gladness.” If we serve God begrudgingly, we don’t ascribe worth to him. But when we say, “There is nothing I would rather be doing right now than serving God!” that ascribes much worth to him. It declares that God is our greatest treasure. But as we all experience, sometimes we don’t naturally feel this joy. In these times, we should confess this lack of joy to God and ask him to work in our hearts. Also, we should actively work to have joy and pleasure in God. It doesn’t come without work! How do we work for joy? One way is to figure out what activities lead us to enjoy God give priority to those things. Perhaps for you, this means reading the Bible meditatively, or reading good Christian books, or listening to God-glorifying hymns. Whatever it is, take the time to cultivate joy in God so that your worship will be joyful. Worship requires taking action But we shouldn’t think that worship only involves our emotions. We also see that worship requires us to take action. Verse 1 says to make a joyful noise. Verse 2 says to serve the Lord with gladness and to come into his presence. Each of these commands requires us to take action and not be passive. They require us to give our time and energy to God. When we devote time and energy to him, this ascribes worth to him. It shows that we love him. When I serve my wife joyfully, it shows that I love her and value her. Regarding serving the Lord in verse 2, how do we serve God? Service can mean doing something directly for God, such as giving money to support our local church. Or it can mean doing something good for others, such as helping a neighbor with raking leaves. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 that when others see our good works, they also give glory to God. So, as we serve God in various ways, it shows that we find God glorious, and it also leads others to find him glorious. Worship requires us to think rightly about God But worship doesn’t just require our emotions and our actions. It also requires our minds. Verse 3 commands us to know something as we worship God. This knowledge is to undergird our worship. But what are we supposed to know? Verse 3 says that we should know that the Lord is God. We are not God. There is no other God but him. We need to humbly acknowledge this fact as we worship. The rest of verse 3 explains more about who this God is. It says that we should know that he made us . We are not responsible for our creation. Our parents are not ultimately responsible. And neither evolution nor natural selection is responsible. No, God is responsible. When we worship God, we need to admit that. We need to have a humble posture toward him. Prideful worship is not the worship that God commands. That’s why it is good to worship God by singing hymns and songs about our weakness and about how we are lost without Jesus. Singing such songs helps us have an appropriately humble attitude as we worship him. And verse 3 also says that we should know that “we are his” and that “we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” As we worship, we should realize that we are not our own. We belong to God. And God cares for us. All of this knowledge that verse 3 commands us to have should be the foundation of our worship. We don’t just worship an unknown God. We worship a specific God who made us and who cares for us. Point #2: worship requires thankfulness Verses 1-3 show us that we are to worship God and undergird worship with the right knowledge about God. Verses 4-5 repeat the idea of verses 1-3 but focus on thankfulness. Thus, we see that worship is thankful. When we worship God, we should remember what he has done for his people. And what he has done for us individually. We should bring to mind specific things he has done for us. Like how he has provided our daily bread. And how he is sanctifying us. To not be thankful to God is a sin. Romans 1:21 describes the sin of unbelievers and says that “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” So, instead of giving God the thanks that he deserved, their thinking became corrupted, and their hearts became darkened. But if you are a Christian, God has opened your eyes to see that God deserves the credit for every good thing in your life. So, Christians should regularly thank God for these good things. Make this a practice in your life. Thank God during your time alone with him. Tell your family the things for which you are thankful. Tell others in your church also. The reason for thanks Finally, we see that our thankfulness should be directed to a specific God and that we should be thankful to him for who he is. Look with me at the word “for” in verse 5 . This word links verses 4 and 5 . And the link is that the reason that we should thank God is because of who he is and what he has done. We don’t just worship a vague understanding of God. That leads our worship to be stale and lifeless. Instead, we worship God for who he is and what he has done. We worship God because he is good and because we can trust him, as verse 5 says. That’s why it is a good idea to sing theologically rich songs that are specific about who God is and what he has done. When Jesus is discussing the right way to worship God with a Samaritan woman in John 4, he says in verse 24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Worship should involve joyful emotions, and it should be based on true things about God, namely his character and what he has done. Conclusion So, this Psalm commands us to worship God and show us how to obey this command. Lord, help us please you by our worship.

Observations about worship

To start, I want to ask you this question: what is your purpose? What should you be doing with your life? This is a question I think about a lot. And my guess is that many of you think about it a lot also. Without a purpose, we struggle. We lack motivation. We lack energy and enthusiasm. Thankfully, the Bible tells us that our purpose is to glorify God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” And one way we glorify God is by worshipping him. When we worship God, we ascribe worth to God. But what does it mean to worship God? How do we do this practically? How does God want us to worship him? Rather than assuming that our natural understanding of worship is correct, we should look to the Bible to see how God wants us to worship him. Psalm 100 provides us some helpful guidance about how to worship God. Specifically, I want to look at seven things this Psalm teaches us about worship. Worship is commanded Number one: we see that worship is commanded. Notice all of the commands in this psalm: “make” in verse 1 ; “serve” and “come” in verse 2 ; “know” in verse 3 ; and finally “enter”, “give thanks”, and “bless” in verse 4 . Worship is not something we just do when we feel like it. Worship is something required of all humans. If we don’t worship God regularly, we are sinning. So, we should be proactive to obey this command. We should regularly worship with our church. We should worship with our family. It is also a good practice to worship God in solitude. When we read our Bible and pray, we should make sure that we are also worshipping God for who he is and what he has done. Worship is joyful Number two: we see that worship is joyful. Verse 1 commands us to make a “joyful” noise to the Lord. And verse 2 tells us to serve the Lord with “gladness”. If we serve God begrudgingly, we don’t ascribe worth to him. But when we say, “There is nothing I would rather be doing right now than serving God!” that ascribes much worth to him! It declares that God is our greatest treasure. But as we all experience, sometimes we don’t naturally feel this joy. In these times we should confess this lack of joy to God and ask him to work in our hearts. In addition, we should actively work to have joy in God. It doesn’t come without work! How do we work for joy? One way is to figure out what activities lead us to enjoy God give priority to those things. Perhaps for you this means reading the Bible meditatively. Or reading good Christian books. Or listening to god-glorifying hymns. Whatever it is, take the time to cultivate joy in God so that your worship will be joyful. Worship includes service Number three: worship isn’t just singing but also includes service. When we devote our time and energy to God, this ascribes worth to God. It shows that he is worth our time and energy and money. It shows that we love him. When I serve my wife joyfully, it shows that I love her and value her. So, practically, how do we serve God? Service can mean doing something directly for God such as giving money to support our local church. Or it can mean doing something good for others such as helping a neighbor with raking leaves. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 that when others see our good works, they also give glory to God. So, as we serve God in various ways, it shows that we find God glorious, and it also leads others to find him glorious. Worship is directed towards a personal God Number four: worship is directed toward a specific personal God, the God of Israel. This psalm is not addressed to a generic God, but rather the God of Israel. In some of your Bibles the word “Lord” is written in small capital letters. This is because this word is a translation of the Hebrew word “Yahweh”, which is the specific name that God gave for himself when he made a covenant with Israel. When an Israelite reader would see this name, they would think of their God who made a covenant with them. They would recall all that Yahweh had done for them. And if you are a Christian, then God has also made a covenant with you. Luke 22:20 , which describes the last meal between Jesus and his disciples before Jesus went to the cross, speaks of the cup of wine that they shared with dinner and records Jesus as saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” So, just as Israel was called to worship their personal God who they were in covenant with, we are called to worship our personal God, who made a covenant with by sending his Son to suffer and die for us. So, when we worship God in various ways, we should have on our minds the new covenant, the gospel, in which Christ died for sinners so that we could become God’s people. Worship is humble Number five: worship is humble. Notice how verse three says that the Lord is God. We are not God. There is no other God but him. We need to humbly acknowledge that. And it says, “he made us”. We are not responsible for our creation. Our parents are not ultimately responsible. And evolution or natural selection are not responsible. No, God is responsible. When we worship God, we need to admit that. We need to have a humble posture toward him. Prideful worship is not the worship God commands. That’s why it is good to worship God by singing hymns and songs about our weakness and about how we are lost without Jesus. This helps us have an appropriately humble attitude as we worship him. Worship is thankful Number six: worship is thankful. When we worship God, we should remember what he has done for his people. And what he has done for us individually. We should bring to mind specific things he has done for us. Like how he has provided our daily bread. And how he is sanctifying us. To not be thankful to God is sin. Romans 1:21 describes the sin of unbelievers and says that “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” So, instead of giving God the thanks that he deserved, their thinking became corrupted and their hearts became darkened. But if you are a Christian, God has opened your eyes to see that God deserves the credit for every good thing in your life. So, Christians should regularly thank God for these good things. Make this a practice in your life. Thank God in your time alone with him. Tell your family the things you are thankful for. Tell others in your church also. Worship is rational Finally, number seven: worship is rational. Look with me at the word “for” in verse 5 . This word is making a connection between verse 5 and verses 1-4. And the connection is that the reason that we should worship God is because of who he is and what he has done. We don’t just worship a vague understanding of God. That leads our worship to be lukewarm. Rather, we worship God for who he is and what he has done. We worship God because he is good and because we can trust him, as verse 5 says. That’s why it is a good idea to sing theologically rich songs that are specific about who God is and what he has done. When Jesus is discussing the right way to worship God with a Samaritan woman in John 4 he says in verse 24, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Worship should involve joyful emotions and it should be based on truth about God, namely his character and what he has done. So, this short teaching on Psalm 100 probably doesn’t answer all your questions about worship. But Psalm 100 does give us much guidance about worshipping God, which is our purpose. May we find much joy in fulfilling this purpose and giving glory to God.