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Thanksgiving
November 26, 2020
Psalm 100:1-5 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.
As I read Psalm 100 again, I was blessed as I re-acquainted myself with the meaning of the words in the original language. For instance, a joyful shout, rendered as noise in some translations, carries with it the idea of making an enthusiastically joyful, “ear-awakening” sound of praise to the Lord. All you lands and in His presence, speak to the Self-Existent-Eternal God, YHWH, speaking His Divine Revelation into and through His creation. He also continues to endow His receptive creation (each of His children) with the ability to praise Him for His enduring righteousness and to fulfill the Royal Law with an infectious attitude of gratitude (Psalm 69:34; 95:4-5; 96:11-13; 98:7-8; Mark 12:28-31, Philippians 2:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; James 2:8).
He is God…who has made us; reminds me that YHWH is the Creator God and Good Shepherd. Therefore, He is intimately aware of how to care for His children, His sheep (Psalm 23). The Scriptures point out that people without Godly leaders are like sheep without a caring and attentive Shepherd. Without Jesus’ ongoing care, people continue to be separated from Him and open to all manner of attacks from Satan, because they continue to reject Jesus’ Lordship in their lives (John 10:1-30; Ephesians 2:11-13; 1 Peter 2).
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving is God extending to repentant sinners, the ministry and privilege of coming into the Creator-Savior’s presence to discuss matters of Spiritual importance. As we reflect upon His graciousness, we cannot help but declare adoration toward our gracious and merciful King. This is likened to the Old Testament function of meeting within the city gates to discuss civic matters with those in authority (Hebrews 4:14-16, 10:19-25).
For the Lord is good– He is the Establisher of all that is perfect, true, and holy. Rest assured, the Lord will sustain His mercy (loving-kindness) throughout every generation. To Him alone, be all power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing (Revelation 5)!
Pastor Marsh