Psalm 100 - Thanksgiving to Jesus!!!
Psalms 100: Thanksgiving to Jesus!!!
Psa 100 (KJV) Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
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.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
The hymn "Old Hundredth" ("All People That on Earth Do Dwell")
is based on this psalm, as is the familiar "Doxology." Thanking the
Lord is something we must do with our lives as well as with our lips.
How shall we do it?
By serving (2). "Enter to worship-depart to serve" should be
written clearly above the door to the church sanctuary. Too many people
serve themselves and not the Lord, and too often we do not serve the
Lord "with gladness." The Lord loves a cheerful servant.
By submitting (3). As creatures, we submit to the Creator who
made us. As sheep, we submit to the Shepherd who died for us and now
leads us in His paths. He not only made us, but He is making us as we
yield to Him (Eph. 2:10). Submission means fulfillment.
By sacrificing (4-5). As priests, we are privileged to offer
spiritual sacrifices to the Lord (1 Pet. 2:5). They include our songs of
praise (Heb. 13:15), good works (Heb. 13:18), and material gifts (Phil.
4:15-18). Because of who He is (v. 5) and what He does for us, He is
certainly worthy of our joyful thanks. [Chapter by Chapter Bible
Commentary by Warren Wiersbe]
In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine
Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new
capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience
to all His requirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of
the working of the Holy Spirit. DA189
It is working together with Christ that is true worship.
Prayers, exhortation, and talk are cheap fruits, which are frequently
tied on; but fruits that are manifested in good works, in caring for
the needy, the fatherless, and widows, are genuine fruits, and grow
naturally upon a good tree. 2T24
Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who
serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant
to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage,
but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace his
throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his
servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with
songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their
ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the
Lord looketh at the heart, and if he seeth that we serve him from
force, and not because we love him, he will reject our offering.
Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true.
Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed
the test of his sincerity. If a man be driven to battle, he is no
patriot; but he who marches into the fray with flashing eye and beaming
face, singing, "It is sweet for one's country to die," proves himself
to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support of our
strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of
difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway
carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if
there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will
be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service
of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,
"Make me to walk in thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road."
Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with
gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion
to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our
gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master. [Charles H. Spurgeon,
Morning and Evening]
This God we sing to, He is Lord of all creation! We were lost
without the power to save ourselves, and He saved us! We were lonely,
and He became our friend. We were hungry and He fed us food from
heaven. We were powerless and He has caused us to have great success. .
. . So remember the Rock of our salvation. Sing with all your
heart to your God. Haleleu-Jah! [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]
The Majesty of Christ
Our Lord would have all his people rich in high and happy
thoughts concerning his blessed person. Jesus is not content that his
brethren should think meanly of him; it is his pleasure that his espoused
ones should be delighted with his beauty. We are not to regard him as
a bare necessary, like to bread and water, but as a luxurious
delicacy, as a rare and ravishing delight. To this end he has revealed
himself as the "pearl of great price" in its peerless beauty, as the
"bundle of myrrh" in its refreshing fragrance, as the "rose of Sharon"
in its lasting perfume, as the "lily" in its spotless purity.
As a help to high thoughts of Christ, remember the estimation
that Christ is had in beyond the skies, where things are measured by
the right standard. Think how God esteems the Only Begotten, his
unspeakable gift to us. Consider what the angels think of him, as they count
it their highest honour to veil their faces at his feet. Consider
what the blood-washed think of him, as day without night they sing
his well deserved praises. High thoughts of Christ will enable us to
act consistently with our relations towards him. The more loftily we
see Christ enthroned, and the more lowly we are when bowing before
the foot of the throne, the more truly shall we be prepared to act
our part towards him. Our Lord Jesus desires us to think well of
him, that we may submit cheerfully to his authority. High thoughts of
him increase our love. Love and esteem go together. Therefore,
believer, think much of your Master's excellencies. Study him in his
primeval glory, before he took upon himself your nature! Think of the
mighty love which drew him from his throne to die upon the cross!
Admire him as he conquers all the powers of hell! See him risen,
crowned, glorified! Bow before him as the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the
mighty God, for only thus will your love to him be what it should.
[Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening]
The Awesome Gift of Christ
All the paternal love which has come down from generation to
generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of
tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to
the boundless ocean when compared with the infinite, exhaustless
love of God. Tongue cannot utter it; pen cannot portray it. You may
meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures
diligently in order to understand it; you may summon every power and
capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love
and compassion of the heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity
beyond. You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully
comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the
love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself
can never fully reveal it. Yet as we study the Bible and meditate
upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great
themes will open to our understanding more and more. 5T740
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