True worshipers should be joyful worshipers. If we serve Him in uprightness, realizing all His goodness, we cannot but serve Him with gladness, intermixing praise with all our service.
Psalm 1
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 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.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 100 – Universal Praise
If we could enter into the spirit of this psalm, every day would be a Thanksgiving Day. The psalmist invites all the earth to enter into the courts of God’s house with joyful songs. In many of the Psalms the minor chords overpower the major ones, and weeping prevails over rejoicing. But this psalm is full of unclouded sunlight. The reason for this gladness is suggested in the words: We are his: His by creation, by providence, and by grace; and His also by the glad consecration of our hearts to His service. We belong to Him by right; it is for us to see to it that we are also His by choice. And His ownership involves His shepherd-care. We are His flock; it is for Him to lead us into green pastures and beside still waters.
To the psalmist’s eye the nations of the world pour into the Temple through the wide-open portals. “Hark!” he cries. “Listen to the burst of thanksgivings which roll forth from the mighty throng!” The great attraction is the goodness of Jehovah, and the everlastingness of His love and troth. This psalm reveals the true genius of religion. We cannot be satisfied till all men share our knowledge of the love of God. There is nothing which will better promote the true happiness and gladness of mankind. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 100:3—We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
The sense of God’s proprietorship is the true basis of our consecration. We must realize his rights over us before we can freely give Him his due. Those rights are manifold in their sweet reasonableness; but amongst them all, this of creation is one of the chief. God has a right to us because He has made us.
He made us, as the potter fashions the clay, for a distinct purpose; and surely He has a right to use the vessels of his workmanship for the purpose unto which He has designed them.
He made us, as the builder erects a house for the purpose of inhabiting it; and surely He has a right to occupy every distinct room, and go to and fro in it as He may please.
He made us, as the hand of the weaver makes some textile fabric for wearing; and surely He must not be debarred from the free and unquestioned disposal of that on which He has expended anxiety and time.
We are Christ’s by creation, by purchase, by toils and tears, by the gift of the Father. The Good Shepherd owns us, though we do not always acknowledge his ownership, or repay his pains and wounds on our behalf. Look up into his face and say, “I am thine by a myriad ties, and am bound to Thee for evermore. Lead me where Thou wilt; guide me whither Thou choosest; count me as one of thy people; feed me on thy pasture-lands; make as much of me as Thou canst, this aide of heaven; number me with thy saints in glory everlasting.”
“With bowed heads and open hearts, may we offer ourselves. We can do no more, and we dare do no less.” —Our Daily Homily
