Psalm 100, what a wonderful Psalm
this is. Just under the title, just under
Psalm 100, it says a Psalm of praise. That word praise translates Thanksgiving. This is a psalm of thanksgiving. You know, it is good to give
thanks unto the Lord. It really is. It really is a
good thing. It's good to just worship Him
with a heart of thanksgiving. Just worship Him with a heart
of praise. Just honor, glorifying. Thanksgiving praise. That's a
good thing. That's a very good thing. Let
me show you something over in Psalm 34. Turn with me if you
would to Psalm 34. Psalm 34 verse one says, I will bless the Lord at all times. Now, David experienced some hard
times. We, we can't imagine what it
was like to live the life that David lived. He experienced some
hard times. At this particular moment, he
is running for his life. If you look at the heading under
this title, it says a Psalm of David when he changed his behavior
before Abimelech who drove him away and he departed. You remember
he acted like a madman. He had spit coming down, running
down his beard because he thought he was about to die. He was literally
running for his life at this moment. He is experiencing a
very horrible time, a time of sorrow, a time of pain,
a time of fear, but the spirit of God in him. And that's, that's
the source of this at all times, the spirit of God in him. Aren't you so thankful for the
spirit of God? The Spirit of God in him graciously
allowed him to say during this horrible moment, he said, I will
bless the Lord at all times. I will kneel before. I will praise. I will thank the Lord. At all
times, it takes the grace of God and the spirit of God for
a man or a woman to say that. He went on to say in verse one,
his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall
make her boast in the Lord. The word boast means celebration. My soul shall make her celebration
in the Lord. There's not much on this earth
to celebrate. But David said, my soul shall
make her celebration in the Lord. He said in verse two, the humble
shall hear thereof and be glad. They're going to hear about it.
They are going to hear about it. At all times, they are going
to hear about the great things that the Lord has done for me.
The great and wonderful things. And those that have been made
to be thankful with me, those that have been humbled with me,
they're going to be glad when they hear how great things the
Lord has done for me. Those who can say, the Lord has
done great things for me too. When they hear it, they are going
to be glad. And it is so true. We can be
experiencing the hardest times ever, but when the spirit of
God wells up inside us and brings the remembrance of the great
things the Lord has done for us, it makes us glad. Amazingly
at times when you just wouldn't imagine it. We're so glad. Verse
three, right here in Psalm 34, David said, Oh, magnify the Lord
with me and let us exalt his name together. Let's do it together. I pray that happens in here tonight.
I pray that we all magnify the Lord together and exalt his name
together. Why are you saying that David?
Verse four, because he said, I sought the Lord and he heard
me and delivered me from all my fears. Now, see if you can
enter into this. This just blessed my heart. Okay.
He said in verse four, I sought the Lord. He said, let's magnify
the Lord and exalt his name together. And here's why I sought the Lord
and he heard me. and delivered me from all my
fears." Now watch verse five. He said, they, he's talking about
my fears. They looked unto him. Oh, may the Lord cause that to
enter us. All my fears. He said, let's
all magnify the Lord together. And here's the reason why. All
my fears, He heard me and He delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto Him and were lightened. All my fears were
lightened. And their faces, my fears' faces
were not ashamed. They're all delivered, all lightened,
all put away. Turn with me over to Psalm 62. Psalm 62 verse eight, it says,
trust in him at all times, all times, good times, bad times,
happy times, sad times, fearful times, lonely times. Trust in Him at all times. Ye people, pour out your heart
before Him. God is a refuge for us. And He
is. And that word Sela means you
just pause and dwell on that. Trust in Him at all times. Ye people, pour out your heart
before Him. God is a refuge for us. Just,
just enter into that. Dwell on that. Well, back in
Psalm 100, this is a Psalm of praise. It's a Psalm of thanksgiving. And verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all ye lands, all the earth. In a moment, Lord willing, we're
going to end this with, with, uh, A song that says, all people
that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
All people. All people sing to him with a
cheerful voice. That's why it's a joyful noise
and it's a psalm of praise. It's because it's to the Lord.
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. It's from the heart, from
the soul of a child of God to the Lord. I love that he didn't
say express with perfect words, your joy unto the Lord. perfectly tell him how you, how
you feel. Sometimes there are no words. Sometimes you just cannot find
the words. Sometimes there is just something
inside the soul that groans. Sometimes that that's all there
is. Sometimes the most sincerely heartfelt praise that we can
give to Him is a joyful noise, just a joyful noise, something
that cannot be put into words. That's what God's Holy Spirit
does for us on our behalf. That's what God's Spirit intercedes
for us with. Don't turn over there, but Romans
8 verse 26, it says, the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. Do you believe we have any infirmities?
Do you believe that we have any weaknesses, any sicknesses, any
frailties, any lack? Oh, we're so lacking. Everything
about us is so lacking. We cannot do anything without
the Spirit of God. We cannot gather in His name. We cannot worship Him. We cannot
read His word. Have you ever tried to read the
word and you just can't? Have you ever tried that? We
cannot hear the message. We cannot pray. Have you ever
tried to pray and you just can't? We need God's spirit, but listen
to this. It says the spirit helpeth our
infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought,
but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered." While we're over here so cold and so
dead and so tired and so weak and so wrong and so miserable,
the Spirit is fervently pouring out prayers to God on our behalf
with groanings that cannot be uttered. That's a comfort, isn't
it? Verse 1 says, Make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all ye lands. Who is the Lord? Knowing who
the Lord is will cause us to make a joyful noise to him. Knowing
who he truly is will cause us to make that joyful noise. So
who is the Lord? We'll turn back a page to Psalm
95. Psalm 95 verse one, it says,
Oh, come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise
to the rock of our salvation. That's who the Lord is. He is
the rock of our salvation. He is that rock that was smitten. He is that rock that was broken. He is the rock that was cleft
for His people. He is the rock that all of His
people are hiding inside. He's the rock that shelters us
from the storm. He shields us from the wrath.
He stands firm for us. He upholds us. He's that rock
that pours out living water for us. Our joyful noise is to the
Lord, and it's because He is the rock of our salvation. Back
in Psalm 100, David says in verse two, Serve the Lord with gladness. Now, I have a habit of writing
Salah in my notes, and I have a big Salah with an arrow drawn
to it. It's in brackets. It's circled.
All right, serve the Lord with gladness. Serve the Lord with
gladness. Everything is going to be OK. All right. Everything is going
to be okay. We may not have all the answers,
but we have the outcome. Everything is going to be okay. It's going to be okay. everything. How can you say that? How can
you know that? How can you with confidence tell
people that? How? It's because this is the
Lord I rock we're talking about. That's why. Everything that he
is doing is perfectly ordered and sure. Everything he is doing. He only does good. Think about this. He does everything. And he only does good. You heard that ambulance go by
just a minute ago. He's in charge of that. He does everything. And everything He does is right. Everything that He does is good
and it's right. So whatever it is that He is
doing with us right now, let's bow to it. Let's trust it. Trust it. Let's endure it. Let's submit to it, give into
it, follow it. Let's be willing bond servants
of the Lord. We don't know everything that
he's doing, but we know he's doing it. We don't understand
why he's doing it, but we know he's doing it. So let's serve him. Let's follow
him. Let's bow to him. Let's submit
to him and everything he's doing with gladness. Everything's going
to be okay. The end of verse two says, come
before his presence with singing. Singing means triumph. You know,
we wouldn't have a heart. We would, we would be cold and
we would be heartless and we would be unloving if we did not
experience moments of sorrow and pain and sympathy for the
ones we love. You know, you, you think, well,
no matter what it is, just be glad and be happy over it. We
wouldn't have a heart if we did not, as we are commanded in the
word, weep with those that we. But even though there are times
that we come before his presence with sorrow and with weeping,
we still come before him in triumph. It may be with sorrow. Sorrow
may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning.
And we come before him no matter what in triumph, we come with
thanks unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ. He triumphed over us. He triumphed
over sin. He triumphed over death. If we
could ever just enter into that, he triumphed over death. Just the fact that we're allowed
to come before His presence at all. Think about that. In Christ, we are allowed to
approach His throne boldly. This is the Holy God. This is
the judge of all the earth, who by no means clears the guilty
in. In Christ, we can approach his
throne with boldness and we won't be rejected. Think about that. You won't, in Christ, you won't
be rejected. You won't be turned away. You
will not be slain at first sight. Because we've been made to be
accepted in the beloved. So just in the fact that we're
allowed to come before him, that's triumph. That's plenty of reason
to start singing just for that alone. Verse three says, know
ye that the Lord, he is God. Who is the Lord? Who is the Lord
I rock? Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. I'm looking so forward to laying
physical eyes on Jesus of Nazareth. I can't wait to see him. Thomas
looked at the prince in his hands, that man's hands, Jesus of Nazareth,
and he felt the wound in his side, and this is what he said,
my Lord and my God, you are my God. Verse three says, know ye
that the Lord, Jesus Christ, he is God. He is the sovereign
God. It is He that hath made us and
not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep
of His pasture. Whatever He's doing with us,
whatever is going on in each one of our individual lives,
honestly, does He not have the right to do it? Whatever He's
doing, whatever's going on with each one of us, whether He wounds
us, Heals us, kills us, or makes us alive. Does He not have the
right to do with us as He pleases? He made us. Jesus Christ formed
Adam from the dust of the ground, and He formed each one of us
in the belly. He said, before I formed you
in the belly. So shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, why have you made me thus? This condition
I'm in, why have you made me? Why are you doing this with me?
Don't we cry, God forbid. God forbid. Think about this.
We get to be his people. There's no pride in that. There's
no arrogance in that. There's no boasting in that.
There's just amazement and wonder. We get to be the sheep of his
pasture. Can you enter into what that
means? He is the great shepherd of the sheep. He is the only
shepherd who ever gave his life for the sheep. He made himself
to be the substitute of his sheep. He was slaughtered for His sheep, that He might bring all of His
sheep into His fold. And this is what He has prepared
for us. He has prepared an everlasting pasture, a green pasture for
all of His sheep. We are accepted sheep because
we're His sheep. Look with me at Ezekiel 34. I
love this so much. I love this. Ezekiel 34. Verse 11 says, For thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep
and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the
countries and will bring them to their own land and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers and in all the
inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. There
shall they lie in a good fold and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. That sounds wonderful. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come, buy,
eat, let your soul delight itself in fatness. Back in Psalm 100, Verse four says, enter into his gates with thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless
his name. And here's the reason why three
reasons to be exact. Verse five says, for the Lord
is good. Good means gracious. Because God loved, God gave. Because he loved, he gave. He
gave his only begotten son. Christ gave his blood. He gave his life. We were all
saved by his graciousness. We may not have the favor of
this world. This world may not be in our favor. But in Christ,
we have been highly favored by God. In Christ, we have been
shown the favor of God Almighty. This world may not show us any
favor, but in Christ, we have been shown all the favor of God
Almighty by grace, by His graciousness. We have been saved. Verse four
says, 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. His mercy toward us. Bless his
name because of his mercy. What is his name? His name is
Savior. Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me. Bless His holy name. That's Psalm
103. Look, turn over one page to Psalm
103. Verse 1 says, Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth
thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness
and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executeth
righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed, He made
known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in
mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. And
I love verse 13, it says, like as a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our
frame, he remembereth that we're dust. As for man, his days are
as grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For
the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof
shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and
his righteousness unto children's children." Don't you want your
children and your grandchildren to be saved? To such as keep His covenant
and to those that remember His commandments to do them, the
Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens and His kingdom
ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye His angels
that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of His word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His
hosts, you ministers of His that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord. all his works in all places of
his dominion, and then bless the Lord, oh my soul. Bless the
Lord. No matter what state of being
we are in, no matter what emotional state, no matter what physical
state, if we are his sheep, he has given us what we did not
deserve. No matter what our state is,
We can know and take comfort in the fact that he has given
us what we did not deserve. He's given us deliverance. He's
given us redemption. He's given us the substitution
of his blood. He's given us union with Christ. He's given us adoption into his
family. He's given us a joint heir inheritance. All that's called grace. If we're His sheep, He's given
us what we didn't deserve. And He has not given us what
we did deserve. Judgment, wrath, punishment,
destruction, damnation, eternal separation from Him. That's what
we deserved. But not giving us all that is
called mercy. Not getting what we deserved.
Realizing that will cause us to enter into his gates with
thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. All right, I'm done. Back in Psalm 100, verse four
says, the end of verse four says, be thankful unto him and bless
his name for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and
his truth endureth to all generations. Now you know the Lord has been
gracious to us. He really has. He's been very merciful to us.
And there is hope for our children. I don't care how old our children
become, they're still our children. Abraham had a father and a mother
and he was 75 when God had mercy on him. There is hope for our children. His truth, which is Christ Himself.
The promise of Christ, the promise of His Word, His truth will endure. This is the most precious promise. It will endure to every generation. Every single generation that
stands on this earth. So for that reason, may we teach
our children All right, this is a real exhortation for us.
May we teach our children to make a joyful noise unto the
Lord at all times. May they see us and learn from
our example to serve the Lord with gladness. They're watching
us. At all times, may they see us
and learn from our example to come before His presence with
singing. May God teach them like He taught
us that the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, He is God. Tell them
that. He's God. He made us. We didn't make ourselves. We're
His people. We're the sheep of His pasture.
And we must at all times enter into His gates with thanksgiving
and into His courts with praise. We must be thankful unto Him
and bless His name at all times, for the Lord is good. No matter
what our world is saying to us at any given moment, let's remember
the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and
His truth endureth to all generations. All right, now we're gonna sing
what we have just been reading. All right, let's all stand together.
Hymn number eight is Psalm 100. If you remember these five verses
that we just read, we're about to sing and they're all right
here. All people that on earth do dwell, this is just a wonderful
psalm, hymn number eight.