Come back to Psalm 100. Psalm 100. To my knowledge, I've never prepared
a message around a holiday, but today I just could not get away
from this matter of Thanksgiving. If there
is a holiday worth having, it is one of Thanksgiving. This psalm is called a psalm
of praise. Over in the margin, it is called
a psalm of thanksgiving. If ever a people had a reason
to give thanks, it's the people of God. It's us. It's us. We have in Christ more
than can be imagined. If we look at God's creation
and look at the beauty of it, even with sin in it and all that's
in it, think how much more we have in Christ and in that world
to come than can even be imagined. We are a people set free from
the curse of the law. And that's a very real curse.
And we're set free from it. We are a people set at liberty
to worship God in spirit and in truth. My, what a blessing. What a reason to give thanks
for that we can, with liberty, worship God. Worship the living
God. We are a people who were not
a people, but are now the people of God. Our ancestry, if you
go back far enough, our ancestry was not a people. Go back to
the Gentile world. They were not a people. But the
gospel has been sent to you and to me because God has a people. He has a people here. How blessed,
how thankful, how thankful we are to our God for what He's
done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, He starts out here
and He says, make a joyful noise. Joyful. That's the reason I read
Ezra. Once they laid their foundation,
they made a joyful noise. They couldn't tell the noise
of the weeping from the noise of joy. Make a joyful noise. Unto the Lord. Not just a noise. We can do that. There's a whole
lot of people who do that in religion. Religion makes a noise.
But not a joyful noise. Not a real joyful noise. That
doesn't mean screaming and shouting. That doesn't mean that. It means
to make a noise that's from the heart. A noise that's from the
heart. And make it unto the Lord. All
ye lands. Make known what the Lord has
done for you. We have been going through the book of Matthew.
How many times did the Lord heal someone and He says, you go back
home. Remember that demonic? He said,
I want to go with you. He said, no, you go home and
you tell them what great things the Lord has done for you. You go home and tell them what
great things the Lord has done for you. And this is a gospel
command for people of all nationalities. He made of one blood all nations. And He's going to save out of
all nations a people for Himself. And they are to praise and thank
Him for His great salvation that He's given in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Someday, someday, we'll do this
perfectly. Look over in Revelation Revelation
chapter 21. Let me back up here in verse 22. And I saw no temple therein,
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine
in it. For the glory of God did lighten
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them
which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings
of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates
of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no
night there." There's no reason to fear, no reason to shut the
gates. Nothing that offends is going to enter in. And they shall
bring the glory and honor of the nations into it." That's
what he's saying here. Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all ye nations. All ye nations. His grace reaches
to the farthest ends of the earth. That means to us. When this was
written, where was it written? And who was the farthest ends
of the earth? Us. This was written over in Palestine.
David wrote this. And when he wrote this, he's
talking about all ye lands. He's talking about us. This is
a prophecy of us. You rejoice. You rejoice. And here's a reason for us to
rejoice. He has not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Here we sit, singing the praises of God, reading
His Word, hearing His Gospel preached, because He's not dealt
with us after our sins. He dealt with our substitute.
He dealt with His Son. And that's why you and I have
reason to rejoice and be thankful and to give thanks. And then,
serve the Lord, He says here, with gladness. Worship or serve
the Lord here with gladness. This is the only way he can be
served, really, and be accepted, is with gladness. I saw something
over here in Deuteronomy today. Look at this, over in Deuteronomy
chapter 28. This is the only way he can be served. The only way he truly can be
worshipped is with gladness. Glad to be here. Glad to sit
under the gospel. Glad to hear His Word. Look here
in Deuteronomy 28. Let me see here. Verse 47. Verse 47. Because thou servest
not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for
the abundance of all things. He said, because you didn't do
that. Oh, they went about serving, but they weren't glad to do it.
They were not glad to be in the worship service. They'd rather
be doing something else. He says here, Therefore shalt
thou serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee,
in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of
all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron
upon thy neck until he hath destroyed thee. Oh, serve the Lord in gladness. That's the only way. That's the
only way he can be served. Now, I know this. Not many people
like what they do. Really, not many people like
what they do. This hits home. I'm talking to
myself here. I'm talking to myself. But I
know not many people like what they do to make a living or like
their station in life. I know this. I've experienced
it myself. But here's a question I ask myself
today. I ask myself these questions
before I ask you. Did God put me and you where
we are? Did he do that? Did he do that? Well, the answer to that is yes.
Yes, he did. Then serve him there with gladness.
It's amazing how much the job will change if the attitude changes,
isn't it? It's amazing. It's amazing. Serve him with gladness. If we
have only one talent, if we have only one talent, given
to us to serve Him with. That's more than we deserve.
If He gives me one talent to serve Him with, that's far more
than I deserve to have. That's far more than I deserve
to be given. One talent? I ought to be thankful
for that one talent. That one man went and hit it
in the ground, didn't he? I bet he was jealous of the other
men that had five and ten talents. He probably thought, I've got
one. They've got five. dig a hole and hide it. If He's given us one talent,
that's more than I deserve and you deserve. And then it's a
great honor to be admitted, to be allowed, to be absolutely
allowed to serve Him. It's a great honor just to be
allowed to serve Him. Right now, there's a lot of people
being picked by this new president to serve in his cabinet and serve
in different places. And they are just, they're beaming,
they're honored. If God chooses us and puts us
in His service, how much more honor? How much
more honor? If He allowed me Truly, for any
one of you to be a doorkeeper, that would be the highest service
that can be rendered, more than all the service that can be rendered
to the country. If he just allowed me to be a
doorkeeper in his house, that would be a great honor that he'd
allow me to do that. Great honor to be admitted into
his service. We serve a risen Savior. We serve a meek and lowly Savior. We serve a gracious, kind Savior. We serve a victorious Savior. We serve the Lord. Who do you
serve? Serve the Lord. Oh, I should
be able to say that and truly, and it be so. We serve the Lord. And all our service is to be
mixed with praise and thanksgiving. That's how it's to be done. It's
to be mixed with praise and thanksgiving. Then it says here, come before
His presence with singing, just as we've done this evening. We
have come before the Lord's presence here as His people, as His church,
members of His body. We have come before the Lord's
presence this evening. And we've come before His presence
with singing. It's amazing. This ought to astound
us. This ought to astound us every
time we are allowed to come here. Is that we are allowed to come
into His presence. To be into the presence of God
Almighty. We just started looking at Genesis.
And God said, let there be light, and there was light. And then
He just commenced to create in six days. That's the God we are
allowed in His presence. Whose presence we are allowed
in. Come before His presence with
thanksgiving. Now let's look at this and give
some more reasons here for thanksgiving. They're too numerable to mention.
Too numerable to reckon up in order. His benefits cannot be
reckoned up in order. But we'll give some that's written
in this psalm. Know ye that the Lord, in verse
3, know ye that the Lord, that Jehovah, the Messiah, is God. He is God. The first two words that jumped
out at me is this. Know ye. Know ye. Our reason for singing and our
reason for joy come from an understanding that we've been given that the
Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, is God Almighty. Know you that
the Lord Jesus Christ is God. He's God. So He is. That the Lord Jesus Christ is
God. He's self-existent. He's self-sufficient. He's the fountain of all beings.
Everything's created by Him and for Him. Nothing exists that
the Lord Jesus Christ did not create. He's God. He's the Creator. He's the God
of providence. This day did not just go by. The very purpose and decree of
God that had taken place before this world was ever created happened
today. It went before our face today.
It happened. He's the God of property. He
rules and reigns over all things. He's the God of salvation. Know ye that the Lord, He is
God and He's the God of salvation. And as David said, this God is
our God. He's our God. He's our Savior. And it's He that has made us
and not we ourselves. Oh, that's a revelation, isn't
it? That's a revelation. He hath
made us and not we ourselves. He hath made us new creatures. It says over in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, He has made us a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's made us new. We owe our very being to Him.
Not just our physical being here, but our very spiritual being.
Being born of God. We owe it to Him. We owe it to
Him. He made us. We are not our own. We belong to Him, lock, stock
and barrel. All of it is. Everything I have,
everything I am, belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. All of it. And I think this is one of the
places where just mere religion has missed it. He made us. A decision did not
make me. A profession did not make me. A divine work of God made me. He made us. He has an indisputable
right to do with his own as he will. He has an indisputable
right to us, doesn't he? He bought us and he made us. And He made us trophies of His
grace. Someday we'll be displayed in
glory as trophies of His grace. He made us. And listen, here's
another thing to give thanks for. We are His people. He made
us. We are His people. I know that
all things belong to Him. I know that. But we belong to
Him in a special way. There's a little girl there,
Lucy. She belongs to two people here in a special way. I have
a son here that belongs to me and Vicki in a special way. We
belong to Him in a special way. Blood-bought and born of His Spirit. He bought
and made us. And we are His people. He chose
us. He chose us. He redeemed us. He regenerated us. We are His. We are His. My soul, if He just
give us a glimpse of Him, it will settle a lot of our fears
knowing that we are His. Look over in Isaiah 43. Isaiah
43. But now thus, in verse 1, but
now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he
that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, don't be afraid, for I have
redeemed thee. I bought you. You're mine. I've
called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. Look over in 1 Peter chapter
2. We've been going through this. We're in 1 Peter chapter 2. Let
me read it to you. I already have it marked in verse
9. But ye are a chosen generation.
You are a royal priesthood. You are. A holy nation. A peculiar, a purchased, a purchased
people. That ye should show forth the
praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light. Which in time past were not a
people, but are now people of God, which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy." Oh, he said, you're my people.
You're my sheep. He said, as he says here in the
next verse, in this verse, and we are the sheep of his pastures. You know what this means? He
takes care of us. He takes care of us. He feeds
us like a good shepherd. Look over in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel
chapter 34. We're in Ezekiel chapter 34. In verse
11, he says, For thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, 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 all the inhabited places of the country. I will
feed them in a good pasture." That's his word. I'll feed them
in my word. 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, I will feed my flock. I'll feed
my flock. And I will cause them to lie
down, saith the Lord God. He maketh me to lie down in green
pasture. He said, I'll seek that which
was lost and bring again that which was driven away. We'll
bind up that which was broken and we'll strengthen that which
was sick. I'll destroy the fat and the strong, the self-righteous.
I'll feed them with judgment. But he said, I'll feed my sheep.
I'll feed my sheep. He watches over us. The shepherd
watches over us. I'll feed them. The Lord is my
shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not
want." He provides all things for us, all things temporal,
all things spiritual. He's given us everything we need
in His Son to stand in His presence. He's given it to us. We have
it. We have it. We are His sheep, and it's His
passenger. It's His passenger. Now he says, enter into his gates
with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. This is the
way we are to come to worship. You know, you just entered into
his gates and his courts when you came in here this evening.
And you notice it says gates. There's one here. There's one
in Williamsburg. There's one in Lexington. Down
in Virginia. We enter into his gates. We enter
into this worship service. We come into his courts. He says,
enter in with thanksgiving. You don't want to. No, I hate
to see a group of people come in murmuring, complaining, hurry
up. You know, is it almost over with?
No, he said, come into my gates with thanksgiving. A man who
comes that way, that man's been saved. That man knows God. That man knows what it is to
have his sins forgiven. He comes with thanksgiving and praise.
Praise! Oh, if we'll take the time to
meditate on these things, giving thanks and singing his praises,
it won't be difficult. If we just take the time to stop
and meditate, even before we come here, it won't be difficult. Not at all. Not at all. But note the freeness of it here.
He says, enter in. Come on in. Welcome. Welcome. Come on in. But come on in with thanksgiving,
with a thankful heart. And be thankful unto Him and
bless His name. He plucked you like a bran from
the fiery. We didn't pluck ourselves out
of it, did we? We didn't lift ourselves out of the dunghill.
We'd have stayed right there. He plucked us off the dunghill.
He did that. David said, I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thanketh upon me. He thanks a someone like me.
David said, Thy thoughts to usward cannot be reckoned up in order.
I cannot think upon either one of my children that way. I've
got other things to think about. There are other things that take
my attention. There are other things that take my mind. His
thoughts are never off his children. Not for a split second. David
said his thoughts to usward cannot be reckoned up in order. Bless His name. He's one who keeps us safe at
all times. Here's what He's saying, ascribe
all glory to Him. Don't take any of it for yourself. Don't try to put a little bit
in your pocket and go home with it. No, you ascribe all glory
to Him. All of it. Especially in salvation. And every opportunity that we
have, let's take that and bless His name. In other words, give
Him all the credit for it. Give Him all the glory. Give
unto Him the glory, it says, due unto His name. Think well
of Him at all times. Even in the times that it's dark,
storm clouds rolling over, Think well of him at all times. Bless his name at all times. There was one man in the scriptures
who said, Lord, I knew you was an austere, a severe, strict
man. Well, it's evident he didn't
know him. It's evident he didn't know him.
That's the way the self-righteous see God. as a strict, austere
man. But the people who have tasted
that the Lord is gracious, they see that He's merciful. Jesus
the merciful. They've tasted of His grace and
His kindness. And they see Him in a different
light. They see one who's delights to show mercy. One who can put away transgression. One who passes over the transgression
of his people. That's the one they say. And
bless his name. Why? Verse 5. For the Lord is good. The Lord is good. Oh, here's
a reason to sing praises and give thanks tonight. The Lord
is good. He's good. Good is the character of God. It describes the character of
God. That does not describe my character.
It really doesn't. That man came to the Lord, that
rich young man, he said, good master, what good thing? He said, what good thing must
I do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord turned to him and
looked at him and said, why callest thou me good? There's none good
but God. And I believe He's saying to
him, and He knew the man's heart,
all you're seeing is a man. You don't recognize that I'm
God. You just see a man standing here. If I'm good, I'm God. If I'm just a man, I'm not good.
Because there's none good, no, not one among men. But He's the
God-man. He's the God-man. He is infinitely
good. I may have a bad day, but that
doesn't mean he's not good. I may suffer some fiery trials
as we saw last Sunday. Some fiery trials. But you know
what? He's still good. When Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego was in the fiery furnace, he was good. When Daniel was in the lion's
den, he was still good. When his son hung on the cross
and he took out his wrath on him, he's good. Everything God
does is good. Everything. He doesn't do anything. When he cast the wicked into
hell, he's good. Whether I understand it or not,
he's good. That's his character. When He
created the heavens and the earth, when He finished creating, what
did He say? He looked at it and He saw that it was very good.
Why? Because He created it. He gave
it its goodness. He's good in all His ways. The
Scripture says, Whatsoever the Lord doeth is right for good. And His goodness changes not.
It changes not. It doesn't fluctuate. It's not
like a thermometer. It goes up and down. No. It never, never changes. Now here's another reason for
thankfulness. His mercy is everlasting. Aren't you glad of that? Aren't
you glad of that? His mercy is everlasting. It is unchangeable. It's unchangeable. It is a fountain that will never
dry up. If it could, we would drink it
up in a day or less. But His mercy is everlasting.
It's everlasting. His mercy was upon you and me,
those who believe the gospel, before the world began. And it
hasn't changed since. What are we going to do that's
going to take you by surprise or disappoint you? No, He set
His mercy upon us before He ever created us. And it's everlasting. It'll never change. And here's
another one. And His truth, and this ought
to give us great comfort for our children. His truth endureth
to all generations. His truth will never be revoked.
It will never fall to the ground. It will never be outdated. Truth
is never outdated. Never. And it will endure to
our children's children until the end of time. When you and
I are gone, and we pray the Lord to keep the gospel here, but
I do know this, when you and I are gone, truth will still
go on. Because it doesn't depend on
me. He said it'll endure throughout
all generations. God is faithful to His Word.
He's faithful to His people. He's faithful to His Son. And
when we are gone, truth will still be here until He winds
His thing up and puts an end to it. Satan and wicked men will
not put it out. Oh, it may look dim at times. It may look that way, but it
will endure to all generations. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for His mercy endureth
forever. Forever. All right. We're going
to have the Lord's table tonight. This is something.