Open in New Tab Here
The Lord Is Good
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
When I read this Psalm I can’t help but hum the tune to, “He Has Made Me Glad”. Like for many of you, I sang this song in my childhood church. It was also one of our “bus songs” that we would sing while my dad drove around the church neighborhood to pick up kids for Sunday school. Do you remember the words?
I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter his courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for he has made me glad
It borrows verses from Psalm 100 and 118, both expressing joy and rejoicing that naturally result in thanksgiving and praise. What Psalm 100 makes clear (as does Psalm 118) is the reason for this gladness, the reason for the outflowing of thanks…the Lord is good.
He is not good like a hot cup of coffee is on a cold morning. His goodness is far more majestic than that. God, the supreme creator of the entire earth, not only has made us, but made us his own. This was the wonder in the mind of the psalmist; this was the source of his gladness. As he pondered the goodness of God, he was moved to rejoicing because the God of all the whole earth was a personal, possessive God who not only created his people but cared for them like a shepherd for his sheep. He so favored them that he not only granted them passage through the safety of his city gates but into the supreme protection and provision of his royal court. And from his throne, he has declared steadfast love for his people that never ends and faithfulness that never fades with time.
I am sure that you have thanked the Lord for good families, good friends, good fortune, and any number of other good things this Thanksgiving. And he is deserving of your thanks in these ways! But as you break out your credit cards today to buy gifts for this Christmas season, do not break away from a heart of giving thanks. Spend some time today meditating upon the goodness of your God who has bought you with his blood and made you his own by giving you his righteousness (Heb 10:19-21). May this be a source of joy and gladness and singing, and may your hearts overflow with thanksgiving and praise well beyond this Thanksgiving weekend.
Pastor Brad
Psalm 118:1, 19-24
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
…
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
