Finding Jesus in 5 Psalms: Celebrating the Work and Character of Christනියැදිය

Know That the Lord, He Is God: Psalm 100

I love thinking about heaven and how every nation, tribe, and tongue will come together before God with one voice. We will all be united, singing God’s praises. How glorious that will be! The closest we get to that wondrous day is in our church worship services. While they pale in comparison, they give us a glimpse of what is to come. When I read Psalm 100, I think of that day. Like the choir of angels who sang when Jesus was born, the psalmist invites us to join in singing God’s praises, making a joyful noise.

All the earth is the Lord’s, and we are invited to make a joyful noise and sing. If we know Jesus, we have a thousand reasons to rejoice. God is good in all His ways. God is just. God is full of loving-kindness. God is our Creator. For these reasons alone, we can sing for joy with our hearts bent toward our Savior.

Because of who God is, we can serve Him with gladness. Gladness is a feeling or a state of well-being, contentment, joy, and pleasure. Our service and devotion to the Lord should produce in us a joyful heart. We can hold the tension between the reality of living in a dark and fallen world, and hearts surrendered to the Lord and lasting joy. Joy in the Lord isn’t ignoring reality. It isn’t happy clappy. There are times when I’ve sung with all my heart to the Lord, thanking Him for His presence, while simultaneously crying tears of sorrow. Like Paul, we can be sorrowful yet always rejoicing.

Why is it that we can hold this tension? We preach to ourselves and know that the Lord is God. We look to God and remember His character and find that the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength. When we look at Him and not ourselves or our circumstances, we can have real joy. Because we are looking at Him, we can approach Him with thanksgiving. We are His people, and He cares for us like a shepherd cares for his sheep. We are guided and shielded. We are safe. We have a living hope.

The Lord is good, and His love endures forever. In contrast, people change. The love of others sometimes lasts only as long as things are going smoothly. And of course, there are times when people simply drift apart. But the Lord endures forever. He will never leave nor forsake us.

Sometimes we have to fight to keep our hearts glad in the Lord. We can easily forget about Him and allow inconsequential things to crowd our hearts and minds. And yet He loves us still. He loves us with indescribable love. He loves us because He is a covenant-keeping God. He loves us because He loves His Son. Doesn’t all that make you want to shout His praises!

You are an awesome God. Thank You that Your character never changes—You are just, holy, loving, pure, righteous, and more than I could ever fathom. I praise You for Your majestic works and steadfast love. I thank You that You thought of us—that You made us. Thank You that right now every tribe, tongue, and nation in heaven is worshipping You, and that one day we will join this choir. I love You, Lord. It’s in Your Son’s name that I pray. Amen.