Lanse Evangelical Free Church
July 4, 2021 :: Psalm 100
Psalm 100 issues a clear and simple call to loud and joyful worship of the LORD.
The very first verse says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.”
And that’s the title of this message:
“Shout For Joy to the LORD, All the Earth.”
I love the King James Version of verse 1. It says, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.”
I’ve always taken that as an encouragement when my voice gets croaky, and I can’t hit the notes of the worship songs. The Lord doesn’t call us to sing beautifully here. Here He just says that we need to make a “joyful noise.”
And the emphasis is on both joy and noise.
“Shout for joy.”
The Hebrew word there for “shout” means (now get this) “shout.”
To raise a cry. To sound an alarm. To make a blast of noise.
It means to get loud about the Lord.
Do you do that?
Do you raise your voice in worship?
For some reason some Christians are quiet when they worship, and there is a time and place for that. Not all Christian worship is loud worship.
But some Christian worship better be loud worship.
Or we’re not obeying Scripture.
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.”
I’ve seen some of you at sporting events. I know that some of you can make a noise.
Obviously, we need to consider the people around us and not actually hurt their eardrums with excessive decibels.
But if we don’t sometimes get really loud, we are not being obedient.
The LORD is worthy of our exuberance. He is worthy of our ebullience. He is worthy of our enthusiasm.
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.”
Now, of course the joy part is just as, if not more, important than the loud part.
See how the psalmist gives us a triplet of joy in verses 1 and 2?
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” [Our joyous shouts.]
We don’t know who wrote this psalm, but we clearly know what he wants us to do with it!
He wants us to be full of joy and express that joy to the LORD.
Now, just as there are times to be quiet in worship, there are also times to be sad.
This is not saying that all of our worship needs to be sung in “a major key.” Not all of our songs should be happy or confident or thankful.
We’ve seen again and again that there are other songs in the Psalms set in what we call “a minor key.” We need to learn to lament. We need the sad songs of the Psalter because not every day is a happy day.
This psalm is not calling us to “fake it until you make it.”
But it is clearly calling us to loud and joyful worship.
The songwriter knows that we have ample reason to kick it up a notch in praise.
In fact, the whole earth does!
He doesn’t just call on Israel to shout for joy, but to all the earth.
All of the lands. All of the peoples of the earth.
All ethnicities. All tribes. All nations. Even those who live in the good old U.S. of A.
We all have good reason to rejoice.
And here’s the reason. It’s the LORD Himself.
"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."
Our joy is in a specific God. The LORD. Capital L-O-R-D. Behind that is the covenant name for God, Yahweh, the God Who is. The “I Am.”
Yahweh. The God Who made the world. Last week, in Psalm 124 He was described as “the Maker of Heaven and Earth.”
Yahweh. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Yahweh. The God who made promises to Israel.
Yahweh. The God of the Bible.
Not just any god; this particular God. Yahweh.
Shout for joy to Him.
Why? This psalm gives us two big reasons why. Here’s number one:
#1. BECAUSE THE LORD IS GOD.
Look at verse 3. “Know that the LORD is God.”
Know that Yahweh is God.
This is not just saying that God is God.
This is saying that Yahweh is God.
It’s not just saying that there is a certainly a god up there, out there, over there.
It is saying that the God Who is has the name Yahweh.
Know that the LORD is God.
Know it.
The Hebrew word there emphasizes certainty and confession and acknowledgment.
Know it in your bones and proclaim it with your mouth.
Yahweh is God!
Yahweh is God!
Yahweh is God!
Do you know that?
This psalm just preaches itself. It doesn’t take a lot of explaining. It’s clear and simple. The commands are so straightforward: “Shout, worship, come, know, enter, give, praise.”
Know that LORD is God.
Why is that worth shouting about?
Well, have you heard of any other gods? And what they are supposedly like?
And do you know Who Yahweh is? What He is like?
For one thing, He made you and me. He didn’t have to, but He did. Verse 3.
“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his...”
The old King James Version translates this, “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves...”
You didn’t make yourself.
You couldn’t do it.
You are not your own cause.
You and I are a creations. Do you think of yourself as a creation?
You and I were made by a Maker, and His name is Yahweh.
Praise God!
Shout for joy to the LORD, for the LORD made us!
If you are happy that you exist, give the LORD the praise.
I’m happy you exist. I’m happy to look out over this crowd and see these faces. So many faces, and praise God that He made you.
Now, if you make something, to whom does it belong?
It belongs to the maker, right?
“It is he who made us, and we are his.”
We are His creation.
So we are His possession.
And so He takes care of us. V.3 again.
“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
Now there, I think he’s specifically singing about Israel, about true believers brought into covenant relationship with God. Not just made but saved.
His by creation and by redemption.
“[W]e are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
Now, I have to say that that is not very flattering to you and me, but it is wonderful to say about the LORD.
Sheep are, to put it mildly, dumb.
They don’t know what they are doing most of the time.
And so they need to be cared for.
They are extremely dependent creatures.
I think the Lord might have created them in the first place just to show us what we are like.
We are needy.
We don’t like to think of ourselves as needy.
But we are needy. We need a Shepherd.
And, praise God, we have One!
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
That’s what it means to be “His people!”
That’s what we have to praise God for.
I’m so thankful that God is God and I am not.
And I’m so thankful that I am dependent on Him.
The United States may declare its independence from England.
But you and I should declare our dependence on the LORD.
Shout for joy to the LORD because the LORD is God.
In verse 4, the psalmist gives us four more commands to praise and thank God.
There is no mistaking what he wants us to be doing. Verse 4.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
Now, this is couched in the culture of the temple courts. And the progression is from outside to inside closer and closer all the way in to God’s presence.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
Be thankful. Rejoice!
He sounds like our last Hide the Word verse doesn’t he?
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
Why?
#2. BECAUSE THE LORD IS GOOD.
Because the LORD is God and because the LORD is good. Verse 5.
“For the LORD is good [Tov] and his love [Hesed] endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
We so badly need a shepherd.
But we don’t just get a shepherd.
We get a good shepherd.
We get the best shepherd.
He is TOV. He is good in every way.
And He is trustworthy.
We are dependent, and He is dependable.
He is immutable.
He is unchanging.
He is steady.
He is perfectly dependable in every way.
Everyone else will let us down.
Every other god out there.
Every other person out there.
But the LORD is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.
You know what that is echoing once again?
Exodus 34:6&7 when the LORD passed in front of Moses revealed Himself and the meaning of His name. Exodus 34:6, “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands [of generations!, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
The application of this is obvious:
“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.”
“Shout for joy to the LORD, everybody.”
Because we sure have it good!
We are so blessed!
If you belong to the good shepherd.
Make sure that you belong to this King over all.
He made you. He has every right to you. But you don’t have a right to Him unless you repent and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible says in John 1:12, “...to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”
That’s to those who receive Jesus and believe in His name.
Believe in what He did on the Cross and at the Resurrection.
If you believe in Him, then you belong to Him.
You are one of His people, the sheep of His pastor.
And He is your Shepherd. And He is GOOD. He is SO good.
Yahweh is TOV, all the time.
All the time, Yahweh is TOV.
Always and forever.
“Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!” (Robert Grant, "O Worship the King")
The LORD God and the LORD is good.
So get loud about it!
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth!”
***
Fortifying Truth - Psalms - Fall 2020 to Summer 2021
01. Majestic and Mindful - Psalm 8
02. All Our Days - Psalm 90
03. "The LORD on High Is Mighty!" - Psalm 93
04. "The LORD Is My Shepherd" - Psalm 23
05. "Praise the LORD, O My Soul!" - Psalm 103
06. "The Blessing of Aaron's Oily Beard" - Psalm 133
07. "A Dying Thirst for the Living God" - Psalm 42
08. "Our Fortress" - Psalm 46
09. Unrestless - Psalm 131
10. "Sun and Shield" - Psalm 84
11. "With Songs of Joy" - Psalm 126
12. "His Love Endures Forever" - Psalm 136
13. "How Many Are Your Works, O LORD!" - Psalm 104
14. "My Soul Waits for the Lord" - Psalm 130
15. "Remember David" - Psalm 132
16. "My Son" - Psalm 2
17. "Search Me" - Psalm 139
18. "Cleanse Me" - Psalm 51
19. "A New Song" - Psalm 96
20. "Hear My Prayer, O LORD." - Psalm 86
21. "May All the Peoples Praise You" - Psalm 67
22. "A Wedding Song" - Psalm 45
23. "My Feet Had Almost Slipped" - Psalm 73
24. “Rejoicing Comes in the Morning" - Psalm 30
25. 'The Waters Have Come Up To My Neck" - Psalm 69
26. "Cast Your Cares on the LORD" - Psalm 55
27. "“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" - Psalm 22
28. "You Will Not Abandon Me To the Grave" - Psalm 16
29. "He Will Rule" - Psalm 72
30. "Taste and See That the LORD is Good" - Psalm 34
31. "Since My Youth" - Psalm 71
32. "Your Statutes Are Wonderful" - Psalm 119
33. "The LORD Our God Is Holy" - Psalm 99
34. "Not To Us, O LORD" - Psalm 115
35. "Blessed" - Psalm 32
36. "Sit At My Right Hand" - Psalm 110
37. "Your Love Is Better Than Life" - Psalm 63
38. "Blessed Is the Man Who Fears the LORD" - Psalm 112
39. "If the LORD Had Not Been On Our Side" - Psalm 124
0 comments:
Post a Comment