Psalm 100 – Enter into His Gates with Thanksgiving
By Bunni Pounds
There is a lot of red meat packed into the five verses of Psalm 100. Let’s read it together – this time in the King James Version (yes, the old version, it is so beautiful).
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
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; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalm 100 is an exhortation to PRAISE - to lay everything aside that hinders us and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. God doesn’t care if we sing or squeak as long as we are opening our mouths and giving him praise with a cheerful and glad heart. What God is concerned with is the attitude of our hearts when we come to Him. He wants us to serve Him with gladness – not manipulation or obligation. He wants voluntary lovers who choose Him.
The key verse here is verse 4, which says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
How do we enter into the presence of God? In Psalm 100, we see the picture of the gates and the courts of the tabernacle from the Old Testament. In the tabernacle of Moses, all the people of Israel could come into the outer court of the tabernacle. All they had to do was bring their sacrifice – lamb or bull – to offer on the altar. In this same picture, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16). We come boldly in the new covenant because of the blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross. We have been redeemed and for that reason we can be “thankful and bless his name.” We enter in through thanksgiving and praise into His presence and thank Him for his gift of salvation, eternal life, and His finished work.
There are so many characteristics of God identified in this Psalm that should produce praise in our hearts toward Him. In verse 3 in the amplified it says, “Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God!”Knowing to the depths of our core that the Lord is God takes a supernatural faith that only God can give. When we “believe and confess” (Romans 10:9) that Jesus Christ is Lord and receive salvation, there is a supernatural work that happens on the inside of us to KNOW that the Lord is God! It is amazing, but there is created an anchor in our life that can hold us steady in the midst of the storms of the life. We KNOW our God.
The characteristics and truths about God that we see in Psalm 100 produce praise and thanksgiving in our hearts. Here they are:
He made us – He created us. (verse 3)
He takes ownership of our lives – We are His people. We can rest in the fact that we are His. (verse 3)
The Lord is good. (verse 5) Goodness is in His character – it is who He is, like love. It pours out of him.
His mercy is everlasting. (verse 5) He never gives up on us. He continues to cover us.
His truth endures to all generations. (verse 5) His truth is relevant to every person no matter their age, culture, or background.
Out of those truths and revelations, praise is created in us and we express that through these expressions found here in Psalm 100.
Making a joyful audible noise (verse 1)
Serving the Lord with gladness (verse 2)
Coming before His presence with singing (verse 2)
Entering into His gates with thanksgiving (verse 4)
Entering His courts with praise (verse 4)
Being thankful to Him (verse 4)
Blessing His name (verse 4)
Life isn’t easy! We all know that. Praise doesn’t always come out naturally many days of our lives, but as we meditate and gain revelation on who God is and His character, the truth of God’s Word produces hearts of praise.
Reminder that praise is not a feeling – it is expression of faith toward a God of mercy, goodness, and truth. When we praise, the feelings come because we again remember that we are His and He is ours.
“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-3)
I had a picture on my wall of Psalm 100 written out many years ago by an artist. I had it hanging beside my vanity for years through my twenties, so I saw it every morning as I put my makeup on and got dressed. One day when I was doing my hair, I started singing the words of this Psalm word for word. It worked out into a perfect verse, chorus, and bridge. This song has stuck with me through the years because it is an exhortation for me to enter into praise and His freedom.
Today I sing it again and choose Him with a thankful heart. He is worthy of my praise.
Political Corner: Praise is a choice in the midst of a stressful job or career regardless of what that is, and government is no different. We can feel like we are worn down, frustrated, overwhelmed with tasks, goals, and pressure, BUT God is still worthy of our praise. It takes focus to go back to His Word and remind ourselves of His goodness and grace. Praise really is produced by truth, so don’t abandon His truth regardless of how busy you are. His praise can be an anchor to your soul in the midst of a turbulent political world. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving…” It starts there.
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