Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Is God merciful?Dozens of texts describe YHWH as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loyalty — Exodus 34:6, Deut 4:31, the Psalms, the prophets, the New Testament l…
Colossians 3:16-17(v4)Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,…
Hebrews 13:15(v4)Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his…
Psalms 95:6-7(v3)Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker, for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the…
Psalms 46:10(v3)“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalms 98:4(v1)Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!
Show all 100 cross-references
Philippians 4:4(v2)Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!”
Psalms 119:73(v3)Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
1 Chronicles 29:13(v4)Now therefore, our God, we thank you, and praise your glorious name.
John 17:3(v3)This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
Psalms 103:1-2(v4)Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,
Ephesians 2:10(v3)For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
Psalms 106:1(v5)Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psalms 116:17-19(v4)I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of…
Psalms 86:5(v5)For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
Psalms 107:1(v5)Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34(v5)Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psalms 36:5(v5)Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Jeremiah 33:11(v5)the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give…
Luke 19:37(v1)As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God…
Psalms 66:13(v4)I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you,
Psalms 136:1-26(v5)Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness…
Psalms 145:1-2(v4)I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever…
Psalms 95:2(v2)Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s extol him with songs!
Psalms 96:2(v4)Sing to Yahweh! Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day to day!
Psalms 103:17(v5)But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children,
1 John 5:20(v3)We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
Isaiah 35:10(v4)Then Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain…
Psalms 71:23(v2)My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!
Ezekiel 34:30-31(v3)They will know that I, Yahweh, their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord Yahweh. You my…
1 Peter 4:19(v3)Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.
Psalms 32:11(v1)Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!
Psalms 95:1-2(v1)Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation! Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s…
Zephaniah 3:14(v1)Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.
Psalms 103:20-22(v4)Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word. Praise Yahweh, all you…
Psalms 149:2(v3)Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Luke 1:50(v5)His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
Romans 15:10(v1)Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
Deuteronomy 28:47(v2)Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
2 Chronicles 20:27-28(v2)Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Yahweh had…
Acts 2:46-47(v2)Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and…
Deuteronomy 4:35(v3)It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
1 Chronicles 29:20(v4)Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God!” All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down…
Psalms 65:1(v4)Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you.
Isaiah 42:10-12(v1)Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and…
Nahum 1:7(v5)Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
John 10:26-28(v3)But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give…
Deuteronomy 4:39(v3)Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else.
Psalms 42:4(v2)These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to God’s house, with the voice of…
Psalms 79:13(v3)So we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will praise you forever, to all generations.
Psalms 107:21-22(v2)Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! Let them offer the sacrifices of…
Psalms 66:1(v1)Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
Psalms 117:1-2(v1)Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! For his loving kindness is great toward us. Yahweh’s faithfulness endures…
Psalms 139:13-24(v3)For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully…
Deuteronomy 12:12(v2)You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who…
Psalms 118:1-4(v5)Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures…
1 Corinthians 6:19-20(v3)Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were…
Galatians 4:8-9(v3)However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or…
1 Peter 2:25(v3)For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Deuteronomy 16:11(v2)You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within…
Deuteronomy 32:43(v1)Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries, and will…
Psalms 47:1(v1)Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
Psalms 47:5(v1)God has gone up with a shout, Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet.
Psalms 66:4(v1)All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name.”
Psalms 67:4(v1)Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth.
Psalms 78:52(v3)But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
Psalms 119:68(v5)You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.
Psalms 145:1(v1)I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever.
Zechariah 14:9(v1)Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
2 Corinthians 4:6(v3)seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
1 Peter 5:2-4(v3)Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but…
Job 10:8-13(v3)“ ‘Your hands have framed me and fashioned me altogether, yet you destroy me. Remember, I beg you, that you have fashioned me as clay. Will…
Psalms 68:32(v1)Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord!
Isaiah 24:14-16(v1)These shall lift up their voice. They will shout for the majesty of Yahweh. They cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify Yahweh in the…
Ezekiel 34:11(v3)“ ‘For the Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
Deuteronomy 16:14(v2)You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the…
1 Samuel 17:46-47(v3)Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of…
2 Chronicles 5:13(v5)when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Yahweh; and when they lifted up their…
Jeremiah 10:10(v3)But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to…
Acts 17:23-24(v3)For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What…
Exodus 34:6-7(v5)Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness…
Deuteronomy 7:9(v3)Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and…
1 Kings 18:36-39(v3)At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it…
2 Kings 19:19(v3)Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God…
Psalms 74:1-2(v3)God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you…
Psalms 89:1-2(v5)I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. I indeed…
Isaiah 40:9-11(v3)You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it…
Isaiah 63:11(v3)Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, “Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his…
Isaiah 63:19(v3)We have become like those over whom you never ruled, like those who were not called by your name.
1 Kings 8:66(v2)On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad in their hearts for all the…
Ezra 3:11(v5)They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.”…
Psalms 85:10(v5)Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Ecclesiastes 12:1(v3)Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no…
Jeremiah 33:20-21(v5)“Yahweh says: ‘If you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, so that there will not be day and night in their time;…
Acts 20:28-29(v3)Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the…
1 Peter 2:9(v3)But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
2 Chronicles 31:2(v2)Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites after their divisions, every man according to his service, both the priests…
Psalms 12:4(v3)who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”
Psalms 63:4-5(v2)So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall…
Psalms 95:3(v3)For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods.
Psalms 107:8(v5)Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (108 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (26 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 41 Make a joyful noise The Psalmist refers only…
1 Make a joyful noise The Psalmist refers only to that part of the service of God which consists in recounting his benefits and giving thanks. And since he invites the whole of the inhabitants of the earth indiscriminately to praise Jehovah, he seems, in the spirit of prophecy, to refer to the period when the Church would be gathered out of different nations. Hence he commands (verse 2) that God should be served with gladness, intimating that his kindness towards his own people is so great as to furnish them with abundant ground for rejoicing. This is better expressed in the third verse, in which he first reprehends the presumption of those men who had wickedly revolted from the true God, both in fashioning for themselves gods many, and in devising various forms of worshipping them. And as a multitude of gods destroys and suppresses the true knowledge of one God only, and tarnishes his glory, the prophet, with great propriety, calls upon all men to bethink themselves, and to cease from robbing God of the honor due to his name; and, at the same time, inveighs against their folly in that, not content with the one God, they were become vain in their imaginations. For, however much they are constrained to confess with the mouth that there is a God, the maker of heaven and earth, yet they are ever and anon gradually despoiling him of his glory; and in this manner, the Godhead is, to the utmost extent of their power, reduced to a nonentity. As it is then a most difficult thing to retain men in the practice of the pure worship of God, the prophet, not without reason, recalls the world from its accustomed vanity, and commands them to recognize God as God. For we must attend to this short definition of the knowledge of him, namely, that his glory be preserved unimpaired, and that no deity be opposed to him that might obscure the glory of his name. True, indeed, in the Papacy, God still retains his name, but as his glory is not comprehended in the mere letters of his name, it is certain that there he is not recognized as God. Know, therefore, that the true worship of God cannot be preserved in all its integrity until the base profanation of his glory, which is the inseparable attendant of superstition, be completely reformed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4, 5He prophecieth that God’s benefit in calling the Gentiles…
He prophecieth that God’s benefit in calling the Gentiles shall be so great, that they shall have wonderful occasion to praise his mercy and rejoice.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Psa 100:1 « A Psalm of praise. » Make…
Psa 100:1 « A Psalm of praise. » Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
A Psalm of praise] Suavis et gravis, short and sweet; appointed, likely, to be sung at the thank offerings, quando pacifica erant offerenda, say the Italian and Spanish annotators. See Psa 100:4. Enter with thanksgiving, or with thank sacrifice, Lev 7:12.
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Ver. 1. All ye lands] Both Jews and Gentiles, Rom 15:10-11, for your common salvation.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4Make a joyful noise; partly with voices and songs…
Make a joyful noise; partly with voices and songs of rejoicing and thanksgiving; and partly with musical instruments, as the manner then was.
All ye lands; all the inhabitants of the earth. Or, all the land, i.e. all the people of Israel dwelling in this land. Although his invitation seems to be more general, extending also to the Gentiles, of whom many even in those days joined themselves to the church of God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v1Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate.…
Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate. The psalm does indeed answer to the title, A psalm of praise; it begins with that call which of late we have several times met with (Psa 100:1), Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands, or all the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully answered to. But, if we take the foregoing psalm to be (as we have opened it) a call to the Jewish church to rejoice in the administration of God's kingdom, which they were under (as the four psalms before it were calculated for the days of the Messiah), this psalm, perhaps, was intended for proselytes, that came over out of all lands to the Jews' religion. However, we have here, 1. A strong invitation to worship God; not that God needs us, or any thing we have or can do, but it is his will that we should serve the Lord, should devote ourselves to his service and employ ourselves in it; and that we should not only serve him in all instances of obedience to his law, but that we should come before his presence in the ordinances which he has appointed and in which he has promised to manifest himself (Psa 100:2), that we should enter into his gates and into his courts (Psa 100:4), that we should attend upon him among his servants, and keep there where he keeps court. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we come into God's presence, and serve him; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates and into his courts. The people were not permitted to enter into the holy place; there the priests only went in to minister. But let the people be thankful for their place in the courts of God's house, to which they were admitted and where they gave their attendance. 2. Great encouragement given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully (Psa 100:2): Serve the Lord with gladness. This intimates a prediction that in gospel-times there should be special occasion for joy; and it prescribes this as a rule of worship: Let God be served with gladness. By holy joy we do really serve God; it is an honour to him to rejoice in him; and we ought to serve him with holy joy. Gospel-worshippers should be joyful worshippers; if we serve God in uprightness, let us serve him with gladness. We must be willing and forward to it, glad when we are called to go up to the house of the Lord (Psa 122:1), looking upon it as the comfort of our lives to have communion with God; and we must be pleasant and cheerful in it, must say, It is good to be here, approaching to God, in every duty, as to God our exceeding Joy, Psa 43:4. We must come before his presence with singing, not only songs of joy, but songs of praise. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, Psa 100:4. We must not only comfort ourselves, but glorify God, with our joy, and let him have the praise of that which we have the pleasure of. Be thankful to him and bless his name; that is, (1.) We must take it as a favour to be admitted into his service, and give him thanks that we have liberty of access to him, that we have ordinances instituted and opportunity continued of waiting upon God in those ordinances. (2.) We must intermix praise and thanksgiving with all our services. This golden thread must run through every duty (Heb 13:15), for it is the work of angels. In every thing give thanks, in every ordinance, as well as in every providence.
II. The matter of praise, and motives to it, are very important, Psa 100:3, Psa 100:5. Know you what God is in himself and what he is to you. Note, Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience: blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God. "Know it; consider and apply it, and then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the worship of him." Let us know then these seven things concerning the Lord Jehovah, with whom we have to do in all the acts of religious worship: - 1. That the Lord he is God, the only living and true God - that he is a Being infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the fountain of all being; he is God, and not a man as we are. He is an eternal Spirit, incomprehensible and independent, the first cause and last end. The heathen worshipped the creature of their own fancy; the workmen made it, therefore it is not God. We worship him that made us and all the world; he is God, and all other pretended deities are vanity and a lie, and such as he has triumphed over. 2. That he is our Creator: It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. I find that I am, but cannot say, I am that I am, and therefore must ask, Whence am I? Who made me? Where is God my Maker? And it is the Lord Jehovah. He gave us being, he gave us this being; he is both the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits. We did not, we could not, make ourselves. It is God's prerogative to be his own cause; our being is derived and depending. 3. That therefore he is our rightful owner. The Masorites, by altering one letter in the Hebrew, read it, He made us, and his we are, or to him we belong. Put both the readings together, and we learn that because God made us, and not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own, but his. He has an incontestable right to, and property in, us and all things. His we are, to be actuated by his power, disposed of by his will, and devoted to his honour and glory. 4. That he is our sovereign ruler: We are his people or subjects, and he is our prince, our rector or governor, that gives law to us as moral agents, and will call us to an account for what we do. The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver. We are not at liberty to do what we will, but must always make conscience of doing as we are bidden. 5. That he is our bountiful benefactor. We are not only his sheep, whom he is entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of; the flock of his feeding (so it may be read); therefore the sheep of his hand; at his disposal because the sheep of his pasture, Psa 95:7. He that made us maintains us, and gives us all good things richly to enjoy. 6. That he is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (Psa 100:5): The Lord is good, and therefore does good; his mercy is everlasting; it is a fountain that can never be drawn dry. The saints, who are now the sanctified vessels of mercy, will be, to eternity, the glorified monuments of mercy. 7. That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness: His truth endures to all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated or revoked. The promise is sure to all the seed, from age to age.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye…
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Or, "all the earth" (c); that is, as the Targum, all the inhabitants of the earth, who are called upon to shout unto him as their King; as the angels did at his birth, the disciples when he made his public entrance into Jerusalem, the apostles at his ascension to heaven, the saints when the marriage of him, the Lamb, will be come, and both men and angels when he shall descend from heaven to judge the world; and such a joyful noise or shout should be made unto him as to a triumphant conqueror, who has got the victory over sin, Satan, death, and the grave, and every enemy of his and his people, and made them more than conquerors through himself; see Psa 95:1.
(c) "omnis terra", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v1An exhortation to praise God and to rejoice in…
An exhortation to praise God and to rejoice in him, ver. 1- 5 A psalm of praise
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–5All nations are exhorted to praise the Lord, 1,…
PSALM C
All nations are exhorted to praise the Lord, 1, 2;
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to acknowledge him to be the Sovereign God and their Creator
and that they are his people and the flock of his pasture, 3;
to worship him publicly, and be grateful for his mercies, 4.
The reasons on which this is founded; his own goodness, his
everlasting mercy, and his ever-during truth, 5.
NOTES ON PSALM C
This Psalm is entitled in the Hebrew מזמור לתודה mizmor lethodah, not "A Psalm of Praise," as we have it, but "A Psalm for the confession, or for the confession-offering," very properly translated by the Chaldee: שבחא על קורבן תודתא shibcha al kurban todetha, "Praise for the sacrifice (or offering) of confession." The Vulgate, Septuagint, and AEthiopic have followed this sense. The Arabic attributes it to David. The Syriac has the following prefixed: "Without a name. Concerning Joshua the son of Nun, when he had ended the war with the Ammonites: but in the new covenant it relates to the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith." It is likely that it was composed after the captivity, as a form of thanksgiving to God for that great deliverance, as well as an inducement to the people to consecrate themselves to him, and to be exact in the performance of the acts of public worship.
Verse 1. Make a joyful noise] הריעו hariu, exult, triumph, leap for joy.
All ye lands.] Not only Jews, but Gentiles, for the Lord bestows his benefits on all with a liberal hand.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3Psa 100:1-2. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord…
Psa 100:1-2. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord — Partly, with voices, and songs of rejoicings, and thanksgiving; and partly with musical instruments, as the manner then was; all ye lands — That is, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully obeyed. Serve the Lord with gladness — Devote yourselves to, and employ yourselves in, his service. Come before his presence with singing — In the ordinances which he has appointed, and in which he has promised to manifest himself to his people. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we may be truly said to come into God’s presence; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates, and into his courts, as expressed Psa 100:4, which should be with thanksgiving for so great a privilege, and with praise for his goodness manifested herein.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Make a joyful noise unto the Lord - See…
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord - See the notes at Psa 95:1.
All ye lands - Margin, as in Hebrew, “all the earth.” The margin expresses the sense. The idea in the psalm is, that praise did not pertain to one nation only; that it was not appropriate for one people merely; that it should not be confined to the Hebrew people, but that there was a proper ground of praise for “all;” there was that in which all nations, of all languages and conditions, could unite. The ground of that was the fact that they had one Creator, Psa 100:3. The psalm is based on the unity of the human race; on the fact that there is one God and Father of all, and one great family on earth.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 100
Psalms 100
A Psalm of Praise
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Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
3 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.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
And his truth endureth to all generations.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Superscription.—As Psalms 38, 70 were not only written in order to call to remembrance Jehovah’s gracious deeds in general, but stand in a definite relation to offerings, so here also the superscription seems to indicate a liturgical purpose, and that not merely for confession in the public worship (Sept. Vulg.), with the songs of praise of the people, but for real sacrifices of praise, called in Psa_107:22; Psa_116:17, זֲבח תּוֹדָה, but also simply תּוֹרָהPsa_56:13; 2Ch_29:31. “The same class of Shelamim is meant, which were presented in thankful praise for divine blessings enjoyed, and especially for miraculous protection and deliverance.” (Delitzsch). Along with a great resemblance to Psalms 95 there are still not wanting essential peculiarities. For example, both strophes express and justify the invitation to the thankful acknowledgment and public worship of Jehovah.
Psa_100:1-3. Make a joyful noise, etc. We may suppose this to allude to the shouts of homage of those who acknowledge Jehovah as King, and accordingly regard the serving [Psa_100:2], as the correlative of ruling in the wider sense (Venema, Hengst.) as in Psa_72:11. Serving with gladness (Psa_100:2), stands in contrast to “serve with fear and rejoice with trembling,” in Psa_2:11, as in that passage it is subjection that is spoken of, while here it is the voluntary union of the whole earth, that is, of men of all nations, with the Church, which appears worshipping before Jehovah in Zion. But the whole psalm has to do directly and specially with acts of public worship, which partly presuppose that more general service, and partly have it for a consequence. The event from which these nations are to gain the knowledge (Psa_4:4) that Jehovah is God. is not mentioned here. It must, however, according to the context, have a world-wide significance, and be connected with the deliverance of the people who confess to Him (Psa_100:3) that they are His work (Deu_32:6; Deu_32:15; Isa_29:23; Isa_60:21), His inheritance, and a people tended and led like a flock. “His people and flock” are in apposition not to “us” (Hengstenberg), but to “we.” For this passage belongs to the fifteen, which, according to the Masoretic enumeration, occur in the Old Testament, where לֹא is written and לֹו read. Indeed, both readings may be justified (Kimchi), and the translations given: while we were not (Symmachus, Isaaki), or better: not we (Sept., Vulg., Jerome), made clearer by the addition, ourselves (Luther, Geier, and others), as a contrast to the boasting of Pharaoh (Eze_29:3). But the reading לֹו (Chald., Jerome, Aben Ezra, Saadia), in nineteen codices of De Rossi and nine of Kennicott is preferred by most of the recent expositors. [This is expressed by the marginal reading in E. V., “And His we are,” which is preferred by Perowne and Noyes. The other is favored by Alexander, Wordsworth, and Barnes. The passage cited above, Eze_29:3, to which this is supposed to be a contrast, is probably to be understood as it is in E. V.: “I have made it (the Nile) myself.”—J. F. M.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. God is not merely Creator and Ruler of the world. He is also Founder, Guardian, Lord, and Shepherd of His Church. His people should exhibit their sense of this relation, and especially give it expression in public worship, in order that all the world may discover that this God is the only God, to adore whom, men of all lands should unite with the Church.
2. The conviction that such is God’s will, evokes missionary songs in the Church, and sets before her eyes the duty of Missions. But it also awakens a love for the former as well as for the latter service of the Lord, strengthens the belief in the eternal efficacy of the mercy and truth of God, and, to gratitude for the blessings already received from the hand of the Highest, unites the expectation that the world-embracing destiny of the true religion (Isa_56:7; Isaiah 60; Isa_66:23) will be realized.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
We should be as willing to serve God as we are bound to do so, and encourage one another to that duty as well as invite others to engage in it.—Delight in God’s service as connected with the knowledge of God and gratitude for His benefit.—The manner, ground, and blessing of the proper public worship of God.—The Church is to the world, what the house of God is to the Church, the place of blessing in the knowledge and worship of God.
Starke: There is nothing to be found under the sun, which can make the heart more joyful than sincere religion.—If God’s mercy and truth are eternal, they remain still with us now, and we and our descendants until the end of the world will have them for our consolation.—Rieger: In the kingdom of God every one can and is permitted to come before the face of this God of mercy.—Diedrich: We discover all God’s glory in His word, through which He has declared His name to us, that it is Love.—God asks no hard service, but only that we know Him, believe Him, and from His fulness of grace alone draw all our strength for every undertaking.—Taube: A shout of joy through the whole world, over the majestic God of Zion, so rich in mercy, who comes to bless the earth.
[Matt. Henry: We must intermix praise and thanksgiving in all our services; this golden thread must run through every duty, Heb_13:15. For it is the work of angels.—Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience. Blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God.—Barnes: The Psalm is based on the unity of the human race: that there is one God and Father of all, and one great family on earth.—J. F. M.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv1–51. All ye lands—The call is to all nations…
1. All ye lands—The call is to all nations and peoples of the earth.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–51. Shout unto Jehovah, all the earth, (as in…
1. Shout unto Jehovah, all the earth, (as in Psa_98:4; Psa_66:1), greeting Him as King. See note on Psa_98:4. Render, as A.V. there and in Psa_66:1, all the earth, not all ye lands. In the worship of Jehovah mankind is to regain its lost unity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3(1) Make a joyful noise.—See Psa_98:4.
(1) Make a joyful noise.—See Psa_98:4.
All ye lands.—Or, all the earth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–5THE hundredth psalm has for its title, "A Psalm…
THE hundredth psalm has for its title, "A Psalm of praise," or "of thanksgiving," and to this description it well answers. There is not a single mournful note in the composition. God is praised from the beginning to the end, and all the earth is called upon to join in blessing and thanking him. It has been suggested that it was probably written to be chanted by a festive procession as it approached and entered the temple (see ver. 4). The whole runs on without any break or division.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. (comp. Psa_95:1, Psa_95:2, and the comment ad loc.) All ye lands; literally, all the earth.
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The joy of service.
(Sermon for missions) In this short psalm a note is sounded which echoes, and will never cease to echo, through the world. The trumpet of jubilee is blown, not for Israel, but for all mankind. Brief as this psalm is, it is one of the most wonderful portions of Scripture, glowing with self-evident light of inspiration, not poetic, but prophetic, Divine. This first verse exhibits the three characteristic features of the whole psalm its catholicity; its joyfulness; its hope and promise.
I Here, in the very heart of Old Testament Scriptures, is an anticipation of Christ"s world wide command. (Mar_16:15 Mat_28:19) No trace of either national exclusiveness or ecclesiastical bigotry. God"s temple is thrown open to all mankind (ver. 4). "Courts," not the "court of the Gentiles" merely. All men alike are invited to say, "His we are see margin; we are his people." It is impossible to explain such words from Jewish lips, such feelings in Jewish hearts, but by Divine inspiration. (cf. Gal_3:8)
II JOY IN GOD IS ONE OF THE MOST MARKED FEATURES OF THE PSALMS. In this psalm it rises to its highest pitch. Worship is a native instinct and need of the human heart; and heathen worship was often attended with tumultuous rejoicing. But not joy in God"s holiness; (Psa_97:10-12) in our belonging absolutely to him; (Psa_119:94) in his righteous rule; (Psa_98:6, Psa_98:9) in his mercy and truth (ver. 5). These streams of joy are from a higher source. (Gal_5:22)
III THIS PSALM CAN BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD ONLY TAKEN WITH Ps 93, 95-99. The whole series not only celebrates, but foretells, the coming of Jehovah to "judge," i.e. to rule and reign over the whole world. (comp. Ps 72) Such bold world wide hopes would be utterly inexplicable as mere poetic dreams of Jewish imagination, and can be explained only as inspired prophecies and promises; so they would be wholly unmeaning and fictitious apart from their fulfilment in Christ. (Joh_5:22, 23 12:32 Mat_28:18)
CONCLUSION. The enterprise of Christian missions is the most joyful work in the world; the proclamation of the most joyful news to every human being, on the authority of God"s command, in the light of God"s glorious promises.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-5. Jubilate.
This psalm, which comes at the close of the magnificent series of royal psalms, which tell of the reign of Christ Jehovah, has been called their doxology. It seems to have been sung during the thank offering in the temple service. (Lev_7:12) "Luther would have immortalized his name had he done no more than written the majestic air and harmony to which we are accustomed to sing this psalm, and which, when the mind is in a truly worshipping frame, seems to bring heaven down to earth, and to raise earth to heaven, giving us anticipations of the pure and sublime delights of that noble and general assembly in which saints and angels shall forever celebrate the praises of God." The psalm "is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has, for this reason, been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written." It bids us "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." It means "a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them." Now, let us consider this subject of thankful praise which it brings so prominently before us. Let us glance at
I THE HOLY DUTY TO WHICH WE ARE SUMMONED.
1. Our hearts are to be full of thanksgiving. It is no mere outside worship which is told of here, but such as wells up from the deepest fountains of a grateful and glad heart.
2. We are to openly avow that thankfulness. It is not, though beginning in the heart, to stay there. Openly, loudly, joyfully, we are to let all men know our delight in God.
3. We are to join with others in this service of praise. There is to be no standing aloof or pleading that we can worship God as well at home. We are to go with the multitude to keep holy day.
4. And it is to be all unto the Lord. Choirs and congregations alike are to remember this.
II THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS SUMMONS IS BASED.
1. The Lord, he is God. " Our Jehovah, so good and gracious, is God Almighty also. Not only a Saviour who would fain bless and save us; but who has all power is mighty to save.
2. He is our Creator, and so responsible for our being. "It is he that hath made us," etc. (ver. 3). This is a most blessed fact. When we see what men and women are, so corrupt and evil, we often wonder wherefore God perpetuates the race. But he does so; he takes all the responsibility of it. What treasure store of hope for humanity lies in this act!
3. He is our King and Shepherd. "We are his people, and," etc. (ver. 3) We are under his wise, holy, strong government; we are provided for by his loving care, led along as his sheep in his pasture.
4. He is good, eternally merciful, and true. (Ver. 5)
III THE CULTIVATION OF THIS THANKFUL SPIRIT. Many sadly fail here. They have no song, only a perpetual dirge, and against many the condemnation is written, "Neither were they thankful." Now, how may we cultivate this thankful spirit?
1. We must remove the hindrances. They are such as these: The miserable habit of looking enviously at what other people have, but which we have not, forgetting all the while what of good we nevertheless have. What folly this! and yet how common! and what a fruitful source of unhappiness, and of unthankfulness it is! And many are wont to look habitually on the dark side of their experience, and scarcely at all on the other and bright side. This is why St. Paul bids us, amid our prayers and supplications, to mingle thanksgivings, since this compels us to look at the bright side, in order to find out what we have to be thankful for. And then, too, our sad habit of regarding our ordinary mercies as mere matters of course is another sad hindrance of the thankful spirit. When health is restored after sore illness, how thankful we are! but the months and years of health which may follow give ample time to forget our thankfulness, and to let our gratitude die because we do not see anything extraordinary about our experience of God"s goodness. Now, we must set ourselves to get rid of these evil ways if we would be habitually thankful.
2. Then there are positive aids to this blessed spirit. Such as taking right views of life, remembering its brevity and its educational purpose. We are not at home here, and we cannot expect on a journey the comforts of home. And a school and such is this life is certainly not as a home, as his father"s house, to a child. Then think much of our mercies. Accustom yourself to go over them in your thoughts, and to render thanksgiving for them. And when misfortunes come, make the best, not the worst, of them. Remember bow much worse it might have been. It is told that "when the New England colonies were first planted, the settlers endured many privations and difficulties. Being piously disposed, they laid their distresses before God in frequent days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation on such topics kept their minds gloomy and discontented, and made them disposed even to return to their Fatherland with all its persecutions. At length, when it was proposed to appoint a day of fasting and prayer, a plain, common sense old colonist was in the meeting, and remarked that he thought they had brooded long enough over their misfortunes, and that it seemed high time they should consider some of their mercies that the colony was growing strong, the fields increasing in harvests, the rivers full of fish, and the woods of game, the air sweet, the climate salubrious, and their homes happy; above all that, they possessed what they came for, full civil and religious liberty. And therefore, on the whole, he would amend their resolution for a fast, and propose in its stead a day of thanksgiving, His advice was taken, and from that day to this the festival has been an annual one." Ah! would that we had men of this spirit, and would make the best, not the worst, of our misfortunes! "The bee when in a flower from which it cannot get nectar, gets the golden farina, out of which it builds its cells, and so it rolls up its little legs against the stamens, till they look large and loaded as golden store, and, thanking the flower as sweetly as if it had been full of honey, gladly humming, it flies home with its wax. Yes, and herein lies God"s moral. If our flowers have no honey, let us be glad of the wax." The same writer who gives the above illustrations tells how the good, though self-willed, George III, when he had lost all our American colonies, and thousands of our troops had been slain, and millions upon millions of debt incurred, nevertheless, not to be outdone in piety by the Americans, ordered a day of thanksgiving. He was asked by a pious clergyman what the thanksgiving was to be for was it to be for any of the above-named facts? He pressed the king for an answer, who replied energetically, "Thank God it is not any worse." Yes; there is something to be thankful for in all circumstances, if we will only be open eyed to note it. Remember, too, that our evils are but blessings in disguise. "Light afflictions so St. Paul called them are but for a moment, and which work for us," etc. Above all, let us give our hearts to Christ. Yield them to him, as he bids us do; and as he will by his blessed Spirit fill them with all other good things, so he will shed abroad in them this grace also, the spirit of thankfulness.
IV REASONS FOR SUCH CULTIVATION.
1. Our circumstances demand it: we have cause for thankfulness.
2. It will greatly bless others. For a glad, thankful spirit is winsome and attractive Christwards, whilst the opposite spirit cannot but repel.
3. For our own sake. It will brighten all our life, whilst if, owl-like, we dwell in darkness, we shall come to love it, and be as dim-sighted and night haunting as they.
4. And does not the Lord our God and Saviour deserve all our praise? Therefore, jubilate. S.C.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-5. Worship.
I THE CALL TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD.
1. It is to be the worship of joyful song. (Vers. 1, 2) Not the worship of silent thought, but of glad utterance. True fear and joy not incompatible.
1. It is to be universal worship. (Ver. 1) "All ye lands," or "All the earth Gentiles as well as Jews.
2. It is to be the worship of thankful gratitude. (Ver. 4) In remembrance of all the Divine benefits and mercies received. No mention of confession of sin, or petition for blessing.
II THE GROUNDS OR REASONS OF THE CALL TO WORSHIP.
1. He is the only true God as distinguished from the gods of the heathen. (Ver. 3) "Be ye sure that Jehovah he is God.
2. He hath made us, and therefore we are his property. (Ver. 3) "It is he that hath made us, and we are his. " And we cannot yet fully understand what use he is going to make of us.
3. He is our Guide and Sustainer, our Shepherd. (Ver. 3) "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." We are dear to him as the sheep are to the shepherd. He is the good Shepherd pre-eminently. This is also the pre-eminent character of Christ.
4. His goodness and mercy are everlasting. (Ver. 5) Not only enduring and constant, but unbounded by any limits.
5. He fulfils his promises from generation to generation. (Ver. 5) "His truth" here means his faithfulness the fulfilment of the word or promise that he has spoken. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv1–5A Psalm of Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This…
A Psalm of Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This is the only psalm bearing this precise inscription. It is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has for this reason been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written. "Let us sing the Old Hundredth" is one of the every-day expressions of the Christian church, and will be so while men, exist whose hearts are loyal to the Great King. Nothing can be more sublime this side heaven than the singing of this noble psalm by a vast congregation. Watts' paraphrase, beginning "Before Jehovah's awful throne, "and the Scotch "All people that on earth do dwell, "are both noble versions; and event Tare and Brady rise beyond themselves when they sing
"With one consent let all the earth
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To God their cheerful voices raise."
In this divine lyric we sing with gladness the creating power and goodness of the Lord, even as before with trembling we adored his holiness.
Ver. 1. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. This is a repetition of Ps 98:4. The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies. In every land Jehovah's goodness is seen, therefore in every land should be be praised. Nearer will the world be in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout it adores the only God. O ye nations, how long will ye blindly reject him? Your golden age will never arrive till ye with all your hearts revere him.
Title. This is the only Psalm in the whole collection entitled "A Psalm of Praise." It is supposed to have received this appellation because peculiarly adapted, if not designed to be sung, when the sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered. See Le 7:12. The Greeks think it was written by David, who here invites all the world to join with the Israelites in the service of God, whose divine sovereignty he here recognises. Samuel Burder.
Whole Psalm. If we are right in regarding Psalms 93-99 as forming one continuous series, one great prophetic oratorio, whose title is "Jehovah is King, "and through which there runs the same great idea, this Psalm may be regarded as the doxology which closes the strain. We find lingering in it notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same gladness; it is filled with the same hope, that all nations shall bow down before Jehovah, and confess that he is God. J.J.S. Perowne.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm contains a promise of Christianity, as winter at its close contains the promise of spring. The trees are ready to bud, the flowers are just hidden by the light soil, the clouds are heavy with rain, the sun shines in his strength; only a genial wind from the south is wanted to give a new life to all things. "The Speaker's Commentary, "1873.
Whole Psalm. Luther would have immortalized his name had he done no more than written the majestic air and harmony to which we are accustomed to sing this Psalm, and which, when the mind is in a truly worshipping frame, seems to bring heaven down to earth, and to raise earth to heaven, giving us anticipations of the pure and sublime delights of that noble and general assembly in which saints and angels shall for ever celebrate the praises of God. Ingram Cobbin.
Whole Psalm. This is a bunch of the grapes of Eshcol. It is a taste of what is still the promised land. The Jewish church came to its perfection in the reign of Solomon, but a greater than Solomon is here. The perfection of the New Testament church is here anticipated. This psalm teaches,
1. That there will be a joyful state of the whole world (Ps 100:1). (a) To whom the address is givento "all lands, "and all in those lands. (b) The subject of the address"Make a joyful noise." What a doleful noise it has made! (c) By whom the address is given, by him who secures what he commands.
2. That this joyful state of the whole world will arise from the enjoyment of the Divine Being (Ps 100:2). (a) Men have long tried to be happy without God. (b) They will find at last that their happiness is in God. The conversion of an individual in this respect is a type of the conversion of the world.
3. That this enjoyment of God will arise from a new relation to him (Ps 100:3). (a) Of knowledge on our part: he will be known as the Triune God, as a covenant God, as the God of salvationas God. (b) Of rightful claim on his part; (1.) by right of creation"He hath made us; " (2.) By light of redemption"Ye were not a people, but are now the people of God, "&c.; "I have redeemed thee: thou art mine"; (3.) by right of preservation"We are the sheep, "&c.
4. That this new relation to God will endear to us the ordinances of his house (Ps 100:4). (a) Of what the service will consist"thanksgiving" and praise. (b) To whom it will be rendered. Enter into his gates his courtsbe thankful unto him bless his name. That this service will be perpetual; begin on earth, continued in heaven. This fact is founded
5. That this service will be perpetual; begun on earth, continued in heaven. This face is founded (a) Upon essential goodness. "For the Lord is good." (b) Upon everlasting mercy. "His mercy, "etc. (c) Upon immutable truth. "His truth, "etc. G. R.
Psalms 100:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye…
Psa_100:1-5
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
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Worship
Worship is at once the duty of all duties, the service of all services, the joy of all joys.
I. It is founded on knowledge (verse 3).
1. A knowledge of what God is in Himself--the absolutely good.
2. A knowledge of what God is in His relations.
(1) Our Maker.
(2) Our Owner.
(3) Our Preserver.
II. It is developed in service. This should be--
1. Gladsome (verse 2).
2. Thankful (verse 4).
3. Demonstrative.
With praise. True worship does not skulk into solitude, shun the gaze of society, ashamed to show itself. It craves for an opportunity of public manifestation. The spirit of true worship breaks through obscurity as the living seed breaks through the soil to unfold itself in foliage, branches, and blossoms to the eye of all. It is a life, and all life seeks to come out into the sun. (Homilist.)
The Old Hundredth
I. The elements of true worship.
1. Service (verse 2). Everything connected with it--
(1) Real.
(2) Happy.
2. Praiseful (verse 1).
(1) Fervour.
(2) Cheerfulness.
3. Intelligent (verse 3).
4. Grateful (verse 4).
II. Motives (verse 5).
1. Essential goodness.
2. Eternal mercy.
3. Immutable faithfulness. Such a trinity of qualities in unlimited perfection sets before us a Being infinitely beautiful, infinitely lovable, infinitely worthy of our service and trust. (J. O. Keen, D.D.)
Religious gratitude
Gratitude, in the view of Dr. James Martineau, is a variety of generosity. It recognizes more than a mere fulfilment of duty. It is one of those warm human impulses that are not reduced to a science, without which we might be saved from a few mistakes, but at the expense of much that enriches life. Getting behind the psalm to the condition of mind which could produce it, we find that it could only come from one familiar with good things--from one who so thought upon Gods character that his theology became translated into the poetry of song. Many do not admit the grounds of the psalmists theology; hence the two common objections--
1. God did not make us to be happy. This objection is met by showing that the greatest fact of life is its possibilities of happiness. Especially is this true in an age of such marvellous scientific progress as the present, every step in which progress opens the way to a vast increase in the possibilities of happiness for the masses of mankind.
2. God ought to be able to keep us good. This objection is met by showing that in making moral, human beings good, God can only act within His character. The goodness of a man is not the goodness of a tree or of a sheep; were it forced upon him and made compulsory, it would not be moral. (W. H. Harwood.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 100
Psalms 100
THE Psalms of the King end with this full-toned call to all the earth to do Him homage. It differs from the others of the group, by making no distinct mention either of Jehovahs royal title or of the great act of deliverance which was His visible exercise of sovereignty. But it resembles them in its jubilant tone, its urgent invitation to all men to walk in the light which shone on Israel, and its conviction that the mercies shown to the nation bad blessing in them for all the world. The structure is simple. A call to praise Jehovah is twice given, and each is followed by reasons for His praise, which is grounded, in the first instance (Psa_100:3), on His dealings with Israel. and, in the second, on His character as revealed by all His works.
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Psa_100:1 consists of but a single clause, and, as Delitzsch says, is like the signal blast of a trumpet. It rings out a summons to "all the earth," as in Psa_98:4, which is expanded in Psa_100:2. The service there enjoined is that of worship in the Temple, as in Psa_100:4. Thus, the characteristic tone of this group of psalms echoes here, in its close, and all men are called and welcomed to the Sanctuary. There is no more a Court of the Gentiles. Not less striking than the universality of the psalm is its pulsating gladness. The depths of sorrow, both of that which springs from outward calamities and of that more heart-breaking sort which wells up from dark fountains in the soul, have been sounded in many a psalm. But the Psalter would not reflect all the moods of the devout soul, unless it had some strains of unmingled joy. The Christian Year has perfect days of sunlit splendour, when all the winds are still, and no cloud darkens the unbroken blue. There is no music without passages in minor keys; but joy has its rights and place too, and they know but little of the highest kind of worship who do not sometimes feel their hearts swell with gladness more poignant and exuberant than earth can minister.
The reason for the worlds gladness is given in Psa_100:3. It is Jehovahs special relation to Israel. So far as the language of the verse is concerned, it depends on Psa_95:7. "He hath made us" does not refer to creation, but to the constituting of Israel the people of God. "We are His" is the reading of the Hebrew margin, and is evidently to be preferred to that of the text, "Not we ourselves." The difference in Hebrew is only in one letter, and the pronunciation of both readings would be the same. Jewish text critics count fifteen passages, in which a similar mistake has been made in the text. Here, the comparison of Psalms 95 and the connection with the next clause of Psa_100:3 are decidedly in favour of the amended reading. It is to be observed that this is the only and it is natural to lay stress on the opposition between "ye" in Psa_100:3 a, -and "we" and "us" in b. The collective Israel speaks, and calls all men to rejoice in Jehovah, because of His grace to it. The psalm is, then, not, as Cheyne calls it, "a national song of thanksgiving, with which a universalistic element is not completely fused," but a song which starts from national blessings, and discerns in them a message of hope and joy for all men. Israel was meant to be a sacred hearth on which a fire was kindled, that was to warm all the house. God revealed Himself in Israel, but to the world.
The call to praise is repeated in Psa_100:4 with more distinct reference to the open Temple gates into which all the nations may now enter. The psalmist sees, in prophetic hope, crowds pouring in with glad alacrity through the portals, and then hears the joyful tumult of their many voices rising in a melodious surge of praise. His eager desire and large-hearted confidence that so it will one day be are vividly expressed by the fourfold call in Psa_100:4. And the reason which should draw all men to bless Gods revealed character is that His self-revelation, whether to Israel or to others, shows that the basis of that character is goodness-i.e., kindness or love-and that, as older singers have sung, "His lovingkindness endures forever," and, as a thousand generations in Israel and throughout the earth have proved, His faithful adherence to His word. and discharge of all obligations under which He has come to His creatures, give a basis for trust and a perpetual theme for joyful thanksgiving. Therefore, all the world has an interest in Jehovahs royalty, and should, and one day shall, compass His throne with joyful homage, and obey His behests with willing service.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1This Psalm completes the series of Royal Psalms, and…
INTRODUCTION
This Psalm completes the series of Royal Psalms, and “may be regarded as the Doxology which closes the strain. We find lingering in it notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same gladness; it is filled with the same hope, that all nations shall bow down before Jehovah, and confess that He is God.”—Perowne.
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Of all the Psalms in the collection this rises to the highest pitch of gladness; it breathes the broadest spirit of charity, and expresses the highest mood of devout joy. On the ground of our common humanity as the children of the one Creator-Father, all men are summoned to the exultant worship of the Lord.
The superscription to the Psalm is מִזְמוֹר לְתוֹדָה, “A Psalm of praise.” Luther: ‘A Psalm of thanksgiving.” Perowne: “A Psalm for the thank-offering.” … “To denote that the Psalm was to be sung during the offering of thank-offerings.”
A PSALM OF UNIVERSAL PRAISE
We have here—
I. The reasone of praise to the Lord. These are of two classes—
1. Because of what He is in Himself. “The Lord He is God,” is the grand reason. The gods of the nations were idols, vanities, nonentities. Jehovah is God, supremely great, supremely good; the self-existent, the fountain of being and well-being, the infinitely perfect and ever-blessed God. Therefore He should be praised. It is right and seemly that mental and moral greatness should be reverenced, that goodness should be loved, &c. But the Poet states some particulars of His character.
(1.) He is good. “The Lord is good.” “He is benevolent.”—Barnes. “Gracious, kind.”—Perowne. “The word never means kind; and this sense is expressly excluded here by the circumstance that it is not only the mercy of the Lord; but also His faithfulness towards those who have received His promises, that appears here as the expression of His goodness. For the last two propositions are merely the development of the first.”—Hengstenberg. Fuerst gives the primary meaning of טוֹב, as καλός, pulcher, beautiful. It seems to us that the Poet intends to include in this word “good” all the meanings given above. The Lord is gracious and righteous, just and merciful, faithful and almighty. Infinite perfection and beauty are His. “To say that God is in Himself a compacted universe of sweetnesses, beauties, and splendours, is to speak very unworthily, for endless universes lie hidden in the bosom of the Infinite nature. The heavens must improve, and the creatures must mature, in wisdom and holiness, yet for ages of ages, before they will be capable of reflecting the higher, not to say the highest, beauties of ‘the Father of lights.’ Beauty is the robe of holiness: the more holiness the more beauty. To all eternity we can imagine the first and loveliest of all God’s creatures praying: ‘Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.’ ” A being of such spiritual excellence should receive the heartiest, holiest praise of all creatures.
(2.) He is merciful. “His mercy is everlasting.” This is included in His goodness. God’s goodness in forgiving offenders and relieving sufferers we denominate His mercy. God’s mercy is His goodness in relation to sinners. This mercy is everlasting. The glorious results of it will be enjoyed for ever. Being sinners we should praise Him for His mercy.
(3.) He is faithful. “His truth endureth to all generations.” He is true in Himself. “A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He.” He is true in His dealings with others. He fulfils all His promises. And He will be true for ever. No changes, however great, can produce any change in Him. Here then we have another reason for praise.
2. Because of what He is in relation to others. “He hath made us, and not we ourselves,” &c.
(1) He made us His people. He is our Creator. He called us into being. But the Psalmist means more than that, as will be seen if we read the verse without the words interpolated by the translators: “He hath made us, and not we ourselves, His people.” Not merely has He created us, but He has made us what we are, viz., His people. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”
(2) He shepherds us as His people. “The sheep of His pasture.” “The Lord is my shepherd.” As a shepherd He rules, guides, protects, and provides for His people. It is theirs to trust, follow, and obey Him. (See outlines on Psa_77:20; Psa_80:1.) Here we have most sufficient reasons for praise. He has made us what we are; and He will not forget the work of His own hands, or forsake His people. He knows us intimately, and cares for us, and provides for us, as the shepherd for his sheep. And He is supremely good, and merciful, and true; and He is so through all ages and through all changes. Surely then it becomes us to praise Him with glad and grateful hearts.
II. The extent of praise to the Lord. “All ye lands.” Literally, as in the margin: “All the earth.” Not simply the Jew, but all people. The Lord is the Creator and Sustainer of all men; the bountiful Benefactor of all men; therefore all should praise Him. He is the Redeemer of all men. “He died for all;” therefore by all should His praise be celebrated. The glorious day draws near when.
“Earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
Shall fill His courts with sounding praise.”
III. The character of praise to the Lord. It should be—
1. Joyous. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Hengstenberg: “Shout for joy to the Lord.” Perowne: “ ‘Shout aloud unto Jehovah:’ used of the welcome given to a king who enters his capital, or takes possession of the throne, as in Psa_98:4-6; Psa_66:1.” “Serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing.” Our worship of the Lord should be cheerful and songful, the utterance of rejoicing hearts. He is honoured by our joyous praise. “Cheerfulness credits religion.”
2. Grateful. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” The previous verse contains abundant reasons for grateful praise. And in this verse all nations are invited to share in those glorious privileges. “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and forget not all His benefits.”
3. Practical. “Serve the Lord with gladness.” “By serving Him here we are not to understand merely the worship of God.” We serve Him by loyally obeying His commands, &c. Such service we should render spontaneously, heartily, joyously. “Thy statutes have been my song,” &c.
CONCLUSION.—“The great lesson of the Psalm is this,” says Mr. S. Cox, “Be unselfish and catholic towards man, trustful and reverent towards God, and pure, deep, religious joy will be yours.”
THE SIN AND FOLLY OF BEING UNHAPPY
(Psa_100:2)
“Serve the Lord with gladness.”
Let us consider the sin and folly of being unhappy, especially of rendering unhappy service to God. His yoke is easy, and His burden light.
I. God is happy. He is the blessed God, in whom are the fountains of all gladness. Hence that expression, “the joy of God,” is one denoting the joy that is in God, even more than the joy He gives. Christ was a man of sorrows during His earthly life, because He was bearing our sins. But He sorrowed that we might not sorrow, but rejoice. He served the Father in sorrow, that we might serve Him with gladness.
II. The angels are happy. They are the blessed angels. They only know what sorrow is by seeing it in us when they come to minister to us. They drink always of the rivers of pleasures, which are at the right hand of God. Sometimes their joy rises higher, as when they shouted for joy over the new-made world, or as when they are called on to join in the joy of God over one sinner that repenteth. They serve the Lord with gladness.
III. Forgiven men are happy. This is David’s testimony: “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven.” These are a twofold class—
(1) those who have departed and are with Christ;
(2) those who are still here. Of that latter section of redeemed men we say they are happy, though imperfect, because they are forgiven. They are in an evil world, and have much evil within them—many trials, sore warfare, great feebleness,—yet they are happy. Why? Because forgiven. The favour of God rests on them. They know it, and find that in His favour is life. Being forgiven, and knowing this, they serve the Lord with gladness.
It would appear, then, not only that there is happiness in heaven with God and the holy angels, but that there is happiness here on earth, and that we may be partakers of it. The basis and the beginning of that happiness must be the forgiveness of sins and the favour of God. These are attainable; they are presented, to us as free gifts; we are besought to accept them; we cannot reject them without sinning. Let me notice then—
I. We can only be unhappy by refusing pardon. The pardon is provided, and it is preached to the sons of men—
(1) It is a free pardon;
(2) a righteous pardon;
(3) a present pardon;
(4) a comprehensive pardon, covering all sin;
(5) it is to be had in what God has told us about the propitiation of His Son.… Then must not the absence of this pardon be the fruit of our own rejection of it; and not God’s sovereignty or unwillingness? We are unhappy, not simply because we are sinful and foolish, but because we are resolutely indulging in the sin and folly of rejecting God’s gift, and so of refusing to be happy.
II. We can only be unhappy by refusing Christ. It is not Christ refusing us (He never did so), but it is our refusing Christ, that Keeps us unhappy. He is God’s free gift to us; a gift which we are not merely at liberty to accept, but which we refuse at our peril. Persistence in the rejection of Christ is the true cause of all the unhappiness of earth.
III. We can only be unhappy by determining not to turn. God says, “Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?” turn and live. It is vain for us to throw the blame off ourselves, and say, “I want to turn, but I cannot, and God will not help me.” This is not true. “I am most willing to be converted, but God will not convert me,” is just as if the drunkard were to say, “I am most willing to give up drinking, but God will not help me to be sober;” or the swearer, “I am most anxious to cease swearing, but I cannot, and God will not give me the power.” Whatever, then, the solemn truth of God’s sovereignty may be (and He would not be God were He not Sovereign), it is not that sovereignty that is hindering you from turning, but your own determination not to do so. Your not turning is the cause of your unhappiness; you cannot be happy till you turn.
In like manner it is with all of us. We might be always happy, were we always receiving the gifts which Christ presents to us; crediting the Divine testimony as to the sufficiency of the great sacrifice, and the freeness of the great love.
Unhappiness thus is wilful. “Ye will not come to Me.” It profiteth nothing. It does not liberate, or strengthen, or sanctify, or comfort. To be unhappy is our folly and our sin. When happy, no toil is irksome, no trouble or annoyance is felt. Be happy then in God, &c.—H. Bonar, D.D.—Abridged from “Light and Truth.”
THE ETERNAL TRUTH OF GOD
(Psa_100:5, last clause)
I. God is true.
He is true in His very nature. There is no deceit, falsehood, nor error in the essential nature of God. Whatever makes men untruthful, nothing of the kind can operate with God.
He is true to His nature. We are not always true to ourselves. I have known a generous man who, in a pet, has acted very ungenerously. But the Lord is always true to Himself.
He is true in action. He has been true to the making of the eternal covenant.
He has been true to all His purposes. Whatever God resolved to do He has done. “Hath He said it, and shall He not do it?”
He is true to His promises. There is not a promise which God has made, but what either He has kept it, or else, being dated for the future, He will keep it when the time appointed comes.
He is true to all His published Word, which He has made known to us in Holy Scripture.
He is true in every relation that He sustains. As a King, a Judge, a Father, a Friend, et al.
He is true to every man, to every woman, in the world.
II. God is true in all generations.
He has been true in the past. The whole of history, sacred and profane, goes to prove that.
He is true still—true to-night.
He will be true.
Since God is true, ye children of God, why do ye mistrust Him? Ye sinners, why do you belie Him by your unbelief?—C. H. Spurgeon.—Abridged.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1Psalm 100
Psalm 100
Psa 100:1: The lands are required to receive the good tidings from heaven, which implies that they are to cast off and reject their own gods. They are to turn from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven. A joyful noise is to be made, because a glad message has come.
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Psa 100:2: He who sends the message claims obedience. "Serve Jehovah." There is sorrow not in the service, but for not having served before; and there is sorrow remaining because the service is still so poor and defective. But there is no sorrow in the service.
Psa 100:3: That Jehovah may be really served, He must be known. Jehovah is a God of wisdom, and He will have an intelligent worship. To know that Jehovah is God is to know His character and perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture, and most specially as revealed in Christ Jesus, His Son, in whom all lies in perfect harmony and most glorious display.
Psa 100:4 and Psa 100:5: The exercises which we are here called unto are praise, and blessing, and thanksgiving: praise because of God’s excellences; blessing because of the happiness of God in Himself; thanksgiving because of His benefits.
J. Duncan, The Pulpit and Communion Table, p. 344.
References: Psa 100:2.—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 9; Ibid., Sermons, vol. xiii., No. 769. Psa 100:3-5.—Ibid., vol. xx., No. 1197. Psa 100:4.—Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 312. Psa 100:5.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xxi., No. 1265.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant1903 · Public DomainOn v1The Final Praise.
The Final Praise.
A psalm of thanksgiving.
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The hundredth psalm closes this series with the full anthem of praise. Naught else remains. Perfection is found and rest; and both are in God. There is little need of interpretation. Jehovah is now to be in every mouth, not the superstitious dread of men afraid of uttering His Name, but shouting it aloud for very gladness: joyous service, with a song. Jehovah is indeed the manifest God, to whom belong His people: the creatures and the cared for of His hand. Strangely it may seem, but most beautifully, surely, the thankful approach of the worshiper falls into the fourth place, which speaks of the practical life. The life will now be praise (comp. Heb 13:15-16). And the psalm ends with the record of Jehovah’s ways, which are the theme of the praise itself: "for Jehovah is good: His loving-kindness is for ever; and His truth endureth from generation to generation."
Amen.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1This famous Ps. (the 'Jubilate,' 'Old Hundredth') does not…
This famous Ps. (the 'Jubilate,' 'Old Hundredth') does not give God the title of King, but its contents are otherwise so similar to those of the previous 'theocratic' Pss. that it is naturally grouped along with them both as to subject and date. It calls the world to worship God (Psa_100:1-2), describes Him as the Creator and Shepherd of His people (Psa_100:3), points to the second Temple as the seat of His service (Psa_100:4), and closes with an ascription of praise which was often repeated in post-exilic worship (Psa_100:5).
3. Us] refers specially to Israel, ye being addressed to the nations: see v.
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1. And not we ourselves] RV 'and we are his.' The sheep of his pasture] see Psa_95:7, and the 'Asaphic' Pss. (73-83).
5. Is everlasting] RV 'endureth for ever': see 1Ch_16:34, 1Ch_16:41; 2Ch_7:3-6; 2Ch_20:21; Ezr_3:11; Psa_106:1; Psa_107:1; Psa_118:1-4; Psalms 136, Psa_138:8, etc. The Chronicler evidently transposes into earlier times Pss. which were written after the exile, and the same thing appears to be the case with this formula of praise.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v1Psalm 100
Psalm 100
Nothing but Praise
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It is Israel’s voice in praise which we hear in this brief Psalm, which so fittingly concludes this series of great millennial Psalms. They exhort that all the earth should make a joyful noise unto the Lord, to serve Him and come before Him with singing. The third verse tells us that they are the speakers. All are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise. How often is this Psalm used in a spiritualized way, making the gates and the courts some church building. But we worship in spirit and in truth and not in an earthly house. The gates and courts have reference to that future temple, which will be a house of prayer for all nations.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1An Invitation to All Men to Serve the True…
An Invitation to All Men to Serve the True God.
A psalm of praise, properly placed here to close this wonderful series of praise anthems, the summons here being to give thanksgiving to God, the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of men.
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v. 1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, with the voice of exultant singing, all ye lands, Psa 98:4.
v. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness, not in the fear and terror of the Law, but with the joy flowing from true faith; come before His presence with singing, with shouts of homage to the mighty and merciful Ruler.
v. 3. Know ye that the Lord, He is God, that is the basis of a proper understanding of the divinity, that Jehovah alone is the true God; it is He that hath made us, by His almighty, creative power, and not we ourselves, everything that we are and have is a gift of His goodness and grace, and we may well think of the entire explanation of the First and the Second Article of the Creed at this point; we are His people, the believers, the true spiritual Israel, and the sheep of His pasture, in the care of the great Good Shepherd.
v. 4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, all men being invited to join the congregation of the Lord which has its place of worship in His temple, wherever His Word is preached; be thankful unto Him, for all the richness of His spiritual blessings, and bless His name, declaring the works performed by His wonderful attributes.
v. 5. For the Lord is good, Psa 25:8; Psa 34:8; His mercy, the liberality of His divine favor, on the basis of the redemption, is everlasting; and His truth, the faithfulness of His promises and of His love, endureth to all generations, from one generation to the next, as long as the world will stand, every new generation of believers learning and proclaiming this wonderful song of praise in honor of Jehovah the Messiah, as it will be sung also throughout eternity.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3, 4General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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Shout joyfully to Yahweh
"Raise a shout to Yahweh." See how "shout" is translated in Psalms 47:1.
all the earth
This refers to all the people of the earth. AT: "everyone on the earth" (See: Metonymy)
come before his presence
The psalmist speaks as if he is telling the readers to go into the throne room of a king. AT: "go to where he is with joyful singing" or "he can hear you, so sing joyfully" (See: Metaphor)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 1 Make a joyful noise The Psalmist refers only…
1 Make a joyful noise The Psalmist refers only to that part of the service of God which consists in recounting his benefits and giving thanks. And since he invites the whole of the inhabitants of the earth indiscriminately to praise Jehovah, he seems, in the spirit of prophecy, to refer to the period when the Church would be gathered out of different nations. Hence he commands (verse 2) that God should be served with gladness, intimating that his kindness towards his own people is so great as to furnish them with abundant ground for rejoicing. This is better expressed in the third verse, in which he first reprehends the presumption of those men who had wickedly revolted from the true God, both in fashioning for themselves gods many, and in devising various forms of worshipping them. And as a multitude of gods destroys and suppresses the true knowledge of one God only, and tarnishes his glory, the prophet, with great propriety, calls upon all men to bethink themselves, and to cease from robbing God of the honor due to his name; and, at the same time, inveighs against their folly in that, not content with the one God, they were become vain in their imaginations. For, however much they are constrained to confess with the mouth that there is a God, the maker of heaven and earth, yet they are ever and anon gradually despoiling him of his glory; and in this manner, the Godhead is, to the utmost extent of their power, reduced to a nonentity. As it is then a most difficult thing to retain men in the practice of the pure worship of God, the prophet, not without reason, recalls the world from its accustomed vanity, and commands them to recognize God as God. For we must attend to this short definition of the knowledge of him, namely, that his glory be preserved unimpaired, and that no deity be opposed to him that might obscure the glory of his name. True, indeed, in the Papacy, God still retains his name, but as his glory is not comprehended in the mere letters of his name, it is certain that there he is not recognized as God. Know, therefore, that the true worship of God cannot be preserved in all its integrity until the base profanation of his glory, which is the inseparable attendant of superstition, be completely reformed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5 He prophecieth that God’s benefit in calling the Gentiles…
He prophecieth that God’s benefit in calling the Gentiles shall be so great, that they shall have wonderful occasion to praise his mercy and rejoice.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Psa 100:1 « A Psalm of praise. » Make…
Psa 100:1 « A Psalm of praise. » Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
A Psalm of praise] Suavis et gravis, short and sweet; appointed, likely, to be sung at the thank offerings, quando pacifica erant offerenda, say the Italian and Spanish annotators. See Psa 100:4. Enter with thanksgiving, or with thank sacrifice, Lev 7:12.
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Ver. 1. All ye lands] Both Jews and Gentiles, Rom 15:10-11, for your common salvation.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 Make a joyful noise; partly with voices and songs…
Make a joyful noise; partly with voices and songs of rejoicing and thanksgiving; and partly with musical instruments, as the manner then was.
All ye lands; all the inhabitants of the earth. Or, all the land, i.e. all the people of Israel dwelling in this land. Although his invitation seems to be more general, extending also to the Gentiles, of whom many even in those days joined themselves to the church of God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate.…
Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate. The psalm does indeed answer to the title, A psalm of praise; it begins with that call which of late we have several times met with (Psa 100:1), Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands, or all the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully answered to. But, if we take the foregoing psalm to be (as we have opened it) a call to the Jewish church to rejoice in the administration of God's kingdom, which they were under (as the four psalms before it were calculated for the days of the Messiah), this psalm, perhaps, was intended for proselytes, that came over out of all lands to the Jews' religion. However, we have here, 1. A strong invitation to worship God; not that God needs us, or any thing we have or can do, but it is his will that we should serve the Lord, should devote ourselves to his service and employ ourselves in it; and that we should not only serve him in all instances of obedience to his law, but that we should come before his presence in the ordinances which he has appointed and in which he has promised to manifest himself (Psa 100:2), that we should enter into his gates and into his courts (Psa 100:4), that we should attend upon him among his servants, and keep there where he keeps court. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we come into God's presence, and serve him; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates and into his courts. The people were not permitted to enter into the holy place; there the priests only went in to minister. But let the people be thankful for their place in the courts of God's house, to which they were admitted and where they gave their attendance. 2. Great encouragement given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully (Psa 100:2): Serve the Lord with gladness. This intimates a prediction that in gospel-times there should be special occasion for joy; and it prescribes this as a rule of worship: Let God be served with gladness. By holy joy we do really serve God; it is an honour to him to rejoice in him; and we ought to serve him with holy joy. Gospel-worshippers should be joyful worshippers; if we serve God in uprightness, let us serve him with gladness. We must be willing and forward to it, glad when we are called to go up to the house of the Lord (Psa 122:1), looking upon it as the comfort of our lives to have communion with God; and we must be pleasant and cheerful in it, must say, It is good to be here, approaching to God, in every duty, as to God our exceeding Joy, Psa 43:4. We must come before his presence with singing, not only songs of joy, but songs of praise. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, Psa 100:4. We must not only comfort ourselves, but glorify God, with our joy, and let him have the praise of that which we have the pleasure of. Be thankful to him and bless his name; that is, (1.) We must take it as a favour to be admitted into his service, and give him thanks that we have liberty of access to him, that we have ordinances instituted and opportunity continued of waiting upon God in those ordinances. (2.) We must intermix praise and thanksgiving with all our services. This golden thread must run through every duty (Heb 13:15), for it is the work of angels. In every thing give thanks, in every ordinance, as well as in every providence.
II. The matter of praise, and motives to it, are very important, Psa 100:3, Psa 100:5. Know you what God is in himself and what he is to you. Note, Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience: blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God. "Know it; consider and apply it, and then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the worship of him." Let us know then these seven things concerning the Lord Jehovah, with whom we have to do in all the acts of religious worship: - 1. That the Lord he is God, the only living and true God - that he is a Being infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the fountain of all being; he is God, and not a man as we are. He is an eternal Spirit, incomprehensible and independent, the first cause and last end. The heathen worshipped the creature of their own fancy; the workmen made it, therefore it is not God. We worship him that made us and all the world; he is God, and all other pretended deities are vanity and a lie, and such as he has triumphed over. 2. That he is our Creator: It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. I find that I am, but cannot say, I am that I am, and therefore must ask, Whence am I? Who made me? Where is God my Maker? And it is the Lord Jehovah. He gave us being, he gave us this being; he is both the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits. We did not, we could not, make ourselves. It is God's prerogative to be his own cause; our being is derived and depending. 3. That therefore he is our rightful owner. The Masorites, by altering one letter in the Hebrew, read it, He made us, and his we are, or to him we belong. Put both the readings together, and we learn that because God made us, and not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own, but his. He has an incontestable right to, and property in, us and all things. His we are, to be actuated by his power, disposed of by his will, and devoted to his honour and glory. 4. That he is our sovereign ruler: We are his people or subjects, and he is our prince, our rector or governor, that gives law to us as moral agents, and will call us to an account for what we do. The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver. We are not at liberty to do what we will, but must always make conscience of doing as we are bidden. 5. That he is our bountiful benefactor. We are not only his sheep, whom he is entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of; the flock of his feeding (so it may be read); therefore the sheep of his hand; at his disposal because the sheep of his pasture, Psa 95:7. He that made us maintains us, and gives us all good things richly to enjoy. 6. That he is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (Psa 100:5): The Lord is good, and therefore does good; his mercy is everlasting; it is a fountain that can never be drawn dry. The saints, who are now the sanctified vessels of mercy, will be, to eternity, the glorified monuments of mercy. 7. That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness: His truth endures to all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated or revoked. The promise is sure to all the seed, from age to age.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye…
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Or, "all the earth" (c); that is, as the Targum, all the inhabitants of the earth, who are called upon to shout unto him as their King; as the angels did at his birth, the disciples when he made his public entrance into Jerusalem, the apostles at his ascension to heaven, the saints when the marriage of him, the Lamb, will be come, and both men and angels when he shall descend from heaven to judge the world; and such a joyful noise or shout should be made unto him as to a triumphant conqueror, who has got the victory over sin, Satan, death, and the grave, and every enemy of his and his people, and made them more than conquerors through himself; see Psa 95:1.
(c) "omnis terra", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v1 An exhortation to praise God and to rejoice in…
An exhortation to praise God and to rejoice in him, ver. 1- 5 A psalm of praise
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–5 All nations are exhorted to praise the Lord, 1,…
PSALM C
All nations are exhorted to praise the Lord, 1, 2;
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to acknowledge him to be the Sovereign God and their Creator
and that they are his people and the flock of his pasture, 3;
to worship him publicly, and be grateful for his mercies, 4.
The reasons on which this is founded; his own goodness, his
everlasting mercy, and his ever-during truth, 5.
NOTES ON PSALM C
This Psalm is entitled in the Hebrew מזמור לתודה mizmor lethodah, not "A Psalm of Praise," as we have it, but "A Psalm for the confession, or for the confession-offering," very properly translated by the Chaldee: שבחא על קורבן תודתא shibcha al kurban todetha, "Praise for the sacrifice (or offering) of confession." The Vulgate, Septuagint, and AEthiopic have followed this sense. The Arabic attributes it to David. The Syriac has the following prefixed: "Without a name. Concerning Joshua the son of Nun, when he had ended the war with the Ammonites: but in the new covenant it relates to the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith." It is likely that it was composed after the captivity, as a form of thanksgiving to God for that great deliverance, as well as an inducement to the people to consecrate themselves to him, and to be exact in the performance of the acts of public worship.
Verse 1. Make a joyful noise] הריעו hariu, exult, triumph, leap for joy.
All ye lands.] Not only Jews, but Gentiles, for the Lord bestows his benefits on all with a liberal hand.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 Psa 100:1-2. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord…
Psa 100:1-2. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord — Partly, with voices, and songs of rejoicings, and thanksgiving; and partly with musical instruments, as the manner then was; all ye lands — That is, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully obeyed. Serve the Lord with gladness — Devote yourselves to, and employ yourselves in, his service. Come before his presence with singing — In the ordinances which he has appointed, and in which he has promised to manifest himself to his people. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we may be truly said to come into God’s presence; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates, and into his courts, as expressed Psa 100:4, which should be with thanksgiving for so great a privilege, and with praise for his goodness manifested herein.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord - See…
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord - See the notes at Psa 95:1.
All ye lands - Margin, as in Hebrew, “all the earth.” The margin expresses the sense. The idea in the psalm is, that praise did not pertain to one nation only; that it was not appropriate for one people merely; that it should not be confined to the Hebrew people, but that there was a proper ground of praise for “all;” there was that in which all nations, of all languages and conditions, could unite. The ground of that was the fact that they had one Creator, Psa 100:3. The psalm is based on the unity of the human race; on the fact that there is one God and Father of all, and one great family on earth.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 100
Psalms 100
A Psalm of Praise
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Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
3 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.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
And his truth endureth to all generations.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Superscription.—As Psalms 38, 70 were not only written in order to call to remembrance Jehovah’s gracious deeds in general, but stand in a definite relation to offerings, so here also the superscription seems to indicate a liturgical purpose, and that not merely for confession in the public worship (Sept. Vulg.), with the songs of praise of the people, but for real sacrifices of praise, called in Psa_107:22; Psa_116:17, זֲבח תּוֹדָה, but also simply תּוֹרָהPsa_56:13; 2Ch_29:31. “The same class of Shelamim is meant, which were presented in thankful praise for divine blessings enjoyed, and especially for miraculous protection and deliverance.” (Delitzsch). Along with a great resemblance to Psalms 95 there are still not wanting essential peculiarities. For example, both strophes express and justify the invitation to the thankful acknowledgment and public worship of Jehovah.
Psa_100:1-3. Make a joyful noise, etc. We may suppose this to allude to the shouts of homage of those who acknowledge Jehovah as King, and accordingly regard the serving [Psa_100:2], as the correlative of ruling in the wider sense (Venema, Hengst.) as in Psa_72:11. Serving with gladness (Psa_100:2), stands in contrast to “serve with fear and rejoice with trembling,” in Psa_2:11, as in that passage it is subjection that is spoken of, while here it is the voluntary union of the whole earth, that is, of men of all nations, with the Church, which appears worshipping before Jehovah in Zion. But the whole psalm has to do directly and specially with acts of public worship, which partly presuppose that more general service, and partly have it for a consequence. The event from which these nations are to gain the knowledge (Psa_4:4) that Jehovah is God. is not mentioned here. It must, however, according to the context, have a world-wide significance, and be connected with the deliverance of the people who confess to Him (Psa_100:3) that they are His work (Deu_32:6; Deu_32:15; Isa_29:23; Isa_60:21), His inheritance, and a people tended and led like a flock. “His people and flock” are in apposition not to “us” (Hengstenberg), but to “we.” For this passage belongs to the fifteen, which, according to the Masoretic enumeration, occur in the Old Testament, where לֹא is written and לֹו read. Indeed, both readings may be justified (Kimchi), and the translations given: while we were not (Symmachus, Isaaki), or better: not we (Sept., Vulg., Jerome), made clearer by the addition, ourselves (Luther, Geier, and others), as a contrast to the boasting of Pharaoh (Eze_29:3). But the reading לֹו (Chald., Jerome, Aben Ezra, Saadia), in nineteen codices of De Rossi and nine of Kennicott is preferred by most of the recent expositors. [This is expressed by the marginal reading in E. V., “And His we are,” which is preferred by Perowne and Noyes. The other is favored by Alexander, Wordsworth, and Barnes. The passage cited above, Eze_29:3, to which this is supposed to be a contrast, is probably to be understood as it is in E. V.: “I have made it (the Nile) myself.”—J. F. M.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. God is not merely Creator and Ruler of the world. He is also Founder, Guardian, Lord, and Shepherd of His Church. His people should exhibit their sense of this relation, and especially give it expression in public worship, in order that all the world may discover that this God is the only God, to adore whom, men of all lands should unite with the Church.
2. The conviction that such is God’s will, evokes missionary songs in the Church, and sets before her eyes the duty of Missions. But it also awakens a love for the former as well as for the latter service of the Lord, strengthens the belief in the eternal efficacy of the mercy and truth of God, and, to gratitude for the blessings already received from the hand of the Highest, unites the expectation that the world-embracing destiny of the true religion (Isa_56:7; Isaiah 60; Isa_66:23) will be realized.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
We should be as willing to serve God as we are bound to do so, and encourage one another to that duty as well as invite others to engage in it.—Delight in God’s service as connected with the knowledge of God and gratitude for His benefit.—The manner, ground, and blessing of the proper public worship of God.—The Church is to the world, what the house of God is to the Church, the place of blessing in the knowledge and worship of God.
Starke: There is nothing to be found under the sun, which can make the heart more joyful than sincere religion.—If God’s mercy and truth are eternal, they remain still with us now, and we and our descendants until the end of the world will have them for our consolation.—Rieger: In the kingdom of God every one can and is permitted to come before the face of this God of mercy.—Diedrich: We discover all God’s glory in His word, through which He has declared His name to us, that it is Love.—God asks no hard service, but only that we know Him, believe Him, and from His fulness of grace alone draw all our strength for every undertaking.—Taube: A shout of joy through the whole world, over the majestic God of Zion, so rich in mercy, who comes to bless the earth.
[Matt. Henry: We must intermix praise and thanksgiving in all our services; this golden thread must run through every duty, Heb_13:15. For it is the work of angels.—Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience. Blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God.—Barnes: The Psalm is based on the unity of the human race: that there is one God and Father of all, and one great family on earth.—J. F. M.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–5 1. All ye lands—The call is to all nations…
1. All ye lands—The call is to all nations and peoples of the earth.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–5 1. Shout unto Jehovah, all the earth, (as in…
1. Shout unto Jehovah, all the earth, (as in Psa_98:4; Psa_66:1), greeting Him as King. See note on Psa_98:4. Render, as A.V. there and in Psa_66:1, all the earth, not all ye lands. In the worship of Jehovah mankind is to regain its lost unity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 (1) Make a joyful noise.—See Psa_98:4.
(1) Make a joyful noise.—See Psa_98:4.
All ye lands.—Or, all the earth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–5 THE hundredth psalm has for its title, "A Psalm…
THE hundredth psalm has for its title, "A Psalm of praise," or "of thanksgiving," and to this description it well answers. There is not a single mournful note in the composition. God is praised from the beginning to the end, and all the earth is called upon to join in blessing and thanking him. It has been suggested that it was probably written to be chanted by a festive procession as it approached and entered the temple (see ver. 4). The whole runs on without any break or division.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. (comp. Psa_95:1, Psa_95:2, and the comment ad loc.) All ye lands; literally, all the earth.
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The joy of service.
(Sermon for missions) In this short psalm a note is sounded which echoes, and will never cease to echo, through the world. The trumpet of jubilee is blown, not for Israel, but for all mankind. Brief as this psalm is, it is one of the most wonderful portions of Scripture, glowing with self-evident light of inspiration, not poetic, but prophetic, Divine. This first verse exhibits the three characteristic features of the whole psalm its catholicity; its joyfulness; its hope and promise.
I Here, in the very heart of Old Testament Scriptures, is an anticipation of Christ"s world wide command. (Mar_16:15 Mat_28:19) No trace of either national exclusiveness or ecclesiastical bigotry. God"s temple is thrown open to all mankind (ver. 4). "Courts," not the "court of the Gentiles" merely. All men alike are invited to say, "His we are see margin; we are his people." It is impossible to explain such words from Jewish lips, such feelings in Jewish hearts, but by Divine inspiration. (cf. Gal_3:8)
II JOY IN GOD IS ONE OF THE MOST MARKED FEATURES OF THE PSALMS. In this psalm it rises to its highest pitch. Worship is a native instinct and need of the human heart; and heathen worship was often attended with tumultuous rejoicing. But not joy in God"s holiness; (Psa_97:10-12) in our belonging absolutely to him; (Psa_119:94) in his righteous rule; (Psa_98:6, Psa_98:9) in his mercy and truth (ver. 5). These streams of joy are from a higher source. (Gal_5:22)
III THIS PSALM CAN BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD ONLY TAKEN WITH Ps 93, 95-99. The whole series not only celebrates, but foretells, the coming of Jehovah to "judge," i.e. to rule and reign over the whole world. (comp. Ps 72) Such bold world wide hopes would be utterly inexplicable as mere poetic dreams of Jewish imagination, and can be explained only as inspired prophecies and promises; so they would be wholly unmeaning and fictitious apart from their fulfilment in Christ. (Joh_5:22, 23 12:32 Mat_28:18)
CONCLUSION. The enterprise of Christian missions is the most joyful work in the world; the proclamation of the most joyful news to every human being, on the authority of God"s command, in the light of God"s glorious promises.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-5. Jubilate.
This psalm, which comes at the close of the magnificent series of royal psalms, which tell of the reign of Christ Jehovah, has been called their doxology. It seems to have been sung during the thank offering in the temple service. (Lev_7:12) "Luther would have immortalized his name had he done no more than written the majestic air and harmony to which we are accustomed to sing this psalm, and which, when the mind is in a truly worshipping frame, seems to bring heaven down to earth, and to raise earth to heaven, giving us anticipations of the pure and sublime delights of that noble and general assembly in which saints and angels shall forever celebrate the praises of God." The psalm "is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has, for this reason, been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written." It bids us "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." It means "a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them." Now, let us consider this subject of thankful praise which it brings so prominently before us. Let us glance at
I THE HOLY DUTY TO WHICH WE ARE SUMMONED.
1. Our hearts are to be full of thanksgiving. It is no mere outside worship which is told of here, but such as wells up from the deepest fountains of a grateful and glad heart.
2. We are to openly avow that thankfulness. It is not, though beginning in the heart, to stay there. Openly, loudly, joyfully, we are to let all men know our delight in God.
3. We are to join with others in this service of praise. There is to be no standing aloof or pleading that we can worship God as well at home. We are to go with the multitude to keep holy day.
4. And it is to be all unto the Lord. Choirs and congregations alike are to remember this.
II THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THIS SUMMONS IS BASED.
1. The Lord, he is God. " Our Jehovah, so good and gracious, is God Almighty also. Not only a Saviour who would fain bless and save us; but who has all power is mighty to save.
2. He is our Creator, and so responsible for our being. "It is he that hath made us," etc. (ver. 3). This is a most blessed fact. When we see what men and women are, so corrupt and evil, we often wonder wherefore God perpetuates the race. But he does so; he takes all the responsibility of it. What treasure store of hope for humanity lies in this act!
3. He is our King and Shepherd. "We are his people, and," etc. (ver. 3) We are under his wise, holy, strong government; we are provided for by his loving care, led along as his sheep in his pasture.
4. He is good, eternally merciful, and true. (Ver. 5)
III THE CULTIVATION OF THIS THANKFUL SPIRIT. Many sadly fail here. They have no song, only a perpetual dirge, and against many the condemnation is written, "Neither were they thankful." Now, how may we cultivate this thankful spirit?
1. We must remove the hindrances. They are such as these: The miserable habit of looking enviously at what other people have, but which we have not, forgetting all the while what of good we nevertheless have. What folly this! and yet how common! and what a fruitful source of unhappiness, and of unthankfulness it is! And many are wont to look habitually on the dark side of their experience, and scarcely at all on the other and bright side. This is why St. Paul bids us, amid our prayers and supplications, to mingle thanksgivings, since this compels us to look at the bright side, in order to find out what we have to be thankful for. And then, too, our sad habit of regarding our ordinary mercies as mere matters of course is another sad hindrance of the thankful spirit. When health is restored after sore illness, how thankful we are! but the months and years of health which may follow give ample time to forget our thankfulness, and to let our gratitude die because we do not see anything extraordinary about our experience of God"s goodness. Now, we must set ourselves to get rid of these evil ways if we would be habitually thankful.
2. Then there are positive aids to this blessed spirit. Such as taking right views of life, remembering its brevity and its educational purpose. We are not at home here, and we cannot expect on a journey the comforts of home. And a school and such is this life is certainly not as a home, as his father"s house, to a child. Then think much of our mercies. Accustom yourself to go over them in your thoughts, and to render thanksgiving for them. And when misfortunes come, make the best, not the worst, of them. Remember bow much worse it might have been. It is told that "when the New England colonies were first planted, the settlers endured many privations and difficulties. Being piously disposed, they laid their distresses before God in frequent days of fasting and prayer. Constant meditation on such topics kept their minds gloomy and discontented, and made them disposed even to return to their Fatherland with all its persecutions. At length, when it was proposed to appoint a day of fasting and prayer, a plain, common sense old colonist was in the meeting, and remarked that he thought they had brooded long enough over their misfortunes, and that it seemed high time they should consider some of their mercies that the colony was growing strong, the fields increasing in harvests, the rivers full of fish, and the woods of game, the air sweet, the climate salubrious, and their homes happy; above all that, they possessed what they came for, full civil and religious liberty. And therefore, on the whole, he would amend their resolution for a fast, and propose in its stead a day of thanksgiving, His advice was taken, and from that day to this the festival has been an annual one." Ah! would that we had men of this spirit, and would make the best, not the worst, of our misfortunes! "The bee when in a flower from which it cannot get nectar, gets the golden farina, out of which it builds its cells, and so it rolls up its little legs against the stamens, till they look large and loaded as golden store, and, thanking the flower as sweetly as if it had been full of honey, gladly humming, it flies home with its wax. Yes, and herein lies God"s moral. If our flowers have no honey, let us be glad of the wax." The same writer who gives the above illustrations tells how the good, though self-willed, George III, when he had lost all our American colonies, and thousands of our troops had been slain, and millions upon millions of debt incurred, nevertheless, not to be outdone in piety by the Americans, ordered a day of thanksgiving. He was asked by a pious clergyman what the thanksgiving was to be for was it to be for any of the above-named facts? He pressed the king for an answer, who replied energetically, "Thank God it is not any worse." Yes; there is something to be thankful for in all circumstances, if we will only be open eyed to note it. Remember, too, that our evils are but blessings in disguise. "Light afflictions so St. Paul called them are but for a moment, and which work for us," etc. Above all, let us give our hearts to Christ. Yield them to him, as he bids us do; and as he will by his blessed Spirit fill them with all other good things, so he will shed abroad in them this grace also, the spirit of thankfulness.
IV REASONS FOR SUCH CULTIVATION.
1. Our circumstances demand it: we have cause for thankfulness.
2. It will greatly bless others. For a glad, thankful spirit is winsome and attractive Christwards, whilst the opposite spirit cannot but repel.
3. For our own sake. It will brighten all our life, whilst if, owl-like, we dwell in darkness, we shall come to love it, and be as dim-sighted and night haunting as they.
4. And does not the Lord our God and Saviour deserve all our praise? Therefore, jubilate. S.C.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-5. Worship.
I THE CALL TO THE WORSHIP OF GOD.
1. It is to be the worship of joyful song. (Vers. 1, 2) Not the worship of silent thought, but of glad utterance. True fear and joy not incompatible.
1. It is to be universal worship. (Ver. 1) "All ye lands," or "All the earth Gentiles as well as Jews.
2. It is to be the worship of thankful gratitude. (Ver. 4) In remembrance of all the Divine benefits and mercies received. No mention of confession of sin, or petition for blessing.
II THE GROUNDS OR REASONS OF THE CALL TO WORSHIP.
1. He is the only true God as distinguished from the gods of the heathen. (Ver. 3) "Be ye sure that Jehovah he is God.
2. He hath made us, and therefore we are his property. (Ver. 3) "It is he that hath made us, and we are his. " And we cannot yet fully understand what use he is going to make of us.
3. He is our Guide and Sustainer, our Shepherd. (Ver. 3) "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." We are dear to him as the sheep are to the shepherd. He is the good Shepherd pre-eminently. This is also the pre-eminent character of Christ.
4. His goodness and mercy are everlasting. (Ver. 5) Not only enduring and constant, but unbounded by any limits.
5. He fulfils his promises from generation to generation. (Ver. 5) "His truth" here means his faithfulness the fulfilment of the word or promise that he has spoken. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–5 A Psalm of Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This…
A Psalm of Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This is the only psalm bearing this precise inscription. It is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has for this reason been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written. "Let us sing the Old Hundredth" is one of the every-day expressions of the Christian church, and will be so while men, exist whose hearts are loyal to the Great King. Nothing can be more sublime this side heaven than the singing of this noble psalm by a vast congregation. Watts' paraphrase, beginning "Before Jehovah's awful throne, "and the Scotch "All people that on earth do dwell, "are both noble versions; and event Tare and Brady rise beyond themselves when they sing
"With one consent let all the earth
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To God their cheerful voices raise."
In this divine lyric we sing with gladness the creating power and goodness of the Lord, even as before with trembling we adored his holiness.
Ver. 1. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. This is a repetition of Ps 98:4. The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies. In every land Jehovah's goodness is seen, therefore in every land should be be praised. Nearer will the world be in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout it adores the only God. O ye nations, how long will ye blindly reject him? Your golden age will never arrive till ye with all your hearts revere him.
Title. This is the only Psalm in the whole collection entitled "A Psalm of Praise." It is supposed to have received this appellation because peculiarly adapted, if not designed to be sung, when the sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered. See Le 7:12. The Greeks think it was written by David, who here invites all the world to join with the Israelites in the service of God, whose divine sovereignty he here recognises. Samuel Burder.
Whole Psalm. If we are right in regarding Psalms 93-99 as forming one continuous series, one great prophetic oratorio, whose title is "Jehovah is King, "and through which there runs the same great idea, this Psalm may be regarded as the doxology which closes the strain. We find lingering in it notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same gladness; it is filled with the same hope, that all nations shall bow down before Jehovah, and confess that he is God. J.J.S. Perowne.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm contains a promise of Christianity, as winter at its close contains the promise of spring. The trees are ready to bud, the flowers are just hidden by the light soil, the clouds are heavy with rain, the sun shines in his strength; only a genial wind from the south is wanted to give a new life to all things. "The Speaker's Commentary, "1873.
Whole Psalm. Luther would have immortalized his name had he done no more than written the majestic air and harmony to which we are accustomed to sing this Psalm, and which, when the mind is in a truly worshipping frame, seems to bring heaven down to earth, and to raise earth to heaven, giving us anticipations of the pure and sublime delights of that noble and general assembly in which saints and angels shall for ever celebrate the praises of God. Ingram Cobbin.
Whole Psalm. This is a bunch of the grapes of Eshcol. It is a taste of what is still the promised land. The Jewish church came to its perfection in the reign of Solomon, but a greater than Solomon is here. The perfection of the New Testament church is here anticipated. This psalm teaches,
1. That there will be a joyful state of the whole world (Ps 100:1). (a) To whom the address is givento "all lands, "and all in those lands. (b) The subject of the address"Make a joyful noise." What a doleful noise it has made! (c) By whom the address is given, by him who secures what he commands.
2. That this joyful state of the whole world will arise from the enjoyment of the Divine Being (Ps 100:2). (a) Men have long tried to be happy without God. (b) They will find at last that their happiness is in God. The conversion of an individual in this respect is a type of the conversion of the world.
3. That this enjoyment of God will arise from a new relation to him (Ps 100:3). (a) Of knowledge on our part: he will be known as the Triune God, as a covenant God, as the God of salvationas God. (b) Of rightful claim on his part; (1.) by right of creation"He hath made us; " (2.) By light of redemption"Ye were not a people, but are now the people of God, "&c.; "I have redeemed thee: thou art mine"; (3.) by right of preservation"We are the sheep, "&c.
4. That this new relation to God will endear to us the ordinances of his house (Ps 100:4). (a) Of what the service will consist"thanksgiving" and praise. (b) To whom it will be rendered. Enter into his gates his courtsbe thankful unto him bless his name. That this service will be perpetual; begin on earth, continued in heaven. This fact is founded
5. That this service will be perpetual; begun on earth, continued in heaven. This face is founded (a) Upon essential goodness. "For the Lord is good." (b) Upon everlasting mercy. "His mercy, "etc. (c) Upon immutable truth. "His truth, "etc. G. R.
Psalms 100:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye…
Psa_100:1-5
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
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Worship
Worship is at once the duty of all duties, the service of all services, the joy of all joys.
I. It is founded on knowledge (verse 3).
1. A knowledge of what God is in Himself--the absolutely good.
2. A knowledge of what God is in His relations.
(1) Our Maker.
(2) Our Owner.
(3) Our Preserver.
II. It is developed in service. This should be--
1. Gladsome (verse 2).
2. Thankful (verse 4).
3. Demonstrative.
With praise. True worship does not skulk into solitude, shun the gaze of society, ashamed to show itself. It craves for an opportunity of public manifestation. The spirit of true worship breaks through obscurity as the living seed breaks through the soil to unfold itself in foliage, branches, and blossoms to the eye of all. It is a life, and all life seeks to come out into the sun. (Homilist.)
The Old Hundredth
I. The elements of true worship.
1. Service (verse 2). Everything connected with it--
(1) Real.
(2) Happy.
2. Praiseful (verse 1).
(1) Fervour.
(2) Cheerfulness.
3. Intelligent (verse 3).
4. Grateful (verse 4).
II. Motives (verse 5).
1. Essential goodness.
2. Eternal mercy.
3. Immutable faithfulness. Such a trinity of qualities in unlimited perfection sets before us a Being infinitely beautiful, infinitely lovable, infinitely worthy of our service and trust. (J. O. Keen, D.D.)
Religious gratitude
Gratitude, in the view of Dr. James Martineau, is a variety of generosity. It recognizes more than a mere fulfilment of duty. It is one of those warm human impulses that are not reduced to a science, without which we might be saved from a few mistakes, but at the expense of much that enriches life. Getting behind the psalm to the condition of mind which could produce it, we find that it could only come from one familiar with good things--from one who so thought upon Gods character that his theology became translated into the poetry of song. Many do not admit the grounds of the psalmists theology; hence the two common objections--
1. God did not make us to be happy. This objection is met by showing that the greatest fact of life is its possibilities of happiness. Especially is this true in an age of such marvellous scientific progress as the present, every step in which progress opens the way to a vast increase in the possibilities of happiness for the masses of mankind.
2. God ought to be able to keep us good. This objection is met by showing that in making moral, human beings good, God can only act within His character. The goodness of a man is not the goodness of a tree or of a sheep; were it forced upon him and made compulsory, it would not be moral. (W. H. Harwood.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 100
Psalms 100
THE Psalms of the King end with this full-toned call to all the earth to do Him homage. It differs from the others of the group, by making no distinct mention either of Jehovahs royal title or of the great act of deliverance which was His visible exercise of sovereignty. But it resembles them in its jubilant tone, its urgent invitation to all men to walk in the light which shone on Israel, and its conviction that the mercies shown to the nation bad blessing in them for all the world. The structure is simple. A call to praise Jehovah is twice given, and each is followed by reasons for His praise, which is grounded, in the first instance (Psa_100:3), on His dealings with Israel. and, in the second, on His character as revealed by all His works.
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Psa_100:1 consists of but a single clause, and, as Delitzsch says, is like the signal blast of a trumpet. It rings out a summons to "all the earth," as in Psa_98:4, which is expanded in Psa_100:2. The service there enjoined is that of worship in the Temple, as in Psa_100:4. Thus, the characteristic tone of this group of psalms echoes here, in its close, and all men are called and welcomed to the Sanctuary. There is no more a Court of the Gentiles. Not less striking than the universality of the psalm is its pulsating gladness. The depths of sorrow, both of that which springs from outward calamities and of that more heart-breaking sort which wells up from dark fountains in the soul, have been sounded in many a psalm. But the Psalter would not reflect all the moods of the devout soul, unless it had some strains of unmingled joy. The Christian Year has perfect days of sunlit splendour, when all the winds are still, and no cloud darkens the unbroken blue. There is no music without passages in minor keys; but joy has its rights and place too, and they know but little of the highest kind of worship who do not sometimes feel their hearts swell with gladness more poignant and exuberant than earth can minister.
The reason for the worlds gladness is given in Psa_100:3. It is Jehovahs special relation to Israel. So far as the language of the verse is concerned, it depends on Psa_95:7. "He hath made us" does not refer to creation, but to the constituting of Israel the people of God. "We are His" is the reading of the Hebrew margin, and is evidently to be preferred to that of the text, "Not we ourselves." The difference in Hebrew is only in one letter, and the pronunciation of both readings would be the same. Jewish text critics count fifteen passages, in which a similar mistake has been made in the text. Here, the comparison of Psalms 95 and the connection with the next clause of Psa_100:3 are decidedly in favour of the amended reading. It is to be observed that this is the only and it is natural to lay stress on the opposition between "ye" in Psa_100:3 a, -and "we" and "us" in b. The collective Israel speaks, and calls all men to rejoice in Jehovah, because of His grace to it. The psalm is, then, not, as Cheyne calls it, "a national song of thanksgiving, with which a universalistic element is not completely fused," but a song which starts from national blessings, and discerns in them a message of hope and joy for all men. Israel was meant to be a sacred hearth on which a fire was kindled, that was to warm all the house. God revealed Himself in Israel, but to the world.
The call to praise is repeated in Psa_100:4 with more distinct reference to the open Temple gates into which all the nations may now enter. The psalmist sees, in prophetic hope, crowds pouring in with glad alacrity through the portals, and then hears the joyful tumult of their many voices rising in a melodious surge of praise. His eager desire and large-hearted confidence that so it will one day be are vividly expressed by the fourfold call in Psa_100:4. And the reason which should draw all men to bless Gods revealed character is that His self-revelation, whether to Israel or to others, shows that the basis of that character is goodness-i.e., kindness or love-and that, as older singers have sung, "His lovingkindness endures forever," and, as a thousand generations in Israel and throughout the earth have proved, His faithful adherence to His word. and discharge of all obligations under which He has come to His creatures, give a basis for trust and a perpetual theme for joyful thanksgiving. Therefore, all the world has an interest in Jehovahs royalty, and should, and one day shall, compass His throne with joyful homage, and obey His behests with willing service.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 This Psalm completes the series of Royal Psalms, and…
INTRODUCTION
This Psalm completes the series of Royal Psalms, and “may be regarded as the Doxology which closes the strain. We find lingering in it notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same gladness; it is filled with the same hope, that all nations shall bow down before Jehovah, and confess that He is God.”—Perowne.
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Of all the Psalms in the collection this rises to the highest pitch of gladness; it breathes the broadest spirit of charity, and expresses the highest mood of devout joy. On the ground of our common humanity as the children of the one Creator-Father, all men are summoned to the exultant worship of the Lord.
The superscription to the Psalm is מִזְמוֹר לְתוֹדָה, “A Psalm of praise.” Luther: ‘A Psalm of thanksgiving.” Perowne: “A Psalm for the thank-offering.” … “To denote that the Psalm was to be sung during the offering of thank-offerings.”
A PSALM OF UNIVERSAL PRAISE
We have here—
I. The reasone of praise to the Lord. These are of two classes—
1. Because of what He is in Himself. “The Lord He is God,” is the grand reason. The gods of the nations were idols, vanities, nonentities. Jehovah is God, supremely great, supremely good; the self-existent, the fountain of being and well-being, the infinitely perfect and ever-blessed God. Therefore He should be praised. It is right and seemly that mental and moral greatness should be reverenced, that goodness should be loved, &c. But the Poet states some particulars of His character.
(1.) He is good. “The Lord is good.” “He is benevolent.”—Barnes. “Gracious, kind.”—Perowne. “The word never means kind; and this sense is expressly excluded here by the circumstance that it is not only the mercy of the Lord; but also His faithfulness towards those who have received His promises, that appears here as the expression of His goodness. For the last two propositions are merely the development of the first.”—Hengstenberg. Fuerst gives the primary meaning of טוֹב, as καλός, pulcher, beautiful. It seems to us that the Poet intends to include in this word “good” all the meanings given above. The Lord is gracious and righteous, just and merciful, faithful and almighty. Infinite perfection and beauty are His. “To say that God is in Himself a compacted universe of sweetnesses, beauties, and splendours, is to speak very unworthily, for endless universes lie hidden in the bosom of the Infinite nature. The heavens must improve, and the creatures must mature, in wisdom and holiness, yet for ages of ages, before they will be capable of reflecting the higher, not to say the highest, beauties of ‘the Father of lights.’ Beauty is the robe of holiness: the more holiness the more beauty. To all eternity we can imagine the first and loveliest of all God’s creatures praying: ‘Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.’ ” A being of such spiritual excellence should receive the heartiest, holiest praise of all creatures.
(2.) He is merciful. “His mercy is everlasting.” This is included in His goodness. God’s goodness in forgiving offenders and relieving sufferers we denominate His mercy. God’s mercy is His goodness in relation to sinners. This mercy is everlasting. The glorious results of it will be enjoyed for ever. Being sinners we should praise Him for His mercy.
(3.) He is faithful. “His truth endureth to all generations.” He is true in Himself. “A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He.” He is true in His dealings with others. He fulfils all His promises. And He will be true for ever. No changes, however great, can produce any change in Him. Here then we have another reason for praise.
2. Because of what He is in relation to others. “He hath made us, and not we ourselves,” &c.
(1) He made us His people. He is our Creator. He called us into being. But the Psalmist means more than that, as will be seen if we read the verse without the words interpolated by the translators: “He hath made us, and not we ourselves, His people.” Not merely has He created us, but He has made us what we are, viz., His people. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”
(2) He shepherds us as His people. “The sheep of His pasture.” “The Lord is my shepherd.” As a shepherd He rules, guides, protects, and provides for His people. It is theirs to trust, follow, and obey Him. (See outlines on Psa_77:20; Psa_80:1.) Here we have most sufficient reasons for praise. He has made us what we are; and He will not forget the work of His own hands, or forsake His people. He knows us intimately, and cares for us, and provides for us, as the shepherd for his sheep. And He is supremely good, and merciful, and true; and He is so through all ages and through all changes. Surely then it becomes us to praise Him with glad and grateful hearts.
II. The extent of praise to the Lord. “All ye lands.” Literally, as in the margin: “All the earth.” Not simply the Jew, but all people. The Lord is the Creator and Sustainer of all men; the bountiful Benefactor of all men; therefore all should praise Him. He is the Redeemer of all men. “He died for all;” therefore by all should His praise be celebrated. The glorious day draws near when.
“Earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
Shall fill His courts with sounding praise.”
III. The character of praise to the Lord. It should be—
1. Joyous. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Hengstenberg: “Shout for joy to the Lord.” Perowne: “ ‘Shout aloud unto Jehovah:’ used of the welcome given to a king who enters his capital, or takes possession of the throne, as in Psa_98:4-6; Psa_66:1.” “Serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing.” Our worship of the Lord should be cheerful and songful, the utterance of rejoicing hearts. He is honoured by our joyous praise. “Cheerfulness credits religion.”
2. Grateful. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” The previous verse contains abundant reasons for grateful praise. And in this verse all nations are invited to share in those glorious privileges. “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and forget not all His benefits.”
3. Practical. “Serve the Lord with gladness.” “By serving Him here we are not to understand merely the worship of God.” We serve Him by loyally obeying His commands, &c. Such service we should render spontaneously, heartily, joyously. “Thy statutes have been my song,” &c.
CONCLUSION.—“The great lesson of the Psalm is this,” says Mr. S. Cox, “Be unselfish and catholic towards man, trustful and reverent towards God, and pure, deep, religious joy will be yours.”
THE SIN AND FOLLY OF BEING UNHAPPY
(Psa_100:2)
“Serve the Lord with gladness.”
Let us consider the sin and folly of being unhappy, especially of rendering unhappy service to God. His yoke is easy, and His burden light.
I. God is happy. He is the blessed God, in whom are the fountains of all gladness. Hence that expression, “the joy of God,” is one denoting the joy that is in God, even more than the joy He gives. Christ was a man of sorrows during His earthly life, because He was bearing our sins. But He sorrowed that we might not sorrow, but rejoice. He served the Father in sorrow, that we might serve Him with gladness.
II. The angels are happy. They are the blessed angels. They only know what sorrow is by seeing it in us when they come to minister to us. They drink always of the rivers of pleasures, which are at the right hand of God. Sometimes their joy rises higher, as when they shouted for joy over the new-made world, or as when they are called on to join in the joy of God over one sinner that repenteth. They serve the Lord with gladness.
III. Forgiven men are happy. This is David’s testimony: “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven.” These are a twofold class—
(1) those who have departed and are with Christ;
(2) those who are still here. Of that latter section of redeemed men we say they are happy, though imperfect, because they are forgiven. They are in an evil world, and have much evil within them—many trials, sore warfare, great feebleness,—yet they are happy. Why? Because forgiven. The favour of God rests on them. They know it, and find that in His favour is life. Being forgiven, and knowing this, they serve the Lord with gladness.
It would appear, then, not only that there is happiness in heaven with God and the holy angels, but that there is happiness here on earth, and that we may be partakers of it. The basis and the beginning of that happiness must be the forgiveness of sins and the favour of God. These are attainable; they are presented, to us as free gifts; we are besought to accept them; we cannot reject them without sinning. Let me notice then—
I. We can only be unhappy by refusing pardon. The pardon is provided, and it is preached to the sons of men—
(1) It is a free pardon;
(2) a righteous pardon;
(3) a present pardon;
(4) a comprehensive pardon, covering all sin;
(5) it is to be had in what God has told us about the propitiation of His Son.… Then must not the absence of this pardon be the fruit of our own rejection of it; and not God’s sovereignty or unwillingness? We are unhappy, not simply because we are sinful and foolish, but because we are resolutely indulging in the sin and folly of rejecting God’s gift, and so of refusing to be happy.
II. We can only be unhappy by refusing Christ. It is not Christ refusing us (He never did so), but it is our refusing Christ, that Keeps us unhappy. He is God’s free gift to us; a gift which we are not merely at liberty to accept, but which we refuse at our peril. Persistence in the rejection of Christ is the true cause of all the unhappiness of earth.
III. We can only be unhappy by determining not to turn. God says, “Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die?” turn and live. It is vain for us to throw the blame off ourselves, and say, “I want to turn, but I cannot, and God will not help me.” This is not true. “I am most willing to be converted, but God will not convert me,” is just as if the drunkard were to say, “I am most willing to give up drinking, but God will not help me to be sober;” or the swearer, “I am most anxious to cease swearing, but I cannot, and God will not give me the power.” Whatever, then, the solemn truth of God’s sovereignty may be (and He would not be God were He not Sovereign), it is not that sovereignty that is hindering you from turning, but your own determination not to do so. Your not turning is the cause of your unhappiness; you cannot be happy till you turn.
In like manner it is with all of us. We might be always happy, were we always receiving the gifts which Christ presents to us; crediting the Divine testimony as to the sufficiency of the great sacrifice, and the freeness of the great love.
Unhappiness thus is wilful. “Ye will not come to Me.” It profiteth nothing. It does not liberate, or strengthen, or sanctify, or comfort. To be unhappy is our folly and our sin. When happy, no toil is irksome, no trouble or annoyance is felt. Be happy then in God, &c.—H. Bonar, D.D.—Abridged from “Light and Truth.”
THE ETERNAL TRUTH OF GOD
(Psa_100:5, last clause)
I. God is true.
He is true in His very nature. There is no deceit, falsehood, nor error in the essential nature of God. Whatever makes men untruthful, nothing of the kind can operate with God.
He is true to His nature. We are not always true to ourselves. I have known a generous man who, in a pet, has acted very ungenerously. But the Lord is always true to Himself.
He is true in action. He has been true to the making of the eternal covenant.
He has been true to all His purposes. Whatever God resolved to do He has done. “Hath He said it, and shall He not do it?”
He is true to His promises. There is not a promise which God has made, but what either He has kept it, or else, being dated for the future, He will keep it when the time appointed comes.
He is true to all His published Word, which He has made known to us in Holy Scripture.
He is true in every relation that He sustains. As a King, a Judge, a Father, a Friend, et al.
He is true to every man, to every woman, in the world.
II. God is true in all generations.
He has been true in the past. The whole of history, sacred and profane, goes to prove that.
He is true still—true to-night.
He will be true.
Since God is true, ye children of God, why do ye mistrust Him? Ye sinners, why do you belie Him by your unbelief?—C. H. Spurgeon.—Abridged.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 100
Psalm 100
Psa 100:1: The lands are required to receive the good tidings from heaven, which implies that they are to cast off and reject their own gods. They are to turn from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven. A joyful noise is to be made, because a glad message has come.
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Psa 100:2: He who sends the message claims obedience. "Serve Jehovah." There is sorrow not in the service, but for not having served before; and there is sorrow remaining because the service is still so poor and defective. But there is no sorrow in the service.
Psa 100:3: That Jehovah may be really served, He must be known. Jehovah is a God of wisdom, and He will have an intelligent worship. To know that Jehovah is God is to know His character and perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture, and most specially as revealed in Christ Jesus, His Son, in whom all lies in perfect harmony and most glorious display.
Psa 100:4 and Psa 100:5: The exercises which we are here called unto are praise, and blessing, and thanksgiving: praise because of God’s excellences; blessing because of the happiness of God in Himself; thanksgiving because of His benefits.
J. Duncan, The Pulpit and Communion Table, p. 344.
References: Psa 100:2.—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 9; Ibid., Sermons, vol. xiii., No. 769. Psa 100:3-5.—Ibid., vol. xx., No. 1197. Psa 100:4.—Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 312. Psa 100:5.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xxi., No. 1265.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 The Final Praise.
The Final Praise.
A psalm of thanksgiving.
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The hundredth psalm closes this series with the full anthem of praise. Naught else remains. Perfection is found and rest; and both are in God. There is little need of interpretation. Jehovah is now to be in every mouth, not the superstitious dread of men afraid of uttering His Name, but shouting it aloud for very gladness: joyous service, with a song. Jehovah is indeed the manifest God, to whom belong His people: the creatures and the cared for of His hand. Strangely it may seem, but most beautifully, surely, the thankful approach of the worshiper falls into the fourth place, which speaks of the practical life. The life will now be praise (comp. Heb 13:15-16). And the psalm ends with the record of Jehovah’s ways, which are the theme of the praise itself: "for Jehovah is good: His loving-kindness is for ever; and His truth endureth from generation to generation."
Amen.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 This famous Ps. (the 'Jubilate,' 'Old Hundredth') does not…
This famous Ps. (the 'Jubilate,' 'Old Hundredth') does not give God the title of King, but its contents are otherwise so similar to those of the previous 'theocratic' Pss. that it is naturally grouped along with them both as to subject and date. It calls the world to worship God (Psa_100:1-2), describes Him as the Creator and Shepherd of His people (Psa_100:3), points to the second Temple as the seat of His service (Psa_100:4), and closes with an ascription of praise which was often repeated in post-exilic worship (Psa_100:5).
3. Us] refers specially to Israel, ye being addressed to the nations: see v.
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1. And not we ourselves] RV 'and we are his.' The sheep of his pasture] see Psa_95:7, and the 'Asaphic' Pss. (73-83).
5. Is everlasting] RV 'endureth for ever': see 1Ch_16:34, 1Ch_16:41; 2Ch_7:3-6; 2Ch_20:21; Ezr_3:11; Psa_106:1; Psa_107:1; Psa_118:1-4; Psalms 136, Psa_138:8, etc. The Chronicler evidently transposes into earlier times Pss. which were written after the exile, and the same thing appears to be the case with this formula of praise.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 100
Psalm 100
Nothing but Praise
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It is Israel’s voice in praise which we hear in this brief Psalm, which so fittingly concludes this series of great millennial Psalms. They exhort that all the earth should make a joyful noise unto the Lord, to serve Him and come before Him with singing. The third verse tells us that they are the speakers. All are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise. How often is this Psalm used in a spiritualized way, making the gates and the courts some church building. But we worship in spirit and in truth and not in an earthly house. The gates and courts have reference to that future temple, which will be a house of prayer for all nations.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 An Invitation to All Men to Serve the True…
An Invitation to All Men to Serve the True God.
A psalm of praise, properly placed here to close this wonderful series of praise anthems, the summons here being to give thanksgiving to God, the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of men.
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v. 1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, with the voice of exultant singing, all ye lands, Psa 98:4.
v. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness, not in the fear and terror of the Law, but with the joy flowing from true faith; come before His presence with singing, with shouts of homage to the mighty and merciful Ruler.
v. 3. Know ye that the Lord, He is God, that is the basis of a proper understanding of the divinity, that Jehovah alone is the true God; it is He that hath made us, by His almighty, creative power, and not we ourselves, everything that we are and have is a gift of His goodness and grace, and we may well think of the entire explanation of the First and the Second Article of the Creed at this point; we are His people, the believers, the true spiritual Israel, and the sheep of His pasture, in the care of the great Good Shepherd.
v. 4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, all men being invited to join the congregation of the Lord which has its place of worship in His temple, wherever His Word is preached; be thankful unto Him, for all the richness of His spiritual blessings, and bless His name, declaring the works performed by His wonderful attributes.
v. 5. For the Lord is good, Psa 25:8; Psa 34:8; His mercy, the liberality of His divine favor, on the basis of the redemption, is everlasting; and His truth, the faithfulness of His promises and of His love, endureth to all generations, from one generation to the next, as long as the world will stand, every new generation of believers learning and proclaiming this wonderful song of praise in honor of Jehovah the Messiah, as it will be sung also throughout eternity.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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Shout joyfully to Yahweh
"Raise a shout to Yahweh." See how "shout" is translated in Psalms 47:1.
all the earth
This refers to all the people of the earth. AT: "everyone on the earth" (See: Metonymy)
come before his presence
The psalmist speaks as if he is telling the readers to go into the throne room of a king. AT: "go to where he is with joyful singing" or "he can hear you, so sing joyfully" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
psalm
joy
Yahweh
earth
servant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4 Ps 100 This psalm calls all nations to come…
Ps 100 This psalm calls all nations to come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord and acknowledge his goodness to Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.