One key lesson that the Psalms teach us is to pray our emotions. We come to God, into His presence and process our unfiltered, raw emotions with God. Psalm 100 is a lot like Psalm 95–they both help us focus on our worship of the Lord.
Psalm 100 is a reminder, a call to worship and praise of the Lord, with joy and thanksgiving. “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.” Psalm 100:1-5 (NLT)
I regularly watch a TV program called “Antiques Roadshow”. The format is people bring items that have potential value to have an expert give an appraisal of its worth. On one episode a woman brought a necklace that had been in her family for generations to find out its value. The expert put on his jeweler’s loupe and examined the necklace. He looked at the stones in the necklace and evaluated them. The expert was silent for a long time. He started breathing fast because he realized this was a long-lost unique piece of jewelry–that is unique in its beauty. It is priceless. The expert’s will, mind and emotions are all focused on the necklace. And the reason he reacted that way is because he realizes the value of what he is holding. This necklace is more valuable than any item he has in his shop. And the woman is shocked and amazed when she hears the value of the necklace because she hadn’t been living in accordance with the value of what she had because she didn’t understand the true value of it.
The Antiques Roadshow story is an example of what worship is. The Bible calls us to do what the jeweler did. It starts with an examination by thinking and looking at who God is and what He has done. Then we see the beauty and value of who God is. Then we express thanks and praise.
Psalm 100 is a reminder to praise God for who He is, as the Creator of the world. But also there is a focus on who He is in relation to us–He is our Creator. This psalm of worship reminds us that we belong to God, and without Him in our lives, there will always be an empty spot–something missing from our lives. We are reminded that we are the much-loved children of God. We belong to Him, we are His people. We are described as the sheep of His pasture. God cares for us and we can trust His amazing grace and mercy.
Psalm 100 gives us a call to enter into the place of His presence, His courts and gates with praise. We know today that the place of worship is irrelevant, but true worship comes when we worship in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the truth of Jesus Christ.
How do we worship? What is worship? Worship is the action of giving ultimate value to something. And when we worship–we are changed.
PRAISE LEADS US TO WORSHIP
If God is everywhere, what does it mean to enter into God’s presence? Praise is the key that helps us stop, think, reflect and realize all God has done in our lives. When we remember the undeserved and unexpected gift of salvation, of forgiveness, of a relationship with God, how every good thing in our lives comes from God–praise will flow. And as our voices, mind and thoughts are focused in praise to the Lord–our perspective changes. Our faith is encouraged and strengthened to the possibilities of who God is and what He has done and what He can do.
We then receive joy in His presence as we are changed–through praise.
JOY IS GOD’S GIFT TO US
Joy comes to us through praise–an inner contentment and happiness that is there despite external circumstances. Our future–which can be scary and uncertain–can also be joyful because of the certain hope we have in Jesus Christ–who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The example we see in the Psalms about worship–is to worship by taking an inventory of God–listing them, singing them, praying them and reflecting on them. Everything changes for us when we pause and realize the true value of the Lord.
Draw near to God today, with praise and thanksgiving, and the Bible promises that He will draw near to you. Give Him value, worth and thanks and you will receive a realization of His love, joy and peace–and give thanks. He is truly worthy of all our praise.
