3-29-19 A Psalm of Praise
A Psalm of Praise - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com
Christians today seem to be very quiet in their worship. There's a time to be quiet, but there's also a time to let your joy in the Lord be heard. Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise...thanksgiving...and encourages us to not be shy in our praise of our Lord. We aren't told who wrote it, but this short psalm is full of the writer's joy in the Lord. "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands." PSALM 100:1. So many times our English translations of God's word don't carry the full meaning of the original Hebrew, and that's the case with this verse. The author says to make a "joyful noise" and the Hebrew word is "ruwa'". This is the same word the Lord used when He told Joshua to march around Jericho then shout (ruwa') so the walls would fall. Other translations of the verse say "Make a joyful shout to the Lord" (NKJV), "Shout with joy to the LORD" (NLT) and "Shout out praises to the LORD" (NET). The idea is to not sit quietly in a corner whispering "praise the Lord". There is joy in the Lord. True joy. As Christians we have more to shout for joy about than anyone who lived before the cross. We have salvation through Jesus Christ! Now that's something to make a joyful noise about. We serve a risen Savior who conquered death and forgave our sins. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!!
Too often Christians act as if it's a burden to serve the Lord. We sit quietly in our pew each Sunday then go join the world for the rest of the week. It shouldn't be an effort to serve the Lord, but a joy. Living for Jesus ought to be a way of life for every Christian. Our joy in the Lord should bubble over so it's not a secret that we serve Him. People around us should see joy in our face and hear it in our voice. "Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Psalm 100:2. Are you glad to serve the Lord every day or do you only sing His praises when life is easy? No matter what comes our way in this life, we should find joy in serving the Lord. We can be sure that the psalmist had troubles in his life, but could still sing about serving the Lord with gladness. One of the falsehoods that Satan uses on Christians is that once you accept Christ your life will be easy. No more worries, no more illness, no more temptations. While we live on this side of Heaven that just isn't true. The early Christians faced horrendous persecution and many were martyred because of their faith. Of the twelve Apostles, only John died of natural causes. Some were crucified and some were beheaded. We have a record of a time when Paul and Silas had been beaten and put into prison in Philippi. Their pain must have been terrible and being in chains would have added to the pain. That didn't keep them quiet. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." Acts 16:25. The other prisoners didn't hear Paul and Silas grumbling about their plight or blaming God for their trials. As they praised God there was a great earthquake which opened the doors of the jail and the prisoner's chains fell off. The prison warden also had heard the songs of praise and when the earthquake happened he came running. Because Paul and Silas didn't escape but served the Lord with gladness in spite of hardship, the warden came to salvation. What a difference there would be in this world if Christians would openly praise the Lord with song and prayers.
A basic truth that has been ignored in these last days in which we live is that God is our Creator. Humans didn't evolve over millions of years, but are a unique creation of God. On the sixth day of creation God created Adam. God breathed the breath of life into him. "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." Psalm 100:3. King David understood this truth and marveled at this miracle. "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:14a. At the moment of conception a wonderful little human is created. That little person is a new life that is fearfully and wonderfully made. We all come into this world as helpless babies who are completely dependent upon our parents to provide for us. As we grow we learn to willfully sin. Temper tantrums and lies are common during the terrible twos. If we have people around who love us enough to teach us right from wrong and the wages of sin being death we will come to a saving faith in Jesus. When we're born again we're a new creation in Jesus Christ. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10. That fact ought to bring unbridled joy to a Christian. Jesus is our Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture. He gave His life for His sheep and His love is perfect. Make a joyful noise to the Lord because of this. Shout with joy! Let the world see that you love Jesus and aren't ashamed to serve Him.
When you go before the Lord are you timid? It's good to be humble before the Lord, but the psalmist encourages us to enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise. "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Psalm 100:4. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can be bold when we go before the throne of our Lord. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16. To come boldly before the throne of grace means to go with fearlessness and cheerful courage. Jesus bridged the gap between us and God the Father that was created when Adam sinned. If you've accepted Christ as your Saviour then you have the assurance that the sin which separated you from God is no longer an issue. You have every reason to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. He loves you and wants you to make a joyful noise to Him.
Why should we worship Him with joy? "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 100:5. His mercy to us was shown when Jesus Christ set aside His place in Heaven to enter His creation. In doing so He provided us with the only way to salvation. He shed His blood on the cross as the once and for all sacrifice to take our sin away. By placing our faith in Him we are given everlasting life. If you don't understand how much God loves you, then think about what He did to redeem you from eternal death. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17. His mercy is everlasting for those who have accepted Him. Jesus is the Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the Rock of our salvation. Let all that is within you praise His holy name!
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods." Psalm 95:1-3. Brothers and sisters, when we all get to Heaven we will experience joy beyond anything we can imagine. It isn't too soon to start making a joyful noise in praise and worship today.
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
Ron and Nathele Graham's previous commentaries archived athttp://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html
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