Psalm 100
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for giving thanks.

(1) Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
(2) Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

(3) Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

(4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

(5) For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
ESV

Psalm 100 is simply titled, A psalm. For giving grateful praise, in the NIV. The NKJV titles it, A Song of Praise for the LORD’s Faithfulness to His People. A Psalm of Thanksgiving. The NASB titles it, All Men Exhorted to Praise God. A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

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.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

When you truly know Jesus, His love pours forth from your heart, and you cannot help but sing and shout for joy. God is good, and there is much to be thankful for. The “hundredth” (i.e., Psalm 100) can be our mantra for today even.

On your feet now- applaud GOD!
Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
Psalm 100:1-2 The Message

Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!
Worship the LORD with gladness. 
Come before him, singing with joy.
Psalm 100:1-2 NLT

Clap, shout, sing, laugh, be glad as you worship the Lord for He is good.

In Psalm 34, David wrote: oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8 NIV)

The prophet Nahum said: the LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

The author of Lamentations (possibly Jeremiah) said: because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

In summary, God is good in all times! In good times and bad, God is good! He is faithful and present and good. Always. And because of that, those who believe should shout and sing and clap and laugh with joy to the Lord!

Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3 NKJV

This is the Truth. Too often human’s attribute good things to their our power, to their hard work and abilities. God appreciates hard work; He expects it of us. But everything we have is because of Him, because of His grace and goodness.

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17 NIV

As His children, we are the “sheep of His pasture.” Sheep cannot do anything without a shepherd. They need Him for protection and for guidance, for help in times of trouble. While the analogy of the shepherd and his sheep is ancient and may feel like it’s “of another time,” we can still be certain of its meaning in modern times.

We need God’s guidance because He sees the whole picture. A commentator spoke once about how our lives are chapters in a book. And God sees them all. He’s read the whole book, because He wrote it! He even knows the end. So when we are fighting through chapter 12, He may be leading toward something that matters in chapter 22. We may be stuck in what’s happening right now, but He is preparing us for another chapter. We are blessed, my friends. The Creator and Author of our lives wants to be active and real from day to day. He wants to walk with us and guide us in every chapter. We are blessed with this reassurance.

The Apostle Paul wrote similar words in his letter to the Corinthians:

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me- and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10 NLT

“Whatever I am now, it is all because of God.” It would be easy to attribute our successes to our hard work instead. But as believers, we know the Truth. That nothing exists outside the will of the Father.

Enter his gate with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 NLT

To “enter his gate” and to “go into his courts” means to stand before the Lord. We do that in prayer; we do that in worship. We enter His presence. Our God is not dead; He is alive and real and active, and He calls His children before Him. We are blessed that we can enter His presence. And upon entrance before the Lord, we are called to praise His name.

Now the psalmist pictures the people of God from all lands (Psalm 100:1) entering through the gates and into the courts of the temple. As God’s people approach, we should do so with thanksgiving, recognizing how much God has done for us.

Pastor David Guzik, http://www.enduringword.com

The Lord is good. His love continues forever. His loyalty continues from now on.
Psalm 100:5 ICB

For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NKJV

For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Psalm 100:5 NLT

The psalmist claims God’s covenant love in this last verse. The Lord’s hesed love; unfailing love, mercy, steadfast love, lovingkindness. Hesed or chesed in Hebrew has no equivalent English word. There have been sermons and blog posts and entire books written on what this word means. Why? Because God claims to love His children with this word. A word that none of us completely understand. How wonderful is that?

God describes Himself to Moses with the word hesed:

Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out,
"Yahweh! The LORD!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected- even children to the third and fourth generations."
Exodus 34:5-7 NLT

We often don’t understand God. We don’t understand His silence sometimes. We don’t understand when allows suffering. We don’t understand why He doesn’t respond in kind.

But we also struggle to understand His love and His forgiveness and His grace. Don’t we?

Even during times of uncertainty, during those times when we struggle to understand, those are the times to sing this psalm, “the hundredth.” Sing it in good times and bad, in times of unbelief and times of great thanksgiving . . .

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NIV

Amen.

Father in heaven, great is your faithfulness! You are God, above all others. You made us, and you walk with us. We thank you; we praise you. Thank you in good times and bad, in times of understanding and of unbelief. We sing your praise. Amen.

He xoxo