God Speaking

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 100:1)

This is the 100th posting of my blog and thanks is due the expertise of my dear friend, who faithfully presents it in such a dramatic way each week. I have always loved Psalm 100 and thought it fitting that my 100th blog should honour the beautiful words of this ancient poem of thanks to the Almighty.

Just recently I was walking past a children’s playground and was suddenly struck by the joyful sounds emanating from youngsters playing together. Their shouts of joy were infectious and I felt myself smiling in response as I walked past. I thought wistfully of how long it has been since I shouted for joy and thought it such a pity that when we become adults we automatically feel we now have to act in a more circumspect manner. Not so, the writer of Psalm 100 says. Our love for the Lord has no such restrictions. When we take delight in him, our joy will have no bounds. Our love can overflow into loud exclamations. We can join with all the earthly creatures to praise his name in gladness with joyful songs;

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:2)

What is the reason for our joy? Knowing where one belongs is the most reassuring thought for any creature. When we belong to the Great Shepherd we can relax knowing we are protected and cared for. Repeating it to ourselves and then back to the Heavenly Creator has a profound calming effect upon our lives.

“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3)

Verse 4 begins with the word, “enter”. Since the advent of the personal computer, familiar words have taken on a whole new meaning. I am now looking at the word – Enter – on my keyboard and frequently see it appear on the screen often demanding that I enter a password before I am allowed to access a certain site or program. When I re-read Psalm 100:4 I suddenly began to smile as I thought this ancient piece of God’s word is telling us the right password that allows us to overcome any barrier, enabling us to have a wonderful relationship with the Father;

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4)

“Thanksgiving and praise” what an easy password to remember and what a beautiful site it gives us access to. We are allowed to enter the court of the king of kings and no restrictions here, we may shout for joy, burst into jubilant songs, act like happy children or just be ourselves, knowing that we are a loved by a love that will never end.

“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever …” (Psalm 100:5)

Finally this Psalm reminds us of the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. No need to worry that our access will suddenly expire if we don’t renew, his promises will last forever;

“…His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

This psalm has been loved by countless generations and one of my friends told me that she had heard it referred to as; “Good old Psalm 100”, it is certainly one of my favourites and one I love to use in my prayer time.