THE LORD IS GOOD AND HIS MERCY IS EVERLASTING

Proclamation:

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For The Lord is good and His loves endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  Psalm 100:4-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

Most Bible scholars agree that the words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Believers are encouraged to shout and make a joyful noise unto The Lord. (Psalm 100:1)  He should be approached with reverence and with a thankful heart.  He is our maker and our creator, and we belong to Him. (Psalm 100:3)

Application:

In addition to our private prayer and praise, we are encouraged to publicly and loudly praise The Lord.  We are also encouraged to worship Him gladly. (Psalm 100:2)  When we approach Him in prayer, we should do so in a spirit of thanksgiving.  When we enter His temple, we should do so with praising Him on our mind and in our heart.  For He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.  He has shown us His goodness, His mercy, and His grace and we should be grateful. (Psalm 100:5)  He is the good shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. (John 10:11)  His love for us is eternal and we should love Him with all of our heart and soul. (Joshua 22:5)

Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord

"Shout for joy to The LORD, all the earth.  Worship The LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs."  Psalms 100:1-2 (NIV)  The King James Version reads: "Make a joyful noise unto The LORD, all ye lands.  Serve The LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing."

The author of this psalm clearly states that all of the people of God should shout and make a loud joyful noise when they sing and praise The Lord.  He also states that worship of The Lord should be done with gladness, not with drudgery, or out of a sense of forced obligation.

When we worship The Lord, we should do so gladly and with joy, we should be happy and loud as we praise His name.  We should not gather in church to worship and sit there quietly.  We should make some noise, joyful noise, as we praise Him and sing.  In fact, the phrase "make a joyful noise" is repeated seven times in the Bible.  (Psalms 66:1, Psalms 88:1, Psalms 95:1, Psalms 95:2, Psalms 98:4, Psalms 98:6, and Psalms 100:1)  It must be important for us to do it if it is repeated that often in The Word of God.  The Bible does not say that only those who sing well should sing praises unto The Lord, it says all of us, all the earth, should do so.  If we don't praise Him, He can make the rocks cry out with praise.  (Luke 19:40)  Let's not let the rocks have to speak for us, let's make a loud joyful noise unto The Lord.  Don't let the record which is kept in heaven reflect that we made more noise for some earthly event than we made praising God. (Proverbs 15:3, 1 John 5:7, and Revelation 12:20)