A Call to Praise



Scripture


Psa. 100:0   A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1     Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
2         Worship the LORD with gladness;
        come into his presence with singing.
 
Psa. 100:3        Know that the LORD is God.
        It is he that made us, and we are his;
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
 
Psa. 100:4        Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
        and his courts with praise.
        Give thanks to him, bless his name.
 
Psa. 100:5        For the LORD is good;
        his steadfast love endures forever,
        and his faithfulness to all generations.

Observation

God’s people are called to praise him. We are to make a “joyful noise” to our Lord as we enter into his presence. This is the imagery of entering a throne room, giving God the honor he is due. In praise we recognize that the “LORD is God,” our father. He is our creator and we are his children.

The gates of the kingdom are opened for his children and so we enter with great praise. Not only do we enter the kingdom but are ushered into his very courts — into his presence. We give him thanks, recognizing the goodness of the LORD. He has drawn us into his holy presence and here we experience his steadfast love which reaches out to us and to the generations to come. For all of this, we give him praise!

Application

We are called not only to praise the Lord, but to live a life of continual and on-going praise to God. This is only possible when we have entered his gates and are residing in his courts. We are called to a nearness, a proximity, to our Lord. It is in this place that we experience him in ways we never thought possible and praise becomes a way of life.

The converse is also true. When we find ourselves grumbling we may discover that we have wandered from the presence of the Lord and have become filled with sadness and complaint. I’ve heard a lot of complaint lately about the state of our world and the condition of Christianity, but I haven’t heard a lot of praise. Does that speak more to our proximity to the Lord than it does about the condition of our world?

The Psalmist had times of trouble but seemed to know that the focus had to return to the deep and loving relationship to be found in our holy God. God is drawing us toward him and we are encouraged to respond. Enter his courts today — enter with praise. Thank God for all the good which you see and experience and for his love which draws ever closer to him. This is the good which can will be celebrated.

Let us praise him!

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your hand which we can see at work in our lives and in the lives of others. Amen.


Thank you to Nazarene Publishing House and Keri Mitchell for helping to create and publish Reflecting the Image. This is not a devotional book, but rather a collection of thoughts and stories which lead us in the direction of reflecting Christ. Click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.
http://www.nph.com/nphweb/html/nph/itempage.jsp?itemId=9780834135277

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