PSALM 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
PSALM 100 GOD’S GIFT OF MUSIC
Springford Baptist Church: June 25, 2023.
Music is a gift that God has given us that touches our emotions deeply.
When we are happy, music helps us to celebrate that happiness.
When we are sad, music can bring us comfort and reassurance.
This is both music with words and instrumental music.
In my experience, music is a gift that God has provided that can draw us closer with Him.
Can you imagine our world without music?
There was once a king who suffered the excruciating loss of his young son. In his deep sorrow, he decreed that there would be no music permitted throughout his entire kingdom. No mothers were to sing lullabies to still their children. No children were to chant their happy songs as they played together. No instrument was to make a sound. No individual or choir was to raise their voice in song… It did not take long for the king to realize that a world bereft of music was not at all what God intended.
Music is an expression of delight for those who are young.
Music is moving at a wedding when love is being celebrated.
Music does bring us to places of reminiscing and remembering.
Favourite songs shared with friends, strengthen the bonds of friendship.
Those who do not consider themselves musical, can still appreciate listening to music and feeling themselves transported by it.
In this Scripture from Psalm 100, we are invited to use music in our response to God.
We read, 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs. (verses 1,2)
When anyone is trying to find a way to express thanks and praise to God, then music is a vehicle for that to happen.
We can feel limited by spoken words, but then are given this gift of music as a means of lifting our voices to acknowledge God and His Presence in our lives.
That line in verse 1, “all the earth” reminds us that everyone is called and invited to respond to God. This is not limited to just a few select people. All can come near to God as we respond to Who He is and how much He loves us.
I know that sometimes we are reluctant to sing because we may feel self conscious or not able to keep in tune.
Another translation of this same verse expresses, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” This speaks of heartfelt response to God that is not self conscious, but rather God conscious.
When we are God conscious, then joyful songs can be the natural response to relationship with Him.
Music as God’s gift to us draws us to the recognition of this next verse in Psalm 100:
“3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” (verse 3)
Worship music does bring us to this profoundly reassuring conclusion of knowing that the LORD is God. This is what we are reminded of when we sing a hymn like “How Great Thou Art”.
Yes, the LORD is God and our attention is focused on Him.
He is our Creator. He has given each of us the gift of life as well as the gift of music.
When we conclude that “we are His”, that we belong to Him, then we are moved to express our love for Him and music provides us with a way to do that.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
Now this verse speaks about preparing our hearts to worship God. It is this idea of coming to the gates of the temple and stepping into the courts of the temple already in an attitude of praise and anticipation of meeting with God and coming near to Him.
When we climb the steps and enter our church, do we come eager to meet with God and to know Him more as we sing and pray and worship Him?
Music can be part of preparing our hearts to welcome and receive what God wants to communicate with us.
There is reason to give thanks to God and to praise Him with songs.
That reason is affirmed in verse 5, the concluding verse of Psalm 100:
5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Music can bring us strong reminders that God is good. When we face disappointment and loss and grief, the persistent strains of the song that God is good still sound.
We can discover in our lifetimes a much larger definition of our LORD being good. It is not confined to the tidy package of happiness and contentment. In the most difficult times of our lives, the music declaring that God is good can play in our hearts and minds.
You and I can be reminded that no matter what happens, God’s love endures forever.
This is a song of truth that cannot be silenced. God loves You and God loves me and His love song for us will keep on playing.
We can trust His faithfulness now and into the future for us and for all generations to come. Yes, music is God’s gift to keep bringing us near to Him and His heart of love for us!