Psalm 100

 Happy Sunday!

"Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."(Psalm 100:3 Amplified).

I'm sure we memorized Psalm 100 in Sunday School.  It's just five verses, and shorter than some of our Easter speeches. LOL!  It's full of instructions for life.  Someone once made an acronym for the word, Bible: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  Verse 1 tells us how to come before the Lord, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands."(KJV).  Throughout history it was customary to come before a King  happily.  In some realms you could be killed for looking sad in the presence of the King.  Nehemiah 2:1-3 says, "In the month of Nisan in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, some wine was brought to the king. I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never before been SAD when I was with him, but now I was SAD.  So the king asked me, “Are you sick? Why do you look sad? I think your heart is full of sadness.”  Then I was very AFRAID. But even though I was afraid, I said to the king, “May the king live forever! I am sad because the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and the gates of that city have been destroyed by fire.”(Easy-to-Read Version).  Thankfully, it worked out well for Nehemiah.   But we must remember to come before our Lord and King with joy.  Verse 2 says, "Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence."(Message).

How can we come before the Lord with joy?  Great question!  I'm so glad you asked.  Verse 3 says, "Acknowledge that the Lord is God.  He made us and we belong to him; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture."(ISV).  This translation made me think of how some parents would say, "I brought you into this world, and I will take you out".  Now I don't ever remember my mother saying that, but we knew that she could take us out with a quickness.  Acknowledging who God is, is the first step to coming before Him joyfully.  Like sheep rely on their shepherd to care for them, and protect them, we can confidently come before God happily, and joyfully knowing all of our needs will be met.(Psalm 23).

Verses 4 and 5 say, "Go through his open gates with great thanksgiving; enter his courts with praise. Give THANKS to him and bless his name. For the Lord is ALWAYS GOOD. He is ALWAYS LOVING and KIND, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation."(Living Bible).

Love and prayers, Cynthia