Shout To The Lord With Joy
Shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on
earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come to him with songs of joy.
I want you to realize that the Lord is
God. He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people. We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple. Give praise as you enter its
courtyards. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all
time to come.
Psalm 100:1-5
The songwriter of this Psalm took his allegiance to the Lord
seriously and wanted others to do the same. His people were to freely express
their praise to Him because He was the covenant God of Israel, the God over all
other so-called gods. They were called to focus all their energies on Him and
His goodness.
God’s goodness and grace should motivate us to freely express
our love and allegiance to Him with shouts of joy. This may mean that those who
are more reserved must push back the boundaries of restraint and learn what it
means to be expressive in their praise to God. And those who are very
expressive sometimes miss the beauty of silence and may need to be more
reflective.
Worship is a time to focus on our Creator, Redeemer, and
Shepherd, and celebrate what He has done.
Our thoughts about God should lead us to
joyful praise.
Our Daily Bread –