May 3,2020

“1 ¶ «A Psalm of Thanksgiving.» Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV)

Psalm 100 is famous for its call to rejoice and celebrate and its picture of the procession of coming into God’s presence. Psalm 100 verse 2 is a reminder we can daily be in the presence of God. There is a wonderful book “Practicing the Presence of God” By Brother Lawrence which is a series of letters showing how he lives in the presence of God within his daily life.

The Psalmist reveals two steps to get closer to the presence of God.

First we can enter into the gates of God “with thanksgiving”. The word thanksgiving come from the root meaning to shoot or cast, to confess God is God and to give thanks.

Second we can enter in God’s court “with praise”. The root means to flash forth light, to shine, to brag about. With praise we step beyond the gates and enter into the court, the very presence of God!

At the of the passage we see the psalmist bragging about God and flashing forth God’s goodness and glory! Like the psalmist give thanks and shine forth God’s greatness and brag about God’s goodness!