Embrace the Word for Friday, August 7, 2026
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Psalm 100 is a call to offer to the LORD grateful praise. The superscription for Psalm 100 simply states: “A Psalm for giving thanks.” Psalm 100 might be seen as a crescendo of praise that has been building since the start of Book 4. While Book 4 is thought to be set in the context of Israel’s captivity in Babylon, the sequence of the Psalms in Book 4 unfold the assurance of the LORD’s reign and with that reign, the surety of a new Exodus. By the time we get to Psalm 100, the call praise not only pertains to the LORD’s people, but also to all the earth. Psalm 100 shares some common links with many of the preceding Psalms from Psalms 93-99; but it has much in common specifically with Psalm 95, as much of Psalm 95 is also a call for all the earth to praise the LORD. Psalm 100 seems to consist of two rounds calling for the LORD to be praised (100:1-3; 4-5) in which each round provides a reason for the call (100:3b; 5b). Running throughout Psalm 100 are seven imperatives that give shape to what a response of praising the LORD consists of. The seven commands are: “make a joyful noise,” “serve,” “come,” “know,” “enter,” “give thanks,” and “bless.”
Psalm 100 opens with the first directive to praise the LORD: “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!” (100:1). The operating assumption behind Psalm 100 is that those being summoned to worship the LORD feel a strong sense of gratitude to the LORD and deep desire to express that gratitude. What the LORD has declared through the preceding Psalms in Book 4 supplies ample reason to be grateful to the LORD and to be compelled to erupt with that gratitude. With that in mind, the first imperative is for a loud-shouting, glad-exulting, world-encompassing praise to the LORD. While there is a time and a place for more subdued worship, the directions here call for loud worship–a shout, cheer, even something on the decimal level of a war cry. The thought of a war cry might seem to be stretching it, but the same term is used when Joshua commanded the people to shout: “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout” (See Joshua 6:10). Certainly the worship of the LORD is to be orderly worship (See 1 Corinthians 14:33); however, enthusiastically expressing deep joy need not be disorderly.
Coupled with the first imperative are two more: “Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” (100:2). The second imperative is to serve. The term “serve” can refer to the idea of work, such as working for the LORD or obeying Him; but in this context, it refers to the idea of worship. Joshua’s call to serve the LORD focused on worshipping Him: “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (See Joshua 24:15). Certainly, to serve the LORD by worshipping Him should not be thought to be limited to gathering for church on Sundays; worshipping the LORD certainly has a special quality to it when it consists of gathering on Sunday, but worship is a service to the LORD throughout the span of time in between Sundays. It may be a different context, but it should still be thought of as worship. Such service of worship—regardless of the context, but especially in the gathered worship—is to be done with gladness. Gladness is a vital indicator of a heart rightly inclined to worship. A heart of gladness sets the context rightly for the third imperative: “come into His presence with singing.” Glad hearts come before the LORD with an atmosphere of full-throated exuberance. Just the fact that the LORD’s presence can be approached, should heighten one’s awareness of the mercy and grace of the LORD that would permit safe access, and stimulate vigorous singing.
The fourth imperative, which is probably the pivotal center of these imperatives, is an alert to recognize the unique status of the LORD: “Know that the LORD, he is God!” (100:3a). The command “know” is more than simply having intellectual facts about God. It has the sense of acknowledging the LORD for who He is, seeing and recognizing Him in all of life, and affirming this truth from the heart. Everything in a person’s life hinges on what they “know” concerning the LORD. Moses uses the term “know” as he sought to orient the lives of the Israelites around the LORD: “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him…know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (See Deuteronomy 4:35-39). What the fourth imperative stresses is not merely that there is some kind of deity out there, but that the revealed covenant LORD is the One True God. The LORD is the God who rescued Israel from Egyptian captivity, called Abraham to Himself, and spoke all of creation into existence.
After the fourth imperative, the first reason for why the LORD should be worshipped is stated: “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (100:3b). The LORD is worthy of glad worship and joyful singing because all human existence is not self-generated, but God-created. Further, not only is the origin of human existence completely dependent upon the LORD, so too is the ongoing operation of human existence. The LORD is creator of all and the LORD is shepherd to His people. The parallel of Psalm 95 clearly emerges at this point: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (See Psalm 95:6-7). The LORD is not simply a distant and detached Creator, He is near to and carefully watching over His own. The LORD deserves the responses of His people to “make a joyful noise,” “serve,” “come,” and “know” Him for His devoted provision, protection, and presence.
The last three imperatives are all folded into one verse: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (100:4). The term “enter” in verse 4 is actually the same term “come” in verse 2. As the LORD is approached with “singing” (100:2b), He is more fully recognized and experienced, which in turn, directs His people to approach Him further still. God is known as He is worshipped, and as He is worshipped He is known further still. The language of “gates” and “courts” refer to the Tabernacle and Temple arrangements of the Old Covenant, which marked the entrances accessing the presence of the LORD. Perhaps the “come” in verse 2 suggests that the LORD is approached with the heart, but that is coupled with a more concrete notion of “enter” in verse 4. “Enter” serves as a reminder that approaching the presence of the LORD is no mere heart experience, but one in which the heart moves the feet to approach the LORD.
As the LORD is approached with thanksgiving and praise, the demeanor for approaching the LORD is oriented around shouts of gratitude and convictions of strong statements about the LORD. One such example of blessing the LORD is provided: “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (100:5). Those who are the recipients of the LORD’s goodness, enduring love, and continuing faithfulness are truly blessed. And while those who are blessed by the LORD are not adequate to return such blessings to the LORD, they can bless the LORD as they verbally acknowledging His goodness, love, and faithfulness.
As we reflect on Psalm 100 we can consider how the Lord Jesus Christ has remade us in Him and is now our Shepherd. Psalm 100 declares: “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (100:3b). Through faith, believers are in Christ Jesus and being in Him means that we are alive: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (See Ephesians 2:4-5). In Christ, we have been made alive. Not only can we speak of Christ making us alive, we can also speak of Christ making us new creatures: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (See 2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, we have been made new creatures. But we are not only made alive and made alive as new creatures, we are made Christ’s sheep. Jesus is our good shepherd who has laid down His life for us (See John 10:11); He is our chief shepherd who will crown His people with glory (See 1 Peter 5:4); and He is our great shepherd who equips His people by working in us so that we would do His will and be pleasing in His sight (See Hebrews 13:20-21). We can discern that we are beginning to truly grasp what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us when the imperatives of Psalm 100 begin to describe what we are seeking to do. In Christ, the One who made us and shepherds us, we begin to: “make a joyful noise,” “serve,” “come,” “know,” “enter,” “give thanks,” and “bless.”
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, August 7, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, August 10, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 101.