Look Closer at the Verses You Think You Know…You May Find They’re Even Better Than You Remembered

There’s a reason some passages of Scripture are always on the tip of our tongues. There’s a reason God’s people have gravitated towards certain portions of Scripture down through the ages. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that any portion of Scripture is somehow more inspired or more precious than any other portion, but there are some sections that just connect with us in a way that’s significant, a way that’s special, a way that keeps us coming back to them over and over again. There’s a reason I was taught to memorize Psalm 100 when I was six or seven years old.

I still remember standing in front of my first grade class to recite it. I remember mumbling through the word “generations” at the end of the Psalm. This was because (I can confess this all these years later) I’d forgotten what the last word was. I figured that if I acted like I couldn’t pronounce whatever that word was, maybe the teacher would still give me credit for memorizing it. We were using the King James Version, after all, it’s not ridiculous to think that a first grader might have trouble pronouncing everything in there.

David begins the Psalm by commanding that all the earth shout to Yahweh. My preferred translation, the English Standard Version, follows the King James wording here and says, “make a joyful noise,” but the word is shout. The 1984 NIV says, “shout for joy,” the HCSB and CSB both say, “shout triumphantly.” All those extra words like “joy” or “triumph” aren’t there though. That’s just the English translators trying to capture the sense of David’s words, “הָרִ֥יעוּ לַ֝יהוָ֗ה כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ,” “All the earth, make yourselves shout to Yahweh.”

It is fitting that all humanity, all creation, all the earth would come before the Lord’s throne and shout in joy, in triumph, in thanksgiving. This can’t be a shout in which one airs grievances. This can’t be a shout of disgust or displeasure. No, Yahweh is worthy of praise, and he’s worthy of praise that can’t be held in. He’s worthy of praise that erupts from the worshipper and bellows forth in proclamation of Yahweh’s greatness. And he’s worthy that those worshippers would be so numerous that they create a multitude that no one can number out of every tribe and language and people and nation.

But David doesn’t stop there. He continues in verse 2, imploring all the earth to, “serve Yahweh with joy.” Serving Yahweh shouldn’t provoke the feeling I used to have when I worked in fast food. Every day I’d sob (yes I was being dramatic) at the thought of going into work, standing there all day, and coming home smelling like the oil we used to fry everything. No, this service is a delight. This service is our joy. This is service to one who is a good master, the one whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. Therefore we should “come before his face with joyful shouting.” Here the Hebrew word, “רְנָנָה” does denote joy in the word itself. That’s why the NIV, HCSB, and CSB all translate it as “joyful songs.”

Why all this joy? Why all this jubilant shouting? Why can we serve God and do it with gladness and celebration? We might be tempted to think that David is out of his mind. We might be tempted to think that nothing could cause that much jubilant praise and thanksgiving. But then David gives us another command. “Know that Yahweh, he is God. He made us, and we (exist) for him, (to be) his people and the sheep of his pasture.”

David has put all of reality into perspective. In the beginning there was God. He was perfect. He needed nothing. Yet he chose to create us. He chose to provide for us everything we need. He chose to reveal himself to us, and when we fell into sin, he chose to send his Son to redeem us from our sin. We owe him our existence, our daily bread, our eternal salvation…every good and perfect gift has been given to us by Yahweh. Why? He wants us to be his people and the sheep of his pasture.

What then are we to do? “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name.” Why? “Because Yahweh is good.” Do you know how many so-called gods aren’t good? It’s basically all of them. They’re selfish. They’re deceitful. They’re immoral. They use people for their own purposes with no regard for the wellbeing of those people. They fight amongst themselves and double-cross one another with regularity. Put simply, I’m glad that the gods of the nations don’t exist. I wouldn’t want to live in a world ruled by Zeus, or Baal, or Marduk, or Molech. That would be terrifying.

I’m so thankful that my God is not like that. No, “Yahweh is good. His hesed lasts to eternity, and his faithfulness from generation to generation.” It’s difficult for me to imagine David more eloquently calling us to praise and worship God. God’s hesed, his lovingkindness, mercy, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness…in short, his unfailing love for his people, will never end. It will last, not just for all your days, not just until the end of time, but beyond even that. God’s steadfast love will last for all eternity. And his faithfulness, the word there comes from the word for “truth,” lasts from generation to generation.

Christians, sing this Psalm. It’s worth learning at least one version to sing. My personal favorite, and the one I’ve taught my daughter, comes from The ARP Psalter and is set to the tune of “Praise to the Lord the Almighty.” Our Hymnal has two versions, one of which we’re going to sing this coming Lord’s Day. Psalm 100 has been set to numerous familiar hymn tunes. Often it only takes two stanzas to sing through the entire Psalm. Sing this Psalm because it is true, because we need to remember that Yahweh is good. We need to remember that his lovingkindness lasts to eternity, and his faithfulness never ends. And for that, thanks be to God!

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