Psalm 100/Commentary

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A Joyful Shout Psalm 100 Some have called this Psalm the “Pilgrims’ Psalm” because it was especially cherished by the Purtians who felt it was an appropriate description of their experiences in coming to the New World. “The psalm is not hard to analyze. It contains seven great imperatives plus two explanations of why we should give thanks, the first halfway through the psalm and the other at the end. Psalm 100 contains: (1) a statement of how to give thanks, (2) an explanation of why God’s people must give thanks, (3) an invitation to give thanks, and (4) a final great expression of praise of thanksgiving” (Psalms 42-106, James Montgomery Boice, p. 811). “Shout joyfully to the Lord”: 100:1 “Since God is great and greatly to be praised, we are called to boisterous expression as we begin our worship” (Psalms 73-150, Donald Williams p. 218). The term here translated “shout” means a glad shout, “such as loyal subjects might utter when the king appears among them, the emphasis being on the gladness. Still the text does say “shout”. It would be accurate to express this idea by saying that the people of God are to praise God loudly because they are happy with Him” (Boice p. 811). I believe we see the same emphasis in Colossians 3:16 when Paul says, “singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. Thankful singing should be anything but quiet. The Psalm certainly gives us permission, in fact commands us to be excited and vocal in worshipping God. We can be loud and excited when being with friends, playing games, attending a sporting event, or a concert. Yet, we have so much more to be excited about when it comes to God. “Serve the Lord with gladness”: 100:2 “Serve the Lord is paralleled to come into His presence, which is a reminder that an act of worship is well named a ‘service’. It is the first response we owe Him— and not, in either sense of the word, the last. How far it reaches is shown in Romans 12:1, where nothing short of a living sacrifice counts as ‘worship’” (Psalms 73-150, Derek Kidner p. 356). It is essential that we grasp this connection


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