Serve the LORD with Gladness

Psalm 100:1–5, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalm 100 is only five verses long, but it gives us a beautiful picture of what worship should look like.

Make a joyful noise.
Serve the LORD with gladness.
Come before His presence with singing.
Be thankful.
Bless His name.

But notice that the Psalm does not simply tell us how to worship. It tells us why.

“Know ye that the LORD he is God.”

We worship because He is God and we are His.

“It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.”

We did not give ourselves life. We did not save ourselves. Everything we have ultimately comes from Him.

Then the Psalm gives us three more reasons to praise:
The LORD is good.
His mercy is everlasting.
His truth endureth to all generations.

Our circumstances may not always make us glad, but our God is always worthy of glad service.

Sometimes serving the Lord can begin to feel like another responsibility on a long list. We can become so busy doing things for God that we forget the joy of belonging to God.

Psalm 100 calls us back to gladness.

We are His people. We are the sheep of His pasture. We belong to a good and merciful Shepherd whose truth will still be standing long after everything around us has changed.

That is a reason to serve.

And that is certainly a reason to sing.

Act Today: Before you begin your responsibilities today, thank the LORD for the privilege of belonging to Him. Whatever He has given you to do, ask Him to help you “serve the LORD with gladness.”