Psalm 100: A Psalm for Giving Thanks

[0:00] Well, would you turn with me this evening to the book of Psalms and Psalm 100. The book of Psalms and Psalm 100.

[0:24] And we'll read the whole psalm together. Psalm 100 from the beginning. A psalm for giving thanks. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

[0:39] Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us. And we are his.

[0:49] We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving. And his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

[1:00] For the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. As you can see, Psalm 100 has been titled, A Psalm Forgiving Thanks.

[1:19] A Psalm Forgiving Thanks. And it's an appropriate title because as we gather together as congregations from the same community, we have good reason to thank the Lord for his goodness to us.

[1:31] Because as we've mentioned over the past few weeks, we've enjoyed unity. And we've enjoyed fellowship with one another. Something I believe that everyone hopes and prays will continue in the months and years ahead.

[1:46] But we're also to give thanks to the Lord for, as we mentioned, the faith mission who came among us. Because it was actually the faith mission who encouraged us to come together as congregations.

[1:59] And it was the faith mission who prayerfully worked in our community. And it was the faith mission who powerfully preached the gospel to our community. And for that, we ought to give thanks to the Lord.

[2:13] But more than that, well, we're seeing the fruit of their labor. We've witnessed people in our community whom we've prayed for for many years. And yet we've witnessed them come to faith in Jesus Christ.

[2:27] Friends, we have good reason to give thanks to the Lord. We have good reason to give thanks because the Lord has brought us together. And we've been stirred up as a people. We have good reason to give thanks to the Lord.

[2:41] And I believe that Psalm 100 is a fitting psalm to remind us that we should ascribe all our thanksgiving to the Lord. But, you know, as we move on from the faith mission with us, we must not forget that the mission, the mission still continues.

[2:59] The work must go on. The seed must be sown. And it must be sown faithfully, fervently, and fearlessly. Which, you know, is another reason why we're looking at Psalm 100 this evening.

[3:13] Because Psalm 100, it's not only a psalm for giving thanks. Psalm 100 is one of the great missionary psalms. In which the psalmist, he has this missionary vision.

[3:23] A missionary vision that all people that on earth do dwell would sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. And in this psalm, the psalmist is calling us to adopt this missionary vision in our lives.

[3:36] Where we live our lives with an eternal perspective. Because you know the truth is, my friend, that when we look at life. And when we live our lives with an eternal perspective.

[3:47] It will fan into flame a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. And that's what the psalmist wants us to have. He wants us to have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost.

[3:59] He wants us to have a missionary vision for our own community. And the psalmist, he's actually encouraging us to possess this missionary vision. By focusing our attention upon three things in this psalm.

[4:13] He wants us to focus upon the covenant, the call, and the commission. The covenant, the call, and the commission. Now first of all, the covenant.

[4:23] And what's interesting is that the covenant, we find it at the end of the psalm. In verse 5. He says in verse 5. For the Lord is good. And his love endures forever.

[4:35] His faithfulness continues through all generations. Now in order for us to have this missionary vision. The psalmist, he wants us to see that the basis for our missionary vision.

[4:46] The foundation of our missionary vision. Is the Lord's covenant. And that's what the psalmist says in the last verse of this short missionary psalm. He says the basis for the call.

[4:59] And the basis for the commission. To be missionaries in our own community. The basis of it all. Is the Lord's covenant. Because what we have in verses 1 and 2. We see that the psalmist, he'll speak about the call.

[5:12] To possess this missionary vision. Then in verses 3 and 4. He'll speak about the great commission. To make known to our community. And indeed the world. That God is our creator.

[5:22] And he is our saviour. But the basis of having this missionary vision. Is the Lord's covenant. That's why the psalmist uses the word for.

[5:33] In verse 5. He says for the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues throughout all generations. And so my friend. The reason there's a call.

[5:44] And the reason there's a commission for us. And for the church. Is because of the Lord's covenant. Now we know that verse 5 is a covenant promise. Because we see that the title Lord.

[5:56] In capital letters is used there. In fact the word Lord. Or the title Lord. It's used throughout the whole psalm. And this title. It emphasizes that the God we worship.

[6:09] He's not only God our creator. But he is also the Lord our saviour. And he's the Lord our saviour. Because of his covenant promise. Towards us.

[6:19] He's the covenant making. And covenant keeping God. Now when we speak about a covenant. When we speak about covenant theology. We mean that God in his love.

[6:31] And out of his own good pleasure. He chose to make this legally binding contract. But you know the wonder of God's covenant. Was that it's a covenant of grace.

[6:43] Meaning that the covenant. It wasn't based upon our obedience to the covenant. It was all based upon the Lord's obedience. To the covenant. In which the Lord sought. To redeem lost sinners to himself.

[6:56] Regardless of how wayward they could be. And you know. We were actually reading about that covenant promise. In Genesis 12. When the Lord called Abraham. The Lord called Abraham.

[7:08] And he brought him out of the idolatrous land. Of our of the Chaldeans. And the Lord brought Abraham. You could say. He brought him from his lost estate. Into this estate of covenant blessing.

[7:21] In which the Lord promised to Abraham. That through his seed. All the nations. All the families. Of the earth would be blessed. The Lord promised Abraham. The Lord covenanted with Abraham.

[7:33] And said to him. I will make of you. A great nation. And I will bless you. And make your name great. So that you will be a blessing. I will bless those. Who bless you.

[7:44] And I will curse those. Who curse you. And in you. All the families of the earth. Will be blessed. And you know. It's those words of covenant promise.

[7:55] They are the basis. Of possessing. A missionary vision. Everything rests upon that covenant promise. That through the seed of Abraham. All the families.

[8:06] All the nations of the earth. Would be blessed. And you know. What's so beautiful about this covenant. That we see here in verse 5. Is that it's signed and sealed. With this covenant title.

[8:19] The Lord. And that covenant title. Whenever we see it in the Bible. Those capital letters. Of the title. Lord. It means the one who keeps covenant.

[8:30] Covenant. So every time you read those words. Those capital letters. You think. He is the one who keeps covenant. He is the Lord. The one who keeps covenant.

[8:41] Therefore upholding this covenant promise of blessing. It doesn't depend upon the love and faithfulness of Abraham. It doesn't depend upon the love and faithfulness of any of Abraham's descendants.

[8:52] It doesn't depend upon our love and our faithfulness towards the Lord. Upholding this covenant of grace. Depends entirely upon the love. The steadfast love.

[9:02] And the faithfulness of the Lord. The one who keeps covenant. And you know. When you look at verse 5. We're told that the Lord is good.

[9:13] His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness continues through all generations. Those words. Good. Stentfast love. And faithfulness. They're all covenantal words.

[9:25] They're all words which express the Lord's character. They emphasize to us. The Lord's commitment. Towards his covenant. And his covenant people. Because when the psalmist says.

[9:38] When the psalmist says in verse 5. The Lord is good. He means that the Lord does. The unexpected. The Lord does what we often think is.

[9:50] Impossible. The Lord does. As Paul says. He does in us. And for us. Exceedingly abundantly. Above all. More than we could ask. Or even think.

[10:01] The Lord is good. Because he deals with us. Not as we deserve. Not according to our sin. But according to his covenant of grace. And you know.

[10:12] He remains committed to us. And he remains committed to his covenant. All because of his steadfast love. And his faithfulness. And you know. This is the beauty of God's covenant love towards us.

[10:25] And this is something we always need to remember. There is nothing we can do. To make the Lord love us any more than he already does. And there is nothing we can do. To make him love us any less. That is the wonder of God's covenant.

[10:38] His covenant faithfulness towards us. That his love. His steadfast love. As we are told in verse 5. It endures forever. And his faithfulness.

[10:50] It continues throughout all generations. You know my friend. This is something we need to lay hold of. For our missionary vision. Our missionary vision.

[11:00] That rests upon the covenant. But in order to have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. We need to respond to the call. Which is what we see secondly.

[11:12] So the covenant. And then the call. The call we read it in verses 1 and 2. Where the psalmist says. He says. Shout for joy to the Lord. All the earth.

[11:23] Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful songs. And so what we see there. Is that having laid the foundation. For possessing a missionary vision.

[11:34] We now turn to the opening words. Of this well known and much loved psalm. And what we ought to see. Is that we're being encouraged. To respond to the covenant. And take up this missionary call.

[11:47] To serve the Lord. But this call. It's not just for a minister. To do all the work. The call is for all of the Lord's people. In every community.

[11:58] To work together. For the extension. Of Christ's kingdom. And the call. What the psalmist is giving to us. He's giving to us. The call to catch the vision.

[12:09] He's giving to us. The call to catch the vision. The vision. That all people. That on earth do dwell. Would sing to the Lord. With cheerful voice. And you know. There's an emphasis. There's an emphasis. There's an emphasis. There's an emphasis.

[12:20] Actually here. In verse one. There's an emphasis. Upon the word. Earth. Shout for joy. To the Lord. All the earth. There's an emphasis. On the word earth. Because it relates to.

[12:31] The whole creation. And how God created man. From the dust. Of the earth. And what the psalmist. Is actually stressing to us. Is that our covenantal call.

[12:42] To catch this missionary vision. Is so that all people. That on earth. Do dwell. That they will. Fulfill their chief end. To glorify God.

[12:53] And enjoy him forever. And so the covenantal call. Upon our lives. Is that we will adopt. This missionary vision. The missionary vision. That longs to see.

[13:04] Every tribe. Tongue. Nation. And language. Sing to the Lord. With a cheerful voice. My friend. Our missionary vision. Which incorporates. A passion for the Lord.

[13:14] And a passion. For the lost. Our missionary vision. Is to be for whosoever. It's to be for the whosoever. You know that word.

[13:27] Whosoever. It crosses every barrier. Every boundary. Every social division. It reaches up to every prince. And even down to every pauper.

[13:39] Whosoever. And you know. There was no one. Who used that word more. Than the covenant king. Jesus Christ. You read the gospels. And all you hear.

[13:49] Is Jesus saying. Whosoever will. Let him come unto me. Whosoever would save his life. Shall lose it. But whosoever loses his life. For my sake.

[14:00] The same shall find it. Whosoever believes. In him. Shall not perish. But have eternal life. Whosoever comes to me. I will in no wise cast out.

[14:13] Whosoever. And my friend. If the offer of salvation. Includes everyone. And excludes no one. Then the covenantal call. That's upon our lives. As the Lord's people.

[14:23] And the missionary vision. Which we need to adopt. In our lives. And in our community. Is to include everyone. And it's to exclude no one. There's no one in this community.

[14:36] Who is a lost cause. Or is an outcast. Or too far gone. This is the wonder of it. Because the Bible reminds us. So clearly. And so beautifully.

[14:47] That this Jesus saves. To the uttermost. This Jesus saves. To the uttermost. But notice what the psalmist says.

[14:58] In verse 2. He says. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him. With joyful songs. Or serve the Lord. With gladness.

[15:09] The psalmist. He calls the church. To serve the Lord. With gladness. And this word. Serve. Or worship. As it's used in this Bible.

[15:20] The word serve. It was first used. When Adam was called. To work the ground. In the garden of Eden. Adam was to serve the Lord. By sowing.

[15:31] And cultivating. The ground. From which he had been made from. But you'll also remember. That when Adam fell. When Adam fell. Into that estate of sin and misery.

[15:43] By sinning against the Lord. You'll remember. How the Lord cursed the ground. And he cursed the earth. And it brought forth. Thorns and thistles. And the Lord said to Adam.

[15:54] The Lord said to him. By the sweat of your face. You shall eat bread. Till you return to the ground. For out of it you were taken. And for you are dust. And to dust you shall return.

[16:05] And by the same token. Do you know I believe that the psalmist. Is calling the church. He's calling the church. To serve the Lord. Because like Adam.

[16:16] We're to serve the Lord. By working. In all the earth. We're to serve the Lord. By working amongst those. Who are from the earth. We're to serve the Lord.

[16:26] By working. In the lives of those. Who are as Paul describes. Of the earth. Earthy. We're to serve the Lord. By sowing seed. And cultivating the ground. Amongst a humanity.

[16:38] That has been cursed. And as we know. Only too well. And even as we've heard. In prayer this evening. There are many people. Who have thorns and thistles.

[16:49] That have arisen in their lives. It doesn't matter who we are. Or what position we hold. We're all broken people. Living broken lives. In a broken world. And we don't need to go far.

[17:00] To see the effects of this curse. Upon the people in our community. But you know. The command and the calling. Of the church. Is to serve the Lord. Serve the Lord. By sowing the seed.

[17:11] And cultivating the ground. And you know. We've been called. As the Lord's people. But our responsibility. Is to call others. And to invite them.

[17:22] To come. As the psalmist says. To come before the Lord. With joyful songs. We've been called. But we're to call others.

[17:33] Call others to make. To come and make a joyful noise. To the Lord. But you know. Like it was for Adam. He had sweat upon his face.

[17:45] And it wasn't easy. To work the earth. And it's not easy. For us to serve. The Lord. In a world. That has been cursed. It's not easy. To deal with the thorns.

[17:55] And thistles. Of the opposition. From. Of the gospel. It's not easy. To sow the good seed. Of God's word. Into people's lives. It's not easy. To get alongside people. And get to know people.

[18:06] And even meet them. Where they're at. It's not easy. To speak about the gospel. And bring the gospel. Into conversations. With people. Who have no care. Or concern. About their soul.

[18:16] It's not easy. But the Bible. Always reminds us. That it's necessary. It's not easy. But it's necessary. And there's no doubt. That spreading the gospel.

[18:27] In our community. It's hard work. It takes time. It takes commitment. It takes patience. And that's a hard one. Especially for me.

[18:39] It takes patience. But if the covenantal call. Of the church. Is to serve the Lord. Then you know. We have to get out of our comfort zone. We have to put our hand.

[18:51] To the plow. And not turn back. Because you know. There's no quick fixes in this. There's no easy routes. There's no shortcuts. Like Adam.

[19:01] It will only be. By the sweat. Of our brow. That we will bring forth fruit. From a ground. That has been cursed. My friend. As the church of Jesus Christ.

[19:12] We've been called. To serve the Lord. In our community. And we need to be proactive. Instead of reactive. We need to be forward looking. Instead of living in the past.

[19:22] We need to be striving. Instead of settling down. We have to be reaching out. Instead of just relaxing. We have to let our light. So shine before others. That they see the glory.

[19:34] Of our father. We have to let the light shine. Instead of hiding it. Under a bushel. And you know. That's why Jesus gave. The church. The great commission.

[19:45] In Matthew 28. The Jews had forgotten. Their commission. To be a light. To the Gentiles. But in the great commission. Jesus reminds.

[19:55] His church. Of this covenantal call. And that our missionary vision. Is to go and make disciples. Of all nations. Go and serve the Lord.

[20:06] With gladness. Go and make known. To all the earth. That the Lord is mighty. To save. And you know. This is what I want us. To consider lastly. Briefly. The psalmist here.

[20:17] It's a wonderful psalm. He's reminding us. That we need to lay hold. Of our missionary vision. By resting in the covenant. And in order to have a passion. For the Lord. And a passion for the lost.

[20:28] We need to respond. To the call. To serve the Lord. By working in all the earth. But lastly. The psalmist. He reminds us. Of our commission. To make known. To all the earth.

[20:38] Who the Lord really is. So the covenant. The call. And the commission. The commission. See in verse 3. He says. Know that the Lord is God.

[20:49] It is he who made us. And we are his. We are his people. The sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates. With thanksgiving. And his courts. With praise. Give thanks to him.

[21:00] And praise his name. For the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues. Through all generations. Now throughout this short missionary psalm.

[21:13] The psalmist. He has stressed to us. That we need. We need to catch the vision. Catch this missionary vision. We need to look at life. And live life. With an eternal perspective.

[21:25] Where we have a passion for the Lord. And a passion for the lost. And that's why the psalmist says. At the beginning of verse 3. He says. Make known. That the Lord.

[21:35] He is God. Make known. That the Lord. He is God. What the psalmist is saying there. Is that. The commission of the church. Is to make known.

[21:46] To all humanity. That the one who desires. To save us. Is the one who made us. The one who desires. To save us.

[21:57] Is the one who made us. My friend. This is the glory of the gospel. That the God who made us. As we will sing shortly. The God who made us. Without our aid.

[22:09] Is the God who made us. From the dust of the ground. And formed us. And fashioned us. Like a potter. Moulding some clay. But. We are those.

[22:19] As we know. Only too well. We are a fallen creature. We have fallen into. Any state of sin and misery. We are cursed. We have been conceived. In guiltiness and sin. We are dead in trespasses and sins.

[22:30] We were lost. Hell deserving sinners. But the wonder of the gospel. Is that this God. Who made us without our aid. He is rich in mercy.

[22:42] And for his great love. For with he loved us. Even when we were dead. In trespasses and sins. He demonstrated. His love towards us. That while we were yet sinners.

[22:54] Christ. Died for us. My friend. The glory of our gospel. Is that this God. Who made us. And the God. Whom we have rejected. And sinned against. And even rebelled.

[23:05] And this God. Who would have every right. To cast us into hell. For all of eternity. And yet the psalmist. Is saying to us tonight. That Lord. He is God.

[23:16] The Lord. He is God. The covenant king. Is the creator king. And he has provided. For sinners. The way of salvation.

[23:27] He has given. To a perishing humanity. The promise of eternal life. To whosoever believes. Whosoever believes in him. Will not perish.

[23:38] But have eternal life. And you know. The commission of the church. Is to make known. The commission of the church. Is to make known.

[23:49] To our lost community. That our creator. Wants to be our savior. Our creator. Wants to be our savior. As I know what Peter says.

[24:00] In the New Testament. That the Lord is not willing. That any should perish. But that all. Would come. To repentance. That's the missionary vision.

[24:12] And that's the vision. We need. We need a missionary vision. We need to live life. With an eternal perspective. Not caught up. With the here and now. But live life. With an eternal perspective.

[24:24] Where we fan into flame. Our passion for the Lord. And our passion for the lost. Because in the day and generation. That we're living in. The reality is. People don't just come to church.

[24:36] That's why our commission. Is a call to go. To go and. Call people. To come. And enter his gates with praise. And his courts with thanksgiving.

[24:47] We need to call people. Says the psalmist. We need to call people. To come. To come to church. And to come to Christ. And to come all the way.

[24:58] To this Jesus. And commit their lives to him. We need to call people. To come. And be under the word. Because as Paul reminds us. Faith comes by hearing.

[25:10] And hearing. By the word of God. My friend. We need to compel. Our community. To come in. That the master's house. May be filled.

[25:21] Because we've been reminded. This evening. From Psalm 100. That we need to adopt. This missionary vision. In our lives. This missionary vision. Is based upon. The covenant promise.

[25:32] Of blessing. And because of the covenant. We've received the call. And with this covenantal call. Comes the commission. To make known. To all the world.

[25:44] To make known. To those in our home. Those in our family. Those whom we love. And those whom we pray for. We're to make known to them. That this God.

[25:55] Who is our creator. He wants to be. Their savior. So Psalm 100. It's a psalm. For giving thanks.

[26:08] But it's also. A missionary psalm. And in it. We have the covenant. The call. And the commission. So that all people. That on earth. Do dwell. Would sing to the Lord.

[26:20] With cheerful voice. Well may the Lord bless. These few thoughts to us. Let us pray. Oh Lord. Our gracious God.

[26:31] We give thanks to thee. For the wonder of thy word. That thou art a covenant. Making. And a covenant. Keeping God. And that thou hast revealed. Thyself to us.

[26:41] In thy word. And Lord. We pray. That we would. Lean upon thy covenant. That we would rest in it. Realizing that there is nothing. We can do. To make thee love us more.

[26:52] Than. Than has already been shown to us. And there is nothing. We can do. To make thee love us any less. Help us Lord. To trust thee.

[27:02] To trust in thy covenant promises. To stand upon the promises. To plead the promises. To know Lord. That they are great and precious. And Lord. We pray. That thou wouldst enable us.

[27:13] To respond. To the call. And to take up. This great commission. To go into our community. And tell it. To the generation following. That this God.

[27:23] Is our God. And that he will be our guide. Even unto death. Lord bless us. We pray. Bless thy servant. Dougie. As he is. He is away Lord. That thou wouldst bless him.

[27:34] And Joan. And Jack. Grant them traveling mercies. As they go to Canada. Keep them Lord. And refresh them. And bless us Lord. As congregations. That we would continue. To sow in tears.

[27:46] That we would reap in joy. That the blessing would be ours. But the glory would be thine. And that in all things. That Christ would have the preeminence. Lord bless us together.

[27:56] Then we pray. Watch over us. We ask. And help us to do everything. For the furtherance of thy kingdom. And the glory of thy name. Keep us we pray. For we ask it in Jesus name.

[28:07] And for his sake. Amen. Well we're going to bring our time. Together to a conclusion. By singing the words of that psalm.

[28:19] Psalm 100. Psalm 100. And we're going to sing the whole psalm. All people that on earth do dwell.

[28:35] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with mirth. His praise foretell. Come ye before him. And rejoice. We'll stand to sing if you're able. The whole psalm.

[28:46] To God's praise. Amen. For the people that on earth do dwell. For the people that on earth do dwell.

[29:01] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.

[29:12] Then serve with mirth. Then serve with mirth. His praise. For the people that on earth do dwell. Come ye before them.

[29:27] 助 say, All Him, We hope. pele.可是 viath das 16 ou His flock he doth us feed, and for his sheep he doth us take.

[30:17] For when turned and his gates with grace, approach with joy his court unto.

[30:39] Grace, Lord, and bless his name always.

[30:49] For when to sin they stop to do, For why the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure.

[31:22] His truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age enter.

[31:42] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.

[31:54] Amen. Amen.