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Psalm One
Hundred
Psalm 100
Chapter Contents
An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him.
This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy,
and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall
know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep
of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it
cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again
to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of
praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in
himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will
be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The
covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with
so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes
the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad
soever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason
to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has
said in his word for our comfort.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 100
An exhortation to praise God and to rejoice
in him, verse 1-5 A psalm of praise.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
TITLE. A Psalm of
Praise; or rather of thanksgiving. This is the only psalm bearing this precise
inscription. It is all ablaze with grateful adoration, and has for this reason
been a great favourite with the people of God ever since it was written.
"Let us sing the Old Hundredth" is one of the every-day expressions
of the Christian church, and will be so while men, exist whose hearts are loyal
to the Great King. Nothing can be more sublime this side heaven than the
singing of this noble psalm by a vast congregation. Watts' paraphrase, beginning
"Before Jehovah's awful throne, "and the Scotch "All people that
on earth do dwell, "are both noble versions; and event Tare and Brady rise
beyond themselves when they sing—
"With
one consent let all the earth
To God their cheerful voices raise."
In
this divine lyric we sing with gladness the creating power and goodness of the
Lord, even as before with trembling we adored his holiness.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. This is a
repetition of Ps 98:4. The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal
subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be
worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature,
his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies. In every
land Jehovah's goodness is seen, therefore in every land should be be praised.
Nearer will the world be in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout
it adores the only God. O ye nations, how long will ye blindly reject him? Your
golden age will never arrive till ye with all your hearts revere him.
Verse
2. Serve the LORD with gladness. "Glad homage pay with
awful mirth." He is our Lord, and therefore he is to be served; he is our
gracious Lord, and therefore to be served with joy. The invitation to worship
here given is not a melancholy one, as though adoration were a funeral
solemnity, but a cheery gladsome exhortation, as though we were bidden to a
marriage feast. Come before his presence with singing. We ought in worship to
realise the presence of God, and by an effort of the mind to approach him. This
is an act which must to every rightly instructed heart be one of great
solemnity, but at the same time it must not be performed in the servility of
fear, and therefore we come before him, not with weepings and wailings, but
with Psalms and hymns. Singing, as it is a joyful, and at the same time a
devout, exercise, should be a constant form of approach to God. The measured,
harmonious, hearty utterance of praise by a congregation of really devout
persons is not merely decorous but delightful, and is a fit anticipation of the
worship of heaven, where praise has absorbed prayer, and become the sole mode
of adoration. How a certain society of brethren can find it in their hearts to
forbid singing in public worship is a riddle which we cannot solve. We feel
inclined to say with Dr. Watts
"Let
those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God;
But favourites of the heavenly king
Must speak his praise abroad."
Verse
3. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. Our worship must be
intelligent. We ought to know whom we worship and why. "Man, know thyself,
"is a wise aphorism, yet to know our God is truer wisdom; and it is very
questionable whether a man can know himself until he knows his God. Jehovah is
God in the fullest, most absolute, and most exclusive sense, he is God alone;
to know him in that character and prove our knowledge by obedience, trust,
submission, zeal, and love is an attainment which only grace can bestow. Only
those who practically recognise his Godhead are at all likely to offer
acceptable praise. It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. Shall not
the creature reverence its maker? Some men live as if they made themselves;
they call themselves "self-made men, "and they adore their supposed
creators; but Christians recognise the origin of their being and their
well-being, and take no honour to themselves either for being, or for being
what they are. Neither in our first or second creation dare we put so much as a
finger upon the glory, for it is the sole right and property of the Almighty.
To disclaim honour for ourselves is as necessary a part of true reverence as to
ascribe glory to the Lord. "Non nobis, dominc!" will for ever remain
the true believer's confession. Of late philosophy has laboured hard to prove
that all things have been developed from atoms, or have, in other words, made
themselves: if this theory shall ever find believers, there will certainly
remain no reason for accusing the superstitious of credulity, for the amount of
credence necessary to accept this dogma of scepticism is a thousandfold greater
than that which is required even by an absurd belief in winking Madonnas, and
smiling Bambinos. For our part, we find it far more easy to believe that the
Lord made us than that we were developed by a long chain of natural selections
from floating atoms which fashioned themselves. We are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture. It is our honour to have been chosen from all the world
besides to be his own people, and our privilege to be therefore guided
by his wisdom, tended by his care, and fed by his bounty. Sheep gather around
their shepherd and look up to him; in the same manner let us gather around the
great Shepherd of mankind. The avowal of our relation to God is in itself
praise; when we recount his goodness we are rendering to him the best
adoration; our songs require none of the inventions of fictions, the bare facts
are enough; the simple narration of the mercies of the Lord is more astonishing
than the productions of imagination. That we are the sheep of his pasture is a
plain truth, and at the same time the very essence of poetry.
Verse
4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. To the occurrence
of the word thanksgiving in this place the Psalm probably owes its
title. In all our public service the rendering of thanks must abound; it is
like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke.
Expiatory sacrifices are ended, but those of gratitude will never be out of
date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. Mercy
permits us to enter his gates; let us praise that mercy. What better subjcct
for our thoughts in God's own house than the Lord of the house. And into his
courts with praise. Into whatever court of the Lord you may enter, let your
admission be the subject of praise: thanks be to God, the innermost court is
now open to believers, and we enter into that which is within the veil; it is
incumbent upon us that we acknowledge the high privilege by our songs. Be
thankful unto him. Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue,
and let it all be for him to whom it all belongs. And bless his name. He
blessed you, bless him in return; bless his name, his character, his person.
Whatever he does, be sure that you bless him for it; bless him when he takes
away as well as when he gives; bless him as long as you live, under all
circumstances; bless him in all his attributes, from whatever point of view you
consider him.
Verse
5. For the Lord is good. This sums up his character and
contains a mass of reasons for praise. He is good, gracious, kind, bountiful,
loving; yea, God is love. He who does not praise the good is not good himself.
The kind of praise inculcated in the Psalm, viz., that of joy and gladness, is
most fitly urged upon us by an argument from the goodness of God. His mercy is
everlasting. God is not mere justice, stern and cold; he has bowels of
compassion, and wills not the sinner's death. Towards his own people mercy is
still more conspicuously displayed; it has been theirs from all eternity, and
shall be theirs world without end. Everlasting mercy is a glorious theme for
sacred song. And his truth endureth to all generations. No fickle being is he,
promising and forgetting. He has entered into covenant with his people, and he
will never revoke it, nor alter the thing that has gone out of his lips. As our
fathers found him faithful, so will our sons, and their seed for ever. A
changeable God would be a terror to the righteous, they would have no sure
anchorage, and amid a changing world they would be driven to and fro in
perpetual fear of shipwreck. It were well if the truth of divine faithfulness
were more fully remembered by some theologians; it would overturn their belief
in the final fall of believers, and teach them a more consolatory system. Our
heart leaps for joy as we bow before One who has never broken his word or
changed his purpose.
"As
well might he his being quit
As break his promise or forget."
Resting
on his sure word, we feel that joy which is here commanded, and in the strength
of it we come into his presence even now, and speak good of his name.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. This is the
only Psalm in the whole collection entitled "A Psalm of Praise."
It is supposed to have received this appellation because peculiarly adapted, if
not designed to be sung, when the sacrifices of thanksgiving were
offered. See Le 7:12. The Greeks think it was written by David, who here
invites all the world to join with the Israelites in the service of God, whose
divine sovereignty he here recognises. Samuel Burder.
Whole
Psalm. If we are right in regarding Psalms 93-99 as forming one
continuous series, one great prophetic oratorio, whose title is "Jehovah
is King, "and through which there runs the same great idea, this Psalm may
be regarded as the doxology which closes the strain. We find lingering in it
notes of the same great harmony. It breathes the same gladness; it is filled
with the same hope, that all nations shall bow down before Jehovah, and confess
that he is God. J.J.S. Perowne.
Whole
Psalm. This Psalm contains a promise of Christianity, as winter at its
close contains the promise of spring. The trees are ready to bud, the flowers
are just hidden by the light soil, the clouds are heavy with rain, the sun
shines in his strength; only a genial wind from the south is wanted to give a
new life to all things. "The Speaker's Commentary, "1873.
Whole
Psalm. Luther would have immortalized his name had he done no more than
written the majestic air and harmony to which we are accustomed to sing this
Psalm, and which, when the mind is in a truly worshipping frame, seems to bring
heaven down to earth, and to raise earth to heaven, giving us anticipations of
the pure and sublime delights of that noble and general assembly in which
saints and angels shall for ever celebrate the praises of God. Ingram
Cobbin.
Verse
2. The first half of this verse is from Ps 2:11, only that instead
of "with fear, "there, where the psalmist has to do with
fierce rebels, there is substituted here "gladness" or joy. F.W.
Hengstenberg.
Verse
2. Serve the LORD with gladness. It is a sign the oil of
grace hath been poured into the heart "when the oil of gladness"
shines on the countenance. Cheerfulness credits religion. Thomas Watson.
Verse
2. Serve the LORD. It is our privilege to serve the Lord in
all things. It is ours to please the Lord in loosing the latchet of a shoe; and
to enjoy the expression of his favour therein. The servant of God is not
serving at the same time another master; he has not been hired for occasional
service; he abides in the service of his God, and cannot be about anything but
his Master's business; he eats, he drinks, he sleeps, he walks, he discourses,
he findeth recreation, all by the way of serving God. Serve the Lord with
gladness. Can you bear to be waited upon by a servant who goes moping and
dejected to his every task? You would rather have no servant at all, than one
who evidently finds your service cheerless and irksome. George Bowen.
Verse
3. Know ye that the LORD he is God, &c. From the reasons
of this exhortation, learn, that such is our natural atheism, that we have need
again and again to be instructed, that the Lord is God; of whom, and
through whom, and for whom are all things. David Dickson.
Verse
3. It is he that made us... we are his. Now, the ground of
God's property in all things is his creating of all... Accordingly, you may
observe in many scriptures, where the Lord's propriety is asserted, this, as
the ground of it, is annexed: Ps 89:11-12, the heavens, the earth, the whole
world, and all therein is thine. Why so? "Thou hast founded them."
And so are all the regions and quarters of the world, northern and southern,
western and eastern; for Tabor was on the west and Hermon on the east; all are
thine, for thou hast created them. So sea and land, Ps 95:5. As all things
measured by time, so time itself, the measure of all, Ps 74:16-17. "Thou
hast made the light, "i.e. the moon for the night and the sun for
the day. He lays claim to all the climes of the earth, and all the seasons of
the year on this account; he made them. This will be more evident and
unquestionable, if we take notice of these particulars:
1.
He made all for himself. He was not employed by any to make it for another, for
in that case sometimes the maker is not the owner; but the Lord did employ
himself in that great work, and for himself did he undertake and finish it. Pr
16:4 Col 1:15-16.
2.
He made all things of nothing, either without any matter at all, or without any
but what himself had before made of nothing. A potter when he makes an
earthenware vessel, if the clay be not his own which he makes it of, he is not
the full owner of the vessel, though he formed it: "the form is his, the
matter is another's; "but since the Lord made all of nothing, or of such
matter as himself had made, all is wholly his, matter and form, all entirely.
3.
He made all without the help or concurrence of any other. There was none that
assisted him, or did in the least co-operate with him in the work of
creation... Those that assist and concur with another in the making of a thing
may claim a share in it; but here lies no such claim in this case, where the
Lord alone did all, alone made all. All is his only.
4.
He upholds all things in the same manner as he created, continues the being of
all things in the same way as he gave it. He does it of himself, without other
support, without any assistant. All would fall into nothing in a moment, if he
did not every moment bear them up. So that all things on this account have
still their being from him every moment, and their well-being too, and all the
means which conduce to it; and therefore all are his own. David Clarkson.
Verse
3. It is he that hath made us. The emperor Henry, while out
hunting on the Lord's day called Quinquagesima, his companions being scattered,
came unattended to the entrance of a certain wood; and seeing a church hard by,
he made for it, and feigning himself to be a soldier, simply requested a mass
of the priest. Now that priest was a man of notable piety, but so deformed in
person that he seemed a monster rather than a man. When he had attentively
considered him, the emperor began to wonder exceedingly why God, from whom all
beauty proceeds, should permit so deformed a man to administer his sacraments.
But prescntly, when mass commenced, and they came to the passage, Know ye
that the Lord he is God, which was chanted by a boy, the priest rebuked the
boy for singing negligently, and said with a loud voice, It is he that hath
made us, and not we ourselves. Struck by these words, and believing the
priest to be a prophet, the emperor raised him, much against his will, to the
archbishopric of Cologne, which see he adorned by his devotion and excellent
virtues. From "Roger of Wendover's (1237) Flowers of
History."
Verse
3. It is he that hath made us... we are his. Many a one has
drawn balsatalc consolation from these words; as for instance Melancthon when
disconsolately sorrowful over the body of his son in Dresden on the 12th July,
1559. But in "He made us and we are his, "there is also a rich
mine of comfort and of admonition, for the Creator is also the Owner, his heart
clings to his creature, and the creature owes itself entirely to him, without
whom it would not have had a being, and would not continue in being. F.
Delitzsch.
Verse
3. He that made us, i.e. made us what we are, a people to
himself; as in Ps 95:5, 1Sa 12:6, and De 32:6. It was not we that made
ourselves his (compare Eze 29:3). "He (and not we ourselves) made
us His people, and the flock whom he feeds." Andrew A. Bonar.
Verse
3. Not we is added, because any share, on the part of the
church, in effecting the salvation bestowed upon her, would weaken the
testimony which this bears to the exclusive Godhead of the Lord. F. W.
Hengstenberg.
Verses
3, 5. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Knowledge
is the mother of devotion, and of all obedience; blind sacrifices will never
please a seeing God. "Know" it, i.e. consider and apply it,
and then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the
worship of him. Let us know, then, these seven things concerning the Lord
Jehovah, with whom we have to do in all the acts of religious worship.
1. That
the Lord he is God, the only living and true God; that he is a being
infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the fountain of all
being.
2.
That he is our Creator: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.
We do not, we could not make ourselves; it is God's prerogative to be his own
cause; our being is derived and depending.
3.
That therefore he is our rightful owner. The Masorites, by altering one
letter in the Hebrew, read it, "He made us, and his we are, "or,
"to him we belong." Put both the readings together, and we learn,
that because God "made us, and not we ourselves, "therefore we are
not our own but his.
4.
That he is our sovereign Ruler. We are his people, or subjects,
and he is our prince, our rector or governor, that gives laws to us as moral
agents, and will call us to an account for what we do.
5.
That he is our bountiful Benefactor;we are not only his sheep whom he is
entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of.
6.
That he is a God of infinite mercy and good (Ps 100:5); The Lord is good,
and therefore doth good; his mercy his everlasting.
7.
That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness; His truth endureth to
all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated
or revoked. Matthew Henry.
Verse
4. Enter into his gates; for to the most guilty are the gates
of his church open. Francis Hill Tucker.
Verse
4. With thanksgiving. On the word hrwt the word used in Le
7:12 for sacrifices of thanksgivings], Rabbi Menachen remarks: All sacrifices
will be abolished; but the sacrifice of thanksgiving will remain. George
Phillips.
Verse
4. The former part of this Psalm may have been chanted by the
precentor when the peace-offering was brought to the altar; and this last verse
may have been the response, sung by the whole company of singers, at the moment
when fire was applied to the offering. Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
5. His mercy is everlasting. The everlasting unchangeable
mercy of God, is the first motive of our turning to him, and of our continuing
stedfast in his covenant, and it shall be the subject of unceasing praise in
eternity. As the Lord is good, and his mercy everlasting, so the full
perfection of these attributes in a perfect state will call forth praise
unwearied from hearts that ever faint. W. Wilson.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Whole
Psalm. This is a bunch of the grapes of Eshcol. It is a taste of what is
still the promised land. The Jewish church came to its perfection in the reign
of Solomon, but a greater than Solomon is here. The perfection of the New
Testament church is here anticipated. This psalm teaches,
1. That
there will be a joyful state of the whole world (Ps 100:1). (a) To
whom the address is given—to "all lands, "and all in those lands. (b)
The subject of the address—"Make a joyful noise." What a doleful
noise it has made! (c) By whom the address is given, by him who secures what he
commands.
2. That
this joyful state of the whole world will arise from the enjoyment of the
Divine Being (Ps 100:2). (a) Men have long tried to be happy without God.
(b) They will find at last that their happiness is in God. The conversion of an
individual in this respect is a type of the conversion of the world.
3. That
this enjoyment of God will arise from a new relation to him (Ps 100:3). (a)
Of knowledge on our part: he will be known as the Triune God, as a covenant
God, as the God of salvation—as God. (b) Of rightful claim on his part; (1.) by
right of creation—"He hath made us; " (2.) By light of
redemption—"Ye were not a people, but are now the people of God,
"&c.; "I have redeemed thee: thou art mine"; (3.) by right
of preservation—"We are the sheep, "&c.
4. That
this new relation to God will endear to us the ordinances of his house (Ps
100:4). (a) Of what the service will consist—"thanksgiving" and
praise. (b) To whom it will be rendered. Enter into his gates—his
courts—be thankful unto him—bless his name. That this service
will be perpetual; begin on earth, continued in heaven. This fact is founded—
5. That
this service will be perpetual; begun on earth, continued in heaven. This
face is founded—(a) Upon essential goodness. "For the Lord is good."
(b) Upon everlasting mercy. "His mercy, "etc. (c) Upon immutable
truth. "His truth, "etc. G. R.
Verse
2. Serve the LORD with gladness.
1.
For he is the best of beings.
2.
For his commandments are not grievous.
3.
For he is your Saviour, as well as Creator; your friend, as well as Lord.
4.
The angels, so much greater than yourself, know no reason why they should not
serve him with gladness.
5.
In serving him you serve yoreself.
6.
You make religion attractive.
7.
You get fitness for heaven. George Bowen.
Verse
2 (first clause) A true heart,
1.
Is humble—serves.
2. Is pious—"serve the Lord."
3. Is active—serves.
4. Is consequently joyful—"with gladness."
Verse
2. (first clause). "Serving the Lord with
gladness." See "Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 769.
Verse
3. Know ye that the LORD he is God. That you may be true amid
superstition, hopeful in contrition, persistent in supplication, unwearied in
exertion, calm in affliction, firm in temptation, bold in persecution, and
happy in dissolution. W. J.
Verse
3. We are his people. We have been twice born, as all his
people are. We love the society of his people. We are looking unto Jesus like
his people. We are separated from the world as his people. We experience the
trials of his people. We prefer the employment of his people. We enjoy the
privileges of his people. W. J.
Verse
4. A Discourse of Thankfulness which is due to God for his benefits
and blessings. A Sermon by Thomas Goodwin. Works, vol. 9 pp. 499-514. Nichol's edition.
Verse
4.
1.
The privileges of access.
2. The duty of thankfulness.
3. The reasons for enjoying both.
Verse
5.
1.
The inexhaustible fount—the goodness of God.
2. The ever-flowing stream—the mercy of God.
3. The fathomless oceansthe truth of God. "O the depths!" W.
Durban.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》