Serving The Lord With Gladness: A Look at Psalm 100

Psalm 100 is perhaps the psalm that comes to my mind most often when I think about serving the Lord with gladness. Let’s take a look at that small but extremely powerful psalm and see how we can serve the Lord with gladness.

The Command: Make a Joyful Noise and Sing

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. (Psalm 100:1-2)

So often I hear “I can’t be in the choir because I can’t sing”. Tell me where in the Bible does it say that you must have the voice of an angel to sing praises to God? On the contrary, the Bible tells us that we should make a joyful noise and come before Him singing.

Not only does it tell us what to do, it tells us how to do it – joyfully! Since I have been saved I have attended mostly conservative churches. In most cases the music reflects that conservatism. However, as I have grown in the Lord I have learned that music does not have to be played on an organ or piano to be acceptable to the Lord. Many other instruments may be used to worship and we even find some of them in the Bible:

Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. (Psalm 150:2-5)

Singing and making noise to the Lord is a great way to serve with gladness.

I am reminded of when my husband did a short missionary trip to India. He shared that they did not have instruments when they were outside – the people used sticks and a log to make a joyful noise. Singing and making noise to the Lord is a great way to serve with gladness. Next time you say you do not have the voice to sing – I challenge you to think again because the Lord gave you that voice to praise Him.

He Made Us for His Glory

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. (Psalm 100:3)

When you are invited to someone’s home for dinner many times you take them a hostess gift. You are also careful to thank them for a wonderful meal and for opening their home to you. We seldom take it for granted that the hostess when out of her way to care for us.

But how often do we take our salvation for granted? God made us and we are His people. What better reason have we to serve Him with gladness. The Bible is not silent about how we can serve Him. We are told:

… love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
… love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:39)
… we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

The attitude in everything mentioned above should always be with gladness. It is our reasonable service after all He has done for us (Romans 12:1-2). Isaiah reminds us that God says we were created for His glory: “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7)

Bless His Name

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. (Psalm 100:4)

The praise song “He has made me glad” comes to mind when I read this verse. I imagine entering the gates of Heaven thanking, praising, singing and blessing the name of my Father.

We can reflect this thankfulness in our everyday conversation. Serving the Lord with gladness includes mentioning His name in ordinary conversation and acknowledging Him for all His blessings. It is of course much harder to acknowledge Him when we fall upon hardship, but we should always remember that when He brings us to it He will bring us through it. A great passage to meditate upon regarding life circumstances is Romans 5:1-5:

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;And patience, experience; and experience, hope:And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Enter His gates (on earth and in heaven) with thanksgiving and remember to thank Him even for trials. Thankfulness and acknowledgement are great ways to serve the Lord with gladness.

His Love Never Fails

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

Why serve the Lord with gladness? Because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Psalm 100:5 is such an encouraging verse, with words like “everlasting” and “endureth”. We are promised that God will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). And His mercies are new EVERY morning (Lamentations 3:23). He is Almighty and His love is so great for us that: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:5-7) A love like this deserves only heart-felt gladness. He never stops loving us and so we should desire to serve Him with that same love.

Closing Thoughts

The book of Psalms is filled with praise after praise, and this little 5 verse Psalm gives us so much insight as to how we can serve the Lord with gladness. The Psalmist was pouring out his heart in praise and adoration to a loving and steadfast Father who gave us everything we need to serve Him in gladness. Next time you sing, whether or not you have a lovely singing voice, do it in Spirit and in truth. Sing your heart out because God deserves it above all.