This psalm has been a great favourite with God's people since David wrote it. It is a Psalm of thanksgiving and is full of grateful adoration and loyalty. Remember that great song ‘All people that on earth do dwell’? Well, this is where it is from and they say there is nothing outside heaven that is more sublime than the singing of this great Psalm by a large congregation.

Listen to the words of this Psalm and sample the Lord's creating power and goodness and holiness.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands.

Shout with gladness when the King is among you. God is happy and you need to be happy with him. A cheerful spirit is in keeping with His nature. God's goodness is seen the world over so the world should be grateful and praise Him.

The world will not be right until it praises with one voice the one and only God. The golden age will not come for these people until they revere Him with all their hearts.

Serve the Lord with gladness.

He is our Lord and he is to be served. He is our gracious Lord and He is to be served with joy. The invitation to join is not a sad one as though praise were like a funeral but it is cheerful and happy like a wedding party.

Come before His presence with singing.

We need to approach God with reverence and respect, not with cringing fear but with singing (and use the psalms). Sing with harmony and devotion and enjoy. Singing is a crucial way of showing adoration and praise.

Know that the Lord He is our God.

Know God and understand why you praise Him. Can you know yourself until you know God? That is an interesting question! Remember that you can only really know God by His grace, but show Him that love and affection and your praise will be accepted.

It is He who made us and not we ourselves.

You did not make yourself, you are not self-made, so show respect to the one who made you. Recognise the origin of your being and your well being but take no personal honour for it, but honour your maker. To disclaim that honour is necessary to ascribe glory to God.

Believe that the Lord made you and not some random group of floating atoms somewhere in the universe.

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 23.

It is an honour to have been chosen from all the world to be His people. It is our privilege to be guided by His wisdom, tended by his care and fed by Him.

Sheep gather round the shepherd in the same way so let us gather round the shepherd and acknowledge the shepherd of mankind. To acknowledge this is praise in itself when we look at what He has given us.

And you don’t need to make up the words for they are clear enough. You don’t need to use your imaginations, just look around you, the facts speak for themselves. The truth is that we are shepherds of his pasture and always will be.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving…

Show gratitude for what he has done and as long as you receive his mercy give Him the thanks. Because mercy will permit you to enter through those gates into His presence, and what better to do in God's house than praise God in His house.

…and into His courts with praise.

It is necessary for us to acknowledge the privilege of entering his innermost courts with songs.

Be thankful to Him…

Let the praise be in your heart as well as your tongues and give it all to the one it belongs to.

…and bless His name.

He blesses you so bless Him in return. Bless his name, His character and His person. Whatever He does, bless Him for it; when He takes and when He gives, bless Him as long as you live and under all circumstances.

For the Lord is good…

He is good, gracious, kind and loving, and bountiful.

…His mercy is everlasting.

God is not just stern and cold but has a heart of compassion that does not will the sinners’ death. Mercy is still conspicuously displayed. It has been theirs form the beginning and will be theirs without end.

And His truth endures to all generations.

God does not promise and forget He has entered into a covenant relationship with us, and He will never break His promise. Our parents found him faithful and so will we and our children. We would have no anchor in a changeable God; we would be all over the place and in fear of crashing upon the rocks.

We rest on the sure truth of His word.

This Psalm teaches that there will be a joyful state in the earth given to us by God and for those who try to be happy without God they will finally find that happiness in Him.

Serve the Lord with gladness He is the only God and our saviour as well as our friend.

Serve Him with all that is in you. There is no reason why you should not serve Him with gladness.

Know the Lord for He is God and you are His people twice born. You are privileged to have access to Him; it is your duty to be thankful. Know the goodness and ever-flowing mercy of God.

Lord God, help us to really worship you. We bless your name for setting us apart now and always. Help us to forget our cares and rise far above the world. May we get rid of all those tendencies the world has to drag us down.

We adore you with all our hearts for you are Lord of all.

Accept our praises from those you love. For the love of your name we would live and die.

Prayer

You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords and we worship you. We long to be in your presence and to hear your voice and to bless your name. Help us to forget our cares and our worries and those things that drag us down.

There is none like you. For the love of your name we would live and die. If we think we love you more than we do, we pray that we may love you more than we think. Take these hearts and unite them with your own and be heart and soul and life and everything to us.
 

Amen.

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