1. This is a
repetition of Psalm 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
worshiped 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 he be praised.
Never will the world be in its proper condition until with one unanimous shout
it adores the only God.
2. Serve the Lord
with gladness. He is our Lord, and therefore he is
to be served; he is our gracious Lord, and therefore to be served with joy. Come
before his presence with singing. We ought in worship to realize 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 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.
3. Know that the Lord
he is God. Our worship must be intelligent. We
ought to know whom we worship and why. Only those who practically recognize his
Godhead are at all likely to offer acceptable praise. It is he that hath
made us, and not we ourselves. Some men call themselves “self-made men,”
and they adore their supposed creators; but Christians recognize the origin of
their being and their well-being, and take no honor 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 honor for ourselves is as necessary a
part of true reverence as to ascribe glory to the Lord. 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
honor 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.
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. And unto his courts with praise. 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 praises 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.
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. Whoever does not praise the good is not good himself. His mercy is
everlasting. God is not mere justice, stern and cold: he has compassion,
and wills not the sinner’s death. Towards his own people mercy is still more
conspicuously displayed. Everlasting mercy is a glorious theme for sacred song.
And his truth endureth to all generations. He has entered into covenant
with his people, and he will never revoke it. Our heart leaps for joy as we bow
before One who has never broken his word or changed his purpose. 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.
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
