Bible Commentaries
Psalms 100

Verse 1

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

Psalms 100:1-5.-Invitation to praise (Psalms 100:1); ground of it: serve Yahweh, because He hath made us, and adopted us as His people by redemption (Psalms 100:2-3). Bless Him for His mercy and truth last forever (Psalms 100:4-5).

Title, A Psalm of praise - rather (le-thodah), 'of thanksgiving,' to accord with the same Hebrew noun and verb, Psalms 100:4, "thanksgiving ... be thankful" - literally, confession; for thanksgiving, in God's case, is simply confessing His infinite excellencies. The praise in His case can never exceed the reality. This psalm closes the Messianic series, Psalms 91:1-16; Psalms 92:1-15; Psalms 93:1-5; Psalms 94:1-23; Psalms 95:1-11; Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 97:1-12; Psalms 98:1-9; Psalms 99:1-9; Psalms 100:1-5, with exhorting the pagan to submit joyfully to Yahweh as their Maker and redeeming Shepherd. The title implies that this psalm is the lyrical "thanksgiving" for the manifestation of Himself as the coming King, which is set forth in Psalms 99:1-9.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands - Hebrew, 'all the earth' (Psalms 98:4; Psalms 66:1). The "joyful noise" is the shout of acclamation with which a king is greeted at his accession to the throne. So at Solomon's accession (1 Kings 1:39-40). So at Messiah's coming visibly to reign (Psalms 2:6; Psalms 2:8; Psalms 2:11-12).

Verse 2

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Serve the Lord with gladness - (Psalms 2:11.) There, where rebels are concerned, the expression is, "Serve the Lord with fear;" here, where willing subjects are invited it is, "Serve the Lord with gladness" "Serve," therefore, means, not merely worship, but submit yourselves to Him as your King, as opposed to rebelling and 'setting themselves against Him' (Psalms 2:1-3). Compare "serve" in the same sense, Psalms 72:11.

Verse 3

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.

Know ye that the Lord he (is) God - Hebrew, 'Yahweh is 'Elohiym (H430);' as contra-distinguished from all whom the pagan called 'gods' (cf. Psalms 46:10, based on Deuteronomy 7:9). The destruction of Sennacherib, in Psalms 46:1-11, is a type of the coming overthrow of the anti-Christian faction, the result of which will be the recognition of Yahweh by all nations.

(It is) he (that) hath made us, and not we ourselves: (we are) his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

These are the two grounds for our recognizing Yahweh as God; first that 'He hath made us;' secondly, that 'we are His people and His sheep'-namely, by His having redeemed us (Acts 20:28). The same two-fold ground appears in Psalms 95:6-7. "Not we ourselves" is added to mark how altogether of God's grace, not of our working even in part, our creation and our redemption alike are (Ephesians 2:8-10: Psalms 98:1). Contrast Pharaoh's vaunt (Ezekiel 29:3). "Made us," as applied to the Israelites, the literal and the spiritual, includes adoption by grace, as well as creation. The result of His making us (in this sense) is, "we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Compare 1 Samuel 12:6, margin; Deuteronomy 26:18; Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 29:23; Isaiah 43:7. The Chaldaic and Jerome substitute the bad Hebrew marginal (Qeri') reading [ low (H3807a) for lo' (H3808)], 'And His we are' for 'not we ourselves.' The Septuagint and the other old versions, with the English version, support the Hebrew text (Kethibh), which suits the sense better.

Verse 4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, (and) into his courts with praise - (Psalms 92:13; Psalms 96:8.) About to be realized under the coming reign of Messiah at Jerusalem (Isaiah 56:5-7; Isaiah 60:10-11; Isaiah 66:18; Isaiah 66:23; Zechariah 14:16). 'The nations of the earth praise the Lord in loud harmonious chorus in the same sanctuary in which now only the weak song of praise of a single little nation is heard; 'from month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh come to worship before Yahweh-all the inhabitants of the earth every Sabbath-which, if literally interpreted, contains an absurdity' (Hengstenberg). But because minute details are not be pressed, it does not follow that the whole of the express statements as to the manifested glory of the Lord at Jerusalem, and the homage of the Gentiles there, are to be evaporated into a figure.

Verse 5

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

For the Lord is good - as is shown by the salvation which He has imparted to His people, and in them at the same time to the whole world (Hengstenberg) (Psalms 25:8; Psalms 34:8; Psalms 86:5).

His mercy ... and his truth (endureth) to all generations - (Isaiah 54:8-10). These are two features of His goodness.