100 A Psalm for giving thanks.
100:1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;1
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Section Overview
This hymn, though not explicitly a psalm that celebrates God’s kingship, brings the collection of kingship hymns to a close with its exuberant call to come before the Lord in worship. As do the divine kingship psalms, this hymn invites “all the earth” (which would include all the Gentiles) to join the song of praise. At the same time, its kingship focus is on the Lord as Israel’s shepherd-king (cf. comment on 95:6–7a) more than the Lord’s universal kingship over creation.
The title declares this psalm to be “for giving thanks.” Such is certainly fitting, as the worshipers thank the universal Creator for the privilege of being the “sheep of his pasture.” The term “giving thanks” (Hb. todah) can also be the name for the thanksgiving offering, one kind of peace offering (Lev. 7:12–15). Since the peace offering is a meal enjoyed in God’s presence, this too is fitting for the psalm, but there is no reason to be so specific. Further, Psalm 100:4 uses the word in its ordinary sense (in parallel with “praise”).
Several phrases are shared between this psalm and Psalm 95, as the comments note.
Section Outline
I. Come and Worship! (100:1–5)
This short psalm has really only one stanza. It is primarily imperatival, inviting people in to worship, with two additional descriptors of the Lord’s relation to his people (vv. 3, 5).
Response
Psalm 100 lies behind what English speakers know as the hymn “All People That on Earth Do Dwell,” by William Kethe (one of the Geneva Bible translators; d. 1594). Kethe rendered the psalm into English verse (long meter); this is a slightly revised edition:
All people that on earth do dwell,
sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell;
come ye before Him and rejoice.
Know that the Lord is God indeed;
without our aid He did us make;
we are His folk, He doth us feed,
and for His sheep He doth us take.
O enter then His gates with praise,
approach with joy His courts unto;
praise, laud, and bless His name always,
for it is seemly so to do.
For why the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood
and shall from age to age endure.630
Many editions add a Christian doxology at the close:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
praise Him, all creatures here below;
praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
This hymn sounds very much like a song to be sung for calling one another to worship, and many English hymnbooks place it first. Nevertheless, it is well into the Hebrew Psalter! It is placed with the other psalms of divine kingship because it fits with the universal/particular theme that runs through them (cf. Response section on Psalm 99)—a dynamic easily lost to the unwary Christian singer.Psalm 100
Psalm 101