Perhaps the best known of all the thanksgiving psalms is Psalm 100. This psalm is known as the Jubilate from the Latin “O be joyful.” Here is a verse you should commit to memory. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name” (3). In fact, the Psalm contains only five verses and thus you should hide the entire psalm in your heart.
It begins with a call for a “joyful shout.” The “shout” is the fanfare reserved for the king. Notice that verse one claims the entire earth for the Creator King. In the first two verses those who know the King are called to four separate activities—shout, serve, come with singing, and know. When one understands that he/she is serving the king of all the earth, he or she will serve with “gladness.” There is nothing grudging about our service. To come before Him with joyful singing indicates the worship that accompanies service. Worship and service stem from what we know. “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (3).
The simplicity of the invitation to “enter His gates” may obscure the wonder of it. The sovereign King had invited us into “His” gates and “His” courts. Can you imagine how you would feel if you were visiting England and given a personal invitation to visit Buckingham Palace? We have been invited into the court of the King of kings. Did you notice that when we give thanks to Him, we bless the Name of the one who is faithful to His covenant (5)?
Prayer: Today, may the gratitude of my heart bless Your name. Amen.