"A Thanksgiving Day Psalm"
Psalm 100:1-5

(This Sermon was preached at Trinity Bible Church on November 18, 2001. All Scripture
references used in this sermon are based upon the NASB^®, unless otherwise stated)

1 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.  3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.  5For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

Introduction: This is only one Psalm in the whole collection entitled "A Psalm of Praise." It is supposed to have received this designation because it is well adapted, if not designed to be sung, when the sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in Leviticus 7:12, "If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil." David invites all the world to join with the Israelites in the service of God, whose divine sovereignty he here recognizes (TD). This Psalm is well suited to remind believers today to give thanks to God for all that He has given us. While we should do this daily, we are particularly reminded of this fact during our national observance of Thanksgiving. Abraham Lincoln, during his Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 said this, "It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." In this Thanksgiving Psalm, king David gives us a song that reminds us what Thanksgiving should include.

I. Thanksgiving Time Should Be A Time Of Celebration (vv.1-2).
1. Celebrate with thanksgiving and praise (vv.1-2a).

A. Shout Joyfully (v.1).

1) All the nations of the world are invited to sing hymns to the Lord and to worship him (EBCNT).
2) They are not to be subdued in their praise of Him (BKC).

A) "Shout joyfully," ("ruwa'" {roo-ah': hiphil, imper, m, pl}); to shout, raise a sound, cry out, to give a blast.

B) "LORD," ("Yehovah" {yeh-ho-vaw'}); Jehovah = "the existing One," the one true God.

B. Serve with gladness (v.2a).

1) Delight should accompany the words and deeds of worship (NCWB).

A) "serve," ("'abad" {aw-bad': qal imper, mp}); to work, serve, labor.

B) "gladness," ("simchah" {sim-khaw'}); joy, gladness (denotes being glad or joyful with the whole disposition TWOT).

2) In all that we do, in our daily walk with the Lord, in our worship of Him in and out of the church, we should everything with gladness.

- The service of God is a source of the highest joy that man knows (Barnes).

2. Celebrate with joyful singing (v.2b).

A. Coming into God's presence should bring the believer joy.

1) "come," ("bow'" {bo: qal imper, m, pl}); to enter, come in.

2) "before Him," ("paniym" {paw-neem': m, pl}); face, into His presence, before, in front of.

B. The result of our joy should bring about our joyful singing.

1) "joyful singing," ("renanah" {ren-aw-naw'}); joyful voice, joyful singing, shout for joy, a ringing cry.

2) The sacrifices of "joyful songs" are proper as one approaches His presence (EBCNT).

II. Thanksgiving Time Should Be A Time Of Recognition (v.3).
1. Recognize there is only one God (v.3a).

A. "know," ("yada" {yaw-dah': qal imper, m, pl, 2nd}); to know, to perceive.

1) The imperative "know" signifies acknowledgment or confession (Deut.4:39; Isa.43:10: EBCNT).

2) "recognize the fact as a certainty" (PC).

B. Not only that He is Lord, but He is God.

1) "LORD," ("Yehovah" {yeh-ho-vaw'}); Jehovah = "the existing One," the one true God.

2) "God," ("'elohiym" {el-o-heem'}); the true God (the Hebrew name for God that emphasizes His strength, power, and superiority over all other so-called gods - Moody Handbook).

2. Recognize that God is our Creator (v.3b).

A. The Lord should be praised and worshiped joyfully because He is not only sovereign, but He is also our Creator (BKC).

1) God created mankind.

A) "made," ("'asah" {aw-saw'}); to do fashion, make, produce.

B) The Hebrew is, "He made us," and this expresses the exact idea (Barnes).

(1) The fact that he is the Creator proves that he is God, since no one but God can perform the work of creation.

(2) The highest idea that we can form of power is that which is evinced in an act of creation; that is, in causing anything to exist where there was nothing before.

B. Unlike what evolution teaches, man did not make himself , nor did he come into existence by chance.

1) "not," ("lo" {low}); not, no.

2) We are not self-created; we derive our being from him. All that we have and are, we owe to him (Barnes).

3. Recognize that God is our Shepherd (v.3c).

A. David recognized that Israel was God's chosen people or nation.

- Likewise, Christians are also chosen of God.

B. Not only are we His possession, but He is our Great Shepherd which describes God's kingly, gentle care and protection (NCWB).

1) "sheep," ("tso'n" {tsone}); sheep, flock.

2) "pasture," ("mir'iyth" {meer-eeth'}); pasture, shepherding (from the sense of feeding).

III. Thanksgiving Time Should Be A Time Of Praise (vv.4-5).
1. Praise the Lord in worship (v.4).

A. Verses 1-2 bring out the joyful acclamation of God's kingship, whereas v.4 stresses the communal act of worship (EBCNT).

1) The men of all nations enter with thanksgiving into the gates of His Temple and into the courts of His Temple with praise in order to join themselves in worship (KD).

2) "Enter His gates with thanksgiving. . ."

A) "Enter," ("bow'" {bo: qal imper, m, pl}); to enter, come in.

B) "thanksgiving," ("towdah" {to-daw'}); thanksgiving, sacrifices or offerings of  thanksgiving, thank or praise offerings (comes from a prim. root; to throw, cast).

B. The gates which lead to his temple, or to the place of public worship (Barnes).

1) The "courts" were literally the open spaces which surrounded the tabernacle or temple.

2) It was in these that worship was celebrated, and not in the tabernacle or temple.

3) That is, Offer thanksgiving and praise.

A) "praise," ("tehillah" {teh-hil-law'}); praise, adoration, thanksgiving (paid to God).

B) "give thanks," ("yadah" {yaw-daw': hiphil, imper, m, pl}); give praise to God, thanksgiving in songs of liturgical worship, hymn of praise, thanksgiving choir or procession.

C) "bless," ("barak" {baw-rak': piel imper, m. pl, 2nd per}); to kneel (for prayer, praise, in thanks).

D) "name," ("shem" {shame}); name, reputation, used here as a designation of God.

2. Praise the Lord for all His goodness (v.5).

A. We should praise God, because He is good.

- "good," ("towb" {tobe}); that which is good to the senses, agreeable, pleasant, and desirable.

B. His loving- kindness and faithfulness endure for ever (KD).

1) "loving kindness," ("checed" {kheh'-sed}); his steadfast love, mercy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness.

2) "everlasting," ("'owlam" {o-lawm'}); everlasting, for ever and ever, evermore, perpetual.

3) "faithfulness," ("emuwnah" {em-oo-naw'}); faithfulness, firmness, steadfastness, steadiness.

4) "generations," ("dor" {dore}); generations.

C. The people should praise the Lord for His goodness, love, and faithfulness (BKC).

1) These benefits endure from generation to generation.

2) So every generation that experiences God's goodness, love, and faithfulness can join in praising Him.

Truths To Ponder:
1. As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, lets celebrate by giving God the praise, thanks and honor that He richly deserves.

2. Lets come before the Lord this year with a grateful heart.
 

. Analytical Key to the Old Testament, by John Owens, Baker Books, Grand Rapids MI, 1999
. Bible Works 4.0 for Windows, Hermeneutika Bible Research Software, Big Fork MO., 2^nd edition.
. Biblical Hebrew; An Introductory Grammar, by Page Kelley, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI, 1992
. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, by E. Brown, S. Driver, and C. Briggs, Hendrickson Publishers, 1996
. The Complete Word Study Bible & Reference CD, by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, AMG Publishers, 1997
. Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, by H.W.F. Gesenius, Baker Books, Grand Rapids MI, 1994
. Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, Merrill Unger and William White Editors, Thomas Nelson
    Publishers, Nashville TN, 1980.
. The New Englishman's Hebrew Concordance, by Wigram, Hendrickson Publishers, 1984.
. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology, Willem VanGemeran, General Editor, Zondervan Publishing
    House, Grand Rapids MI, 1997
. Old Testament Parsing Guide, by Todd Beall, William Banks and Colin Smith, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville
    TN, 2000.
. Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies, by William Wilson, MacDonald Publishing Co. McLean VA, (note dated).