Enter His Gate with Thanksgiving Part 2 of 2

31. Psalm 100:5

For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations. —
Psalm 100:5

A preacher of olden days, Rev. W. Durban of Chester, England, once preached a sermon of three points from this verse. He talked about:
 (1) the Inexhaustible Fount—the Lord’s goodness;
 (2) the Ever-flowing Stream—His eternal love; and
(3) the Fathomless Ocean—His ever-enduring faithfulness.

I can’t beat that, but I would like to suggest a simple outline for the entire psalm that may aid you in memorizing it. Psalm 100 falls into two stanzas, and both begin with a call to worship. Verses 1-3 tell us to praise God with gladatude. We’re to shout joyfully. Verses 4-5 tell us to praise Him with gratitude, to enter His gates with thanksgiving.

Gladatude and gratitude are appropriate for every situation in life. Several years ago Martin and Gracia Burnham were serving with New Tribes Mission when they were kidnapped by terrorists. During their year in captivity, they faced near starvation and were sometimes caught in the middle of gun battles. In the end both were shot. Martin was killed, but Gracia lived to tell the story. She said that near the end of their ordeal, one of the passages of Scripture that sustained them was Psalm 100.

One night Martin said, “You know, Gracia, I don’t know why the Lord has allowed this to happen, but today I’ve been thinking about Psalm 100, how we can serve the Lord with gladness. Just because we’re here doesn’t mean we can’t serve Him with gladness, so let’s serve the Lord with gladness.” That night Martin was shot and killed, and Gracia was wounded in the firefight. But those words from Psalm 100 never died in her heart. “The Lord has given me joy,” was her testimony.

Matthew Henry’s Outline
The great commentator Matthew Henry summarized this psalm by listing its seven reasons for entering His gates with thanksgiving.
1. The Lord is God, the only living and true God, infinitely perfect, self-existent, incomprehensible.
2. He is our Creator, for it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves.
3. He is therefore our rightful Owner, and we are His. To Him we belong.
4. He is our sovereign Ruler. We are His people, His subjects.
5. He is our bountiful Benefactor. We are not only His sheep but the sheep of His pasture, the flock of His feeding. He gives us all good things richly to enjoy.
6. He is a God of infinite mercy and goodness, a fountain that can never be drawn dry.
7. He is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness. His truth endures to all generations, and no word of His shall ever be revoked or become antiquated.

It is with good reason that many sing this psalm very frequently in their religious assemblies... and if our hearts go along with the words, we shall make melody in it to the Lord.—

Matthew Henry

*  100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart.