Enter His gates with Thanksgiving 1 of 2

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. — 
Psalm 100:4

*** There are no negatives in this passage, no sorrows, warnings, or problems. ***

Date:   3/1/2017 19:26:

100th Psalm One of the best!

Enter His gates with Thanksgiving

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. — Psalm 100:4

Psalm 100 is one of the shortest and most exuberant passages in the Bible.
It takes about thirty seconds to read; and if you’ll read it aloud every morning for a month, you’ll automatically have all five verses memorized for the rest of your life.

There are no negatives in this passage, no sorrows, warnings, or problems.
It’s just shouting and singing and knowing and being thankful.

Notice the imagery of verse 4. The psalmist is writing against the backdrop of the temple worship of the Old Testament. He’s telling the people of His day to come to Jerusalem, to the temple.
Enter its gates with a thankful spirit and come into the temple courts with praise.

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Most of us don’t live in Jerusalem, and the Jewish temple is no longer standing; but we can do exactly as the writer says whenever we pray, whenever we praise God in private, and whenever we attend corporate worship services at church or elsewhere.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

One Sunday night in 1742, evangelist John Wesley ventured into a downtrodden section of Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the north of England. He was appalled at the physical and moral squalor. Joined by an associate, Wesley stood on the corner and sang the 100th Psalm. Before long a crowd gathered, and John began preaching. Soon more than a thousand people were listening; and it was the beginning of a great work, which made Newcastle a powerhouse for Methodism in the English north.

*** Study notes: AWMI.net

Psalms 100:1
Note on Psalms 100:1
The same Hebrew word that was translated “noise” here was also translated “noise” in Psalms 98:4.

Psalms 100:2
Note on Psalms 100:2
The Lord loves for us to rejoice before Him (Psalms 107:21 and Philippians 4:4). He doesn’t want us to be all beaten down and depressed (Psalms 35:27). Under the Old Covenant, He even punished the people for not rejoicing (Deuteronomy 28:45-47). 
The Lord doesn’t punish us today for not rejoicing, but it is clearly His will for us to enjoy our salvation.
Instead of approaching the Lord to mention all our sins and unworthiness, we should approach the Lord with gladness and singing, praising Him for redeeming us from all our sins (Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14).

Psalms 100:3
Note on Psalms 100:3
The word “Know” here was translated from the Hebrew word “YADA’.” This is the same Hebrew word that was used in Genesis 4:1 and many other places in Scripture to speak of the intimacy between a husband and wife that produces a child. This is saying we need to have an experiential and intimate knowledge that our Lord is God Almighty. 
One of the ways this happens is by being still and meditating on who God is (Psalms 46:10).

This verse clearly states that God has made us. We didn’t just happen or evolve. This is true not only of our coming into existence but also of all good things that come through us–they are of God (James 1:17-18). It is essential that we recognize God as the source of all our blessings (Psalms 103).
We are God’s people. What a statement! It’s amazing that an almighty God would identify so closely with a fallen, rebellious people (John 15:15).
Sheep need a shepherd. Likewise, we all need a master. All of our problems stem from doing things our own way (Proverbs 3:5-6). David wrote a great psalm about the Lord being our shepherd (Psalms 23).

Psalms 100:4
Note on Psalms 100:4
This is not a suggestion but, rather, a command. We are commanded to approach the Lord with thanksgiving and praise. We are to bless His holy name for all the good things He has done for us.
But often Christians’ prayers are all about their problems and making petitions for all the things they need. That’s not how the Lord told us to pray. In what is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus taught us to enter into His gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise by saying, “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
There is a place in that prayer to say “Give us this day our daily bread” and to ask for forgiveness. But it is not the first thing we do or the main thing we do in prayer. Jesus then ended this prayer with praise and thanksgiving again when He said, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

So, Jesus told us to start and end our prayers with thanksgiving. 
If we magnify the Lord before we get to our problems, our problems wouldn’t be as big. Our faith would increase (see my note at Colossians 2:7) and be more than enough to overcome the situation.

Psalms 100:5
Note on Psalms 100:5
Praise God that He is good. He could be anything He wanted to be, but He wants to be good. We are so blessed that His nature is love (1 John 4:8).
Mercy is not getting what we deserve, while grace is getting what we don’t deserve. There is no end to His mercy for those who accept His salvation.
God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, His Word is appropriate for every generation. Those who think the Bible is out-of-date are totally wrong. God’s Word will work for us today, just as it has for any of God’s children throughout history.

** Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.

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All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, 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.
 
—William Kethe, 1561




* 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart.