May 12, 1999

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Exalt his holy name--for
any number of reasons
___ Psalm 100:1-5
___By Dillard Wilbanks
___Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___Gratitude and gladness are the dominating notes in this Psalm of thanksgiving. To modify the Volkswagen slogan, "On the road of life there are both songs and sighs. Singers wanted."
___Minor notes are found on the road of life, but there should also be swelling notes of thanksgiving. The psalm is structured in two stanzas. Within both are a call to thanksgiving and reasons for doing it--a "what" followed by a "why."
___ Praise God (Psalm 100:1-2). The three "what" imperatives in verses 1-2 include both our lips and our lives. The admonitions to joyfully sing and gladly serve are universal in scope--encompassing all the earth. "All" have derived their being from him as "maker" and are therefore called upon to praise him as their common creator.
___The roots of gladness grow deepest in the soil of service. Both worship from our lips and acts of obedience in our lives are acceptable forms of service when freely rendered and joyfully expressed. Worship and joyful singing were inseparable to the Hebrew. What united them in worship was its focus--the Lord.
___When form becomes the focus, disunity inevitably will follow. Traditional hymns are primarily written and sung about God. Contemporary choruses are written and sung to God. Both are equally acceptable to him in worship as joyful expressions of our gratitude for who he is, what he has done and who we are to him (v.3). Neither is acceptable to him from one who would make the form of either a source of dissention or disunity within the congregation.
___ Exalt God's relationship with his people (Psalm 100:3). Three "whys" are given for the three previous imperatives: he is God, he has made us and, therefore, we are his. The emphasis shifts from all the earth to Israel who is to "know" experientially whom they worship and why. This knowledge is more than intellectual and deeper than mere emotion. It is rooted in an acknowledgment that Yahweh, alone, is God and a personal acceptance of all the demands and responsibilities which lordship implies (Romans 12:1).
___Such people are his possession. The most priceless property which can exist is that derived from an act of creation. The person who brings anything into existence has a right to it. The exercise of this right is most often rooted in greed. Of God it is rooted in grace. Because his faithfulness continues through all generations we, too, have been chosen to be the sheep of his pasture by faith in the Good Shepherd (John 10).
___We, too, are privileged to be guided by his wisdom, tended by his care and fed from his abundance. Daily acknowledging the privilege of this relationship in prayer is an act of thankfulness which not only glorifies him, but also enriches our own souls.
___ Thank God for his goodness (Psalm 100:4-5). In this second stanza we find another call to thanksgiving and the reasons for it. First, the what (v.4) followed by the why (v.5). Thanksgiving is to be an act of the whole worshiping community. The earlier verses assert his right to receive adoration and worship as creator. Here it becomes an admonition based upon his character--his goodness. The Lord is good because his supernatural power is unendingly exercised in lovingkindness and extended faithfully through generations to sinful men and women who have no rightful claim on him.
___Think about it. Then, "give thanks to him and praise his name" (v.4).

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