Praise God with Joy

October 3, 2021 Background Scripture: Psalm 100 Lesson Passage: Psalm 100 This series of lessons remind us that there are many reasons why people should praise God. We studied scriptures about including musical instruments along with singing, and scriptures that encouraged praising God with dance. Psalm 100 calls for people everywhere, in every location in the world, to proclaim public praises to God. This public praise should be shouted forth as words of thanksgiving. Psalm 100 elevates praise into the sphere of worship. How is that so? Psalm 100 addresses the attitude of praise. The psalmist calls for joy and gladness as the proper emotions and attitude to have in publicly praising God. Joy and gladness should be on the inside of the person as they are declaring words of praise to God. When the presence of the Lord is acknowledged, then the declarations of praise should become singing. When one comes to the place set aside as holy unto God, then entry should be made with thanksgiving and praise. All of this speak of an atmosphere of public worship of God. Contrary to this would be the professional mourners that the Bible speaks of on some occasions. It was their job to make public lamentations on behalf of others during times of grief and mourning. On one occasion, at the home of Jairus, Jesus put the professional mourners out of the room prior to raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead. They were not there because of any grief of their own. They were there to express public groans of agony on behalf of Jairus’ family and friends. This is a reminder that we can give very emotional public expressions that are appropriate while those expressions have no personal connection to our own emotional wellbeing. It is possible to say “Thank You Lord” without feeling any sense of gratitude while saying it. However, whether public or private, this sort of behavior should not be mistaken for sincere worship of God. Sincere worship must start on the inside with the worshipers using those internal emotions to give life to their verbal expressions to God. The words, or expressions, tend to make worship intentional; the emotional state of the worshiper makes worship spontaneous. The experience of deliverance can make worship spontaneous at the time of the deliverance. However, it can be just as spontaneous when the worshiper recalls the deliverance at some future time and the emotions of it return. There is no emotional experience that compares to the overwhelming feeling of joy. To have one’s heart made glad is to experience part of the goodness of life. That’s one of the reasons the psalmist reminds us that God created us and then He redeemed us as His own precious children. We exist because God is the Creator of human life. We are children of God’s family because God chose us and redeemed us from eternal damnation. Everything God has done for us has been good. That’s God’s track record. God has done enough in our past for us to praise Him throughout eternity. God is doing enough in our present situation as children of God for us to praise Him throughout eternity. God has given us great and wonderful promises for the future that will last throughout eternity. Alone, we don’t have the capacity within us to praise God as He deserves to be praised for all of this. Therefore, the psalmist cries out for people all over the world, from every nation and tongue, to collectively praise God publicly. When we reflect on God’s deliverance of us, we should joyfully proclaim God’s greatness and His goodness towards us. Our recollection should prompt us to praise God as we experience the overwhelming joy of the Lord which strengthens us. Robert C. Hudson