December 3 -- "Praise From All The Earth"

 Today’s Reading: Psalm 96, 100, & 101

"Praise From All The Earth"

The key idea in Psalm 100 is that praising the Lord does not pertain to one nation only. Praising God should not be confined to only the Hebrew people. There are proper grounds of praise for “all the earth.” David exhorts everyone, everywhere, in all lands, in all nations, of all languages and ethnicities to unite together in making a joyful noise unto the Lord. The basis of this unified praise is that all of humanity has one Creator – He is God and it is He who made us all. Because there is one God and Father of all, the human race can unite as one great family on earth and make a joyful noise together.

Know that the LORD is God. The word “know” in this verse comes from a Hebrew root word which means, “to acknowledge the truth.” It is vital that our hearts are firmly established in the truth that Yahweh is our Creator. There is no other god. There is no other creator. There is no other means by which our world came into existence than by the creative work of God. "The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof; and all they that dwell therein" (Psalms 24:1).  It is He who made us, therefore we must look to Him as the Benefactor and Giver of all life. Make a joyful noise to Him!

We are His. Oh, what joy it brings to know that our Maker claims us as His own. In spite of humanity’s rebellion against Him and our persistent denial of His laws and His ways, He has never – and will never – deny those who come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We belong to Him. He made us and gave us a fabulous living environment because He loves us. Then, because He loved us so much, He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for us and redeem us from the hands of Satan who tried to take us out of His hands. But we are Yahweh’s people. He made us, He bought us, He held on to us, we are His. Make a joyful noise to Him!

We are the sheep of His pasture. We have been blessed to be under the care of the Good Shepherd. As His sheep, we’re breathing God's air. We’re drinking God's water. We’re eating God's food. We’re burning God's oil. We’re heating our homes with God's gas. We’re eating God's cattle, God's fish, God’s grain and God’s produce. "The earth is the Lord's." We are actually just grazing in His field. Everything that we have, everything that we see, everything that we're surrounded with belongs to our good God. As His sheep, our lives have purpose, provision, protection, and direction. Make a joyful noise to Him!

The only reasonable conclusions we can draw from God’s amazing Lordship over our world and over our lives is that all the people of the earth should: “Serve Him with gladness” (V2); “Come into His presence with singing!” (V2); “Enter His gates with thanksgiving” (V4); “Give thanks to Him” (V4); and “Bless His name!” (V4).