The power and wisdom of Psalm 100

udying the scriptures, I find something about Psalm 100 extremely satisfying to my soul. Psalm 100 and its five verses pack more power and wisdom than any novel or leadership book. It’s five verses that say much about living an incredible life. Right out of the gate we see a burst of praise. For me, it’s the difference between pursuing happiness or pursuing an unspeakable joy that goes through every fiber of my being! Unspeakable Joy comes from Jesus! It’s the only way to get it, and the only way we become complete in Christ

The first verse says shout for joy to the Lord, all of the earth. I have a lot of shouting to do! There is no one like my Jesus! He certainly is a wonderful savior. He has given us incredible promises. Yet, I do not want to focus on the promises today. The Lord is great and He is greatly to be praised. There is really no other reason to praise Him today. The divine power of the Lord Jesus Christ has given us everything we need for a godly life.

Loving Jesus makes life great. There was recently an old picture posted of me on Facebook from one of the bands I played in before my salvation experience. In the picture, I am wearing my father’s green army trench coat from when he served in the National Gaurd. Many mention my outfit in the picture. I use the description only for reference because when I saw the picture from my past I see the eyes of a very broken young man.

When I saw the picture, I couldn’t help but tear up. I shouted at the picture of myself, “Things changed young man! Jesus took all that pain away!” Jesus Christ fully rescued me. Again, he gave me everything I needed, and then he gave me Heidi and my girls. My loving church and incredible friends and relationships. Forgive me for adding to the verse. Jesus and His divine nature gave me everything I ever needed or wanted.

The second verse says to “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before the Lord with joyful songs.” I have only one reason to sing unto the Lord; I am completely satisfied. My soul has to frequently burst out into song. When you sing unto the Lord you can’t help but express from a heart that is grateful. Grateful for redemption and grateful for the love of Jesus Christ, the matchless, undisputable redeemer!

The third verse says “Know the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Here the psalmist commands us to know the Lord and that He is God. I have to know him to know he is who he says he is and because I know he is who he says he is, I also know I am who he says I am. I am a child of the one true God. I am part of a chosen generation. I am one of God’s people through the Son of God Jesus Christ.

Now, what I want to encourage you to do today is meditate on the Psalm. Allow Psalm 100 to make you think about Christ and what he has done for you. Let your heart think about the goodness of God and allow your soul to be satisfied by focusing on being grateful. For a grateful heart is a happy heart.

The fourth verse says to “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” More instruction from the Psalmist. Enter his gates being thankful and enter his courts praising him. I am challenged by this. We all should be challenged. Am I going to church with thankfulness in my heart? Am I entering his courts with praise on my lips? I am not just going to speak today, I have the privilege of preaching the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices that greater is he that is within me than he who is in the world.

Finally, the fifth verse states “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” This is what I find incredibly satisfying. God’s love is enduring. God’s love is patient with me, his love is always forgiving. I am now old enough to see that his faithfulness has continued to my children. They have seen the goodness of God. It is in the Lord Jesus Christ that we trust with our lives. What I do know now is that God has been good to me. He has been better to me than what I deserve. I praise him today because he is the captain of my salvation. For that reason, I will praise him with all of my heart.

Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren. He is married to Heidi and they have two daughters, Hannah, and Abigail.