Psalm 100:3
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 100
Psalm 100 reminds us that Lord is God – the Creator of the heavens and earth. He is good, eternal and has no equal. It is our joy and duty to enter His presence with praise, gladness and joyful songs. Like all psalms, Psalm 100 can be read as if it was written about Jesus.
There are seven commands in Psalm 100 telling us how to approach God:
- Shout for joy to the Lord (vs. 1)
- Worship the Lord with gladness (vs. 2)
- Come before him with joyful songs (vs. 2)
- Know that the Lord is God (vs. 3)
- Enter his gates with thanksgiving (vs. 4)
- Enter his courts with praise (vs. 4)
- Give thanks to him and praise his name (vs. 4)
Practically speaking, this is a great way to start each day. Ideally we would maintain this posture all day every day. God wants us to be joyful and to come before him with gladness and songs that reflect this joy. Knowing that God made us and that we are His people, we should be thankful to Him and praise His name.
This psalm runs counter to how it seems the priests would actually approach God in fulfilling their Temple duties. The Holy of Holies is where God’s presence resided and the high priest would enter that chamber with a rope tied around his ankle in case he died upon entering the presence of God. The whole event was wrapped in feelings of fear, awe and dread.
However, our relationship with God changed when Jesus came to earth. He showed us the deep love that God has for us. He called God his Abba father – better translated as his Daddy. He tore down the veil so we could approach our Father’s presence without fear. Because of Jesus, we are to be full of joy, kindness and thanksgiving and approach God with praise.
We can find Jesus is verse three: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Jesus was there at creation according to John 1. All of creation was made through Jesus. He came to earth to claim us as God’s people and bring us into God’s family. He is our chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4) taking care of us as a shepherd cares for his sheep.
Let this psalm sink in and encourage us to come to the Lord with thanksgiving and praise. We are no longer slaves to sin but we have been set free (Rom 6:17-18). Because of Jesus, God’s grace has become made known throughout all the earth and all who receive him will be saved. We are profoundly blessed and privileged to enter the courts of God with our praise.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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