Psalm 100 is best known to be a hymn of praise. However, did you know that there is more to this psalm than what we first thought? Join us now as we go deeper into Psalm 100. Read a detailed explanation of what Psalm 100 is and discover the many powerful lessons that we should learn!

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What does Psalm 100 say?

Psalm 100 comes with five verses. In the original text, Psalm 100 is titled A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Psalm 100 (NKJV) reads:

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

3 Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
(Psalm 100 NKJV)

Some facts about Psalm 100: Psalm 100 is likely spoken by a liturgist or choir, calling the community to praise in a liturgical setting, possibly part of a larger worship context. The psalm shares vocabulary with enthronement psalms in Book IV, using royal language in relation to the divine king.

Scholars like McCann and Tate connect Psalm 100 with Psalm 95, suggesting that Psalms 95 and 100 frame Psalms 96–99, forming a collection celebrating the kingship of YHWH. Expanding this view, Psalms 93–100 collectively explore the theme of the kingship of YHWH, with Psalm 100 serving as a fitting conclusion to this cluster.

What is Psalm 100?

Psalm 100 is a familiar hymn of praise found in the Psalter, known for its brevity, lively language, and profound theme. The psalm utilizes imperatives to summon the community to worship, following a standard structure of descriptive praise in the Psalms.

Structure

The structure of Psalm 100 can be summarized in the following:

• Verses 1-2: Call to Give Thanks
• Verse3: Celebration of the Covenant
• Verse 4: A Call to Give Thanks
• Verse 5: Celebration of the Covenant

Psalm 100 features a universal call to praise in verses 1–2, with a rationale provided in the latter part of verse 3. The structure repeats, with a renewed call to praise in verse 4 and motivation presented in the final verse.

Classification

Classified as a hymn, it may have been sung by worshipers entering the sanctuary. Its placement in the collection suggests its valuable application in the post-exilic community, serving as a summation or sequel to Psalms 96–99.

Theme

The theme of God’s faithfulness in Psalm 100 recalls similar themes in Psalm 89. The hymnic form celebrates the Lord and His covenantal relationship with His people, likely sung during festivals and serving as a conclusion to the collection of psalms proclaiming Yahweh’s kingship. The psalm’s simple structure divides into two parts, each featuring a call to give thanks and a rationale for thanksgiving.

Who wrote Psalm 100 and why?

Looking at the original written words of Psalm 100, you won’t find an explicit text that identifies its writer or author. The Psalms, including Psalm 100, were often written by various individuals, such as King David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, and others. However, David primarily wrote most of Psalms and if He did write Psalm 100, it would be written within his lifetime, which spans from about 1010-970 B.C.E.

There are two theories as well when Psalm 100 was written. Some mentioned that it was written when Solomon’s temple was still standing while others point to a time when the temple was rebuilt.

The main reason Psalm 100 was written is to express God’s people’s gratitude toward their Creator. Psalm 100 serves as a hymn of worship and praise to Yahweh. The psalm encourages joyful and grateful worship, emphasizing the universal call for all the earth to praise the Lord.

What are the lessons we can learn from Psalm 100?

Psalm 100 only has 5 verses but don’t be fooled by its brevity because there are a lot of lessons to unpack from this chapter. From giving thanks to knowing God, you’ll be amazed by what inspiring and insightful lessons you’ll find in Psalm 100 1-5 meaning. So, here are 7 of the best lessons you’ll learn in Psalm 100.

1. There is joy in worshiping and serving God

Being joyful in worshiping and serving God means experiencing a deep and genuine sense of joy, gladness, and delight in one’s relationship with God. We read in Psalms 100:1-2:

​¹ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

Notice the words “joyful” and “gladness.” These words tell you that worshiping and serving God is and should be a source of happiness for you. Not only that but your joy should lead you to worshiping and serving God.

In other words, you are happy because you worship God and you worship God because you are happy. Both have a symbiotic relationship.

However, the problem for most people is that they don’t see worshiping and serving God as joyful. They don’t get gladness from it. Instead, they think that happiness comes from this world. 

So, what do they do? They chase the wrong things in life thinking that it will give them happiness. Some people chase money, prestige, possessions, and even sex. Yet, at the end of the day, they feel empty.

The Bible tells us that real and genuine happiness come from the LORD — Yahweh, the Most High God. He, alone, can fill the emptiness in our hearts and we can allow God to do that every time we worship and serve Him.

2. Everyone should worship God

Psalms 100:1 tells us:

¹ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Take note of the words, “all you lands.” Verse is an invitation to all people on the earth. This invitation isn’t simply given to the Israelites, but rather to every nation!

Notice the how universal this invitation is:

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

Yes, today, we don’t see all people worship God and His Son — far from it. However, God is giving you a personal invitation to have a relationship with Him. You don’t have to wait for the world to change. You can take that one important step to be with God and join His people in worshiping Him!

3. We must serve God with gladness

We read in verse 2 of Psalm 100, “Serve the LORD with gladness.” How do you serve God? How do you enter His gates and courts? How do you give yourself to God?

The Bible tells us, it should be with gladness. We don’t serve God out of necessity. We should not feel forced to serve Him. We should not do it because everyone’s doing it. 

No — serving God should be done out of a willing heart and it will show in your attitude and that is part of the lessons from Psalm 100. If you are depressed, bitter, or angry while serving God, then that’s not what God is looking for. You can serve God all you want, but if you don’t have the right attitude, it will come to nothing.

Aside from that, we can see here that serving God is an act of worship. When we serve Him through our actions, giving Him our time, and serving His people, we are actually worshiping Him with our lives!

We read in Romans 12:1:

¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

You see, we must willingly serve God with gladness. Don’t think that serving God is a burdensome duty but rather, a joyful expression of devotion and gratitude. 

2. Worship involves knowing God

Psalms 100:3 tells us:

Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

One of the biggest reasons people don’t get much from their worship to God is that they don’t know who God really is. They try to praise God but it seems their praise is empty. Why? Because they have the wrong idea of God’s nature.

Thus, you can only truly worship God when you know Him. Jesus Christ (Yahshua) tells us that our eternal life depends on knowing God and Him (John 17:3).

When worshiping God, we should know who God is and what He has done for us. We need to recognize God as the supreme Ruler of this vast universe. He is the Creator of all things. He is the Lifegiver. He gives us everything we need. He even sacrificed His Son to give us the chance to receive eternal life!

When we truly know who God is, and how powerful and majestic He is, it behooves us to praise and worship Him.

The best way for you to know God is by reading His revealed Word to us — the Scripture. Have the habit of regularly studying the Bible and meditating on it. By reading the Bible, you are letting God talk to you.

3. We belong to God

Going back to Psalms 100:3:

³ Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

The writer of psalm 100 devotion identifies the one who created us. He explicitly explained that we are made by God and we didn’t create ourselves. No one in this world can claim that he created himself. There is a creator and that Creator is Yahweh!

Now, because God made us, we belong to Him. We are His people and sheep of His pasture. This is an interesting analogy here. Sheep are among the most vulnerable creatures in the world. They don’t have claws or fangs to defend themselves. They run slowly. When they fall, they are slow to get up. Obviously, sheep are helpless and this shows us the great dependence that we should have on God.

Because we are sheep, then God is our Shepherd. He takes care of us. He provides all our needs. He protects us from evil. He loves us with all His Being.

Since we belong to God, we are much more valuable than anything in this world. Think about some ordinary items. By itself, they are nothing. However, because of who owned them, those ordinary items exponentially grew in value.

The same is true with our relationship with God. We belong to Him and thus, our value increases. Not only that, but we don’t just belong to God; we are His children!

4. Gratitude is part of worship

We read in Psalms 100:4:

⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

You can’t worship God without giving thanks and you can’t give thanks to God without worshiping Him. It just works that way. This means that gratitude is an integral part of worship. Gratitude and worship are closely tied together. 

For this reason, worshiping God involves recognizing and appreciating the blessings, goodness, and mercy of God with a thankful heart.

Gratitude in worship involves acknowledging and reflecting on the goodness of God. There are just so many things to be thankful for. In your worship, you can express thankfulness for God’s love, grace, provision, and the countless blessings you have received.

What’s amazing about gratitude in worship is that it humbles you. Remember, gratitude involves acknowledging one’s dependence on God and expressing thankfulness for His sustaining power. It reflects a humble recognition that all good things come from God.

What’s more, gratitude transforms the worshiper’s perspective, focusing on the positive aspects of God’s character and actions rather than dwelling on negativity or challenges. It fosters an attitude of thanksgiving even in difficult circumstances.

All these allow you to develop the proper attitude and perspective when worshiping God.

5. Yahweh is good, merciful and trustworthy

The last verse of Psalm 100 gives us the reasons why we should worship God with thankfulness. We read:

⁵ For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations. Psalms 100:5

So, Yahweh is good, everlasting, and trustworthy. Let’s go through each of them:

Yahweh is good

Yahweh is good and thus, He has nothing but goodness for us. He is good that He supplies our needs. He gives us life. He is the ultimate Giver this universe could ever have!

1 Chronicles 16:34 tells us:

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. 

We need to recognize how good God is. His goodness should lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Can you just imagine if God is not good? We won’t have any chance to repent anymore.

Because God is good and He is good to us, we ought to be good to others as well. We read:

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10

Yahweh is merciful

Psalm 100:5 tells us that God’s mercy endures forever. The Scripture is rich in Bible verses where you will read about God’s mercy:

• God is merciful to thousands of generations (Deuteronomy 7:9).
• The paths of God is mercy (Psalm 25:10)
• God’s mercy never comes to an end (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5)
• God saves us because of His mercy (Titus 3:5)

Now, there are more Bible verses about God’s mercy, but with the verses I mentioned above, you should have no doubt anymore. God is merciful. We all deserve death. We all deserve nothing but punishments for our sins. Yet, because of God’s mercy, we are not consumed.

God’s mercy, too, is a reason for us to worship and serve Him.

Yahweh is trustworthy

Psalm 100:5 tells us, “And His truth endures to all generations.” God can’t tell a lie. He is truthful. Everything He says and does is true. There’s no deception in Him. In fact, God is the very embodiment of truth.

For this reason, whatever God promises, He will deliver. 

Now, if you look into the Hebrew word of truth here, it refers to God’s faithfulness as well. Throughout the Psalms and the Bible in general, “truth” often signifies God’s faithfulness, reliability, and adherence to His promises.

What’s more, Psalm 100:5 explains that God’s truth endures to all generations. It tells us that God’s truth isn’t temporary. It does not change over time. It remains and will stand the test of time.

Again, this should behoove us to worship God because He is truthful, reliable, and faithful.

Learn the lessons of Psalm 100

Psalm 100 is no doubt a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving, worship, and service to God. From learning how to worship God to understanding God’s nature, Psalm 100 is filled with powerful lessons for all of us to learn. If you’re looking for a sermon on Psalm 100:1-5, you can turn to this blog.

Now, turning the spotlight to you – what resonates with you in the lessons of Psalm 100? Your reflections are a valuable addition to the tapestry of shared wisdom. Feel free to express your thoughts in the comment section below; I am eager to engage in a meaningful exchange with you!

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