Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:2 ESV) We need to hear this exhortation because very often gladness is conspicuous by its absence in our worship. Such gladness is like the sunshine - how do we let it in? The Psalm has the answer: By recognizing who we worship: “Know that the Lord is God.” - the One who we worship, revealed in Scripture and supremely in Christ, is the only true and living God. “the Lord is good”; the gods of men are like them - they are not good. “God is love” - his love is a vast as eternity. And he is faithful - “his faithfulness continues through all generations.” By remembering who we are. We are his creatures - “It is he who made us” (verse 3). We belong to him - “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We are his by right of creation and redemption. By being thankful “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (verse 4). Gladness must be two-thirds praise! Thanksgiving is a characteristic of Paul’s epistles as gladness is of his worship and service. Some translate verse 2, “Serve the Lord with gladness.” The distinction between worship and service is a narrow one in both Testaments. If the sunshine of gladness is evident in our worship, its radiance will inevitably reach our service too. Daily encouragement
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:56:07 +0000
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