Praising Scripture - Dec 1

Introduction...

12/1 Psalm 100:1-5 A Psalm of Thanksgiving Praise
（Memorization Scripture: vv. 3-5）

1 Make a joyful shout (noise) 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.

[Sharing] This psalm calls for people to come and worship God. The psalm is not only meant for those who have known God, but it is an invitation to those who do not yet know Him. Why? Because He is the God of all nations and all peoples; He is the savior of all. With passionate cries, the psalmist calls for people to shout joyfully to the Lord, to sing His praise, and to respond to His presence: we belong to Him, we are His sheep, and He is the one true God! Oh that the people would begin their worship by singing this psalm at the top of their lungs! We can only imagine how magnificent that must have been!

The psalmist proceeds to remind everyone to come into God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise. And to come for no other reason but that the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Though all things may change, our God will never change and He is forever the one we can trust and rely on. Thus, let’s all worship and praise Him simply because of who He is.

Have you noticed that this psalm is a charge? (There are seven occurrences of “should” in the Chinese translation.) If you do not know how to enter into God’s presence, try giving thanks, praising and singing with a joyful noise; profess that He is your creator and you are His sheep; believe in His goodness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness. Then, you will surely experience God’s presence.

【簡介】...

Praising_Days 1 詩篇100:1-5 [稱謝詩] 
（背誦3-5節）

1 普天下當向耶和華歡呼！
2 你們當樂意事奉耶和華，
當來向祂歌唱！
3 你們當曉得耶和華是 神！
我們是祂造的，也是屬祂的；
我們是祂的民，也是祂草場的羊。

4 當稱謝進入祂的門；
當讚美進入祂的院。
當感謝祂，稱頌祂的名！
5 因為耶和華本為善。
祂的慈愛存到永遠；
祂的信實直到萬代。

【心得分享】
這是一篇呼召眾人來敬拜 神的詩，不只是呼召認識 神的百姓，也邀請普天下未信之人。為什麼呢？因為這位 神，是萬民萬國的 神，是全人類的救主！詩人用極為熱情的語氣說：來啊，向這位造我們的 神大聲歡呼，用喜樂的喧囂 (shout joyfully to the Lord) 來向祂歌唱，回應祂的同在！我們是屬祂的，是祂草場的羊，而祂是獨一的真神！我們可以想像一下，當眾人一起大聲唱着這首詩開始他們的敬拜的時候，場面聲勢是何等的壯觀浩大！
接著，詩人又提醒大家要用感謝和讚美來進入 神的同在。不是別的原因，就是因為祂是善，祂的慈愛存到永遠，祂的信實直到萬代，我們就理當來感謝祂，稱頌祂的名！是的，萬事萬物都在改變，唯有 神永遠是我們的依靠。讓我們都能單單因着祂的所是就來敬拜和讚美祂！
注意到了嗎？這首詩中，用了七個 “當” 字。如果你不知道如何進入 神的同在，不妨試著與眾民用歡樂的噪音大聲的感謝、讚美、歌唱，承認祂是你的創造者，你是祂的羊，相信祂的良善、慈愛、信實，那你肯定可以嚐到 神同在的滋味。