Psalm 100:4: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
In Hebrew the word enter and the word come are identical. So this verse issues an open invitation to come worship the One True God. In fact this verse uses three Hebrew verbs that calls all people to worship. This is huge because according to Mosaic Law, foreigners were usually excluded form the temple but, Psalm 100 invites the whole earth to enter courts of the temple to worship.
And how are we to enter the gates of the temple into the presence of Almighty God? With thanksgiving and praise. These are very appropriate sacrifices for all the benefits God has given us. Remember every good thing in our lives comes from God. And the greatest benefit God has bestowed on us is salvation through grace by faith. The writer of Hebrews reminds us: Therefore, by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15). The unblemished Lamb of God was taken outside the gates and sacrificed as atonement for our sins so we might enter the gates into the presence of Holy God. Entering His gates with praise and thanksgiving is our appropriate response.
The psalmist encourages us to bless His name. We do not add anything to God when we bless Him, we worship Him. It is the appropriate response to His greatness and His love for us. In Jewish prayers God is “blessed,” that is, praised for his kindness and grace. We are to praise God for who is and for what He does.
Let’s Pray:
Oh, Holy Heavenly Father,
Today, we thank you, we praise your name because you loved us so much you sacrificed your Son as atonement for our sin. We come to worship you. Hallelujah, Hallelujah. We bless your name, Abba, El Shaddai, Jehovah, and Jehovah Jireh.
Oh, God, my God. We are thankful for all the good things you have wrought and for your promise to walk with us through the terrible things of our lives. Thank you for the peace that comes from just being in your presence.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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