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Commentary on Psalms 100 verses 1–5
Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate. The psalm does indeed answer to the title, A psalm of praise; it begins with that call which of late we have several times met with (Psa 100:1), Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands, or all the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully answered to. But, if we take the foregoing psalm to be (as we have opened it) a call to the Jewish church to rejoice in the administration of God's kingdom, which they were under (as the four psalms before it were calculated for the days of the Messiah), this psalm, perhaps, was intended for proselytes, that came over out of all lands to the Jews' religion. However, we have here, 1. A strong invitation to worship God; not that God needs us, or any thing we have or can do, but it is his will that we should serve the Lord, should devote ourselves to his service and employ ourselves in it; and that we should not only serve him in all instances of obedience to his law, but that we should come before his presence in the ordinances which he has appointed and in which he has promised to manifest himself (Psa 100:2), that we should enter into his gates and into his courts (Psa 100:4), that we should attend upon him among his servants, and keep there where he keeps court. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we come into God's presence, and serve him; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates and into his courts. The people were not permitted to enter into the holy place; there the priests only went in to minister. But let the people be thankful for their place in the courts of God's house, to which they were admitted and where they gave their attendance. 2. Great encouragement given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully (Psa 100:2): Serve the Lord with gladness. This intimates a prediction that in gospel-times there should be special occasion for joy; and it prescribes this as a rule of worship: Let God be served with gladness. By holy joy we do really serve God; it is an honour to him to rejoice in him; and we ought to serve him with holy joy. Gospel-worshippers should be joyful worshippers; if we serve God in uprightness, let us serve him with gladness. We must be willing and forward to it, glad when we are called to go up to the house of the Lord (Psa 122:1), looking upon it as the comfort of our lives to have communion with God; and we must be pleasant and cheerful in it, must say, It is good to be here, approaching to God, in every duty, as to God our exceeding Joy, Psa 43:4. We must come before his presence with singing, not only songs of joy, but songs of praise. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, Psa 100:4. We must not only comfort ourselves, but glorify God, with our joy, and let him have the praise of that which we have the pleasure of. Be thankful to him and bless his name; that is, (1.) We must take it as a favour to be admitted into his service, and give him thanks that we have liberty of access to him, that we have ordinances instituted and opportunity continued of waiting upon God in those ordinances. (2.) We must intermix praise and thanksgiving with all our services. This golden thread must run through every duty (Heb 13:15), for it is the work of angels. In every thing give thanks, in every ordinance, as well as in every providence.
II. The matter of praise, and motives to it, are very important, Psa 100:3, Psa 100:5. Know you what God is in himself and what he is to you. Note, Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience: blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God. "Know it; consider and apply it, and then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the worship of him." Let us know then these seven things concerning the Lord Jehovah, with whom we have to do in all the acts of religious worship: - 1. That the Lord he is God, the only living and true God - that he is a Being infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the fountain of all being; he is God, and not a man as we are. He is an eternal Spirit, incomprehensible and independent, the first cause and last end. The heathen worshipped the creature of their own fancy; the workmen made it, therefore it is not God. We worship him that made us and all the world; he is God, and all other pretended deities are vanity and a lie, and such as he has triumphed over. 2. That he is our Creator: It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. I find that I am, but cannot say, I am that I am, and therefore must ask, Whence am I? Who made me? Where is God my Maker? And it is the Lord Jehovah. He gave us being, he gave us this being; he is both the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits. We did not, we could not, make ourselves. It is God's prerogative to be his own cause; our being is derived and depending. 3. That therefore he is our rightful owner. The Masorites, by altering one letter in the Hebrew, read it, He made us, and his we are, or to him we belong. Put both the readings together, and we learn that because God made us, and not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own, but his. He has an incontestable right to, and property in, us and all things. His we are, to be actuated by his power, disposed of by his will, and devoted to his honour and glory. 4. That he is our sovereign ruler: We are his people or subjects, and he is our prince, our rector or governor, that gives law to us as moral agents, and will call us to an account for what we do. The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver. We are not at liberty to do what we will, but must always make conscience of doing as we are bidden. 5. That he is our bountiful benefactor. We are not only his sheep, whom he is entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of; the flock of his feeding (so it may be read); therefore the sheep of his hand; at his disposal because the sheep of his pasture, Psa 95:7. He that made us maintains us, and gives us all good things richly to enjoy. 6. That he is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (Psa 100:5): The Lord is good, and therefore does good; his mercy is everlasting; it is a fountain that can never be drawn dry. The saints, who are now the sanctified vessels of mercy, will be, to eternity, the glorified monuments of mercy. 7. That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness: His truth endures to all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated or revoked. The promise is sure to all the seed, from age to age.
But what is my God? I put my question to the earth. It answered, “I am not God,” and all things on earth declared the same. I asked the sea and the chasms of the deep and the living things that creep in them, but they answered, “We are not your God. Seek what is above us.” I spoke to the winds that blow, and the whole air and all that lives in it replied, “Anaximenes is wrong. I am not God.” I asked the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, but they told me, “Neither are we the God whom you seek.” I spoke to all the things that are above me, all that can be admitted by the door of the senses, and I asked, “Since you are not my God, tell me about him. Tell me something of my God.” Clear and loud they answered, “God is he who made us.” I asked these questions simply by gazing at these things, and their beauty was all the answer they gave.
"Enter into His gates with confession" [Psalm 100:3]. At the gates is the beginning: begin with confession. Thence is the Psalm entitled, "A Psalm of Confession:" there be joyful. Confess that you were not made by yourselves, praise Him by whom you were made. Let your good come from Him, in departing from whom you have caused your evil. "Enter into His gates with confession." Let the flock enter into the gates: let it not remain outside, a prey for wolves. And how is it to enter? "With confession." Let the gate, that is, the commencement for you, be confession. Whence it is said in another Psalm, "Begin unto the Lord with confession." What he there calls "Begin," here he calls "Gates." "Enter into His gates in confession." What? And when we have entered, shall we not still confess? Always confess Him: you have always what to confess for. It is hard in this life for a man to be so far changed, that no cause for censure be discoverable in him: you must needs blame yourself, lest He who shall condemn blame you. Therefore even when you have entered His courts, then also confess. When will there be no longer confession of sins? In that rest, in that likeness to the Angels. But consider what I have said: there will there be no confession of sins. I said not, there will be no confession: for there will be confession of praise. You will ever confess, that He is God, thou a creature; that He is your Protector, yourself protected. In Him you shall be as it were hid. "Go into His courts with hymns; and confess unto Him." Confess in the gates; and when you have entered the courts, confess with hymns. Hymn are praises. Blame yourself, when you are entering; when you have entered, praise Him. "Open me the gates of righteousness," he says in another Psalm, "that I may go into them, and confess unto the Lord." Did he say, when I have entered, I will no longer confess? Even after his entrance, he will confess. For what sins did our Lord Jesus Christ confess, when He said, "I confess unto You, O Father"? [Matthew 11:25] He confessed in praising Him, not in accusing Himself. "Speak good of His Name."
“Serve the Lord in gladness; enter his sight with rejoicing.” But that joy is love, at any rate, which (as the apostle says) “is not puffed up, does no harm, is not ambitious” and all the other things which describe this excellent virtue in Paul’s marvelous explanation. Therefore, they are those who serve the Lord in gladness, who love him above all things and regard one another with brotherly love. Oh, what free bondage! Ah, a servitude more exceptional than all other forms of domination, to which such joy is ascribed as is not contained in the glory of kingdoms! But see what sort of reward follows that joy which is commanded in this world, for he says, “Enter his sight with rejoicing.” It is much more difficult and much more excellent to rejoice before the sight of such a judge, when one is being warned to approach with the knowledge so as to take the joys of humility while he is shown to be fearsome to all the haughty.
We are taught by their testimonies that “it is God himself and not we ourselves who made us”—not only to be human beings but also to be holy and blessed human beings. If by the gift of his grace we pursue him eagerly, always with a pure and untiring heart, he will be propitious toward all our iniquities, according to the promises made to our ancestors. He will satisfy our desire with good things, he will crown us unto eternal life not as a reward for the works of justice that we have done of ourselves but in the compassion and mercy that he has given us, for he lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, throughout all ages. Amen.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 100:3 serves as the theological bedrock for the preceding calls to joyful worship and thanksgiving, declaring the foundational truths of God's identity, humanity's origin, and the resulting covenantal relationship. It asserts Yahweh's unique deity, humanity's absolute dependence on Him as Creator, and the intimate, protective bond He shares with His people, whom He shepherds with tender care.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 100:3 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound theological truths. The verse opens with an imperative, "Know ye," which functions as a direct command, demanding active recognition and acknowledgment from the audience. This immediately establishes the non-negotiable nature of the truths that follow. Parallelism is evident in the structure of the verse, particularly in the phrase "it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves," which uses antithetical parallelism to powerfully contrast God's creative agency with human inability. Similarly, "his people, and the sheep of his pasture" employs synonymous parallelism, reinforcing the concept of belonging and divine care through two complementary images. The most prominent metaphor is "the sheep of his pasture," which vividly portrays God as a caring Shepherd and humanity as His dependent flock, evoking images of protection, provision, and tender guidance. The use of emphatic pronouns in the Hebrew (הוּא עָשָׂנוּ וְלֹא אֲנַחְנוּ - hu asanu v'lo anachnu) also serves as a form of repetition for emphasis, underscoring God's exclusive role in creation.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 100:3 is a theological cornerstone, encapsulating truths that reverberate throughout the entire biblical narrative. It grounds worship in the ontological reality of God as the supreme Creator and humanity as His dependent creation, chosen for a covenant relationship. This verse provides the fundamental "why" behind all praise and thanksgiving, asserting that our very existence and identity are rooted in God's authorship and ownership. It moves beyond mere intellectual acknowledgment to call for a relational knowledge that transforms our understanding of self, purpose, and security, fostering humility and profound gratitude.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The profound truths of Psalms 100:3 offer a liberating and grounding perspective for our lives. To truly "know" that the LORD is God, our Creator, and our Shepherd dismantles the illusion of self-sufficiency and the burden of self-creation. It frees us from the relentless pursuit of identity and worth in fleeting external validations, rooting us instead in the unchanging reality of God's design and ownership. This knowledge fosters humility, recognizing our dependence, and cultivates deep gratitude for the gift of life and the constant, tender provision of our Shepherd. In a world often marked by anxiety and striving, understanding that we are "His people, and the sheep of His pasture" provides immense security, purpose, and belonging. It calls us to live lives of worship, not as a burdensome duty, but as a joyful, natural response to the One who made us, sustains us, and guides us.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of "not we ourselves" in this verse?
Answer: The phrase "not we ourselves" is a powerful and emphatic negation that directly challenges any humanistic or self-sufficient worldview. It unequivocally states that humanity did not come into existence by its own power, will, or evolutionary process. Instead, our very being is a direct result of God's deliberate, creative act. This negates human pride and self-origination, establishing our absolute dependence on the Creator for our existence. Theologically, it also lays the groundwork for understanding our need for divine redemption, as we cannot save ourselves any more than we can create ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). It underscores that our identity, purpose, and destiny are found in Him, not in ourselves.
Is "his people" limited to ancient Israel, or does it apply more broadly?
Answer: While "his people" in the Old Testament primarily referred to the covenant nation of Israel, whom God chose and set apart from all other nations (e.g., Exodus 19:5-6), the New Testament expands this concept significantly. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, believers from every nation, tribe, and tongue are grafted into God's family, becoming spiritual heirs of the promises made to Abraham. The Apostle Peter explicitly states that believers are now "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (1 Peter 2:9). Therefore, the spiritual fulfillment of being "his people" now encompasses all who are united to Christ by faith, forming the universal Church, the new covenant people of God.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The profound declarations of Psalms 100:3 find their ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. When the psalmist proclaims, "it is he that hath made us," this truth points directly to the Son, the eternal Word, through whom "all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). Jesus is not merely a part of creation but the active agent of creation, the very means by which all things came into being (John 1:3). Furthermore, the tender image of "the sheep of his pasture" is perfectly embodied in Jesus, who declared Himself to be the "good shepherd" who "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). He is the one who gathers His "other sheep that are not of this fold," bringing them into His one flock (John 10:16), leading them to abundant life (John 10:10), and ensuring their eternal security. Through His atoning sacrifice, we are not only His creation but also His redeemed people, purchased by His blood (Revelation 5:9), and eternally belonging to Him, the "chief Shepherd" (1 Peter 5:4).