Eld Chew Chong Kiat

Psalm 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Have you experienced times when you worshipped the LORD in private or public and you felt that the well-worn words of praise that flowed from your lips were betrayed by an incongruous heart? And you felt guilty by the condemnation of our Lord Jesus, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)

The words of the Psalmist can help to tune our hearts to praise God aright.

Notice the synonymous parallelism used in v4: “With thanksgiving” (noun) and “with praise” (noun) used in the first part, and “thankful” (verb) and “bless” (verb) used in the second part. Verb is the action of the noun, we can say therefore that “enter… with thanksgiving” means “be thankful unto Him”, and enter “with praise” means to “bless His name”.

The gates and courts are said to be the LORD’s gates and the LORD’s courts, i.e., built and dedicated to His name, and when one enters he comes into a place where God promises His special presence. That should remind everyone to enter these solemnly, with hearts prepared, and not carelessly, casually or as a matter of routine. The court was the place where the worshipper offered his offering unto God. And no worshipper in the Old Testament could enter into the holy place and most holy place, except the priests and high priest respectively.  

God tore the vail between the holy place and most holy place from top to bottom when Christ died as atonement for our sins, signifying that the redeemed (NT priests) can now enter into the most holy presence of God in worship, through Christ our Mediator and the Great High Priest.  He gave Himself as the offering, once for all, on our behalf and reconciled us to God and opened this precious access to the throne of His grace. But this does not reduce the holiness and solemnity of approaching God. By grace we enter and let us enter with fear of Him who searches our hearts and to whom we owe our all, for “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (v3)

A worshipper first entered the gate before the court.  The order of the gates and the courts suggests that as one approached God to worship, if he entered with thanksgiving, it should evoke praise to God. Praise may be said to be the result of a thankful heart. That is why the Psalmist exhorted “Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Praise is only natural to a thankful worshipper. It is not possible to praise God and bless His name if we are not thankful.

There are so many reasons to thank God and that is why we are commanded “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1Thessalonians 5:18) But sadly, we are often guilty of the opposite: we complain, murmur or yield to a spirit of resignation in our circumstances. There are so many blessings from God and as the hymn writer said, it will surprise us if we name them one by one. Do we count our blessings, or do we take them for granted as if we deserve them? For that matter, there is only one thing that sinners and transgressors deserve well – hell - and eventually the lake of fire!

Try an exercise. List ten reasons you can give thanks to God. Then double that. Double it again and again. Are you hard pressed for a reason? We are too hardwired to expect things the way they are that we see no reason to give thanks. Only when we lose them do we remember what a blessing they were. Don’t wait till then. Be thankful to God for everything.  

Even in the direst situations, there are reasons to thank and bless God. As Job rightly responded when he fell to the lowest ebb of life that anyone can imagine, “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:20-21).

When you met with a road accident, did you thank God that you were alive because it could have been worse, and the Lord could have taken you or a loved one in a flash? When your car was damaged and you had to pay for repairs, did you thank God that it was repairable and you still had a car to drive? When you did not have a car to drive, did you thank God that you could walk and take the comfortable public transport in Singapore to wherever you want at any time of the day? If you lose your legs, can you thank God that you still have your hands and a sound mind to live to glorify God? There is always much to thank God for. It is not surprising therefore to read of a thankful Christian who thanked God for cancer.

The Psalmist gave three reasons why we should be thankful (v5):

1. God is good. This could arguably be the most excellent attribute of God. If God is almighty, holy, just, all knowing and omnipresent but not good, sinners are in the greatest dire situation. We would be doomed for destruction and there would be no hope and salvation. ALL of God’s attributes stem from His goodness. He is gracious and merciful because He is good. He provides and loves us because He is good. Give thanks, for God is good! Think upon the goodness of God upon you. He is good to His children and is the best Father and the only One who art in heaven. He never chastises us without good reasons that will always be for our good. His love is pure and perfect and most excellent. He is faithful in His provision, perfect in His protection, wise in His guidance. His ears are always inclined to hear our cry every moment of our lives and He always grants that which is best for us. Give thanks, for God is good!

2. His mercy is everlasting. God’s mercy holds back the judgement that is due to us as transgressors. Everlasting suggests that it is for ever and perpetual. There is never a day when God’s mercy is expended and we have to wait for a new supply. “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentation 3:22-23) Is this not a cause for great thanksgiving and praise? We continue to sin against God day by day and we stand by grace, and it is by the mercy of God that we are not consumed. The wrath of God is passed over us, and the blood of Christ that was shed and sprinkled on the mercy seat continues to avail us, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified”. (Hebrews 10:14) Thank God for His everlasting mercy!

3. His truth endureth to all generations. ‘Endure’ in this context refers to time, how the truth of God continues to hold true and not fail generation after generation. Some of men’s promises are good for a season but God’s truth holds to all generations. One generation may come and go, but God is still the same and what He says will hold fast. “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:18) God says so and it will be fulfilled, and you can hold Him to His word. Every promise of God is like a blank cheque that you can draw from; you just add faith to this cheque, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24). There are so many promises, precepts, statues, and judgements in God’s words and they are yea and amen. Follow them and you will never be disappointed, and God is pleased to bind Himself to His Word to fulfil it.

May the words of the Psalmist help to tune our hearts with thanksgiving that we might praise God aright.