Salmi 100:4 Commento

It is with good reason that many sing this psalm very frequently in their religious assemblies, for it is very proper both to express and to excite pious and devout affections towards God in our approach to him in holy ordinances; and, if our hearts go along with the words, we shall make melody in it to the Lord. The Jews say it was penned to be sung with their thank-offerings; perhaps it was; but we say that as there is nothing in it peculiar to their economy so its beginning with a call to all lands to praise God plainly extends it to the gospel-church. Here, I. We are called upon to praise God and rejoice in him (Psa 100:1, Psa 100:2, Psa 100:4). II. We are furnished with matter for praise; we must praise him, considering his being and relation to us (Psa 100:3) and his mercy and truth (Psa 100:5). These are plain and common things, and therefore the more fit to be the matter of devotion. A psalm of praise.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 100 A Psalm of Praise. The Arabic version ascribes this psalm to David, and very likely it is one of his: the Targum calls it "a hymn for the sacrifice of thanksgiving;'' and so Jarchi. It is supposed to have been used when peace offerings for thanksgivings were offered up, Lev 7:11. The Syriac inscription is very odd; "concerning Joshua the son of Nun, when he made the war of the Ammonites to cease;'' though it more rightly adds, "but in the New Testament, when the Gentiles are converted to the faith:'' and indeed the scope of the psalm is to exhort the Gentiles to praise the Messiah, to serve and worship him, from the consideration of his goodness and mercy, truth and faithfulness.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,.... The same with the gates of Zion, loved by the Lord more than all the dwellings of Jacob; the gates of Jerusalem, within which the feet of the saints stand with pleasure; the gates of Wisdom, or Christ, where his followers watch and wait; the gates into his house, the church, and the public ordinances of it, to be entered into with thankfulness for all mercies, temporal and spiritual; for the Gospel, and Gospel opportunities and ordinances: and into his courts with praise; with the sacrifice of praise, as in Psa 96:8, of these courts, see Psa 65:4, be thankful unto him; for all blessings of grace in him and by him; for all things, and at all times: and bless his name; by ascribing honour, blessing, and glory to him, saying, "blessed be his glorious name for ever", Psa 72:19.

"For the Lord is pleasant" [Psalm 100:4]. Think not that you faint in praising Him. Your praise of Him is like food: the more ye praise Him, the more ye acquire strength, and He whom you praise becomes the more sweet.

In this Psalm the profession of the principles of his domestic and political government testifies, as well as actions in accordance with it, David's appreciation of God's mercy to him, and His judgment on his enemies: and thus he sings or celebrates God's dealings. (Psa 101:1-8) He avows his sincere purpose, by God's aid, to act uprightly (Gen 17:1; Psa 18:30).

Join joyfully in His public worship. The terms are, of course, figurative (compare Psa 84:2; Psa 92:13; Isa 66:23). Enter--or, "Come with solemnity" (Psa 95:6).

Therefore shall the men of all nations enter with thanksgiving into the gates of His Temple and into the courts of His Temple with praise (Psa 96:8), in order to join themselves in worship to His church, which - a creation of Jahve for the good of the whole earth - is congregated about this Temple and has it as the place of its worship. The pilgrimage of all peoples to the holy mountain is an Old Testament dress of the hope for the conversion of all peoples to the God of revelation, and the close union of all with the people of this God. His Temple is open to them all. They may enter, and when they enter they have to look for great things. For the God of revelation (52:11; 54:8) is "good" (Psa 25:8; Psa 34:9), and His loving-kindness and faithfulness endure for ever - the thought that recurs frequently in the later Hallelujah and Hodu Psalms and is become a liturgical formula (Jer 33:11). The mercy of loving-kindness of God is the generosity, and His faithfulness the constancy, of His love.