Psalm 100
- Prank phone calls used to be a thing. Radio stations called random people. Youth called random people with rude or odd questions. And in my twenties I called people in the church and just read Psalm 100 and hung up afterwards. I know it is strange. You’ll have to trust me, it was a different time. I used Psalm 100 for a few reasons: it was short, it had a certain “ring” to it, in that the reference and the words of the Psalm seemed “punchy”. It was like a random drive by declaration of blessing and kindness. Oh well, those days are long gone but Psalm 100 has persisted.
Since Jesus calls Himself the good shepherd in John 10 readers of the Bible have had no problem seeing Jesus in Psalm 23. Here He is again. And Psalm 100 tells us more about this Shepherd King.
Make some noise because Jesus is the shepherd King of all mankind (all creation) v1
All the earth, everyone is called upon to celebrate the Lord, who we come to find out is a Shepherd King.
Shouts, gladful worship and joyful singing are all appropriate responses to Our Lord. vv1-2
Jesus says He came to give full joy. (John 15:10-12)
The followers of Jesus have been known for singing, music making, poetry writing and expressing in prose and verse the wonders of our God. Maybe you have an injection of creativity needed in your spirit. I promise you that when you praise, God shows up. When you praise, you are getting aligned, tuned, detoxed, focused, healed, and filled with power.
I don’t know what you fill your heart and mind with. I don’t know how you get down, dance and revel in life. But you’ll find no greater pleasure than to praise God in song and in word.
Bow the knee, yield to His power, confess He is Master, Ruler, Shepherd, and King.
Confess with your mouth that Jesus is God.
Recognise you are His creation.
Agree that you are His possession.
Identify yourself as finding your identity in Him.
Submit to His care and leading.
Jesus will be submitted to one way or another. (Philippians 2:10-11)
Life is often messy and you feel like everything is too much and there is no order and too much is damaged beyond repair. Take your life to the Fixer. I was recently talking to a friend about some brokenness in his life. And I asked him what his opinion of Jesus was at the moment. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. But his answer was that Jesus to him was the Fixer. When we submit to the fixer and bow the knee and offer our broken things to the Repairman of the universe, we will not be disappointed. I know a workman that didn’t tell the summer crew that it was necessary to check the oil in a large generator on the worksite. When the generator seized up the worker felt responsible and he paid himself to have the generator repaired. The worker bore the responsibility even though he was on the worksite. Did the boss expect the worker to bear the cost? No. But he did. Because he worked with the principle that he treated everything as if it were his own. So the boss's generator wasn’t unimportant, it was as if it was the worker's own generator. The worker lived by the golden rule. Don’t you understand that Jesus bears the responsibility of all things because they are His. Jesus lives by the golden rule. He treats you as He wants to be treated. Think about it. If you get it you will fall to your knees in worship.
Receive and respond to the invitation into the Presence of the Shepherd King.
Get in line, file in, drop what you're doing and gratefully go to Him.
Look around in the palace throne room and see your King’s ruling provision.
Speak in complete surrender and fealty His Name as sovereign over your life.
Jesus is the only way in. (John 10:9, 14:6)
Loneliness is a big problem in society and add to that the feeling of powerlessness because you have no voice, no advocates, no listening ears and you have the recipe for a broken society. But it is not like that in Jesus’ rule and reign. He is present, so you are not lonely, He is listening so you are not without an advocate. Children walk into the kitchen and say, “I’m hungry.” They don’t think of work, shopping, food preparation, electricity bills, waste management or any of that stuff. They know that in the presence of mom or dad while in the kitchen, there is food to be had. Being welcome in the presence of the king means you are able to bring all your needs to the one who is footing the bill, seeing to the preparation, making sure the place is clean…. And all that in a relationship of gratefulness and authority.
Bask in the unending generosity of your benevolent caretaker.
Rest in the goodness of your Lord and Master.
Be assured His generous care and provision is going to continue forever.
The Shepherd King will care for you, for your children, for your children’s children and all who come after.
Jesus and His Father know how to take care of you. (Matthew 6:26-32)
Have you been to an all day, all you can eat Chinese buffet? They should be illegal. Not really. But oh they are so dangerous. As long as you pay and stay you are free to take anything and as much as you want, just make sure that you eat what you take. Out the door and the party's over. Maybe you don’t like to cook, maybe you have a family of ravenous teenage boys, maybe your fridge is very small, whatever your reason is, the Chinese buffet is a paradise of provision. When you confess Jesus as your shepherd king, then you are living in the Chinese buffet of life that never ends. Don’t believe me? Look at any biblical description of heaven.
Isaiah 25:6, 55:1-2, Jeremiah 31:12-13, John 14:2-3, Hebrews 12:22-23, Revelation 7:15-17, Revelation 22:2, Revelation 2:7, Luke 14:15, Joel 2:24-26, John 7:37-38, Matthew 22:2, Matthew 8:11, Revelation 19:9
There is no aspect of Psalm 100 that doesn’t ring true of Jesus. So I invite you to reread it as a template for your response to every time you are seemingly randomly praised, pranked to be thankful, called on to praise, confronted with God’s overwhelming provision. There is no one outside of this invitation. Everyone can respond and benefit from the joy, care, justice, authority, generosity and love of the Shepherd King.
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| Handwritten Psalm 100 |
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