#DailyDevotion Jesus Is LORD & We Are His People
Psalm 100 Shout to the LORD, all the world; 2serve the LORD with joy; come before Him shouting happily.
You probably won’t find too much shouting in a Church today, particularly in a Lutheran Church, except during Easter, when the pastor gives the Easter greeting, “He is risen!” and the people shout the response, “He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” I guess if we are going to shout something in Church, the Easter greeting is a good thing to shout about. It is our salvation.
The psalmist calls for all the world to shout to the LORD. What should they shout? Jesus is LORD and He has saved them from eternal perdition. Since the LORD Jesus Christ has so humbled Himself, to become a servant, to become man and die on the cross, making reconciliation between the Father and the world, the world should serve the LORD with joy and shout happily before Him.
We probably don’t sing a lot of hymns at home, but it would probably do us well to buy a hymnal, find the hymn on Youtube or other streaming service and belt out a hymn or two everyday, shouting to the LORD our hymns joyfully. It would do our spirits well. We are made for this.
3Know that the LORD is God: He made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the flock of His pastures.
What a beautiful and comforting verse. Some translations have, “ It is he who made us, and we are his;…” The alternate translation is from using the side notes from the Hebrew text. I prefer the translation here. It doesn’t change the meaning at all but the “and not we ourselves” intensifies “He made us.” There is a rule. There is a God and you aren’t Him. On one level, we can understand this very simply, the LORD created us. He created all things and all people. That should be enough for all people to acknowledge and worship Him.
The second half of the verse narrows the field of humanity. We are His people and the flock of His pastures. These are the people God has chosen. In ancient times it was the people of Israel. In New Testament times, it is all people who come to faith in the LORD Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles. The middle section then takes on a new flavor or understanding. We do not make ourselves God’s people. Jesus said to His disciples, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” Again Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him.” So you see, we do not choose Jesus but rather Jesus chooses us. He makes us into His people the Church. If you believe in Jesus, that He is God’s Son, who died for you, is risen from the dead, seated at the right hand of the Father and is coming again to judge the living and the dead, rejoice and shout loudly and joyfully, because Jesus has chosen you and the Father has drawn you to Jesus.
4Come into His gates to give thanks, into His courts to praise. Thank Him, bless His name 5because the LORD is good and merciful forever and is faithful through all the generations.
So, practically, we do this when we gather as the Church in Jesus’ name. We should have songs of thanksgiving—and several of the hymns of the liturgy are just that, such at the Gloria in Excelsis and the Sanctus. To give thanks to the LORD is to bless the LORD and His name. The fact that we have congregations, with pastors, who teach God’s Word and administer the sacraments shows how the LORD is good and merciful and faithful through all generations. Therefore we should not take for granted when the LORD provides us these things.
Gracious God and Father, we thank You for making us Your people and calling us to faith in Your Son Jesus. Give us voices to give You thanks and praise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.