All creation: Make a joyful noise

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him, bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures for ever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

This is a well-known psalm; I want to dig down into two sentences in the psalm.

First – “Make a joyful noise” – this line appeared twice in Psalm 95 and twice in Psalm 98. An expression that gives permission to those of us who cannot carry a tune, who do not have musical gifts, to join the chorus of creation in voicing and singing our praise. It reminds us that bird’s song, children’s shouts of joy, even the barking of dogs is part of the joyful noise of creation in praise of God who made all things. For the call is not just that people sing – but that all the earth would be part of the hymn of joy to God the creator. The creation praising the Creator – and human beings as part of that creation fulfilling our proper role in creation as creature, as creation.  

Second, and building on the first part. Vs. 3 makes very clear – God made human beings. We are not self-made; we were made by God. We belong to God (“we are his” and “we are his people”) and as the people who belong to God, God is the shepherd who shepherds us through the fields of life and over the hills and through the valleys. Sheep are wilful creatures who can act in very stubborn ways. Sheep are deeply needy of being in community, yet at the same time sheep can wander off on their own and lose their way. To shepherd sheep is challenging, requiring great patience and resilience. The shepherd does care for the sheep, has the best of the sheet in mind, even in those times and in those moments when the sheep are difficult and unheeding of the shepherd’s voice and call.

To say that human beings are made by God and belong to God is a statement recognizing that God our maker is worthy of our praise for God’s faithfulness and steadfast love.  

PRAYER:

In joy we bring our praise to you, O Lord God, making a joyful noise with all of creation. Thank you for being our maker and our shepherd, thank you for your care and guidance in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.