Why do you tend to give God thanks and praise? While we might start with our health or wealth or other sorts of material blessings, David has other ideas. In fact, he begins with giving thanks for God’s identity, for the fact that the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, really is God (verse 3).

And that’s still a big reason for us to be grateful, for there have always been other options, other false gods that people have been tempted to worship: sex, power, money, fame. And yes, those gods promise all kinds of things that we tend to crave: pleasure, happiness, security. But instead of delivering on their promises, our false gods often demand a terrible price, as their worshippers tend to lose the very health and wealth and happiness they so desperately seek from their idols.

But as David points out in verse 6, the Lord is not cruel but good. He is not capricious, but faithful to His covenant promises. And when we look at the cross of Christ, we cannot doubt that God’s love is as unconditional as it is self-sacrificial. Why shouldn’t we be thankful to have a God like that?

But the best news of all is that, by the power of His resurrection, Christ hasn’t just forgiven us of all our sins. No, He has opened a way into Heaven itself, giving all who trust in Him the promise of eternal life with Him forever. As David points out in verse three, our Good Shepherd has made us the sheep of His flock, adopting us as His own people. The Lord is thus not only our Creator, but our Redeemer. So what better reason could we have to sing and shout joyfully before Him, to serve Him with gladness, and to enter His gates with thanksgiving?

Psalm 100 (NASB)

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; 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 lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations.