Psalm 100 is the psalm from which Serve took its theme statement this year, verse 5. It also has a verse that has Serve written all over it. Serve the Lord with Gladness. This Psalm is much beloved, one of many favorites in the Psalter, often referred to as Old Hundredth. It is an exuberant Psalm, it stirs the soul to sing and praise God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come into His presence with singing. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. It is also that Psalm of encouraged to all the bad singers in the world, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord.” It has four stanzas but two parts, that form an AB AB pattern, 1 and 3 go together and 2 and 4, back and forth. Praise God, know God, praise God, know God. The two are inseparable. You can’t praise what you don’t know, and to know God truly leads to praise. You could call it doxology and theology. Great doxology always flows from great doctrine. God has revealed Himself to us in such a way that He may be known with our heads and praised from our hearts. Our singing is grounded in the knowing. Satan knows God, but Satan doesn’t sing. If our knowledge of God doesn’t lead to worship, it is worthless. And if our singing is without knowledge it is just noise, it doesn’t glorify God.

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