Of all the Psalm, with the exception of Psalm 23, Psalm 100 is one of the most-familiar and beloved psalms.
The NIV subtitles it as:  A psalm. For giving grateful praise.  This particular text concludes a collection of psalms that speak of the greatness of God, who is King, the Ruler of All (Psalm 93 - 100).  

Psalm 93 begins with the words:  The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.  Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity (93:1-2).  Both Psalm 97 and 99 begin with the words, The Lord reigns. He is identified as Judge of the earth, in Psalm 94:2. and the great King above all gods, in Psalm 95:3.  In Psalm 97:9 we read, you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. 

Along with this focus on the kingship of God, there is a call to His people and the nations to worship Him.  Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Psalm 95:1-2).  Sing to the Lord, praise his name...Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name (Psalm 95:1-3,8).  Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music...shout for joy before the Lord, the King (Psalm 98:4, 6).

There is a call, for we who are His people, to praise our Creator and Shepherd.  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (Psalm 95:6-7).  Psalm 100 invites all peoples to join in giving praise, Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth (Psalm 100:1).  This psalm looks ahead to the day when all people, all nations will come together under God's rule and will join together in praising Him.

In worship, we approach the One who is our God and King.  We are called to engage in joy-filled worship, to come before Him with gratitude, to serve our King, and proclaim His greatness to the world around us.  Worship has always been at the core of who we are at Valley.  May it we continue to be a community of faith  who, Worship the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2); a people who serve our Shepherd and King!

Each year on my Summer Break I 'purge' my personal library, mostly because of limited space.  It is never an easy task to eliminate any book, but over the years it has been a good discipline that forces me to ask, 'do I really need to keep this one'?  I have reduced my inventory to roughly 300 books, which I would conservatively estimate are valued at $10,000.  Two-thirds of these books are reference resources, commentaries, word studies, theological writings and a collection of old hymnals. The remaining books are shelved alphabetically by author, many of them considered 'classics'.

While there is one bookcase of reference material that I have kept over the years, there are a few of those books I consider 'must haves':  The Bible Knowledge Commentary, a two-volume set, Vines Complete Expository Dictionary, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, George Ladd's A Theology of the New Testament, and  A.T. Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels and my 'go to' book, Rienecker's Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament.

Of all the books on my shelf, there is one the is prized above all the others that is simply titled The Psalms. It was published over 160 years ago, the author is unknown, identified only as G.V.W.  It is a rendering of the Psalms written in old King James language and using the Hebrew names of God, such as Elohim and Jehovah.

The Psalms begins with the words, Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of Jehovah (LORD -- the covenant name for God), and ends with, Let everything that hath breath praise Jah (the Lord).  In the psalms, God reveals Himself to us.  We read about His great mercy and His faithfulness; Thy mercy, O Jehovah is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds (Psalm 36:5).  As readers we are drawn to the One who is our Helper; Elohim is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

His divine attributes are revealed to us throughout the Psalms.  He is the Almighty (Psalm 59:5), the One who created all things (Psalm 148:5), the God who watches over us (Psalm 121:8), and the One who guides us (Psalm 25:5).  He is holy (Psalm 99:3), righteous and just (Psalm 89:14), compassionate, gracious (Psalm 86:15)  and loving (Psalm 144:2).  He is our source of joy (Psalm 1:11) and hope (Psalm 62:5).

The psalms speak to our humanity and the relationship we have with the Divine; they invite us to worship and praise our God, in every circumstance.  I will bless Jehovah at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth (Psalm 34:1).  We are exhorted to, taste and see that Jehovah is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him (Psalm 34:8).  How often do we find ourselves turning the psalms to find comfort, praying as the Psalmist did,  May your unfailing love be my comfort (Psalm 119:76)?  How many of us have turned to David's 23rd Psalm for reassurance, to be reminded, The Lord is my shepherd...Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (23:1,6)?

As I take some time to rest, refresh and renew, I will be withdrawing to my place of refuge, our back deck, to spend some time with my Lord, to meet Him once again in the pages of the Psalms.  May you too, find encouragement, hope and joy as you meditate on the Psalms.