Psalms

Psalms 100: Thank the good and faithful Shepherd

Begin in prayer

Before we hear this song of thanksgiving, let us remember the Lord who made His people and shepherds them in goodness. Ask our good Shepherd for hearts that trust Jesus and serve Him with the gladness His enduring kindness deserves.

You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.

Ezekiel 34:31

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that the Lord is good and gives His people faithful shepherding care through every generation. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

This thanksgiving song calls every land to shout for joy before the Lord. Glad service and singing bring the worshippers into His presence. They must know that He is God, the One who made them and to whom they belong. They are His people and the sheep of His pasture, dependent on His care. Thanksgiving fills the way through His gates and praise accompanies their entrance into His courts. The Lord's goodness gives their worship its reason, with loving kindness that lasts forever and faithfulness reaching every generation.

As you read Psalms 100, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The good LORD made His people and shepherds them with loving kindness and faithfulness that endure through every generation.

A thanksgiving song gathers all lands before the Lord, calling them to joyful service in His presence. Glad service joins the worshippers' work to their singing, placing both before the God whose presence they enter. Knowing that He is God gives their joy a true object and grounds it in what He has done. The confession that He made them acknowledges His rightful claim, while the flock's pasture pictures the care His people receive. Gates and courts locate their thanks in gathered worship, where they bless the name of the God to whom they belong. His goodness and enduring loving kindness make that entrance an occasion for praise. Generations change beneath the same faithfulness, giving parents and children one dependable Lord to thank and trust.

How does Psalm 100 show us that the good LORD made His people and shepherds them with loving kindness and faithfulness that endure through every generation?

God's people belong to the Maker who shepherds them.

Knowing the Lord begins with recognising that He is God. He made His people, and the pasture pictures their dependence on His care. Their glad service answers the claim and kindness of the Shepherd to whom they belong.

God's lasting goodness gives every generation reason for thanksgiving.

The worshippers enter His gates and courts with thanks and praise. Their gladness rests on the Lord's goodness and loving kindness. His faithfulness reaches beyond one generation, giving those who follow reason to bless the same name.

Memorise

For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:5

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what kindness of Jesus am I receiving without giving thanks?

The song confesses, “His loving kindness endures forever”. Those who belong to the Lord are the sheep of His pasture. The Maker calls them into His presence with the glad thanks that His goodness deserves.

We have sinned against that good God and withheld the worship He is owed. Jesus died for His sheep, bearing the punishment their ingratitude and rebellion deserved. He rose from the grave. His saving obedience and sacrifice are enough for their forgiveness and acceptance, opening the way into God's presence.

Turn from thanklessness and trust the Lord Jesus for forgiveness. Everyone who comes to Him receives forgiveness. Ask Him to make your service glad and your thanks specific, remembering the care you receive each day. The faithful Shepherd's goodness will outlast His people's generation, giving believers reason to bless His name today.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the Lord is good and gives His people faithful shepherding care through every generation. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His lasting goodness and ask for glad service and grateful hearts. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.

John 1:16

Good and faithful Lord, please forgive our thankless hearts and bring us to Jesus for pardon. Thank You for the way His finished work brings His people into Your presence. Teach us to serve with gladness and remember Your daily kindness. Draw our children to the Shepherd, and make each generation in our home bless Your enduring faithfulness. Amen.