Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Worship
Worship is at once the duty of all duties, the service of all services, the joy of all joys.
I. It is founded on knowledge (verse 3).
1. A knowledge of what God is in Himself--the absolutely good.
2. A knowledge of what God is in His relations.
(1) Our Maker.
(2) Our Owner.
(3) Our Preserver.
II. It is developed in service. This should be--
1. Gladsome (verse 2).
2. Thankful (verse 4).
3. Demonstrative.
“With praise.” True worship does not skulk into solitude, shun the gaze of society, ashamed to show itself. It craves for an opportunity of public manifestation. The spirit of true worship breaks through obscurity as the living seed breaks through the soil to unfold itself in foliage, branches, and blossoms to the eye of all. It is a life, and all life seeks to come out into the sun. (Homilist.)
The Old Hundredth
I. The elements of true worship.
1. Service (verse 2). Everything connected with it--
(1) Real.
(2) Happy.
2. Praiseful (verse 1).
(1) Fervour.
(2) Cheerfulness.
3. Intelligent (verse 3).
4. Grateful (verse 4).
II. Motives (verse 5).
1. Essential goodness.
2. Eternal mercy.
3. Immutable faithfulness. Such a trinity of qualities in unlimited perfection sets before us a Being infinitely beautiful, infinitely lovable, infinitely worthy of our service and trust. (J. O. Keen, D.D.)
Religious gratitude
Gratitude, in the view of Dr. James Martineau, is a variety of generosity. It recognizes more than a mere fulfilment of duty. It is one of those warm human impulses that are not reduced to a science, without which we might be saved from a few mistakes, but at the expense of much that enriches life. Getting behind the psalm to the condition of mind which could produce it, we find that it could only come from one familiar with good things--from one who so thought upon God’s character that his theology became translated into the poetry of song. Many do not admit the grounds of the psalmist’s theology; hence the two common objections--
1. God did not make us to be happy. This objection is met by showing that the greatest fact of life is its possibilities of happiness. Especially is this true in an age of such marvellous scientific progress as the present, every step in which progress opens the way to a vast increase in the possibilities of happiness for the masses of mankind.
2. God ought to be able to keep us good. This objection is met by showing that in making moral, human beings good, God can only act within His character. The goodness of a man is not the goodness of a tree or of a sheep; were it forced upon him and made compulsory, it would not be moral. (W. H. Harwood.)