True Praise & Worship: Psalm 100 Pt. 3

Good morning to each of you!

I hope your weekend was enjoyable and that you were able to attend service with your church family. The Lord granted us a wonderful Sunday together as our Pastor is preaching through the gospel of John in the morning and the book of Philippians in the afternoon.

Today, we continue moving forward in this brief Psalm that shows us the beauty of worshipping our wonderful God. We will look at verse 3.


HIS SHEEP SHOULD KNOW HIM WELL....

Psalm 100:3  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

This verse begins with another unique phrase: "Know ye that the LORD he is God" . 

Verse 3 contains a really strong encouragement to know our God. Regular readers of this blog know that this is a theme that I try to point out whenever it is in the text we are discussing. 

Some people only have a "head knowledge" of God. 

That is to say, they know things about Him. They can cite some of the facts of the Bible. Perhaps they can even accurately tell you the narrative with its pertinent details, facts and figures. However, that is not the same as "knowing" God. 

The word translated "know" means that we must know our God relationally and experientially. 

We must know Jehovah intimately. We need to have a living, dynamic relationship with Him. We already know what a relationship is. Each one of us was born into a family and have a father and a mother. We are related to them by birth and by blood.  We may have siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins within our family of relationships. 

How can a man be related to God? Jesus said "Ye must be born again." 

A brand new relationship with God as our Father is possible only when a man or woman or young person is born again. The new birth makes us rightly related to God by birth. The new birth is accomplished by Jesus Christ on His cross and paid for with His blood. Thus, the new birth establishes a right relationship with God by birth and by blood!

Knowing God is very much like the family or marriage relationships that we are all familiar with. A newly wedded husband and wife do not really know much about each other but as time passes, they will know much more about themselves and their spouse (Hopefully, all good:) 

They will lean upon each other in good times and in tough times. They will cherish each other and thank God for the blessing of marriage.

Bible words that teach us about knowing God relationally include places where we call God our Father. He calls us His sons & daughters. He calls us His children and the sheep of His pasture. Each of these terms describe relationships between saved people and God. 

We are called to know God as He reveals Himself in His word. We are not called to develop a static knowledge of God. It is a living, growing dynamic relationship that He is calling us to. 

Knowing God experientially has to do with submitting to Him,  trusting Him and obeying His word.

Knowing God experientially means we accumulate experiences in life where we are walking by faith with Him, and we learn about what He is doing, has done and has promised to do for us. We develop a journey of shared experiences with God!

Knowing God experientially means that we are called to obey Him, to walk with Him, to worship Him, to serve Him and to lean upon Him in dependency. As we walk through this life leaning upon our Lord, we will find that He is faithful and will never leave us or forsake us. 

Jehovah will carry us through all of life's situations, difficulties and trials. You mean when I lose my job? Yes. You mean when my doctor says I have cancer? Yes. You mean when I am experiencing severe problems within my family? Yes. He is good all the time and in all circumstances!

Bible terms that teach us about knowing God experientially include being led by the Spirit; praying in the Spirit; walking in the Spirit; being conformed into HIs image; being holy as He is holy, and many more. 

Psalm 100: 3 brings up the Divine Name Elohim.

We must know that Jehovah is also Elohim. Elohim is the divine name that teaches us God is Creator, Sustainer, King and Judge.

Elohim is used 31 times in Genesis 1 and connects Genesis 1 with this Psalm. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” 

Notice the beautiful simplicity of the words “it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” God created and He made us. That fact alone negates any consideration of evolution as a proper framework for viewing the origin of man. God created man and all other living things, in addition to creating the universe. 

We must be born again to become one of the sheep in Jehovah's pasture.  

In this section of John's gospel, Jesus tells us that His sheep, the sheep who are in the pasture of Jehovah, have several common traits that identify them as the sheep of His pasture. 

The sheep of Jehovah's pasture hear His voice and know His voice.

First, they hear His voice and know His voice. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God" This illustrates knowing the Lord relationally. 

The sheep of Jehovah's pasture follow the Shepherd's leading. 

Second, Jesus calls His sheep by name and they follow Him. The sheep of Jehovah's pasture will not listen to other voices that might seek to lead them astray. This illustrates knowing the Lord experientially. 

The sheep of Jehovah's pasture enjoy the blessings of His care.

Third, we will see and experience the tender care of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He will lead us and that will show up in the choices that we make to honor Him with our obedience. He puts us out into His safe, green pastures and He goes before us to make sure the way is secure. 

John 10:1-5 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 

But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Notice the words of Christ from John's gospel where the Lord is teaching about Christ being the good shepherd. Jesus knows His sheep and His sheep know Him.

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

The word “know” means learn to know or come to know, to understand and to become acquainted with. It means to know someone by personal experience. How wonderful to think that we can be “his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The word “abide” is a word that means to remain or stay attached. It means remaining in constant close communion and fellowship. It is very much like the word "know" that we have discussed. 

John 14:6-7  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

The word “know" and "known” in this passage is from a Greek word that means receiving by experience and observation, a full or complete understanding of one person distinct from another person. The disciples of Jesus had been exposed to the work and person of Jesus Christ for nearly three years. They “knew” Christ in detailed ways that other followers did not know Him. 

We too, can be thoroughly exposed to the word and person of Jesus Christ our shepherd as we read, study and meditate upon His word. We will see the beauty of His holiness. We will bask in the tender mercies of His loving care as we experience going through this life leaning upon Christ the Lord. 

Points to Ponder......

• Do I "know" Jesus Christ in the full sense of this word?

• Have I been born again into a right relationship with God?

• Am I accumulating the blessings of experiencing life as I follow, obey and lean upon my Great Shepherd?

This Psalm teaches us that God has done everything possible and needed to allow each man, woman and child to enter into a life long relationship with Him. Will you enter in? Remember, Jesus said "ye must be born again." 

Bob