The Need For Praise – Psalm 100

1. What to…

“As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.” (1 Samuel 4:5–7)

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40)

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,” (Hosea 4:6)

“Since you are tempted without ceasing, pray without ceasing.” (Charles Spurgeon)

2. Where to…

“Of all the idols, man finds himself the hardest to abandon!”

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them…I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:11–12, 14-16)

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

3. Now to…

“Weekly, normative, ordinary means of grace gathered worship is one of the more extraordinary things in the world.” (Burk Parsons)

“Being blessed is passive, not active. You can sit like a bump on a log and receive a blessing, but make no response. The whole world is blessed with common grace – sunrises, rain, refreshment, and countless other benefits. But the whole world doesn’t respond with thankfulness. Thanking is active. It responds. It issues forth behaviors. In fact, it can’t be stopped from doing so.” (Sam Crabtree – Practicing Thankfulness)