Sometime around 2003, this psalm became one of my favorites. I was music director in our church for about three years, and I liked to begin each service by reading a psalm that gave a positive beginning. I used this psalm quite often because it is so full of joy about worshipping God.
“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy.” What would happen in our churches today if the service directed our attention to worship God with joy? Enthusiasm is contagious and focusing our minds and hearts on worshipping God in an enthusiastic way can enliven people to the joy God wants us to have. It makes Him glad when we approach Him with joy.
“Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” (Verse 3). God wants us to know that He made us. Yes human egg and sperm were involved, but it was God who brought them together. In Jeremiah 1:4-5, he recounts how God came to him in a vision with this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as My prophet to the nations.” God has been involved in our lives since conception. God has created each of us for a purpose, but most of us go through life not realizing this. What was God’s purpose in creating you? Have you thought about that? Paul tells in in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
Sometimes someone will call another person “a sheep”. That is an insult people use to belittle someone they want to pressure into thinking a certain way or doing something they don’t want to do. But that is not the picture here. In Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus talked about a man who had 100 sheep. Ninety-nine were safe grazing on a hillside, but one had wandered off. The man went looking for the lost sheep, found it, and was thrilled returning it to his herd. That is how Jesus described our relationship with God. Sometimes we will get distracted by events in life and wander away from our fellowship with God and His purpose for us. But like the shepherd, God is always trying to get us back where we belong in fellowship with Him.