"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" (Psalm 100:3).

The Book of Psalms has long been called "The Book of the Praises of Israel," and it is indeed filled with many wonderful testimonies of praise. Very few of the 150 psalms, however, are exclusively psalms of praise.

Our text for today is the central verse of Psalm 100, which is the only psalm with the specific title, "A Psalm of praise," and tells us why we should make a joyful noise unto the Lord; why we should serve Him with gladness and come singing into His presence (Psalm 100:1-2). It is because Jehovah is Elohim. The Eternal, Self-Existing One has become the Creator, and He has made us! We are commanded to know this, for there have been many who believe that man--not God--is the measure of all things. Some have even imagined that man, by controlling his own evolution, is somehow "making himself."

Such "profane and vain babblings," however, is nothing but "science falsely so called" (I Timothy 6:20). We are His people; the sheep of His pasture. The five verses of Psalm 100 contain no less than eight personal nouns and pronouns speaking directly of God ("He," "Lord," etc.), as well as eight possessive pronouns also referring to Him ("His presence," "His mercy," "His truth," etc.). Praise belongs only to Him!

We have not made ourselves, and we can never save ourselves. Nevertheless, His mercy is everlasting (v. 5), and He is our good shepherd. We therefore should "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" (v. 4).

There are many uncertain sounds all around us, but this we should learn once and for all: God does exist, and He made us, and "His truth endureth to all generations" (Psalm 100:5)! HMM