20201025 The Millennium
Psalm 100
A Psalm of praise.
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he thathath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him,and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truthendureth to all generations.
A Psalm of praise.
A song that is sung to give praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for all his marvellous works. This title finds itself unique in the scriptures. It is identified generally as a Psalm of Praise, it does not belong to David and ‘David’s Psalm of Praise’ (Ps 145), nor to any other prophet, it is GENERAL.
We will see as we take our journey through this Psalm that it is a Psalm so broad in scope as to be that which summons the entire world, the sheep of his pasture, to Praise the Lord.
But I wonder if those are the sheep of his pasture Praise him now? The world will praise him for his marvellous salvation at the end of this world, but do those who love him now praise him now? Do those who are eternally saved and sit now secure in Christ, free both of eternal guilt and temporal tribulation, praise him now? Particularly as we see the day approaching?
Knowing that this, of all Psalms, finds itself in the culmination of the Apocalyptic Psalms, tells us that the end is the most glorious and restful of all ends for this world. This is where the Lord has triumphed over the wicked of the world, to begin his earthly rule and reign as his Son is set upon his throne in Jerusalem. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion, Says the Lord in Psalm 2:6
The songs that will be sung are greater than the songs sung when Israel crossed the Red sea, and the deliverance of the world will be greater than that. The millennium is the most anticipated event, other than the coming Messiah, in the Old Testament. And to this the people of the world are called through this Psalm of Praise
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Its only when the true and proper context of this Psalm comes into view that the nature of it can be properly interpreted.
I found as I was considering of a number of commentators through the centuries that the Psalm poses a level of confusion among them. Some claim that is speaks of the Church in this age but finds difficulty with the phrase in verse 3, “we are his people and the sheep of his pasture”; located in the Old Testament, this is particularly Jewish in nature.
Some claim that the call to the nations identified in the first verse, needs to be re-translated to “Shout aloud to the Lord, all ye inhabitants of the land”[1], in order to reconcile itself to the rest of the Psalm. “Seeing” the commentator says, “in the rest of the Psalm Israel is specifically addressed, and the inhabitants of the earth are totally ignored, we feel compelled to follow [this alternative translation]”.
You see, he identifies that “make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands” speaks of all the nations of the earth, but cannot understand why it is placed in the same context of ‘all these lands’ being a part of the sheep of his pasture. So it must be Israel, “all the inhabitants of the land”.
But at the entry of the millennium this is EXACTLY what we should expect to see!!!
The entry of the millennium begins with believers ONLY. The second coming of Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, has destroyed the wicked of the earth.
Turn to Rev 19:11
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Rev 19:11-16)
The end of the tribulation period identifies the Lord coming both in judgment and a rescue mission to save a believing remnant. The Lord cut the days short that some may be saved.
Recall that Jesus said in Matthew 24:22, speaking of this very tribulation period, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened”. These are those “Elect” who will enter into the Millennial kingdom with him as their King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
These are the elect from every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (Rev 14:6)
These, I am convinced, are those who are charged to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” and it is only in the context of the entry to the Millennial Kingdom that this text can be perfectly reconciled.
Do you make a joyful noise unto the Lord NOW? Do you see his wonderful work being done within your life NOW? Do you praise him for saving you from the wages of you sin?
We give thanks when we break bread together, we praise him before we eat at times, but is this the only time you give him thanks, or is your life a picture of worship to God?
Is the Gospel that joyful noise unto the Lord that you share with others? Do you speak of his wonderful works and the transformation HE and HE alone has achieved in you?
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
The world has concluded the most horrific time in its existence serving men. Historically however, that was mans desire. From the beginning we see man wanting to have men rule over him rather than God.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:7-9)
Israel personifies the nature of man who naturally rejects God, they don’t KNOW him, and they reject service to him.
And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. (Exodus 5:2)
We did the same respecting Gods laws. Ten, and only ten are the commandments of the Lord. In every English-speaking nation around the world, it is the Westminster System of laws that we originally employed that oversees our LEGAL systems. Employments such as;
- Innocent until proven Guilty
- The nature and number of witnesses
- Trial by Jury, or peers.
- Habeas Corpus, or the right of appeal against unlawful detention.
Etc, are founded upon Biblical principles, particularly the ten commandments. It’s the reason monuments of the Ten Commandments were seen regularly outside Courts in the United States.
Understand that prior to this system, the English legal system employed what is expressed as Trial by Ordeal.
Under this system, the accused would be forced to pick up a red hot bar of iron, pluck a stone out of a cauldron of boiling water, or something equally painful and dangerous. If their hand had begun to heal after three days they were considered to have God on their side, thus proving their innocence.[2]
Today we continue to fight for our civil liberties, every day they are battered against. Laws attempting to reverse the burden of proof have now appeared several time, “Guilty until Proven innocent”. In rejecting God and his laws, we are returning to the days of the Catholic Inquisition, where not even our accusers will be required to appear before us.
“It has been reported to us that you offended someone”
“Who?”
“It is not who, but whether or not it is true, can you prove you have not offended someone?”
You may laugh, but THIS DID HAPPEN HISTORICALLY in the dark ages of Roman Catholic rule when millions where tortured and killed during the 400 years of the Counter Reformation.
14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. (Job 21:14)
Now that man has rejected the knowledge of Gods ways, and man had long turned from serving God to willingly serving the tenants of men, man becomes his own slave.
When we exchange our Unalienable Rights, for privileges, then we exchange that which is God given for that which man permits. When mankind rejects the knowledge of the infinite, unchangeable God, as he has already done, then it is a matter of time before man is bound by the tyranny of temporal, capricious men.
Men who, like a drunken father, you have no idea what mood will govern their temper, and will employ whatever their psychotic whim allows; turns its people into tormented, troubled and fearful slaves. And we see this in every nation who’s people have, in practice, denied God and his word.
This is what man chooses to serve when he rejects serving the Lord. He will be ‘enslaved to man with sadness’ rather than “Serve the LORD with gladness”. Man will come before the presence of man with pleadings, rather than before presence of God’s with singing.
As a Psalm of Praise, there is no doubt in my mind, when we consider the timing and the context of the Psalm, that all lands with joyfully “Serve the LORD with gladness, and come before his presence with singing”.
But do you do so now?
Do you trust him and him alone?
Do you read his word and believe it?
Are you the subject of God or the product of man?
Will you serve the Lord or be enslaved to man?
How are you dealing with the current trials?
Are you awaiting on bated breath every ordinance man permits when the announcements come through on a Sunday to enslave or free you? Or are you resting in the Lord, come what may?
The Bible likens the last days before his return as Birth Pangs. A woman’s contractions occur over time, and over time they increase in both frequency and intensity before she is to be delivered. This will not be the last shock we endure beloved, how are those who love the Lord dealing with it?
Resting in Christ, or looking to man for your peace and comfort?
One will bring you joy and hope and it will be evident, the other will cause you sorrow and frustration until it brings fear.
“Serve the LORD with gladness, and come before his presence with singing”
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.
It’s of interest to me that all through this Psalm, the word LORD is spelt consistently with capitals L.O.R.D.
In Hebrew it is known as the Tetragrammaton, a long and mysterious word that simply refers to the four letters of the Hebrew Alephbet that represents the unpronounceable name of God. In the fear of the Lord, the Jews long ago employed only these four letters, to ever avoid the risk of mispronouncing the name of God.
We have that very thing represented in our Bible’s in the capitalized spelling of the word LORD. And we are right to have it represented in this way, and not to presumably know better than the original Orthographers respecting the spelling and pronunciation of the unpronounceable name of God.
Beloved, it is Jesus Christ who takes this throne.
“Know ye that the LORD he is God:”
Turn back with me to Psalm 99:1
1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. 2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. 3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. 4 The king’s strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool;for he is holy.
This is Christ! This is the LORD!
Today, we serve a risen Saviour. Tomorrow we will serve The KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh and it will be GOD who sits between the cherubim’s, and indeed “let the earth be moved”
“Know ye that the LORD he is God:”
He is the great “I am”
He is the “Alpha and the Omega”
Jesus Christ, the Son, is set upon the holy hill of Zion, seated between the Cherebims on the throne of God and all the world will know him and serve him and rejoice in him, they will be filled with gladness at his coming, they will sing songs of praise to him in his reign.
Blessed indeed be our God and bless the Son of God who gave his life for our sins!!!!
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.
He is the creator and our focus is upon him, “he hath made us and not we ourselves”, I think of the term “self-made men” when this passage comes to mind. It’s interesting that men worship their creator, and it evident that “Self-made” men also worship…their creator…!
We have not made ourselves; we have not ascended through our strength from the primordial swamp to be the highest evolutionary expression of nature. It will be at this time that all men will know this is true and rejoice.
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.
When we considered the Shepherds Psalm (Ps 23) not so long ago, we had seen what comfort the sheep of the shepherds flock have when they are near to their “Pastor”. The Lord is the everlasting Pastor, he is in fact the of all Pastors, the shepherds Shepherd, and all sheep flock to him.
They hear his voice and they follow him. Let’s consider it first-hand shall we? Turn there with me, John 10:14, and lets see if there is a link to this Psalm in this context!
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Well I don’t know about you, but I see and incredible link back to Psalm 100. The entry of the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, has him shepherding ONE FOLD as ONE SHEPHERD.
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Are you one of his sheep? If not, why not?
There is NO DOUBT you are as sheep, what shepherd are you following?
Friends, there is NO DOUBT you are being led…is it by the good shepherd that will make you lay down before the still waters, or is it the prince of this world who is a liar and murderer from the beginning?
The entire world is being led, who are you following?
The answer to that question is probably one of the most vital questions you will ever answer.
To those who see themselves as the sheep of the Good Shepherd, who are you practically following?
Only one will have the rod and staff that comforts you!
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
I think of our dear sister Dorothy when I read this Verse. How often she quotes it when we bow our heads and hearts in prayer. But how wonderful it will be to physically ‘enter into his gates with thanksgiving’ as we do so now spiritually! How wonderful it will be to enter …into his courts with praise.
You see the use of those words synonymous one with the other. There are many who have argued the title of this Psalm to be “a Psalm of Thanksgiving”, why? Because the Hebrew word employed for Thanksgiving (to.dah) is used rather than that of praise (t hil.lah).
But the difference between them are nothing more than accent marks of expression, yet they are the same words. It’s in the hearing rather than the reading that the words differ, and yet the Lord has clearly employed them as synonymous one with the other.
How wonderful it will be in that day that we enter into his gates and we see the Lord sitting on his throne.
What joy will there be when evil is bound a thousand years, and the world enjoying the Lord. This is the time that is promised to Israel. This is a period of one thousand years that all the promises for Israel in the Old Testament will be fulfilled.
And this is the time the sheep of his pasture enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
Turn with me to Acts 1:6-8
Jesus is risen and appears to his disciples;
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The disciples of Christ understood that messiah would come, and in their hearts they awaited the King who would rule and reign forever. They recalled Daniel’s ancient and great prophecy that spoke of the Kingdoms that would rule and they saw before their very eyes the rule of Rome as that terrible empire of Iron.
To them most of what Daniel wrote as Prophecy, they had already seen as history.
They remember the rule of Babylon, they witnessed its fall to the Medo-Persian empire;
They saw the conquest of the Greeks with their great king, Alexander. They had known of his kingdom being cut off and given to the four winds, and they lived under the rule of the King of the North, the Selucid empire, the third of four generals of Alexander the Great.
And beloved the nation of Israel had witnessed how all four of these kingdoms came to be overthrown and all absorbed into the Roman Empire, the empire of Iron Daniel wrote of, which ruled and reigned in all Judaea and Samaria, at the same time in history when Jesus Christ walked the shores of Galilee and climbed the mountains of Judea.
Daniel gave the timeline, so the expectation was present to those who were watching and waiting. They read the scriptures like we do, not the priests and the ruling class, the common people like you and I.
They recall Jacob saying to his sons, and speaking to them of the latter days and when he spoke of Shiloh, that is, Messiah, and told them that a time will come when the rule of Judah will be taken away, but NOT until Christ comes.
Turn with me there that you might see it for yourself.
Genesis 49:10
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Well Shiloh had come, and the people gathered to him, and the Sceptre had certainly departed from Judah as Rome ruled them all… So just as naturally as all this came to pass, so too it was that Jesus should have been asked by his disciples;
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
To the disciples who read their scriptures, this fit perfectly, But the time that is promised to Israel however was not yet, why? Because their corporate rejection of their messiah made a way for the gentiles of the world to receive that eternal life promised originally for Israel.
You and I are given opportunity and hope because of Israel’s original rejection of Christ, and the promises to Israel would wait.
Romans 11:11
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
But this was always to be temporary
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Blindness was removed and now, represented in this Psalm, they physically enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise
,be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Romans 11:33, and related to the very events we are here speaking of, Paul writes;
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Who would have thought or known that God would use Israel’s rejection of their own messiah to reach the Gospel of Christ to all the far flung places of the world? Who? Who would have thought that it would reach me? Who would have thought it reach you?
No man would have known this! When the Church had begun at Pentecost, there is no mention of gentiles saved but only those Jews that were filled with the Holy Ghost, and even all them who heard the works of God in their own tongue;
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
No indication these, who were in Jerusalem, were ordinary gentiles on the contrary, they were there from all these nations to celebrate Pentecost. It was not until Acts 10 that it was revealed to Peter that the Gospel was also for the gentiles, it was only then that Peter did “perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.[3]
Nor was it the devil and his angels, they certainly had no idea that the death of Christ would effect the salvation of the world. Paul the Apostle confirms this, writing;
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Cor 2:7-8)
Whether those “Princes” related only to the rulers and govenors of the people, or to include the realm that governs them also, the Lord knows. Nevertheless the Gods ways are unsearchable and he is thankworthy for all he has done.
Will you enter into his Gates with thanksgiving? Will you be there when they open?
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endurethto all generations.
God is good, and the perfect physical representation of his Goodness is Jesus Christ. We know he came, we know he died, we know he rose from the dead. These things we know historically and they cannot be historically or logically denied.
He came to seek and to save that which is lost.
He died that you might live
He rose that you might have eternal life.
Do you know The King?
My King
He is the King of the Jews
He is the King of Israel
But He’s also
King of all the Ages;
King of Heaven;
King of Glory;
King of Kings;
…and Lord of Lords.
He is
a prophet before Moses;
a priest after Melchizedek;
a champion like Joshua;
an offering in place of Isaac;
a king from the line of David;
a counselor above Solomon;
beloved, rejected, and exalted
like Joseph;
and yet far more…
The Heavens declare His glory…
and the firmament shows
His handiwork.
He who is, who was, and who always will be;
The first and the last
He is the Alpha and Omega
the Aleph and the Tau
the A and the Z;
He is the ego eimi,
the
the “I AM that I AM”
The voice of the burning bush
the Captain of the Lord’s Host
the conqueror of Jericho
He is our Kinsman-Redeemer
and He is our Avenger of Blood;
and our City of Refuge;
He was crucified on a cross of wood;
Yet He made the hill
on which it stood.
By Him were all things made
that were made;
without Him was not anything made
that was made;
By Him are all things consist!
In Him dwells
the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
The very God of very God.
He became
the first fruits of them that slept.
He is our Performing High Priest;
Our Personal Prophet;
Our Reigning King.
He is enduringly strong;
entirely sincere;
eternally steadfast;
He is imperially powerful;
immortally graceful;
impartially merciful;
He stands alone in Himself:
He’s unique,
pre-eminent,
supreme,
unparalleled:
He’s the Loftiest idea
& in Literature;
He’s the highest Personality
in Philosophy;
He’s the Fundamental Doctrine
of Theology;
He’s the Supreme Problem
in “higher criticism”!
He’s the Son of God!
There is no means of measuring
his limitless love:
It was written in blood,
on that wooden cross
erected in Judea
2,000 years ago.
He was born of a woman
so that we could be born of God;
He humbled Himself
so that we could be lifted up;
He became a servant
so that we could be made joint-heirs;
He suffered rejection
so that we could become His friends;
He denied Himself
so that we could freely receive all things;
He gave Himself
so that He could bless us in every way.
He
is Available to the tempted and the tried;
Blesses the young;
Cleanses the lepers;
Defends the feeble;
Delivers the captives;
Discharges the debtors;
Forgives the sinners;
Franchises the meek;
Guards the besieged;
Heals the sick;
Provides strength to the weak;
Regards the aged;
Rewards the diligent;
Serves the unfortunate;
He Sympathizes and He saves!
His Offices are many;
His Reign is righteous;
His Promises are certain;
His Goodness is limitless;
His Light is matchless;
His Love never changes;
His Grace is sufficient;
His Mercy is everlasting;
His Word is enough;
His Yoke is easy and
His Burden is light!
I wish I could describe him to you!
He’s indescribable;
He’s incomprehensible;
He’s irresistable;
He’s invinceable!
The Heaven of heavens
cannot contain Him;
Man cannot explain Him
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him
but soon learned
that they couldn’t stop Him;
The witnesses couldn’t agree against Him
and the representative
of the ruler of the world,
couldn’t find any fault with Him;
Herod couldn’t kill Him
death couldn’t handle Him
the grave couldn’t hold Him!
He has always been and always will be;
He had no predecessor and
will have no successor;
You can’t impeach Him and
he isn’t going to resign!
His name is above every name;
That at the name of Jesus
Every knee shall bow
Every tongue shall confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord!
His is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory…
for ever, and ever.
Hallelujah! … Amen!
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endurethto all generations.
A Psalm of Praise
[1] H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1959), 698.
[2] https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/history-of-the-judiciary/
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version., electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., (Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), Ac 10:34–35.
0 Comments