Psalm 100:4 tells us to: Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
 
Robert Morgan in his book, One Hundred Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, underscores the importance of this verse. I think it is a good one to meditate on before partaking of the Lord’s Table this Sunday. Here is Morgan’s account.

Psalm 100 is one of the shortest and most exuberant passages in the Bible. It takes about 30 seconds to read; and if you will read it aloud every morning for a month, you will automatically have all five verses memorized for the rest of your life. There are no negatives in this passage, no sorrows, warnings, or problems. It’s just shouting and singing and knowing and being thankful.
 
Notice the imagery of verse 4. The Psalmist is writing against the backdrop of the Temple worship of the Old Testament. He is telling the people of his day to come to Jerusalem, to the Temple. Enter His gates with a thankful spirit and come into the Temple courts with praise.
 
Most of us don’t live in Jerusalem, and the Jewish Temple is no longer standing; but we can do exactly as the writer says whenever we pray, whenever we praise God in private, and whenever we attend corporate worship services at Church or elsewhere.
 
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
 
One Sunday night in 1742, evangelist John Wesley ventured into a downtrodden section of Newcastle-on-Tyne, in the north of England. He was appalled at the physical and moral squalor. Joined by an associate, Wesley stood on the corner and sang the 100th Psalm. Before long a crowd gathered, and John began preaching. Soon more than a thousand people were listening; and it was the beginning of a great work, which made Newcastle a powerhouse for Methodism in the English north.
 

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forthtell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.
 
O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
 
For why? The Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
~William Kethe, 1561

 
Morgan’s account end there. We have much to be grateful for and much to praise our God for, including the privilege we have of being in a country where our vote still counts. As we approach the Lord’s Table this coming Sunday, let’s come with hearts focused on all the things that we need to be most grateful for, starting with the greatest gift of all ... our eternal life in Christ. No one “voted” on your salvation but the members of the Godhead. Soli Deo Gloria!
 
Love, 
 
John & Terri
Ps. 100:4