Joyful Noise

Psalm 100

There was a period of time through the “season of Covid” when the church I attend was on-line only. Then we began to meet in our parking lot with the message broadcast through the radio. What an amazing time when we finally reentered the sanctuary! We did wear masks for awhile, and we sat in every other pew. Through much of this time we did not sing as some reports said that droplets could spread more easily that way. I am such a music lover, so I was overjoyed when once again our service returned to what we had always done. The only trouble was, since I had not used my singing voice for about a year, it had changed. And not for the better! I could not hit many of the notes that used to seem so easy. All I could do was make a joyful noise.

That is what is delightful to me about this psalm. We are encouraged to make a joyful noise. Perhaps God knows that many of us do not possess the gift of music. Or perhaps praise and glory do not have to be sung on perfect pitch. God rejoices no matter what our praise and gratitude sound like.

Perhaps the stanza that really touches my heart in this psalm is verse 3:

“Know that the Lord is God.

It is he that has made us, and we are his,

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.”

There is that wonderful image of knowing our Lord as a Good Shepherd again. In a recent sermon I heard the pastor say that often many shepherds would get together so they could be helpful to each other on cold winter nights. The sheep would mingle; the herds would be intertwined, but each sheep knew its own master’s voice, and if a flock was ready to move to a new pasture only the sheep belonging to that particular shepherd would depart. That’s how it is with our relationship with our Good Shepherd. His voice stands out over all the noises of this world. We hear his voice, and he hears and knows us. It is he who has made us. He has made us in his image. We are his people.

So we are free to make joyful praise to this Lord and King. We can enter his gates with thanksgiving as we have so much to feel thankful for. Where do you find your blessings and the things you feel most grateful for? Love has come to us in the person of Christ the Lord. It’s a love without ending, a perfect love, a love that is so deep we cannot really begin to comprehend it.

Can you find your blessing there? Can you find your blessing in the voice of a small child, the face of an elderly gentleman, the quiet of the night? We are given many places to find the many blessings we enjoy each day.

I have talked about New Year Resolutions with you before. It is probably about this time of the year when we have broken those resolutions we dust off each and every year. But looking for our blessings, seeing our Lord’s hand in our lives is a resolution we can keep no matter what month or year it is. We have all been given the gift of a voice, words to speak, and the choice of how we use those words. We can speak words of love and praise, or we can speak hurt and ridicule. It doesn’t matter if we could win contests like the Voice or American Idol or if we couldn’t begin to carry a tune in a bucket, we can make the choice every day to

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth

Worship the Lord with gladness;

Come into his presence with singing.”

Awake each day to the newness that is our wonderful life here on earth, knowing that there are surprises and joys in store for us in the life that is to come. Every day might not feel like the greatest. There are days when we stumble and feel less than 100 percent, but we have the faith to make a joyful noise to the Lord, for He is good. Look for his blessings, his mercy, and his grace each day. Hopefully you will find it is the most unexpected place.

God has thrown us a lifeline—the light and love of Jesus. Sing to the Lord a new song: a song of hope, joy, and peace around the world.