Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with
praise (Psalm 100:4).
Did you know that worship is God’s address? But thou art
holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (KJV, Psalm 22:3). The
New American Standard Bible reads: Yet You are holy, O You who are
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Either way, this passage confirms that God lives in the praises of his
people. If God seems distant, praise him and he is there.
If God’s address isn’t good enough, today’s reading contains
a map to his house – like an early Iron Age GPS: Enter his gates with
thanksgiving and his courts with praise. No need to recalculate route here.
In Moses’ time, worshipers entered the tabernacle with a
blood sacrifice. The bronze altar was directly in line between the entrance of
the courtyard and the door to the Most Holy Place – God’s presence. There
was no bypass, no detour.
Jesus became our once-and-for-all blood sacrifice – our
access to God. Again, no bypass, no detour. It is through Christ that we offer
our gifts of thanksgiving and praise. Through Jesus, therefore, let us
continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly
profess his name (Hebrews
13:15).
TODAY’S MEDITATION
When was the last time you
experienced God’s presence? When you can’t find God, worship, because worship
is where God is.
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