Religious Gratitude
W. H. Harwood. Psalm 100:1-5 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands.… Gratitude, in the view of Dr. James Martineau, is a variety of generosity. It recognizes more than a mere fulfilment of duty. It is one of those warm human impulses that are not reduced to a science, without which we might be saved from a few mistakes, but at the expense of much that enriches life. Getting behind the psalm to the condition of mind which could produce it, we find that it could only come from one familiar with good things — from one who so thought upon God's character that his theology became translated into the poetry of song. Many do not admit the grounds of the psalmist's theology; hence the two common objections — 1. God did not make us to be happy. This objection is met by showing that the greatest fact of life is its possibilities of happiness. Especially is this true in an age of such marvellous scientific progress as the present, every step in which progress opens the way to a vast increase in the possibilities of happiness for the masses of mankind. 2. God ought to be able to keep us good. This objection is met by showing that in making moral, human beings good, God can only act within His character. The goodness of a man is not the goodness of a tree or of a sheep; were it forced upon him and made compulsory, it would not be moral. (W. H. Harwood.) Parallel Verses KJV: {A Psalm of praise.} Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. WEB: Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you lands!