Dr. Dan Hayden • 

When the hometown team entered the arena for the championship game, a shout went up from the crowd that almost raised the roof. “Shout for joy”—that’s our word for today.

Psalm 100 is a Psalm of thanksgiving, and it begins with a strong command to the whole earth to “shout joyfully to the Lord.”

The Hebrew word here literally means, “to split the ears with sound; to shout for alarm or joy.”

 

In other words, it means to shout for all you’re worth—like when the cheerleader with the megaphone incites the crowd to yell louder by saying, “I can’t hear you!…” and everyone shouts with an even greater intensity for their beloved team. That’s the kind of shouting this word is talking about.

Now, the Psalmist is saying that this is the way the whole earth should be shouting for the Lord. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe—the giver of every good and perfect gift. Like a crowd shouting for its favorite team, so everyone in the whole world should shout joyfully for the Lord!

I have been in situations where standing ovations have gone on and on for prolonged periods of time. The enthusiasm of the audience was so intense that the people could hardly contain themselves with joy. This is what the Psalmist is encouraging us to do… a standing ovation, with loud sustained shouts of joy for the Lord.

Hey—“I can’t hear you!…” ■