Psalm 100:1-5 Unshackled Joy - St. Matthew's Episcopal Church

Daily Devotionals(click here to go to our website – stmatthewsrichmond.org)PSALM 100:1-5UNSHACKLED JOYWritten by Rev. Dr. Charles D. (Chuck) Alley, Ph.D., Rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church,Richmond, Va.1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of hispasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.There is the joy that gives us a good feeling and then there is the joy that causes us to want toshout out our good news to everyone from the roof tops. Too many of us short change our Lordby settling for the good feelings for what he has done for us. The problem is that we do not havethat level of joy that makes our exuberance uncontrollable. If we are honest, most of us wouldjust as soon not call attention to ourselves in the area of our faith. We whisper our praise of Godand confine our joy to the safety of the catacombs of our hearts.But that is not the way that David expressed his joy at the return of the Ark of the Covenant toJerusalem. David, the King of Israel “wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all hismight, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and thesound of trumpets” (2 Samuel 6:14). He danced so wildly that his wife, Michel, thought he madesuch a fool of himself that she despised him (2 Samuel 6:16).We have been shown God’s love for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As St. Paulwrote, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His love and faithfulnesscould not be demonstrated in any greater manner than that. God is so good that his goodnesscannot be contained within himself, but is available to all of his creation. At incalculable expensehe has given us his goodness – his righteousness – so that we can be in relationship with himforever. What amazing grace!

Our response should be the joy of our salvation. A joy that is consummate with the eternal gift ofsalvation. We need to shout out our joy in order that those who do not know God can see andhear what he has done for us and want to know what it is that makes us so joy filled. A somberintellectualism or a severe piety is not what God wants, because he wants ever increasingnumbers of people to turn to him and live in a reconciled relationship with him. Jesus needs to bein our hearts, but he is not to be hidden there. Rather his faithfulness and love are to beproclaimed with our lips and lives so that all the world will know.Lord, unshackle my heart and my lips so that I might truly shout out your praise.Fan the spark that you have placed in my heart into full flame and a raging fire ofworship and praise. May my joy and its expression be as unbounded as the graceyou have given me. Amen.(click here to go to our website – stmatthewsrichmond.org)