Psalm 100:3

3 Know ye, that the Lord himself is God; he made us, and not we made us. His people, and the sheep of his pasture, (Know ye, that the Lord himself is God; he made us, and we did not make ourselves/and we belong to him. So let his people, and the sheep of his pasture,)

Psalm 100:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 100:3

Know ye that the Lord he is God
Own and acknowledge him to be God, as well as man; and though a man, yet not a mere man, but the great God and our Saviour, the true God and eternal life; so a man, as that he is Jehovah's fellow; or our God, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh:

[it is] he [that] hath made us;
as men, without whom nothing is made that was made; in him we live, move, and have our being; and, as new creatures, we are his workmanship, created in him, and by him; regenerated by his Spirit and grace, and formed for himself, his service and glory; and made great and honourable by him, raised from a low to an high estate; from being beggars on the dunghill, to sit among princes; yea, made kings and priests unto God by him; so, Kimchi,

``he hath brought us up, and exalted us:''

and not we ourselves;
that is, did not make ourselves, neither as creatures, nor as new creatures; as we have no hand in making either our souls or bodies, so neither in our regeneration, or in the work of God upon our hearts; that is solely the Lord's work: there is a double reading of this clause; the marginal reading is,

and we are his;
which is followed by the Targum and Aben Ezra: both are approved of by Kimchi, and the sense of both is included; for if the Lord has made us, and not we ourselves, then we are not our own, but his, and ought to serve and glorify him: we are his by creation; "we are also his offspring", as said Aratus ^F4, an Heathen poet, cited by the Apostle Paul, ( Acts 17:28 ) ,

we are his people;
by choice and covenant; by his Father's gift, and his own purchase; and by the power of his grace, bringing to a voluntary surrender and subjection to him; even the Gentiles particularly, who were not his people, but now his people, ( 1 Peter 2:9 1 Peter 2:10 ) ,

and the sheep of his pasture;
his sheep also by gift and purchase, called by him, made to know his voice, and follow him; for whom he provides pasture, leads to it, and feeds them with it himself; see ( Psalms 74:1 ) ( 95:7 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (tou gar kai genouv esmen) . Arati Phaenomena, v. 5.

Psalm 100:3 In-Context

1 A psalm to acknowledge. All earth, sing ye heartily to God; (A song of praise. All the earth, sing ye heartily to God;)

2 serve ye the Lord in gladness. Enter ye in his sight in full out joying. (serve ye the Lord with gladness. Enter ye before him with rejoicing.)

3 Know ye, that the Lord himself is God; he made us, and not we made us. His people, and the sheep of his pasture, (Know ye, that the Lord himself is God; he made us, and we did not make ourselves/and we belong to him. So let his people, and the sheep of his pasture,)

4 enter ye into his gates in acknowledging; enter ye into his porches, acknowledge ye to him in hymns. Praise ye his name, (enter ye his gates with praise, or thanksgiving; enter ye into his courtyards with hymns of praise. Thank ye him, and bless ye his name/and praise ye his name,)

5 for the Lord is sweet, his mercy is [into] without end; and his truth is in generation and into generation. (for the Lord is good, his love is forever; and his faithfulness is for all generations.)