Psalm 100: 1-3, 5
This week’s responsorial psalm is from Psalm 100, a joyful hymn inviting all people — not just Israel —to worship the Lord with gladness and song.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song.
The opening verse contains a triple imperative, reflecting the psalmist’s fervent desire that all creation respond to God with joy. The universal call (“all you lands”) anticipates the Church’s mission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:19).
Genuine praise of God is inseparable from joy. This joy arises from the assurance that we belong to the Lord, who created us and lovingly guides us.
“This psalm of praise commands and exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord. But it does not command a particular part of the world or one house or people to sing the praises of God; rather, since he pours out his blessings over the whole world, all peoples in all places should rejoice” (Saint Augustine, Commentaria in Psalmos, 99).
Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.
The psalmist affirms God’s creative authority and Israel’s identity as his chosen people, an identity the Church shares as the new people of God (1 Peter 2:9).
The imagery of the flock evokes the Lord as our Shepherd, a theme fulfilled in Christ (John 10:11).
The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.
This closing verse offers a threefold declaration of God’s essential attributes: goodness (tov), enduring mercy (hesed), and faithfulness (emunah) across time.
This is truly reason to rejoice!
Sunday Readings 