Psalm 100:4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

100:1-5 An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him. - This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad soever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Enter into his gates ... - The gates which lead to his temple, or to the place of public worship.

Into his courts ... - The "courts" were literally the open spaces which surrounded the tabernacle or temple. It was in these that worship was celebrated, and not in the tabernacle or temple. See Psalm 65:4, note; Psalm 84:2, note; Psalm 92:13, note.

Be thankful unto him - That is, Offer thanksgiving and praise. Come before him with a grateful heart. See the notes at Psalm 50:14.

Bless his name - Bless him; praise him; ascribe honor to him; acknowledge him as God.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. Join joyfully in His public worship. The terms are, of course, figurative (compare Ps 84:2; 92:13; Isa 66:23).

Enter—or, "Come with solemnity" (Ps 95:6).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Enter into his gates; the gates of his courts; for the people might enter no further, and the courts had walls and gates as well as the house.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,.... The same with the gates of Zion, loved by the Lord more than all the dwellings of Jacob; the gates of Jerusalem, within which the feet of the saints stand with pleasure; the gates of Wisdom, or Christ, where his followers watch and wait; the gates into his house, the church, and the public ordinances of it, to be entered into with thankfulness for all mercies, temporal and spiritual; for the Gospel, and Gospel opportunities and ordinances:

and into his courts with praise; with the sacrifice of praise, as in Psalm 96:8, of these courts, see Psalm 65:4,

be thankful unto him; for all blessings of grace in him and by him; for all things, and at all times:

and bless his name; by ascribing honour, blessing, and glory to him, saying, "blessed be his glorious name for ever", Psalm 72:19.

Geneva Study Bible

{c} Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

(c) He shows that God will not be worshipped, but by those means which he has appointed.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. thanksgiving] The parallelism of praise in the next line is decidedly in favour of this rendering: still the parallel in Psalm 96:8 justifies the alternative rendering of R.V. marg., a thank offering.

be thankful] Give thanks. Cp. Psalm 97:12; and for bless his name, cp. Psalm 96:2.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. The mention of" gates" and" courts" points primarily to the temple worship, but the reference may be, as Professor Alexander suggests, "typical or metaphorical" rather than literal, and may extend to all the faithful and to all places of worship. Be thankful unto him; or, give thanks unto him (Revised Version). And bless his Name (comp. Psalm 96:2; Psalm 145:21). Psalm 100:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Therefore shall the men of all nations enter with thanksgiving into the gates of His Temple and into the courts of His Temple with praise (Psalm 96:8), in order to join themselves in worship to His church, which - a creation of Jahve for the good of the whole earth - is congregated about this Temple and has it as the place of its worship. The pilgrimage of all peoples to the holy mountain is an Old Testament dress of the hope for the conversion of all peoples to the God of revelation, and the close union of all with the people of this God. His Temple is open to them all. They may enter, and when they enter they have to look for great things. For the God of revelation (52:11; 54:8) is "good" (Psalm 25:8; Psalm 34:9), and His loving-kindness and faithfulness endure for ever - the thought that recurs frequently in the later Hallelujah and Hodu Psalms and is become a liturgical formula (Jeremiah 33:11). The mercy of loving-kindness of God is the generosity, and His faithfulness the constancy, of His love.