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.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving - Publicly worship God; and when ye come to the house of prayer, be thankful that you have such a privilege; and when you enter his courts, praise him for the permission.

The word בתודה bethodah, which we render with thanksgiving, is properly with the confession-offering or sacrifice. See on Psalm 100:1-5 (note).

Bless his name - Bless Jehovah, that he is your Elohim; see Psalm 100:3. In our liturgic service we say, "Speak good of his name;" we cannot do otherwise; we have nothing but good to speak of our God.

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.

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.

{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.

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).

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.