1Un salmo de acción de gracias. ¡Griten de alegría al Señor, habitantes de toda la tierra!
2Alábenlo con gozo; ¡Vengan a su presencia con canciones de júbilo!
3¡Sepan que el Señor es Dios! Él nos creó, y le pertenecemos. Somos su pueblo, el rebaño por el cual se preocupa.
4Entren por sus puertas con agradecimientos; ingresen a sus atrios con alabanzas. Agradézcanle; alábenlo.
5Porque el Señor es bueno. Su gran amor dura para siempre; y su fidelidad permanecerá por todas las generaciones.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
A brief and joyful psalm of gratitude, inviting all the earth to serve the Lord with gladness, acknowledging that he is the Creator and that his people are like sheep under his care, and that his mercy endures forever.
Explanation
This psalm was traditionally sung by those entering the temple to offer thanksgiving sacrifices (as its Hebrew title suggests), becoming one of the best-known and most widely used hymns of praise in liturgies to this day, across many traditions. Its simple structure — an invitation to rejoice, the theological reason (God as Creator and Shepherd), and a reaffirmation of God's eternal goodness — makes it a compact summary of the entire theology of praise found in the Psalms. The application today is that simple, joyful gratitude is, in itself, a legitimate and powerful form of worship.
Fun facts
- This psalm is one of the most set to music in Christian history, including the famous 16th-century hymn 'All People That on Earth Do Dwell.'
- The image of 'his people, and the sheep of his pasture' (v. 3) directly connects this psalm to the well-known Psalm 23 and to the later image of Jesus as the 'good shepherd' in John 10.