This is a famous psalm — the hit “Make a Joyful Noise” song — though that same phrase was used a couple of psalms ago. “Serve the Lord with gladness; / Come before His presence with singing.” Maybe that’s why Amish singing and quaint Sacred Harp singing are done a cappella.
“We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” There’s that old sheep/shepherd metaphor again — like Isaiah’s “All we like sheep have gone astray,” and the 23rd Psalm’s “The Lord is my shepherd.” All you gotta do is watch the TV news or read the paper, and, yep, we’re sheep.
The psalm closes with a number of religious buzzwords: thanksgiving, praise, bless, mercy and truth. Using buzzwords can save time, but I wonder if people miss the point of them after a time. So are buzzwords like sheep as well? Maybe the wooliest buzzwords should be more like bees.