The Psalmist calls us to “serve the Lord with gladness” (Ps. 100:2).

Charles Spurgeon parses out why we are to heed this call.

“Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent…Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his servants dressed in the attire of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans. A murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks… Do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our faith to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness
proclaim that we serve a good Master.”