Did you memorize Invictus in high school?

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As a high school student, I had to memorize William Henley’s “Invictus.” I still remember the last stanza of that arrogant poem: “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” Though Henley wrote those words back in 1875, his sentiment still pervades the thinking of many people today that reject accountability to God. But that attitude did not describe the author of Psalm 100. He wrote, “Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth! Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” The psalmist knew that God was the source of his life, the one who sustained him day by day, and the one who would determine his destiny when this life is over. That is why, unlike the author of Invictus, the psalmist takes time to worship God and declare his intent to love, serve, and obey Him. All who share the psalmist’s sentiment do the same today.