Thanksgiving

The ESV Global Study Bible has an introductory commentary for every book of the Bible. It titles it The Global Message Of… So there is for example, The Global Message Of Genesis, The Global Message Of Matthew, The Global Message Of Revelation. What they seek to do in that commentary is to give the Global applicability of the Bible, that is the Universal appeal to all people.

Listen to what is said about The Global Message of The Psalms:

The Psalms are a resounding call for all God’s people and for all the world to sing! We are called to sing songs of confession and trust in God; to sing songs of thanksgiving and praise. The Psalms summon the global church to take up the cause of calling the world to join in such global and eternal songs of trust, delight in, and worship of god for his magnificence – especially his magnificence displayed in his saving mercy… The Psalms are a divinely orchestrated hymn book of thanksgiving and praise for God’s people”

This is the role the Psalms play in the life of God’s people. It summons us to sing and it gives us the words to sing. The Psalms is the hymn book of the Jews in their community worship of God and indeed in the early and contemporary church, the Psalm have been placed to tunes and sung. It is called the Psalter. In the Reformed world, there are various nuances of worship. Some sing only the Psalms and some like us sing the Psalms and other hymns plus contemporary hymns. Our hymn book contains a rendition of all the 150 Psalms. And some of the common hymns we sing here are from the Psalms.

Hymn no 8: O LORD, our Lord, how high how great/ is thine exalted name! /The glories of Thy heavenly state/ Let men and babes proclaim/
Hymn no 23: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll not want/He makes me down to lie/In Pastures green;He leadeath me/The quiet waters by

Hymn no 34: Through all the changing scenes of life/In trouble and in joy/The praises of my God shall still/My heart and tongue employ

Hymn no 72: Jesus shall reign where’er the sun/Does his successive journeys run/His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore/Till moons shall wax and wane no more

Hymn 90: Our God, our help in ages past/Our hope for years to come/Our shelter from the stormy blast/And our eternal home

Hymn 98: Joy To the world!The Lord is come/Let earth receive her King/Let every heart prepare Him room/And Heaven and nature sing

Hymn 103version 3: Praise, My soul, the King of Heaven/To his feet your tribute bring/Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven/Who like me his praise should sing/

Hymn 104 version 1: O Worship the King, All-Glorious/O gratefully sing His Power and His Love/Our Shield and Defender/The Ancient of Days/Pavillioned in splendour/And girded with praise

Hymn 150: O Praise Ye The Lord/Praise Him in the height/Rejoice in his word/Ye Angels of Light/Ye heavens adore him/By whom ye were made/And worship before him/In brightness arrayed

The Psalms arguably are the favourite of many Christians if not all Christians and perhaps some unbelievers. They come handy to express different emotions under the Sun. When you want words to express joy, the Psalms has words. If you want words to lament, the Psalms have words for you. When you are afraid, the Psalms have words for you.

This morning I want us to consider for a title Thanksgiving.

Why Thanksgiving

The Psalm before us is a call to thanksgiving. It invites and summons God’s people to give thanks. It is an Invocation for Thanksgiving: “O give thanks unto the LORD…” Why thanksgiving? Because the Lord is good and his steadfast love endures for ever. The background of the Psalm is God’s people who were sent into captivity for sin and have been graciously returned by God to their land. They are here called The Redeemed of The Lord: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble” (v.2). To redeem is to rescue or deliver from trouble. And the text clearly says that. They have been redeemed from trouble. How? By gathering them from all the nations they have been into captivity and bringing them into their land: “and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” (v.3). This is a perfect picture of the church and of Christians. We have been redeemed or delivered from the world. We have been saved from sin and joined together in Christ. The text describes them as a congregation: “Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” (v.32).

Now the response of the redeemed assembly or the redeemed people of God rightly must be thanksgiving. As you read through this Psalm, you will notice the central theme of the Psalm is thanksgiving. The same call to thanksgiving is repeated in verses 8,15,21, and 31. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man” In our modern hymns, we can consider this as the chorus to the Psalm. Thanksgiving is an expression of our gratitude and appreciation. And indeed the Bible commands it. Jesus heals 10 lepers and only 1 returned to thank him. Jesus was surprised and he asked: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?”

It is said thank you is one of the words considered as golden words. They are golden words because in our daily interactions we are expected to show appreciation. We teach our children to say Thank you when someone gives them something or does something for them. We ourselves show appreciation for good deeds towards us. If this is true in our relationship with one another, how much in our relationship with God. If you are a believer, God has saved you from sin and reconciled you unto himself. You who was once a rebel and sinner has been delivered from sin. And this is not just a one time event, we constantly rebel against God and he constantly pardons us. So the text is clear: His steadfast love endures forever. There are many things to be grateful for. God has kept us. We have sailed through 12months. We have another opportunity to serve God faithfully. If we are to count our blessings and name them one by one as the hymn writer says, we will indeed be surprised what the Lord has done.

Dear believer, pause and reflect over your life. It is God’s grace through and through. Every goodness you have enjoyed. Every favourable condition that has come your way. Every opportunity that has come your way. Every blessing you have enjoyed has been orchestrated by God. He has worked all things for your good. He has done exceedingly and abundantly than you can think of.

There is a beautiful scene in this text. The Psalmist addresses the people of God in their various experiences of life and sin. See, we don’t all have the same problems. We don’t struggle with the same sins. In fact we don’t sin the same way. What you struggle with may be something I have mastered. What you have mastered, may be something I struggle with. We are all on a different journey in our life and God meets all of us at the particular point of our needs. Look at the different category of sinfulness and trouble the Psalmist addresses:

Lost of Sense of Purpose and Direction (vv. 4-5)

Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.” This is the picture of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness with all their sins and complains. This is also a picture of a lack of a sense of purpose and direction in life. Have you ever struggled with a sense of purpose and direction in life? Life seem to make no meaning for you? I have been there before. There was a time I just didn’t know what to do with my life. It was the most difficult period in my life. There was about 2years of depression trying to find purpose. There are three things I may assume here. You may either have such past experience or are presently enduring such an experience phase of life or one day, you will experience this phase of life.

Dear friend, you can count on the goodness and steadfast love of God when you find yourself in any situation where you don’t know what to do in life. What did they do in their situation? They cried to God. They called upon his name. And God answered them: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in” (vv.6-7). When God delivered them. When God answered them, the Psalmist calls on them to give thanks: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”(v.8). Are you lost in any situation seeking for direction in life? The Lord will hear you if you call on him. And he will satisfy your longing soul: “For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (v.9). This is a promise. Believe it.

The next scenario of trouble we see is in verse 1o

Lost In Sin and Under God’s Judgement (vv.10-12)

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.” Commentators have identified this as a real experience of the Israelites when they were carried into Babylonian captivity. So it was a real experience. These were rebels who have rebelled against God’s word. They have rejected God’s word. And they have received a just punishment. This is a picture of humanity in general. Human beings have all rebelled against God in sin and turned away from him. And we have been brought under the weight of God’s judgement. We are separated from God and until we turn to him in repentance and confession of our sins and trust in his way of salvation, which is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are doomed. Look at a very instructive phrase in the text: “with none to help” Brethren, you can find no help for your sin and rebellion against God unless God himself helps you. And God has provided help through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is God’s only way of redemption. So what do you do? Again, turn to God in faith through prayer”vv.13-14Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.” Our only sure help in this world is God. And whatever situation you are experiencing, turn to God. Cry out to him to help you. And he will help you. He will deliver you.

What is the required response when God has delivered you? Thanksgiving: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (v.15)

Lost In Self-Destruction (vv.17-20)

Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.” I have a confession. I don’t like this verse. But I cannot do anything about it. Why don’t I like it? It tells me in the face that many of my problems are due to my own foolishness. Bad choices, reckless decisions, lost opportunities are all a consequence of our self-destructive sins. Yet, in these also, they called upon God and he delivered them: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.” (vv.19-20).

You may have regrets in your life. You may identify problems in your life that are self-afflicted, but even then God will not abandon you, but will deliver you. And when you are delivered, what must be your response? Again, thanksgiving: “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”

Lost In Self-Reliance (vv. 23-27)

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.” This is a picture of people who are self-reliant and will have nothing to do with God. In an age of self-esteem, we see many people rebelling against God’s order. They trust in themselves, but not in God. “Their courage melted” (v.26). “their wit’s end” (v.27).

When these arrogant, prideful persons came to their wit’s end, what did they also do: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.” (vv.28-30)

Constantly, we see these troubled people calling upon God, he answering them and the Psalmist is calling on them to offer thanksgiving to God. The verse 33-42 gives a summary of the further display of God’s goodness and steadfast love. The Psalmist ends in an interesting way, calling upon the wise to consider these things. What is he saying? Ponder over the steadfast love of the Lord. Don’t lose sight of the steadfast love of the Lord. Let it be your meditation. And how are we to do that? In prayer and thanksgiving.

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