“Thanksgiving in the Psalms”

Preached on 11/22/2020

THANKSGIVING IN THE PSALMS

When we look at our congregation today how many “X”-Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, and others do we have?  Let us give Thanks and Celebrate our coming together as one Body of Christ and Thank God for our warm, loving fellowship.

Living in Bostwick, GA must be one of the great blessings on earth.  God gives us blessings in many ways.  Consequently, we should Thank Him in many ways.  To begin with we Thank Him in our prayers.  Praying daily, we should lift up Thanks to God for all our blessings.  If you are like me there are probably too many blessings for you to keep track of.  We forget some of the simple or subtle ones.  One very basic blessing we have to be Thankful for is God’s Mercy.  None of us have received what we deserve.  And Thank Him for the blessing of Grace we all have received.

Today let’s look at Praises, Blessings and in particular Thanks given in the Psalms.  Let’s begin with Psalm 75:1-3:    (416)[581]
We give thanks to you, O God,
we give thanks, for your Name is near;
men tell of your wonderful deeds.
You say, “I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge uprightly.
3 When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm.                              Selah

Do you Give Thanks for the nearness of God in your life?  That seems to be a good place to start.  Then there is Psalm 100:
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I love that Psalm.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  One day we will all enter His gates and give Him Thanks.  Thanks for all He has Blessed us with, and all we owe Him, and He has not made us pay.

Psalm 105:1-4
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

As  we Give Thanks we can call on Him for all our needs.  As we Give Thanks we can Rejoice in His Name.  And as we seek His face we find Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow, as the great hymn says.

Psalm 107:1-3 & 8-9
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this —
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Thirsty and Hungry people are refreshed.  Thirsty and Hungry for the Presence of God and His Word.  He gives us Living water for the Thirsty and the Bread of Life, His Word for those who Hunger for it.

Psalm 136:1-9
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
      His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
      His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
      His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
      His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
      His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
      His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights
       His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
      His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
      His love endures forever.

In this “dark season” of Covid-19, we can still Give Thanks for all the Lord has done and will do for us.  He blesses us each and every day in so many ways.

This year, especially, let us pause, take a Selah moment, Praise God, and Thank Him for all His Great Blessings.  Dwell of the words of that great hymn:
“Great is Thy Faithfulness:”
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Praise You, Lord Jesus… and Thank You!

11/22/20 Bostwick UMC