O Give Thanks Unto the Lord
Chuck Sligh
November 20, 2011
A PowerPoint presentation to compliment the message is available by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Psalms 105:1 – “O Give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.”
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – On September 8, 1860, a crowded passenger steamer foundered off the shore of Lake Michigan just above Evanston, Illinois. Edward W. Spencer, a student in Garrett Biblical Institute, saw a woman clinging to some wreckage far out in the breakers. Quickly, he threw off his coat and swam out through the heavy waves, succeeding in getting her back to the land safely. Then sixteen more times that day Spencer braved those fierce waves, single-handedly rescuing seventeen people, after which he collapsed in a delirium of exhaustion.
Ned Spencer slowly recovered from the exposure and exertion of that day, but never completely.
With broken health he lived quietly, unable to enter upon his chosen lifework of the ministry, but exemplifying the teachings of Jesus Christ in his secluded life. He died in California at 81 years of age. In a notice of his death, one paper said that not one of these seventeen rescued people ever came to thank him. (Aquilla Webb, #6591 of 7,700 Illustrations)
Illus. – This reminds me of the story in Luke 17 when ten lepers asked Jesus for healing. He told them to go to the priests, which was the official requirement before a leper was permitted to live among the healthy again. It was on their way to the priests that they received their healing. Of the ten, only one returned to give thanks to Jesus. Jesus asked him, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”
You see, the vast majority of humankind is naturally predisposed to be ungrateful. In fact, it’s at the root of the depravity of mankind. In his description in Romans 1 of the slide of the human race into sin and depravity to show that there is none righteous—no not one—deserving of heaven, Paul begins his argument with these sober words: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…” (Romans 1:21)
I don’t think we understand how serious ungratefulness to God is. Let’s look at giving of thanks in the Bible this morning.
I. FIRST, NOTICE THAT GIVING OF THANKS IS A GOOD THING.
David said in Psalm 92:1, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.”
Why is it a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord?
• Well, from a SPIRITUAL perspective, it is an acknowledgement that God is the source of all our blessings.
James 1:17 tells us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
And in 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul instructs Timothy to charge the rich not to “trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
How sad that all blessings come from God, yet we’re so unthankful to Him. It is good to give thanks because it reminds us of the source of all our blessings.
• From a PERSONAL perspective, thankfulness is a good thing because it makes a sad heart glad.
When we count our sorrows, we’ll be down and discouraged; but when we count our blessings, we’re reminded that truly our blessings outweigh our sorrows. And thankfulness puts our trials into perspective.
Illus. – As many of you know, little Morgan Lapp, who is seven years old, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. She almost died two weeks ago until she was rushed to the hospital where they diagnosed her illness. Juvenile diabetes is a very serious illness that will affect Morgan for the rest of her life, though it is treatable with careful continuous monitoring of her blood sugar levels. Over the last two weeks Randy and Patricia’s life has been turned upside down with trips back and forth to the hospital, not to mention the dramatic change in lifestyle the whole family has to go through to protect Morgan. Friday I visited Morgan and Trish and the girls in the hospital and several times I told Trish how sorry I was that they had to endure all these difficult trials. But every time I expressed empathy in this way, Trish’s response, “I’m just thankful that Morgan survived. And I’m so thankful that Morgan doesn’t have cancer or something much more serious like that.”
In this life, it’s certain we’ll experience trials and sufferings, but when we have a thankful heart, we’re able to keep trials in perspective.
• From a PRACTICAL perspective, gratefulness just makes you a more pleasant person to be with.
Someone has said, “Unfailing gratitude makes a human magnet out of a common personality.” Or as I often say “Some people are a blessing wherever they go, and others are a blessing WHENEVER they go.” Gratitude helps you be a blessing WHEREVER you go rather than WHENEVER you go.
So first, we see that it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.
II. SECOND, WHEN SHOULD WE OFFER THANKS?
The Bible mentions a couple of contexts in which we should give thanks. Let’s look at them.
• First, we should give thanks unto the Lord in public worship.
In our text, after telling us that to give thanks unto the Lord, the psalmist goes on to say, “…make known his deeds among the people.”
David says in Psalms 35:18, “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.”
When we come together at church, it brings glory to God and helps us find comfort and courage when both those leading the service and those in the congregation give thanks to God in testimonies, prayers, and songs.
Another psalmist had the singing with the congregation of God’s people in mind when he said in Psalm 147:7: “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”
One expression of thanksgiving is when we sing together, we should should never be ho-hum about it; we should sing with all our heart.
• In our private lives, the Bible teaches that we’re to be thankful in ALL things.
One of the hardest things to do is to be thankful in ALL situations of life, but this is exactly what we’re called upon to do several times in the Bible.
1) This was a favorite theme of the Apostle Paul…
After telling the Ephesians to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, and so on, he adds: “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20)
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
And he says in Philippians 4:6 – “Be careful [or “anxious”] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
2) But Paul isn’t the only one who exhorts us to give thanks for all things:
David says in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
3) And the idea of CONTINUALLY giving thanks to God is echoed in Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
There’s no circumstance you will find yourself in that God doesn’t want you to thank him for it, for if He allows it, He has a purpose that is for your good. That’s why Paul says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
So if God allows a trial, it’ll somehow work together for good in your life. So we should give thanks for all things, for even bad things from our human perspective will ultimately be good for us. God help us to give thanks for ALL things.
Illus. – The Rev. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh was famous for his pulpit prayers. He ALWAYS found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy morning a member of his congregation thought to himself. “The preacher will have nothing to thank God for on a wretched morning like this.” But Whyte began his prayer, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.” (#6577 of 7,700 Illustrations)
Illus. – Matthew Henry was a famous 17th century scholar known for one of the most respected commentaries on every book in the Bible, one that even to this day is probably the most loved commentary by laymen. Sometimes scholars delve into deep theological waters intellectually without knowing how to assimilate them into their lives personally. But Matthew Henry was no ivory-tower intellect. He lived out what he learned from the Bible, and this was illustrated by an interesting event that occurred in his life.
Once on a trip, he was accosted by thieves and robbed of his purse. He wrote these words in his diary: “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
Listen, there is no situation in which you cannot give thanks for.
Illus. – When the Sunday school teacher asked her class what they were thankful for, little Johnnie replied, “My glasses.” “Why, Johnnie?” asked the teacher expecting something like, “Because they help me to see better.”
But he had more practical reasons to be thankful. He said, “They keep the boys from fighting me and the girls from kissing me.”
Brethren, may we be thankful because it is good to give thanks, and may we give thanks to God in our worship at church, and may we give thanks God in ALL things, knowing that even bad things from a human perspective will work out for good in our lives if we are believers in Jesus Christ.
III. LASTLY, WHAT SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL FOR?
Well, the list is endless isn’t it? Most of the time, we think of the tangible blessings of our lives when we talk about being thankful: God’s provision of our material needs; the blessing of our spouses and our children; our health; a good job; money to buy not only our needs, but many wants as well; a roof over our head; good clothes; and so on.
But when you see a BIBLE writer giving thanks, it’s usually spiritual blessings he refers to. It’s because of God’s character and moral attributes that we have all the blessings that we have, and that is the predominant theme in the Bible with regard to thanksgiving.
Let’s look at just three of these to understand how wonderfully blessed we are by God:
• First, we should be thankful for God’s GOODNESS.
Psalms 106:1 says, “Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
God’s goodness is all around us, in the tangibles I just mentioned He provides for us, but also in the spiritual blessings we have in Christ.
• We should also be thankful for His MERCY.
Psalms 107:1 says, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
This theme of giving thanks to God for His ever-enduring mercy is a frequent theme in the Psalms.
The word mercy has a slightly broader shade of meaning in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. In the New Testament, mercy has a narrower meaning, but in the Old Testament, where the psalmists so frequently speak of God’s mercy enduring forever, the Hebrew word used—chesed—carries the idea of God’s loving kindness toward His people, and includes God’s love, mercy and grace all in one.
In the Old Testament, God chose the Jews as a special group of people to set His love upon and bless and work through. In the New Testament, God also has an elect body which is the special recipient of His loving-kindness—the body of Christ or the church.
When you trusted in Christ, you became part of the elect body of the church. In Christ, you are a recipient of God’s special loving kindness; His mercy; and His grace. In this special relationship, He’s working in your life; He speaks to you; He blesses you; He ministers in your life.
But here’s the greatest blessing of all: the palmist says that “his mercy endureth forever.”
In the Old Testament, even when God’s people were unfaithful and idolatrous, which was all too often, God’s merciful loving-kindness never wavered. He never abandoned His people, even though He disciplined them severely. They were and ever will be “God’s chosen people” in a national sense.
Likewise, in the New Testament era, this special working in the lives of God’s people—this special love and interaction in our lives—is not short-lived, temporary or contingent on our performance. His loving kindness for the church—and thus you as a member of His church if you are a believer—endures FOREVER.
I love the words to that worship song Forever where the chorus expresses perfectly the Hebrew concept of chesed. It goes like this: “Forever God is faithful / Forever God is strong / Forever God is with us / Forever” and the bridge repeats three times these words: “His love endures forever / His love endures forever / His love endures forever.”
And it does. In Romans 8:35, Paul asks “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” He closes the chapter with this thunderous proclamation: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
This Thanksgiving, why don’t you give thanks for His special loving-kindness and working in your life as a believer in Jesus Christ.
• Finally we should also be thankful for His GRACE
In 1 Corinthians 1:4, Paul says, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.”
As I said, in the Old Testament sense God’s grace is subsumed in the Hebrew word cheded, which is often translated “mercy” or “loving kindness.” In the New Testament, grace has a more specific meaning, namely God’s unmerited favor for underserving sinners. We don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, salvation, heaven, or a relationship with God. But because of what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sin, all who believe in Him for salvation receive all these things totally free, without any cost to us. That’s why Paul ends the verse saying that God’s grace “is given you by Jesus Christ.”
CONCLUSION
This morning we’ve discussed the need for gratefulness, especially for our SPIRITUAL blessings. What are you going to do with this sermon?
• If you do not know with absolute certainty that you’re saved and on your way to heaven, the greatest display of gratitude for you would be to bow your heart to the Savior who died on the cross for your sins and ask Him to save you from your sins and give you eternal life.
In John 6:47, Jesus said, “Truly I say unto you, ‘He who believes on me has everlasting life.” Being saved is simply a matter of believing Jesus’s promise in this verse, nothing more! Would you put your trust in Jesus Christ this morning as your ONLY means of salvation, and not yourself, or your works, or your goodness or your religion? I hope that you will, and that you’ll tell me about it before you leave this sanctuary this morning.
• Believer, are you filled with murmuring and ingratitude?
May God forgive you for an ungrateful heart. God has done so many wonderful things for you and given you so much. He has saved you, called you into His body, the church of the living God, forgiven you your sins, and blessed you with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. May you be full of praise and thanksgiving, not just at Thanksgiving, but all year long.
