That's Why I Praise Him
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The Request - "Oh give thanks to the Lord"
The Request - "Oh give thanks to the Lord"
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 107
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Gratitude is an emotion, not just a choice. You can make yourself say, “Thank you” when you do not feel gratitude, but everyone knows the difference between the words and the feeling. Gratitude is a spontaneous feeling of gladness because of someone’s goodwill toward you. Their gift may not even arrive. It may get lost in the mail. But if you know that you were remembered, and that someone took the trouble to buy you something that you would have enjoyed, and that they sent it to you, you will feel gratitude, even if the gift never comes.
Which means, secondly, that the emotion of gratitude is directed toward a giver. Gratitude is occasioned by a gift, but is directed to the giver. Third, gratitude is a kind of joy. It is not a bad feeling or a neutral feeling. It is positive and pleasant. We do not regret feeling gratitude— unless we were deceived, and the gift turns out to be a trap. Begrudging gratitude is an oxymoron. There is no such thing. No one feels gratitude out of duty when they really don’t want to. Gratitude is spontaneous and pleasant. It is joy in the goodwill of the giver.
The Reason
The Reason
The dominant link in the Bible between our gratitude and God is that God is good. “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Ps.106:1). The link between our thanks and God’s goodness is repeated over and over (Ps. 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1; 1 Chron. 16:34; 2 Chron. 7:3; 5:13; Ezra 3:11). What is most significant about this link is that our gratitude is ultimately rooted in what God is, not in what he gives. The Bible does not say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he gives good things.”
Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, “Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud,
They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Often I have heard people say, "How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!'" Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. "No, Corrie," said Betsie, "He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: 'For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.'" Corrie concludes, "There is an ocean of God's love available--there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love--whatever the circumstances."
Corrie Ten Boom.
The Response
The Response
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary REDEMPTION
REDEMPTION. †Release from bondage, usually by means of a price paid, though in some instances biblical usage focuses on the aspect of liberation alone.
Willmington’s Bible Handbook Book Five (107–150)
BOOK FIVE (107–150)
Psalm 107 Gathered from around the globe. The psalmist called on the redeemed to acknowledge their Redeemer (107:1–3). He told four stories of lostness and redemption, beginning at 107:4, 10, 17, and 23, each ending with the same plea: “Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.” The stories seem to describe Israel’s history, with Israel sinning (107:11, 17) and God punishing them but then delivering them because of his love.
The psalm ends with another two images of desolation and redemption (107:33–38 and 107:39–43).
“He has gathered the exiles from many lands” (107:3) suggests that this psalm was composed after Israel’s return from exile, making it a fitting first psalm of this final book, which many believe was compiled after the exile (see Background). Israel’s regathering was, of course, only a dim foreshadowing of the great regathering the Messiah will bring about in the last days (see Matt. 24:31).
The redeemed are dependent of God for all. All that we have-- wisdom, the pardon of sin, deliverance, acceptance in God's favor, grace, holiness, true comfort and happiness, eternal life and glory--we have from God by a Mediator; and this Mediator is God. God not only gives us the Mediator, and accepts His mediation, and of His power and grace bestows the things purchased by the Mediator, but He is the Mediator. Our blessings are what we have by purchase; and the purchase is made of God; the blessings are purchased of Him; and not only so, but God is the purchaser. Yes, God is both the purchaser and the price; for Christ, who is God, purchased these blessings by offering Himself as the price of our salvation.
Jonathan Edwards, Closer Walk, July, 1988, p. 15.
If anybody can talk about the goodness of God it is the redeeemed; we ought to say so because we have been...
Rescued
Rescued
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Psalm 107
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses
Restored
Restored
RESTORATION
RESTORATION
A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt's famous painting "Nightwatch." Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures.
By His sovereign grace, God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion close to where he had his little summer home. The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists. The practice began after a pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall and left an unsightly stain. At the time, a noted artist, Lord Landseer, was a guest in the house. One day when the family went out to the moors, he stayed behind. With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal, that ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife. He turned that disfigured wall into one of his most successful depictions of Highland life.
Swindoll, The Quest For Character, Multnomah, p. 49.
THE REFRAIN
THE REFRAIN
Four times in this one psalm, the writers arrives at the point of saying "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works toward the children of men. And although He has been good to all (Psalm 145:9) some who will not Say so. But is there anybody here today that will heed the request, testify to the reason, and respond like you've been redeemed?
Go on and say so! Tell your neighbor that He's so good....I just can't tell it all !
Observe Pss. 107: 8, 15, 21, 31
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 107:31). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.