SO MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR
A Journey of Thankfulness • Sermon • Submitted
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· 410 viewsThe believer in Jesus Christ should express their gratitude to God for His provision for us in Christ Jesus.
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It is quite possible that I have used this same title before. If I have, forgive me. When it comes to sermon titles I have a powerful forgettor.
The summer of 1983, after my freshmen year of school at the Moody Bible Institute, I stayed on campus and worked in the janitorial department. I remember well one occasion when I heard music being played when my partner and I were supposed to be cleaning classrooms. So I went to investigate and found my cleaning partner playing and singing a song at one of the classroom pianos. Carl was a Haitian national who came to MBI to prepare for ministry. And he had picked up this catchy chorus at the African American church where he attended. And that song is where I stole the title for today’s message from. So much to be grateful for! For the believer in Jesus Christ, no truer words have ever been spoken.
This week we begin a new series titled A Journey of Thankfulness. Since we’ve come to the place in our exposition of Matthew where the author deals with the betrayal and death of Christ, it seems best to pause that study until early next year as we begin our preparations for Easter. And so, with Thanksgiving being just around the bend I’ve prayerfully decided to study five of the eleven Psalms of Thanksgiving which are found in the Book of Psalms. These will not be in any particular order. And we certainly will not be able to cover all of them in the five or six weeks alloted for this study. (As a matter of fact, next week, our friend Dave Kurowicki will be preaching for me as I will be out of town most of this week at a Church conference.)
If you have not done so already, please turn in your Bible to . (As a side note, I will be preaching from the NKJV for this series because I love the beautiful way this translation presents the psalms). You probably know that the Book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible. We often refer to it as having 150 chapters. But the truth is that technically the book of Psalms does not have chapters. Rather, it is made up of 150 distinct poems or songs.
There are many people whom the Holy Spirit moved to take part in writing the book of Psalms. The most prolific was King David. Perhaps the second most prolific writer was someone known as Anonymous? In other words, there are many psalms of which we do not know who the human author was. And our psalm for today is one of these.
There are many genres of psalms. Some are referred to as hymns — these are noted by their call to praise and worship God. Some are laments in which the author is grieved by someone or something. Some are imprecatory in which the author calls for an enemy to be cursed. Some are royal psalms, which refer to the king — and many of the royal psalms are also Messianic psalms, speaking the coming, future, eternal king and kingdom of Messiah. And of course, some are songs of Thanksgiving. Often within a psalm of thanksgiving you will also find a lament as well.
is part of what a six-psalm unit sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Hallel. The term Hallel means praise in Hebrew. These songs were sung at Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, but had the greatest significance at Passover, which celebrated the Jews’ deliverance from Egypt. Traditionally were sung before the Passover meal and afterwards.
Let’s read together.
As we meditate on this passage this morning, keep in mind that the believer in Jesus Christ should reflect on all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus, which should motivate us to express our love and thanks to Him, meditate on His perfections, and grow in our confidence of Him.
Our gratitude should cause us to express our love for God
Look with me at verses 1-2
I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
The reason for the psalmists love for God is that He heard the psalmist prayer
My supplications
Inclined His ear to me
The result of God’s answering the prayer of the psalmist is that he will continue to pray to Him
Spurgeon wrote:
In all days let us pray and praise the Ancient of days. He promises that as our days our strength shall be; let us resolve that as our days our devotion shall be.
Our gratitude should cause us to reflect on what God has done for us
Look with me at 3-4
The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
Death surrounding the psalmist did not necessarily mean that he himself was dying — it could be a reference to the valley of the shadow of death — dark times, etc.
Sheol is the abode of the dead — the grave
The psalmist prayed for deliverance
Physical deliverance
Spiritual deliverance
Later on the psalmist once again reflects in verses 8-11
What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.
Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted.” I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”
For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted.” I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”
Notice the backwards progression:
My soul from death
My eyes from tears
My feet from falling
Spurgeon, in his commentary on the Psalms, wrote:
The triune God has given us a trinity of deliverances: our life has been spared from the grave, our heart has been uplifted from its griefs, and our course in life has been preserved from dishonour. We ought not to be satisfied unless we are conscious of all three of these deliverances.
Finally look at verses 15-16
Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints. O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.
There are a couple of different ways in which to view how the death of a child of God is precious to Him.
It maybe that it is precious in the sense that the servant finds a welcome reception by God as he or she enters into their eternal reward
Welcome Home Children! This is the place I’ve prepared for you.
Welcome home children, now that your work on earth is through.
Welcome home children, you who have followed so faithfully
Welcome home children! Welcome home children!
Here where I am you shall always be
Forever rejoicing with me.
It maybe that it is precious in the sense of being costly — in other words, the death of a child of God costs God something — with this view in the Lexham English Bible translated verse 15 like this:
Costly in Yahweh’s view is the death of his faithful ones.
If this latter understanding is correct, then it would be in keeping with what Jesus said in
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Notice verse 16 once again:
O Lord, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.
Because the psalmist had been rescued by God, he then determines to faithfully serve God for the rest of his life
How much more should that be for those of us who have been set free from slavery to sin, to serve the living God!
Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee; Take my moments and my days let them flow in ceaseless praise, let them flow in ceaseless praise
Our gratitude should cause us to meditate on God’s perfections
Look at verses 5-6
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
The LORD is:
Gracious
Righteous
Merciful
Once again Spurgeon pointed out:
The combination of grace and righteousness in the dealings of God with his servants can only be explained by remembering the droning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross we see how gracious is the Lord and righteous. “Yea, our God is merciful,” or compassionate, tender, pitiful, full of mercy. We who have accepted him as ours have no doubt as to his mercy, for he would never have been our God if he had not been merciful. See how the attribute of righteousness Seems to stand between two guards of love: - gracious, righteous, merciful. The sword of justice is scabbarded in a jewelled sheath of grace.
Preserving the simple ,
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Our gratitude should be expressed in a renewed commitment to God
Look at verses 12-14
What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.
Often I have wondered how I, a mere mortal, can bless the immortal, invisible God only wise?
Here the psalmist says that he will take up the cup of salvation — Derek Kidner noted that “[the cup] suggests God’s gift to man, like that of , rather than man’s to God.”
But as a cup of salvation it suggests God’s gift to man, like that of , rather than man’s to God.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
This may be seen as expressing praise to God for the salvation which only He can provide.
Kidner, D. (1975). : An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, p. 445). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Our gratitude should be expressed in giving thanks to God
Look at verses 17-19
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Note the phrase “will call upon the name of the LORD.”
The “name” Yahweh is the revelation of the glory of God in His acts of creation and redemption and in the revelation of His person.
To call upon His name is to acknowledge His mighty power to save
Look at verses 7 & 17
Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
We need not be anxious about anything, because we trust in the power and the goodness of God who works all things for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord.
Our gratitude to God will produce increased confidence in Him and His ways
Confidence is expressed in the various “I will” statements. Look at the last part of verse 2 again:
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
Notice verse 9
I will walk before the Lord In the land of the living.
Verse 13
I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord.
Verse 14
I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people.
Verse 17
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord.
Verse 18
Verse 18
I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people,
So this morning we have reflected on how we as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ have so much to be grateful for. Our gratitude should cause us to express our love for God, reflect on all that He has done for us, meditate on His perfections, express a renewed commitment to Him, express our thankfulness to Him, and increase our confidence in Him.
These are things of which only those who have embraced the message of the gospel can truly do. If you have not embraced that message, understand that cross beacons you to come seeking mercy and grace. Come to the cross where Christ died in your place. Out of your weakness and into His strength. Will you come to the cross?
Let’s pray.
Closing Come to the Cross