3 Reasons to Give Thanks to the Lord
Happy Thanksgiving!
I pray you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and get to spend it with family and friends.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a reminder that we ought to be continually thankful for the Lord and His blessings.
Here are three reasons from Scripture why we should give thanks to the Lord.
1) Give Thanks to the Lord for His Mercy.
When the Scriptures repeat something, it’s for emphasis – God wants the reader of His word not to miss the point He’s making. Psalm 136 is unique in that the final phrase of all twenty-six verses ends with “For His mercy endures forever.” I suppose no section of Scripture more heavily emphasizes the mercy of God than Psalm 136.
Psalm 136 is a brief overview of most of the Old Testament and shows how God’s enduring mercy is seen through it all. When we look back through history – or even through our own lives – we see the enduring mercy of God.
His Mercy in His Identity (Psalm 136:1-3).
The psalmist uses several different “names” for God in the opening verses of the psalm. The “LORD” refers to God’s covenant name with His people, and His “self-existence.” Verses two and three emphasize His greatness over all else – the “God of gods” and the “Lord of lords.” His goodness and sovereignty are worth giving thanks for because “His mercy endures forever.”
His Mercy in the Creation (Psalm 136:4-9).
God spoke this world into existence (Genesis 1) and continues to sustain His creation by “the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). The earth, sun, moon, and stars in the night sky are all a testament to God’s power, wisdom, and especially, His everlasting mercy. God created us even though He knew what it would cost Him (Ephesians 3:8-12) because “His mercy endures forever.”
His Mercy in Delivering Israel from Egypt (Psalm 136:10-15).
In delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian captivity, God demonstrated His power over the Egyptians through the plagues, and by the crossing of the Red Sea.
In delivering us from the captivity of sin through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-14), God’s mercy has been shown to us as well. God demonstrated His power in these ways because “His mercy endures forever.”
His Mercy in Bringing Israel to Canaan (Psalm 136:16-22).
As the Israelites traveled from Egypt to Canaan, God was with them all the way. He led them and defeated their enemies in battle, giving Israel the land because “His mercy endures forever.”
The heavenly country (Philippians 3:20-21) that awaits us is yet another testament to the everlasting mercy and kindness of God (Ephesians 2:4-7).
His Mercy in His Care for Israel (Psalm 136:23-26).
In remembering Israel when they were at their lowest, in rescuing them from their enemies, in continuing to provide for them, the Lord demonstrated the greatest of His mercy.
The Lord still continues to care for you and me – even when we go through the “low times” in life (1 Peter 5:7).
“Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:26).
2) Give Thanks to the Lord for His Wondrous Works.
There is much we could say from Scripture about the Lord’s wondrous works.
We could look at the world around us and give thanks for His wondrous work of creation (Genesis 1).
We could open the pages of the Bible and give thanks for His wondrous work of revelation (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21).
We could look at the cross of Jesus Christ and give thanks for His wondrous work of redemption (1 Peter 1:17-19; Romans 5:6-11).
While all of these are the wondrous works of God, Psalm 75 focuses on the wondrous work of God’s upright judgment. The Lord’s work as the righteous Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25) gives His people yet another reason to praise Him.
God’s Work as the Stabilizer.
"When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I set up its pillars firmly. Selah” (Psalm 75:2-3).
God, as the upright, righteous Judge of all the earth, chooses the time of judgment for all people. When it seems like the earth is “tottering” (ESV) and its “inhabitants dissolve in fear” (NET), the Lord is the supporter and stabilizer of the earth’s pillars (Hebrews 1:3).
In this world where fear, injustice, and wickedness abound, give thanks that God is the unmovable righteous Judge who holds all things together until the time of His choosing.
God’s Work as the Exalter.
"I said to the boastful, 'Do not deal boastfully,' And to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.' " For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another” (Psalm 75:4-7).
The arrogant and wicked of this world look to their power and the strength of their allies to exalt themselves. But in doing this, they have forgotten one very important thing – “God is the Judge.” He is the one who exalts and humbles (Daniel 4:34-37; James 4:6-10).
Give thanks that the work of raising up and putting down is reserved by the upright Judge.
God’s Work as the Silencer.
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down. But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. "All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted" (Psalm 75:8-10).
Psalm 75:8 pictures the deeply intoxicating drink of God’s justice being forced down the throats of the wicked to put them into a stupor and silence them (Isaiah 51:17-23).
While the wicked will be forced into stunned silence, God’s people declare and sing the praises of God’s righteous judgment to humble the wicked while exalting the power of the righteous.
Praise God and give thanks for His wondrous work as the upright Judge of all the earth!
3) Give Thanks to the Lord for His House.
David rejoiced for the opportunity to enter the house of the LORD (Psalm 122:1). He looked forward to giving “thanks to the name of the LORD” in the city of Jerusalem, where the house of God stood during David’s life (Psalm 122:2-4). David prayed for peace within Jerusalem and sought its good “because of the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:6-9).
While the tabernacle and temple were the place where the “glory of the Lord” dwelled during the Old Testament (Exodus 40:34-38; 1 Kings 8:11), we also know the Lord cannot be confined to a physical building made with men’s hands (Acts 7:48-50).
However, the Lord still has a house today, but His house has not been built with men’s hands. God’s house has been built by God’s own Son.
God’s House is His Church.
Paul wrote to Timothy:
“I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
God’s house – His church – does not refer to a physical building, but a spiritual one. Jesus Christ is the foundation of God’s house and Christians are the “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5) who make up the building (1 Corinthians 3:9-11).
God Lives in His House.
As God’s glory once filled the tabernacle and temple, so His Holy Spirit lives in His temple (house) today. Paul asked Christians:
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Later, Paul reminded Christians that because we are now God’s temple (house), our lives must glorify Him.
“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
Just as the tabernacle and temple were to be devoted to God and kept pure, so each Christian must devote themselves to God and keep themselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22).
The way we live matters because of Who lives in us and Whose house we are.
Give Thanks for His House.
What a blessing it is that God has given us a spiritual family of brothers and sisters we can assemble together with to encourage and strengthen each other (Hebrews 10:24-25).
As individual members of Jesus’ body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) and stones that make up the building of God’s house, we have a responsibility to one another, as well as to God.
How thankful we ought to be that, in Christ, we are part of the Lord’s own house!
I’m thankful for your reading Centered on Christ, and I hope we have many more times to study God’s word together!
Have a wonderful day!
