A very good morning to you my precious family and friends.
Psalm 92:1-2 says “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your loving kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.”
We often thank men when they do good things for us, how much more should we be giving thanks to the Lord for His amazing blessings we receive every moment of each day.
You might be surprised to hear that the most common command in the bible isn’t restrictive. Rather, scripture urges us again and again to DO something. Over 70 times in the New Testament, we are commanded to give thanks and praise to our God. In the book of Psalms alone, it is thought that there are around 36 references to thanksgiving, occurring in 24 different Psalms. So why is thankfulness so important? The truth of the matter is, there are infinite reasons to give thanks and praise to our God.
Giving thanks is good. The word good in verse 1 could be interchanged with ‘right’ or ‘fitting.’ Thankfulness is the only appropriate response to a God whose loving kindness we wake up to each and every morning, and whose faithfulness we can sing of every night. Thanksgiving is the only fitting response to the Lord Jesus, who laid down His life to save us. Thankfulness, particularly when spoken out loud, is good for the soul, and edifies those around us. Thankfulness carries a lovely fragrance, which always beautifies and edifies the atmosphere. Thankfulness is good.
Psalm 16:11 tells us that in God’s presence there is fullness of joy. So how do we get into God’s presence?
It can be very easy to wake up in the morning and immediately begin to focus on our problems or the long list of things we need to get done. This doesn’t make for a very joyful day.
Psalm 100:4 challenges us to ‘enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!’ We come into God’s presence through the gateway of thankfulness and praise.
Thankfulness can sometimes feel a bit like climbing up a hill. When we first come to God, we may be feeling anxious, stressed, or even just empty. But as we begin to release our praise and thankfulness to God, we climb higher and higher, until sooner or later we get a new sense of perspective. As we declare God’s loving kindness, as we speak out His precious and magnificent promises, it’s like standing and gazing over the panoramic horizon of God’s grace and goodness, which stretches endlessly before us.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to; “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I am sure that we all have asked God what is His will for our lives. Well, this verse takes the mystery right out of that! God’s will for us is to be the kind of person who rejoices – a lot – in fact, in every circumstance!
To be someone who abides in communion with God, in whose presence there is fullness of joy, and for us to be the sort of person, in a world filled with much moaning and complaining, radiates thankfulness. Thankfulness brings glory and honour to God the Father.
Psalm 92 is an encouragement psalm for the Christian. Look at what God says about us in verses 12 and 14; We shall flourish like a palm tree, we'll grow like a cedar in Lebanon, we'll flourish in the courts of our God, and we'll still bear fruit in old age.
God places a great barrier between the Christian and the non-Christian. This becomes really obvious when we consider verses 12 to 15. Your heart just skips a beat when you think of all Christ does for you. The unbeliever, does not have a clue. In verse 6 God calls them senseless because they just don't understand what we see in the Bible and they don't understand how much we love God. Our love for our Lord is greater than any other love we can experience on earth. Christians are no better than the non-Christians; we are not saved because God just had to save us because we were so good. It is only the grace of God that has opened our eyes to see and accept the salvation Christ has provided for us.
The psalm opens with lines that no one faithful to God would doubt: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.” This sets the positive tone for the whole psalm and is a worthy reminder for each of us to acknowledge that “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night”.
Let us pray.
Thank You Father God for Your amazing power and work in our lives, thank You for Your goodness and for Your blessings over us. Thank You that You are able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for Your purposes. Thank You for Your great love and care. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Thank You that You are always with us and will never leave us. Thank You for Your incredible sacrifice at Calvary so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don't thank You enough, for who You are, for all that You do, for all that You've given us. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on You afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with Your peace and joy. We love You and we need You, this day and every day. We give You praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy. Amen.
Much love in Christ from Maurice and Margaret.
