We Give Thanks

Yesterday, we examined how little (to our eyes) the Pilgrims had to be thankful for at the first Thanksgiving. We saw that this did not give them pause - they could he happy in all circumstances, like Paul and like us. Today we turn to read through the 107th Psalm, with my comments in brackets. Let this be the feeling of your heart for all of Thansksgiving day and every day.

Psa 107:1-43


(1) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for [because] He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

(2) Let the redeemed of the LORD [the saved, those purchased by His blood] say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary [He has freed us from the devil and the power of sin]

(3) And gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.

(4) They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city. [We, even in our modern world, are in an untamed wilderness of sin. There is no civilization here for us, no refuge. God must rescue us and bring us home, or we will wander until we die.]
(5) They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. [The bondage of sin wearies us.]

(6) Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. [We need not find our own way out of the wilderness, but to cry out to the LORD.]

(7) He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city. [Freed from sin, we are brought to true civilization!]

(8) Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! [For this, the psalmist gives thanks!]

(9) For He has satisfied the thirsty soul [with living water - John 7:38], And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good [the bread of life - John 6:35].

(10) There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains,

(11) Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High. [We were in the shackles of death because we sinned against God, yet God saved us.]

(12) Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. [We try to save ourselves from sin, we try to be righteous. But our failure brings humility and we call on God in our weakness.]

(13) Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

(14) He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart.

(15) Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! [Again, we give thanks!]

(16) For He has shattered gates of bronze And cut bars of iron asunder.

(17) Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

(18) Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, And they drew near to the gates of death.

(19) Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.

(20) He sent His word [that is, Jesus - see John 1] and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

(21) Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! [Offer up thanks to God for this sweet freedom!]

(22) Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing. [The sacrifices God desires are not burning meat. God wishes that we are broekn-hearted over our sin and that we wish to turn away from it (Psalm 51); he desires us to sing a song of praise to Him (Psalm 51). We can sing one of the Psalms, sing something as beautiful as At the Cross, or as simple as Jesus Loves Me, but to thank God for what He has done for us is the sacrifice He desires - and to tell others!]

(23) Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters;

(24) They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.

(25) For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

(26) They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.

(27) They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits' end.

(28) Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses.

(29) He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. [Even the winds obey God! That we make it safely somewhere to celebrate Thanksgiving is his divine hand at work.]

(30) Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.

(31) Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! [Thank God, thank God!]

(32) Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

(33) He changes rivers into a wilderness And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

(34) A fruitful land into a salt waste, Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

(35) He changes a wilderness into a pool of water And a dry land into springs of water;

(36) And there He makes the hungry to dwell, So that they may establish an inhabited city,

(37) And sow fields and plant vineyards, And gather a fruitful harvest.

(38) Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly, And He does not let their cattle decrease.

(39) When they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

(40) He pours contempt upon princes And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

(41) But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, And makes his families like a flock.

(42) The upright see it and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

(43) Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD. [God provides for the needs of the hungry and the afflicted. God provides for the salvation of the sinner. If we are wise, the Bible tells us, we will dwell on these things. ]

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.