Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced[.] Psalm 105: 1-5, NIV.
Merciful God, we give You thanks because at all times, and in all places, Your goodness has been extended to us. We pray that we will take every opportunity to sing Your praises. In the holy name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
During these days of thanksgiving, I would like us to take the time and look backwards – over our lives, and count the many ways the LORD has blessed us! You will notice that I said these days, plural. That is because we are not going to limit our thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of the month. We will begin today, and continue for a couple of days after Thanksgiving. Even so, we will not have enough time to praise the LORD for all that He has done on our behalf!
We will look at the things, and the occasions, for which Israel is praising God! We will think of our own blessings that are parallel to theirs. Let us begin with the establishing of a covenant with His people. Have you ever stopped to think of just how incredible it is that the great sovereign God of the universe should enter into a covenant with mere mortals, sinful creatures, who have nothing of worth to offer as their part of the bargain? Have you ever stopped to think that the covenant is everlasting? Do you know that the only one who can break the covenant is you? That is, God will never default on His part of the bargain! God promised the children of Israel that He would take them into the land of Canaan, and to the land of Canaan He carried them. He took an oath, on His own faithfulness, that He would bless Abraham, and He did (Genesis 22: 14-16; Hebrews 6: 13, 14)! He will do no less for us!
When the Israelites were in Egyptian bondage they cried to the LORD, and He heard their cry, and “came down” to see for Himself (Exodus 3: 7, 8)! But He did not only look on their affliction, He did something about it. He defended His people against the oppressing monarch. He fought against Pharaoh, on their behalf. With plagues, and signs, and wonders, He set His people free. Then with His stretched out arm, He led them over dry land, in the midst of the sea, into the promised land.
We have all been in spiritual bondage, in the land of Sin. Our adversary, the devil, had us bound. The LORD heard our cry and “came down” in the form of His Son Jesus Christ (John 1: 14). He went up to the hill called Calvary, and was crucified. With His death, He paid the price of our ransom! With signs and wonders of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, He fought and won the battle against evil. Then He flung the prison gates wide open, that every captive soul, can walk out – a free man, a free woman!
He has promised to save us and He will – if we let Him! “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6: 17-20). God promised that in Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed; and that includes you and me! Now Jesus has entered behind the veil, in the most holy place, where He is presenting His righteousness to the Father, on our behalf!
O give thanks to the LORD! Praise His holy name! For He has done wonderful things for us, whereof we are glad!