Thanksgiving
Psalm 103
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for mortals, their days are like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul
Thank You JesusIf you have been raised well, at some point you learned to say "thank you." It is the appropriate response to many things, and the polite response to many more. Like many other phrases, it is one we can say without thinking, and without much meaning . . . but it is also one that can be spoken with a depth and richness that goes beyond what words can express.
This is a season in which we pause to ponder our blessings and to return thanks, or at least that is what we hope the season is for. Curiously, it is easy to lose track of this in the midst of the season, and become less than grateful for or impressed with the richness of what surrounds us. As one person has put it, "everything is amazing and no one is happy." It is easier to slip into an attitude of un-gratefulness than gratefulness. Yet, 1 Thess 5:18 reminds us to "give thanks in [not for] all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
One way our gratitude is expressed is to "bless" those to whom we are grateful. This is the experience that Psalm 103 invites us to enter into as we contemplate what God does for us. This is the Psalm that Pastor Jon invites us to reflect upon as he leads us through Psalm 103. If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.
As you listen to the picture of God that David makes reference to beginning in verse 8, take a few moments to recall the story from which this comes. (Click here to read the story).
As you reflect on the implications of what it means to encounter God in all of His graciousness, how does this impact:
How you relate to God?
How you therefore relate to others?
Have you discovered how those who worry about an
over emphasis on God's graciousness, have simply not
understood its depth or breadth?
Where are the places in your own life where you more fully
need to experience God's graciousness?
Where are the places where you need to more fully live in
response to God's graciousness?