Give thanks to the Lord | At Water’s Edge

Give Thanks!

What does it mean to be redeemed?

When you study the roots of the word “redeemed,” you will find phrases like “buy back,” “win back,” and “to free from captivity by payment of ransom.” This last definition gets to the heart of the matter in a theological sense. Your very soul was freed when Jesus paid a ransom for it on the cross. YOU are one of the redeemed.

In our Psalm today, we receive instructions on what the redeemed should do. This is a terrific reminder this week as we prepare for Thanksgiving. How do you measure up?

Here is what the psalmist suggests:

Give thanks to the Lord,

Say that his faithful love lasts forever,

Cry out to the Lord in your distress,

Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

Declare what God has done,

Sing songs of joy!

Psalm 107 (Common English Bible)

“Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
        because his faithful love lasts forever!”
²That’s what those who are redeemed by the Lord say,
    the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
³    the ones God gathered from various countries,
    from east and west, north and south.

Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
They suffered because of their wickedness.
¹⁸They had absolutely no appetite for food;
they had arrived at death’s gates.

¹⁹So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
²⁰God gave the order and healed them;
he rescued them from their pit.

²¹Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
²²Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and declare what God has done in songs of joy!

This psalm was written during the time when God redeemed the nation of Israel from captivity in Babylon. They had cried out and were heard. They suffered because of their wickedness and were delivered. They were sick to death and were healed of their desperate circumstances.

God redeemed his people.

Our challenge today is to choose one of the things that the redeemed do and go out and do it. Can you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice by paying for someone’s order in the drive-through line behind you? Can you call or text a friend and remind them of God’s faithful love? Perhaps you might sing a song of joy to the Lord today as you take a walk or spend extra time in prayer and offer God nothing but thanks.

We are the redeemed. We are his people. We are bought and paid for by the shed blood of the atonement. Give thanks!

Let all the redeemed say so.

Give Thanks by Michelle Robertson

Grateful

Posted on October 7 by Betsy

We recently studied the passage from Luke 17 where Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to thank him. In that devotional, we were reminded to give thanks to God in all seasons and for all things, and never take what we have, who we are, and what our future holds for granted. Some of you commented that it was a much-needed reminder. One commenter said she got “pinged”. When that happens, I hope you know that it isn’t me doing the pinging!

Today, we will practice offering God the thanksgiving he deserves. This eloquent psalm focuses on all the reasons to thank God. We thank him for his works. We thank him for his righteousness. We thank him for the company of our congregation. We thank him for food, wonderful deeds, grace, mercy, power, our heritage … everything. Are you having a bad day/week/year? Read this one aloud. Twice.

Psalm 111 is an acrostic psalm, which means that each line of the psalm starts with a letter in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic psalms were written to help people memorize them, much as elementary school kids do when they learn the song about the state capitals in alphabetic order. I know adults who can still sing the State Capitals song. Can you?

I can’t imagine the skill it would take to write a piece of poetry like this and ensure that every verse started with a specific letter in the alphabet. We should endeavor to memorize it for that very reason.

Psalm 111 (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Giving thanks with our whole heart is something God deserves from us. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: “God cannot be acceptably praised with a divided heart, neither should we attempt so to dishonor him; for our whole heart is little enough for his glory, and there can be no reason why it should not all be lifted up in his praise.” Wise words.

²Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
³Full of honor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
⁴He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
⁵He provides food for those who fear him;
    he is ever mindful of his covenant.

God’s covenant with his people is a pledge to give protection, provision, and blessing. When the psalmist says that God is mindful of his covenant and that he has commanded his covenant to last forever, he reassures the reader that God’s promises last forever. As modern Christian readers, we know that God’s covenant was fulfilled on the cross when he sent his only son for the salvation of the world. Through Jesus, we received a new covenant. Thank God!

⁶He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the heritage of the nations.
⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
⁸They are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
⁹He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.

I always prefer to understand the word “fear” in these passages as “reverential trust.” This word is not meant to imply quaking and trembling in terror before a powerful entity, but rather it portrays a picture of a respectful reverence that acknowledges God’s power and might and our insignificance. Only by grace may we approach the throne. But approach it, we may.

Holy and AWESOME is his name!

Ungrateful

Posted on October 5 by Betsy

I am working on a book on Psalms (hopefully available on Amazon soon!) and I have organized it into a five-week study for small groups. Each week will focus on a type of psalm: praise, lament, trust, wisdom, and thanksgiving. As I was writing the leader’s guide chapter on Psalms of Thanksgiving, I wrote a discussion question that made me wonder what my own response would be: “Do you remember to thank God for everything he has given you?” I pondered that for a moment. Do I? Do you? Or do we take this life, this world, these homes, our families, good health, our food, and our jobs all for granted? Do we just go along living our lives and act like we’re entitled to everything? Or worse, do we think we have earned it all by the work of our hands alone?

I have a family member who would argue that she has worked for everything she has. Her lifestyle is a result of her hard work, her persistence, and her skills. I have no argument with that. Surely these things have served her well. But I believe that her work ethic was passed down from generations of people who worked God’s harvest before her and taught her that value. I believe her persistence is a personality trait that was knit into her by God when he formed her in the womb. And I believe that God gives us skills and spiritual gifts with which we can serve him and sustain our families. I don’t think there is anything we have for which we can take sole credit. God is the creator of everything, even our ability to earn a living. For that I thank God!

Our lectionary passage today tells a wonderful story of healing. Jesus was doing his thing, traveling between Samaria (where his type was not received) and Galilee (where his type belonged). Upon entering a village, he met ten men who desperately needed healing:

Luke 17 (Common English Bible)

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, ¹³they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”

¹⁴When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed.

It is interesting to note that a measure of obedience was required from the men. They were being asked to step out on faith and participate in their healing. They had to go to the priests. Their healing was not just doled out to them. It is also noteworthy that their common disease had broken down the societal barriers that normally stood between Samaritans and Jews. They were a mixed group, bound together in misery … and hope.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. ¹⁶He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

The Samaritan was doubly blessed. While all ten received physical healing, only he returned to Jesus for a healing of heart and received an additional blessing of faith. The foreigner became the faithful.

I think that if we look hard enough, we can always find something to be grateful for. Bible commentator Matthew Henry was once robbed of his wallet. That night he wrote in his diary all the things he was grateful for. He was grateful that he had never been robbed before. He was thankful that they took his wallet but not his life. He wrote that even though they took all his money, it wasn’t very much. Finally, he gave thanks that he was the one who was robbed and not the one who did the robbing.

Do you owe God a debt of thanksgiving? Has he done anything for you lately? Don’t be ungrateful. It is never too late to return to the Lord with an attitude of gratitude.

He deserves no less from us.

The Redeemed

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Betsy

What does it mean to be redeemed?

When you study the roots of the word you will find phrases like “buy back,” “win back,” and “to free from captivity by payment of ransom.” This last definition gets to the heart of the matter in a theological sense. Your very soul was freed when Jesus paid a ransom for it on the cross. YOU are one of the redeemed.

In our Psalm today, we receive instructions on what the redeemed should do. This is a terrific reminder in this season of Lent when we are trying to be more disciplined in spiritual matters. How do you measure up?

Here is what the psalmist suggests:

Give thanks to the Lord,

Say that his faithful love lasts forever,

Cry out to the Lord in your distress,

Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

Declare what God has done,

Sing songs of joy!

Psalm 107 (Common English Bible)

Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways.
    They suffered because of their wickedness.
¹⁸They had absolutely no appetite for food;
    they had arrived at death’s gates.
¹⁹So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
    and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
²⁰God gave the order and healed them;
    he rescued them from their pit.
²¹Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
    and his wondrous works for all people.
²²Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
    and declare what God has done in songs of joy!

Our challenge today is to choose one of the things that the redeemed do, and go out and do it. Can you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice by paying for someone’s order in the line behind you? Can you call or text a friend and remind them of God’s faithful love? Perhaps you might sing a song of joy to the Lord today as you take a walk or spend extra time in prayer offering nothing but thanks.

We are the redeemed. We are his people. We are bought and paid for by the shed blood of the atonement. Give thanks!

Let all the redeemed say so.