Text: Psalm 138
1 By David. I will give thanks to you with all my heart. I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple. I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth. You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me. You made me bold by strengthening my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O LORD, because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of the LORD: "The LORD's honor is great!"
6 Even though the LORD is high above, he sees humble people close up, and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble, you guard my life against the anger of my enemies. You stretch out your hand, and your right hand saves me.
8 The LORD will do everything for me. O LORD, your mercy endures forever. Do not let go of what your hands have made.
In Psalm 138 the Psalmist is expressing all of the reasons for which he thanks and praises the Lord. His heart is overflowing with thanks and praise. One might think that life for this writer must have been fairly smooth for praise appears to flow effortlessly from his lips. But the Psalmist is David.
David did not have life on easy street. He was the son of a sheep herder. He was the youngest among his brothers, meaning he was the "last man on the totem pole" so to speak. He held one of the lowliest positions. He was responsible for herding the sheep, protecting them, caring for them, watering them, keeping them in the fold. The sheep were dirty, smelly, animals. Yet God chose him to be the anointed one to rule over Israel.
The problem, however, was that Israel already had a king. That king was Saul. Once Saul heard about David being anointed king, he set out to have David killed. David did not have an easy life. When he was delivered from the jealousy and wrath of Saul, he had troubles in his family. He created some trouble by yielding to temptation – the famous story of David and Bathsheba. He was hated by one of his sons Absalom who sought to kill him.
David had to fight enemy nations and struggle through dissension among the ranks of his army. But David, no matter what he faced, never lost his heart of thanks and praise.
Today, Shepastor considers ten reasons why David thanked and praised the Lord. Maybe we too can identify with these reasons…
Shepastor: “Ten Reasons to Thank and Praise the Lord”
(1) David thanked and praised the Lord for His mercy. David understood that God does not reward us according to our transgressions. In other words, God looks beyond our faults and sees our needs. God is a merciful God.
(2) David thanked and praised God because of His truth. There were many false gods that people praised and offered sacrifice for, but David worshipped the God of truth. God’s Word is truth. David understood even before Jesus declared it that “truth” will make you free…
(3) David thanked and praised God because His name and promises are greater than everything. David understood that at the name of the Lord, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. David understood that the name of the Lord is a strong tower that the righteous can run to. David understood that the promises of God are sure and true…
(4) David thanked and praised God for giving him boldness and strength. David knew that it was God and God alone that gave him victory over his enemies. God gave him the strength to defeat Goliath. God gave him the strength to overcome Saul. God gave him the strength to continue to press his way in the midst of the life’s most difficult circumstances…
(5) David thanked and praised God for making world leaders know that He is God. David praised God for humbling the hearts of world leaders and making them understand that they do not have the final say…
(6) David thanked and praised God for “seeing” the humble. David was thankful that God knows and sees and understands those whom the world views as nothing…
(7) David thanked and praised God for walking with him through trouble… “Yea thou I walk through the valley and the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”
(8) David thanked and praised God for the protection of His right hand. “Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thine footstool…”
(9) David thanked and praised God for doing “everything for him.” Without God we are nothing.
(10) David praised and thanked God for mercy that endures forever.
No matter what we face in life, we ought to always have a word of thanks and praise upon our lips. One of the greatest sins is the sin of ingratitude. When we are thankful, it forces us to count our blessings. When we are thankful, it forces us to praise God for what He has already done. When we are thankful, it causes us to consider all that we are blessed to have that some may only be able to dream about.
When we are thankful, it causes us to stop complaining and to trust God. When we are thankful, we honor the Lord.
How thankful are you? Post a comment or send me an email at shepastor1@hotmail.com
Until next Wednesday,
In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
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