Happy Thanksgiving! Old Hundredth, as this Psalm is sometimes referred to, is the only Psalm that is given the description of, “A Psalm For Giving Thanks.” It is rightly titled, and a great reminder for us today, that we have much about which we should be grateful.
The great Baptist Preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said it best in his comments on this Psalm, “Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people,” (C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David). God is indeed a happy God and when we are in right fellowship with Him we are the happiest version of ourselves possible. The best version of your life is the one where you are happily serving the Lord and spending time with Him singing His praises. This Psalm gives two calls to thanksgiving. They are found in, Psalm 100:1-2;4. First we see in verse 2, that all the Earth is called on to give joyful expressions of praise and service to the Lord. Verse 4 gives the call specifically to those who are God’s people, to gather before Him as we corporately give Him our thanks. Thanksgiving brings far greater joy as a group exercise where we can give testimony to the shared experiences of God’s loving grace. The reasons for giving thanks are found in, Psalm 100:3;5, verse 3 reminds us that we give thanks because we know and are known by God. We can know that the One we serve is the God of this universe, and that He is the One who made us. Our existence is intentional not accidental, there is divine purpose in every breath we are given. As the cross-stitch my Memaw made for here grandkids said, “God don’t make no junk!” Regardless of how you may feel or what others may tell you, you are a treasured, loved, and adored possession of the greatest being in the entire universe! Your status comes with benefits to! The most powerful, most wise, most loving being imaginable looks at you and says, mine. This is what the Psalmist is expressing when he says, “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture,” like any good shepherd, the Lord God is going to make sure His sheep are provided the best of the very best. The second reason praising the Lord is His supreme goodness. This simple truth leads to the infinite expressions of God’s love for His people. True goodness is found only in the Lord God, this world has been broken ever since the sin of Adam and Eve. God made the world good but we messed it up, first chance we got, and have continued along that path ever since. So there it is hard to find good in this broken world, but God, He is good and we can trust Him and He gives us all good things! Despite our many failings, “His steadfast love endures forever,” this is the love of God that Sally Lloyd Jones in her children’s bible, the “Jesus Storybook Bible,” calls His, “never stopping, never giving up, always and forever love.” When we fail, God continues to show us His kindness and continues to pursue us in His love and mercy. His faithfulness extends to all generations. His grace never runs out. Where we might have run out of patience by lunchtime, God’s loving kindness keeps on keeping on no matter how many times we have failed Him. No matter who you are, what you have done, how you have succeeded or failed on this Thanksgiving Day, know that God is good and He wants you to be happy! He wants you to enjoy the life He has given you. And you can indeed be happy in your life if you will just begin with the instructions of this ancient short song that God’s people have sung for Millenia and will sing for all eternity. Now if you have never placed your faith in Jesus, you cannot know the love of God expressed in this Psalm, you are separated from God by your sin, but God wants you to be happy! If you have never trusted yourself to Jesus, you should know that God has shown you great love and concern. To prove His love for you, God made a way for you to be a part of His family even after you sinned against Him. He sent Jesus, His own Son to die in your place, to pay for your sins, so that you can be forgiven in Him. All that stands between you and being called a child of the King is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Give Thanks for He is Good!
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