“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. … Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psalm 95:1-3; 6-7)
With the Thanksgiving holiday just a short time away, I thought it’d be good for us to look to the Psalms to remind us how and why we should give thanks and extol the Lord at ALL times. Psalm 95 above is a direct invitation that tells why we should give thanks and includes descriptions of how to come before God with thanksgiving.
And Psalm 34 (below) gives us a picture of gratitude-filled praise flowing out of a “poor man” resolved to extol the Lord at all times because of his assurance that God will deliver him from ALL his troubles. This Psalm goes on describing who God is and what He’s done and will do for His people. These are amazing truths to meditate upon—and they inspire in us the praise that God deserves.
Excuses for holding back praise and thanksgiving.
When it comes to Christians giving thanks and praise to God, none of us have an excuse to keep silent.
As I’ve been reflecting on Psalm 34 in recent weeks, I’ve been rightly challenged and heartily encouraged to keep my heart and mouth open in audible, continual praise and thanks to the Lord in the midst of the best and worst circumstances. When I forget God’s faithfulness to me in times past, I become sinfully ungrateful and self-absorbed in the present.
But when I call to mind every trouble I’ve been through, every moment spent suffering my broken heart, I cannot deny God’s faithfulness and nearness to me at all times.
Like the Psalmist David, every time I’ve sought and cried out to Him, He has answered and delivered me from all my fears. Further, since becoming a child of God and walking in the fear of the Lord, I have lacked nothing.
- I have tasted and seen that the Lord IS good.
- He is my sure refuge.
- He has saved me when I was crushed in spirit.
If I truly believe God’s Word as I claim to, then this promise alone would sustain me and inspire thanks and praise to God at all times, in every trouble and trial I may have:
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him from them all. … the Lord will rescue His servants; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.”
