O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, Psa. 92. 1. It is good, because He is good. His goodness is seen in manifold ways of providence. Examples are given in this psalm of travellers, rebels, the foolish and mariners who, in dire peril, cry to the Lord and are delivered. These providential acts of mercy call for thanksgivings, vv. 8, 15, 21, 31.

These are not always forthcoming. Men are guilty of ingratitude, Rom. 1. 21; Luke 17. 17. Nebuchadnezzar, restored from insanity, and Jonah, vomited alive out of the fish, are recorded exceptions, Dan. 4. 34-37; Jonah 2. 9. Winston Churchill, in his book My Early Years, recounts that on escaping from Pretoria, he found himself in such straits out of which only the help of God could extricate him. Fearing recapture, he cried to God. Circumstances turned out so unexpectedly for his deliverance, that he could only attribute them to the hand of God.

God’s goodness extends to all men in the essentials of life, Matt. 5. 45; Acts 14. 17. These are often taken for granted, without any thought of the Giver. The believer should be thankful for everything, 1 Thess. 5. 18.

Israel experienced the goodness of God and saw His wonderful works. It seems that this psalm was written at the time of the return from Babylon. Yet the nation was guilty of ingratitude before and after the exile; see Psa. 106. According to many prophecies, there is to be a future return out of all lands. In that day, Israel will give thanks unto his holy name and triumph in his praise, Psa. 106. 47. God’s goodness in the sphere of redemption calls for even greater thanksgiving. Thankfulness is a mark of the filling of the Spirit, Eph. 5. 20. It is also an important part of prayer. We should always thank the Father for our salvation, Col. 1. 12-14; also for reports of the conversion and progress of others, Col. 1. 3-4; 1 Thess. 1. 2, 3; 2. 13. All our requests should be accompanied by thanksgiving, Phil. 4. 6. God is unlikely to grant further requests if He sees no gratitude for what He has already bestowed.

“Whatsoever ye do … do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father”, Col. 3. 17.