Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Psalm 118:1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
OH, GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD!
"Things aren't bad, but they could be much better." How often we hear this! It is familiar because we hear ourselves speaking. We don't like to admit this, yet we more easily complain than give thanks. How wretched we are! When we Christians complain we are saying that our Father is stingy and doesn't give us much. How much we need to urge ourselves and others to say: "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!"
These words we know well. We say them often. But do we just repeat them thoughtlessly or are they living in our hearts and lives? We know how hard it is for us to even make a start to thank our Lord. We think of one or two blessings, then stammer and can't go on. However, we can give a whole list of things we do NOT have. How will we ever begin to give thanks when we find so much to complain about? While we grumble in discontent, we at the same time have such a Lord who is compelled with His whole heart to only good, who is gracious to help us and bless us willingly and continually, day after day. Still we need to be admonished to thank our loving and gracious Lord. We need our blessings spelled out for us before we know what to be thankful for. Must we not blush for shame? What's wrong with us?
We don't know what we want. We always think if we only had a few things more we would be satisfied and be thankful. No sooner do we have them than we are disappointed. Only a few things more, we again say. How will we ever give thanks? Who remembers to thank God for sunshine, the air we breathe, for food and drink, for eyesight, five fingers on our hands, a healthy body? How true it is that we deserve nothing but righteous wrath and anger upon our hearts which cannot even find a single thought of thanks! And yet we unworthy, undeserving sinners receive blessing after blessing from fatherly goodness and mercy.
These must move us, the children of God, to never-ending praise and thanks. Praise and thanks are the highest worship of our Lord. It is not a heavy and burdensome service. What is easier than to say: You are a good and gracious Lord who day after day gives us unworthy sinners such rich blessings and good! Praise and thanks You must have! Our hearts, our lips, our lives can never be anything but a continual psalm of thanks!
