Lord’s Day, Vol. 10 No. 4
O Give Thanks Unto the LORD
Psalm 105:1-4 (KJV) 1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. 2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. 5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
This is a psalm of thanksgiving as the psalmist rehearsed the faithfulness of God to bless His people with an inheritance. It is a chronological account of the conquest of God for His people. The journey was fraught with danger yet God triumphed through His people. God is true to His Word, faithful to His promises, worthy of our trust!
The psalmist teaches us the sanctified responses of a grateful heart worthy of our emulation.
- Thanksgiving (v1-5)
- Prayer (v1b)
- Preach (v1c, 2b)
- Praise (v2a)
- Ponder on His works (v2b)
- Reverence Him (v3a)
- Protection sought (v4)
- Remember His works (v5)
Think and Thank – It has often been pointed out that thinking precedes thanking. Somewhere in our thinking, there should be thoughts of God. Perhaps we should start there. God – what a train of thoughts should be started when we think of Him. Power, wisdom, goodness, grace, love, care: these are just some of the thoughts that cluster around the word of God. When Paul traces the downward path of mankind, he begins by saying that men, “when they knew God… glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful” (Romans 1:21). Men were not thankful that they had a revelation of God; indeed, they sought to suppress that knowledge and to evade its power. Thanksgiving is thus really the product of careful cultivation. It is the fruit of a deliberate resolve to think about God, ourselves, and our privileges and responsibilities. By giving thanks we make manifest the fact that our lives are not controlled by the imperious cares and concerns of this life. We give testimony to the fact that material things do not dictate the horizons of our soul. [Prairie Overcomer Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Paul Lee Tan]
The commands in these five verses provide the emphasis of the psalmist’s thanksgiving. These are summarized with 5 Ps and 2 Rs. This is how we can be grateful to our LORD.
For the psalmist, he thought through in his heart and mind and committed his devotion of thanksgiving in writing for posterity to learn.
- Rehearsing His Goodness (v6-45a)
- His Covenantal Promises (v6-11)
- His Good Hand Leading (v12-45a)
- In Canaan (v12-14)
- In Egypt (v15-25)
- Out of Egypt (v26-38)
- In Wilderness (v39-41)
- Into the Promised Land (v42-45a)
The psalmist declares the triumphs of God through His people and omitted to speak about their sins. It is for a purpose. Psalm 106 is the opposite where the sins of God’s people were pointed out. He is highlighting how God does not change plans in spite of His people’s rebellion. Not to encourage us to take God’s grace for granted, to rather value it, even more, much as we do not deserve.
Spurgeon observed well, “This historical psalm was evidently composed by King David, for the first fifteen verses of it were used as a hymn at the carrying up of the ark from the house of Obededom, recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:7-12 “7 Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. 8 Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. 12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth… Such a song was suitable for the occasion, for it describes the movements of the LORD’S people and His guardian care over them in every place, and all this on account of the covenant of which the ark, then removing, was the symbol.”
God’s care for His people and our grateful response bring glory to His Name. A note of thanksgiving for assembling His church in physical worship over the past two years is worthy of mention.
The Lord’s promise given in the Great Commission to His church is worthy of rehearsing for such a time as this – Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The Lord promises His power and presence with us in fulfilling the Great Commission. Thank God for His authority undergirding His church and His Spirit’s guiding and accompanying all the way as He builds His church. It means there’s no power that can resist Him and stand against Him. It is a collective effort of God’s people to go out there 6 days a week to reach out and on Sunday to bring them to church. Jesus cares for every soul. It is a mandate for His church to move, to go out, to save souls with the gospel – which is the power of God unto salvation.
Let us see the scope of the mandate and the work involved. It is to influence the unsaved with the truth concerning the eternal well-being of their soul – heaven or hell, death is the separation. In other words, Jesus says spare no effort. Go and win them for Christ, use our influence, our resources, our gifts to show them the truth that they may find salvation in Christ by the power of His Spirit.
It is worthy of thanksgiving that His church is given the privilege and responsibility to bless the world. Let us take courage and press on.
On 30th January 2022, the church will gather in thanksgiving to remember His faithfulness. All praise to His Holy Name. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee