LifeWay Bible Studies for Life Series for March 25: I thank you

A mother and her young daughter go to visit one of their elderly neighbors. The neighbor is glad to see her younger friends. Almost immediately, the elderly woman offers the young girl a freshly baked cookie. The child quickly accepts it and takes her first bite.

But the child’s mother stops her daughter in mid-chew and asks her a question: “What do you say to Mrs. Smith?”  The daughter swallows her mouthful of cookie and says, “Thank you, Mrs. Smith.”

We all have experienced a similar time in our lives when we had the role of either the parent, the child or the neighbor.  We all have realized it is more than just good manners to say “thank you” when we have received a gift, a compliment or a cookie.  

For the past three weeks, we have looked at various elements of worship. Today, the psalmist reminds us that giving thanks to God certainly is a valid and important part of worshipping him.

The first verse and the first half of the second verse of Psalm 107 contain the essence of the psalmist’s emphasis. The remainder of the psalm gives support and clarification in case the reader or listener didn’t understand his main thrust.  

In Psalm 107:1, we find the imperative command instructing us to give thanks or praise to the Lord. The Hebrew word yadah is translated as either “give thanks” or “praise” in various biblical translations. Regardless of a person’s preferred translation, the admonition is clear—praise or thanks is to be given to God.  

For thought: Do we regularly give thanks or praise to God for all he is doing in our lives, or do we live our lives as if we simply are entitled to all God’s blessings?

The psalmist gives the listeners reason to give thanks to the Lord in the second part of verse one. He begins by saying God is good. In a day of the overuse of superlatives, we may miss the significance of this statement. We label our children as good, our food is good and I am good. But we cannot compare ourselves to God because we are not always good. God, however, always is good.

When the rich, young ruler came to Jesus asking what good thing he needed to do to have eternal life, Jesus replied, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good” (Matthew 19:17).

The first verse concludes with “his love (also translated mercy) endures forever.” The psalmist knew the history of Israel. He knew he worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was aware of God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people out of Egyptian bondage and his gift of a new homeland. He also knew of the rebellion and sinfulness of his kinsmen, many times even as God was blessing, protecting and delivering them. And yet through all of this, God had continued to love and care for his people.  

For thought: Living by calendars and clocks, it is difficult for us to really understand what is meant by “forever” or “eternity.” But can you grasp, that even in your darkest hours, God’s loving mercy extends to your life to draw you closer to him?  

With a firm foundation laid in verse 1 as to why we should give God thanks and praise, Psalm 107:2 encourages the redeemed—those whose lives have been transformed by God’s loving mercy—to stand up and say so. The psalmist is calling upon those men and women of faith who have seen and experienced the working of God to speak out so others might become aware of all God has done and can do.

Particularly in days gone by, many worship services included a time in which a pastor might ask if any members of the congregation wanted to share a testimony of what God was doing in their lives. The responses varied from some who might share about  illnesses God had healed to others who would share how they came to faith in Christ.

Today, a few churches have begun to video some of their members’ testimonies of how God worked in their lives to redeem a marriage, heal an illness or bring them to faith. These videos are then shown in a worship service or placed on the church’s website for anyone to see.  

For thought: How do you speak up about having your life transformed by God through his Son, Jesus Christ?  

The remainder of Psalm 107 is a litany of examples of how God had redeemed people during their times of chaos or disciplined them during times of rebellion to bring them back to him. Whether the situation was hunger, slavery, rebellion or storms, God brought people to a point of repentance and restoration.

At the conclusion of various stanzas of these examples, the psalmist inserts a recurring phrase, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men …” (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31). Each of those verses concludes with a specific reference for which the people should give thanks.

For thought: Too often we only give thanks to God in generalities—“thank you for all your blessings.” We weren’t part of the Hebrew captivity in Egypt, the Exodus or the 40 years in the wilderness. What things are specific to our lives that we need to worship our Lord with thanksgiving? What will the redeemed of today say?