What are we given in this wonderful Psalm, but a word on Thanksgiving! Think about what we are to gain as we take and live this Psalm within the depth of our hearts. For it gives us wonderful expressions of God’s hand within our lives. It tells us about earlier followers of God who wandered in waste lands. It tells of those who sat in darkness and gloom. It tells about those who were sick and even became sicker. Some who were looking to be found, but were lost. It tells of God’s hand upon the land, turning deserts into fruitful living. The Psalmist tells us to be wise as those who sought the Lord’s steadfast love.

Coming as we are to the time of Thanksgiving, a time when we reflect upon what it is we have been given. Reading this psalm reminds us of all we have and of the good life we have been given. We are reminded of how much the Maker of life continues to bless us. We are told that for the Israeli the celebration of Thanksgiving is seen not so much in what they expect to receive but what they have been given.

 “O Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”

Can there be a better way of expressing what it is we feel deep inside than these words of the psalmist. Thanks to the Lord, for God is good! It expresses it about as well as anything we can think or say.

“For His steadfast love endures forever.”

For the Lord’s Love “endures forever!” We can search the world over, looking for love that will never fade or can be misused or abused. We all look for love that will never end, but if we look for it in all the wrong places, our search will never end. Look to the Lord and find His love.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”

This is truly what the Lord God desires of us, and that is to tell the world that God, our Creator and Eternal Father, has protected and blessed us far above what the natural world promises, but has never produced.

Prayer

Holy God, we thank you for the gift of life and all that we have. We offer our prayer of Thanksgiving through Jesus, your Son and our Lord. Amen.