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“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.”

There is no question that these verses open what scholars call a psalm of thanksgiving. Several times the psalmist reminds the reader to express gratitude to God for his wonderful works and for his deliverance. While some of us might be inclined to keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves, the call of the psalmist is for us to use our words and declare our gratitude: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Don’t just think about it, tell God and let others know what God has done!

Why say thanks?

As this psalm continues we see four different reasons the writer calls for expressing gratitude and thanksgiving to God.

1) First there is a reminder that the ancient Israelites were lost in the desert and yet found.

2) There were seasons when God’s chosen were held as prisoners and released.

3) There were times when God’s chosen made foolish decisions but God still provided.

4) When those who traveled by boat were terrified by the raging storms, God rescued.

Our experiences may differ somewhat from those of ancient Israel but then again maybe not:

1) Have you ever been lost while traveling? Missed a turn or a flight, or your navigation system led you to an unplanned location? Or maybe you were lost in a difficult situation unsure what steps to take to get back to safety. And certainly we know what it means to be spiritually lost and unable to save ourselves. In any of these situations did God show up with the path forward?

2) You may or may not have spent time in prison having been rightfully or wrongfully convicted. But you may have been the prisoner of some addiction that kept you trapped and spiraling downward. And in the prison of addiction or of a lonely cell you discovered that God was with you and provided for spiritual and even physical release.

3) And we have all made our share of foolish decisions. We thought we knew best but missed the mark completely. Maybe we thought too highly of ourselves and thought we could solve this problem without God’s help, only to discover we made matters worse. And then God met us in the middle or at the end of our foolishness and still provided for us.

4) You may have avoided being on a ship in the middle of a storm, but you very well might have found yourself terrified by natural or emotional storms. And then Jesus calmed the storm and brought peace and hope into the situation.

In verses 8,15, and 22, the psalmist reminds us that when we come out of these situations the right, the best, thing to do is to thank the Lord: ”Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”

After the third round of gratitude, the psalmist adds, “And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!”

The suggestion here is that our gratitude leads us to offer gifts to God followed by sharing joyfully with others what God has done for us!

Right with God

As the psalm ends, we are reminded that when we are right with God, we recognize his goodness and experience his joy. We also discover that the enemy shuts his mouth. The enemy has no power over us and will never be able to stop the advancement of God’s kingdom.

Over the years I have heard many friends say Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. The reasons vary a little, but generally the preference is Thanksgiving’s single focus of gratitude. It seems that maybe the name of this holiday helps us focus hearts and minds on the divine source of every good gift that comes from above.

As followers of Christ, we don’t need a government holiday to tell us or remind us to be grateful. As Psalm 107 points out we have so many wonderful reasons to express our gratitude to God!