Psalm 111:1-9 (ESV)
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the
company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight
in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his
righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; for the
Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his
covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them
the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his
precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever to be performed
with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his
covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!
So,
are you tired of winter yet?
I
think it was Shakespeare who wrote, “Now is
the winter of our discontent.” Actually, it’s not even “winter” anymore, now it’s called a “polar vortex!”
Whatever
it is, I’m tired
of it.
A
couple of weeks ago it snowed all day on a Monday; we got something like 7
inches of fresh snow. I had to be out all afternoon and evening and so didn’t get a chance to shovel my driveway
until late that night. Once I finally got home I went out with one of my boys
and we worked for 30 or 40 minutes in the cold and dark to clear the driveway
so we wouldn’t have
to do it first thing in the morning.
The
next morning, Tuesday, I had to get out the door for my usual 7 am meeting and
was feeling pretty proud of myself for having shoveled the driveway the night
before.
I
got in my car and backed out of the snow-free driveway but as as I got to the
end of the driveway, I hit what felt like a bank of snow and got stuck.
Evidently
the snow plows had come along sometime after we had shoveled, in the middle of
the night, and piled up like 18 inches of ice and snow right in front of my
driveway.
So
I had to get out of my car, get the snow shovel and hack my way through a pile
of snow to clear the same driveway I had already cleared the night before!
I
suppose I could have been grateful that I live in a community that is affluent
enough to have plow trucks clearing the roads at all hours of the night. But,
as you can probably guess, I wasn’t feeling particularly thankful! In fact, at that
moment, I was profoundly ungrateful!
This week we’re looking at the first nine verses of Psalm 111,
which are all about thanksgiving.
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the
company of the upright, in the congregation.
When most of us hear the word “thanksgiving” we
think of the holiday called “Thanksgiving.” We think of turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie; we
think of gathering with family for a day of food and fun and maybe some
football. While all of that is good, the psalm writer is telling us that
thanksgiving is first and foremost an act of worship.
As the psalm begins we see that
thanksgiving has both a private and a public dimension. Our gratitude to God is
to begin in our hearts and then well up and overflow into expression of worship
in the company of the congregation.
How grateful is your heart today?
Is your heart full to overflowing with thanksgiving for all God is and all he
has given? Or have you allowed the long, cold winter or some other lesser thing
to distract you from the goodness and beauty of God?
Have you joined the “company of the congregation” to offer your praise and thanksgiving to God in the
context of corporate worship?
Ask God to grow your capacity to
be thankful and so to worship him with greater devotion!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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