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!
Even if you don’t watch
“Duck Dynasty” you
have probably heard of the goofy reality show featuring the Robertson family
from Louisiana. The men of the family have bushy beards, dress in camouflage
and love to hunt; and most of the wives and children work in the family
business, which is making and selling duck calls.
In August 2013 the season
premier of the 4th season drew 11.8 million viewers, making it the most watched
episode of a non-fiction series in cable television history.
What makes the “Duck Dynasty” phenomenon
even more interesting to me is that every single episode ends with prayer.
The Robertsons are unashamedly
open about their Christian faith and even though the producers of the show have
tried to get family patriarch Phil to drop the prayer scenes from each episode,
to this point he has refused because he believes he would be denying his faith
and dishonoring God to do so.
In other words, he believes
returning thanks to God is non-negotiable.
The Apostle Paul would agree!
In Romans Paul points to the failure to give thanks to God as a telltale sign
of a heart darkened by sin.
Romans
1:21
For
although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
19th century preacher and
theologian Charles Spurgeon commented on this text:
Did
you know, dear friends, that unthankfulness was such a sin as this? Have you
ever thought of it in this light before—that men were without excuse because when they knew God they were not
thankful? Unthankfulness is a sin for which there is no excuse if it be
attended with knowledge. I fear there are thousands who call themselves
Christians, who are not thankful, and yet they never thought themselves very
guilty on that account... I tremble both for myself and you when I see want of
thankfulness thus set in the front rank of sins.
We
can see why murder and stealing and idolatry would be called sin. But why would
unthankfulness be considered a sin?
Because
when we fail to give thanks we dishonor God by taking all he has made and given
for granted. We are like the spoiled child who sits down at a table covered
with his favorite foods, eats his fill, and leaves the table without ever
acknowledging or thanking his mother who spent all day preparing the meal.
When
we take God has made and all God has given for granted we are acting as if we
either created everything we have or that we deserve everything we have.
Notice
that the writer of this psalm refuses to take what God has made for granted:
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.
There
are two primary reasons we are to be thankful.
First:
we are to be thankful for what God has done; for the beauty and wonder of his
creation and for the many blessings he has given.
And
second: we are to be thankful for who God is.
So
when you begin your day; or when you sit down to a meal at work or with your
family; refuse the temptation to take for granted; refuse the temptation to be
ungrateful! Rather, seize the opportunity to express your gratitude for both
who God is as well as the blessings he has bestowed upon you.
Pastor
Brian Coffey
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