The Lord’s Day.  Sunday.  November 27, 2022.  On this day, my dad will celebrate his 92nd birthday.  He was born on Thanksgiving Day 1930, a true Thanksgiving Turkey!  His birth date “floats” all around those fourth Thursdays of November year after year, sometimes landing right on it.  I love it when his birthday coincides with the Lord’s Day.  His whole life has been built around serving the Lord by preaching The Word of God to the people of God in the house of God in order to lead them to reach out to those who need to know God through Jesus Christ.  He has also served as a missionary to the land of Israel.  When I picture the things for which I am most thankful, he surely tops the list. 

My earthly father has always pointed me to the Heavenly Father.  It was a very smooth hand-off as he heard the words of my profession of faith and confession of my sins at the ripe old age of six.  He would later be the one to place me under the waters of baptism and call me his little sister!  The greatest gift a person can receive is salvation. 

As we pause our lives to celebrate Thanksgiving 2022, our lesson for today comes from Psalm 107.  The lesson covers only the first nine verses of the Psalm; however, we need to look at the complete design and flow of this stellar hymn of praise and thanksgiving. 

In this season of giving thanks, ponder how the first three verses direct us in our journey of gratitude.  The pattern begins with the goodness of God.  His goodness and lovingkindness are everlasting.  Those who have experienced these gifts from the Lord should spend their days declaring His goodness to all who will hear.  We are in a mess!  We need the Lord.  When we cry out to Him, He hears us and responds.  Our rescue should then prompt us to praise Him and declare His goodness.

There are four groups mentioned in Psalm 107: 

There are the “wilderness wanderers” in verses 1-9. 

There are the “purposeless prisoners” in verses 10-16. 

There are the “rebellious wayfarers” in verses 17-22.

There are the “sinking seafarers” in verses 23-32. 

In each group, we see the crisis of separation from the purpose of God due to poor choices or actions.  Then, they cry out to the Lord in their trouble.  In EVERY case, the Lord immediately responds to their cries with deliverance.  Finally, there is an immediate response to the Lord from those who have been rescued: THANKSGIVING! 

The wanderers were led in a straight path to a designed destination.  The prisoners’ bands were broken, and they came from darkness into the light of freedom.  The wayfarers were distanced from the gates of death.  The seafarers were spared from the wind and waves and storm. 

Psalm 23 tells us that “goodness and mercy” shall follow us all the days of our lives.  The Hebrew word for “follow” literally means to chase with the intention of overtaking as a dog in a hunt.  God is seeking to bless us every day of our lives.  We seem to manage to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory all day long.  When we recognize that we are running contrary to the plan of God for our lives, we need to take a lesson from these four groups.  Stop in our tracks and cry out to the Lord.  He delights in showering His children with covenant love that covers our sin as we turn from the path of destruction. 

It appears that this Psalm could have been read responsively in worship.  We are to “give thanks” to the Lord.  This Hebrew phrase can be expressed as “throwing thanks” to the Lord.  It is good to HEAP praise and thanksgiving upon the Lord and toward the Lord.  The word is “yadah” which means to cast with the hands.  We are to lift praise to the Only One Who is praiseworthy. 

God is good.  He satisfies our deepest needs.  His lovingkindness is everlasting.  With His word, he heals and saves.  His deliverance is uncontested.  The One Who allows us to suffer because of poor choices delights in our return to Him.  Spend time this week pondering the goodness of the Lord!