Thanksgiving
Notes
Transcript
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Psalm 118:1–4 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.””
Introduction: Psalm of Thanksgiving.
Jumping into Selah series again. Today we’re going to be looking at the genre of Psalms called “Thanksgiving Psalms”
What you’re going to notice as we’re going farther and farther into these psalms is that the genres and the categories start to kind of blur together.
Tuesday night during Our bible study we were looking at the Psalm we did last week. Last week we looked at Psalm 106, as a History Psalm.
And by the way I highly encourage you to join us on Tuesday nights. What we go through here on a Sunday morning usually just barely scratches the surface. Because to be honest there’s just not enough time in 45 minutes to be able to explore every little detail of these passages. So I encourage you, come on tuesday nights.
Sunday you’re getting the tip of the iceburg. Tuesday is where we’re really diving deep and seeing the whole picture.
But on tuesday Stew asked a really good question about last week’s psalm, he’s like is this a a History Psalm? or would it be a praise psalm? And as we dove in to it, we were like, or is it a Lament psalm?
-It kind of had all of those aspects to it.
And it’s similar with this one. Is it a praise psalm, or a thanksgiving psalm? And what’s the difference?
-And so I want you to appreciate in these works of Art that God has given us is that they have the ability to speak on multiple levels, and hit on multiple emotions.
-We’re going to be looking at Psalm 118 today, I’m going to go ahead and call it a Thanksgiving psalm. In general, if we split hairs, a “praise psalm” is a psalm where we thank God for who he is.
-A thanksgiving psalm is generally a psalm where we thank god for what he has done.
it might seem like a minute distinction, but I think it can be important, especially in our own prayer lives.
-We should be giving God praise and adoration for no other reason than that he is God. Maker of all things, who holds the world in his hands.
-But at the same time, we don’t stop there. we give him praise for simply Being God, and then we can give him thanks for the specific things that he has done in our lives.
If you have your Bibles, we’re going to be reading Psalm 118.
What I really want you to understand as we experience this psalm,
Understanding the Contexts of how this psalm was sung
Psalms were sung as an act of corporate worship. Often we think about the Psalms in light of their author. We will read it and try to figure out what the author of the Psalm was thinking, what he was going through.
You’ve noticed by now that I haven’t spent too much time in this series doing this. I haven’t spent much time talking about “was david thinking this” or “was solomon thinking that”
There is value in thinking about the original Author
There’s also value in thinking about these psalms through the eyes of those who sang them.
To this very day there are songs that I will hear that bring up emotions and memories of where I was when I heard that song. Who I was with when I sang that song.
Psalm 118 was sung in 3 specific contexts.
The first of which is in the context of a victory at war.
It’s believed that this psalm was originally a battle hymn that was sung after the Lord had granted victory to the soldiers at war.
Some of the language in the Psalm that we’ll get into like in verse 10, the nations surrounded me but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
so you’ve got to imagine these soldiers at war, often facing armies 10 times their size. Yet God was with them.
The second Context, and we’ll get to the third one a little later, but the second way this psalm was sung was during the festivals.
Every single year the Jews were required to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to attend the festivals of Passover, and the day of pentacost, and the feast of tabernacles.
Wherever you lived you made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a journey to the temple to give praise to God
And the psalms from psalm 105 to 118 were sung as the crowds were Going up to the city of Jerusalem.
you can imagine crowds of people all on their way up to the holy city to be in the pressence of God. And these are the songs that they would sing.
And it’s believed that the first few verses were a call and response
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good
His love endures forever.
As we read this psalm, I’m going to ask you to participate with me in the psalm. “His love endures forever.
Psalm 118
Psalm 118
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.”
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Can we just start off by saying God is good. We give him our thanks because he is so good.
-And what’s so beautiful about this psalm, is that it’s perfectly structured to go down the list and give thanks to God.
-It’s framed using a lot of military and battle imagery, but it also applies a lot to God’s deliverence of the people of israel from egypt.
If we wanted to really put a title on it, we might even call it a victory psalm.
And if you look at it, it’s just broken up as a list of things that the psalmist is thanking God for.
Verse 5, being greatful for god’s deliverence.
verses 6 and 7 being grateful for god’s pressence.
Verse 10 11 and 12 being grateful for the strength from God to defeat our enemies.
-It’s truly a psalm where they’re just counting their blessings, and reflecting on victory.
-Giving credit to God for the win.
When’s the last time you did that?
-where you just sat down and said God thanks for the win.
-There was this really tough time in my life and I thought there was not hope, but you carried me through, God. Thank you.
-Thank you for the victory you gave me when I thought all hope was lost.
Thank you for saving me.
Verse 5 in the psalm starts out thanking God for his deliverance.
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.
It’s this idea of being hemmed in on all sides, with no hope, and God brings us out into wide open pastures.
-Being brought from a state of slavery into a state freedom.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
God’s pressence is something worth being grateful for.
-What can man do to me? what can mortals do to me? What can people do to me when God is on my side.
-What are you going to do? fire me ? take away my house , take away my money? take away my earthly life?
-When we are in Christ we are untouchable.
-Because you can take all of that stuff away and guess what? you can’t take my faith. You can’t take my relationship with God.
-And the psalmist acknowledges that if we make alliances with human beings? We’re making an alliance with something that is temporary.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
-Part of what we can be greateful for is the fact that God gives us something that is eternal.
It’s better to take refuge in the Lord.
-The greek old testament, that’s the bible that was in use during the time of Jesus and the early church, translates that word “refuge” in two different ways. It translates it as “Confidence” and “hope”
-That’s what it means to take refuge in the Lord. We put all our Hope in God, we put every ounce of confidence in Him. And he gives us strength.
All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
And all the way through this psalm are all of these images of being saved in battle, having Victory over our enemies.
Verse 15, the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.
The Right hand of the Lord is the hand of justice. It’s the hand of power.
-It creates such a vivid picture in our minds of God’s strength.
Because what does the right hand do? I know we’re in a church where over 50% of us are left handed for some reason. But for most of the rest of humanity the right hand is the hand that wields the hammer. It’sthe hand that throws the punch. It’s the hand that swings the sword.
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
I want you to reflect on these two verses.
(Read again)
You’re here on this earth with breath in your lungs.
God put that breath there.
What are you going to do with it?
I’m gonna use that breath that He gave me to proclaim christ.
-Or maybe you’re going through something rough, maybe there’s a trial in your life.
-The Lord has chastened me, but he has not given me over to death.
-That means you’ve still got that breath in your lungs. we exist for the sole purpose of proclaiming christ
-And so through this whole psalm we’re just singing praises and thanksgivings for our victories, for the strenght of God, for the confidence and hope that hie gives us, for the breath in our lungs.
-And we’re singing these songs as we’re marching up to the holy city to be in His pressence. We’re surrounded by our friends and our family, and we’re all just corperately praising God and thanking God for the work that he does in our life.
-We do this every year.
And as we’re getting to verse 19, Imagine you’ve come around the corner and you’ve passed the clearing of trees and you see it. You see the temple of God up on the hill, and you’re making your way up to the gates of the city
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
Entering through the gate to be in the presence of God
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
I think I remember someone else saying that. Jesus says this about himself in Matthew 21 .
I’m going to read one of the words in verse 25 in hebrew, because If I don’t it’s really hard to get the connection that’s being made.
But again, remember you’re making a grand precession into the city of God.
-Maybe you’re going up for the passover festival
And you get to verse 25 and you sing.
Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you.
Every year they would sing this song.
Every year as they entered the city gates.
-One year in particular there had been rumors about a rogue rabbi in the wilderness. Rumors going around taht he was able to performed miracles. Rumors that he might even be the promised messiah.
-so as this rogue rabbi entered the city, riding on a donkey, they took the words of this psalm and turned it into a royal precescion for the one they thought might be the messiah.
-But they had no idea.
-Absolutely no clue.
But he did.
Every single aspect of this psalm that was played out in the physical realm, victory over enemeis, refuge from attacking nations, deliverence from salvery.
Christ came in to town to fulfil those things on an eternal level.
Not just victory over the philistines, or the egyptians.
But victory over sin and death.
---I told you at the beginning that these psalms were sung in three different contexts, and that I would tell you the third time they sang these psalms.
-The third place these psalms were sung was during the passover meal.
-They would begin the meal with psalm 105, and as the supper went on, they would sing 106, 107.
-And psalm 118 is the very last psalm that’s sung when the meal is over.
Matthew 26:26-30
Matthew 26:26-30
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
This was the psalm they sung.
And they had no idea what God was doing in their lives at that moment.
Because here’s the deal, even though Jesus had told them multiple times, again and again, look we’re going into Jerusalem, the son of man is going to be put to death. He’s going to rise frome the dead.
-Jesus had told them, but they still had no clue
-I think, the only thing that makes sense to me is that the disciples must have thought Jesus was speaking in metaphorical terms. or that it was another one of his parables.
-And so as the disciples sang this hymn of thanksgiving to God, they had absolutely no idea that they were sitting with the one who was going to defeat death, to defeat the grave once and for all.
-They knew something about Jesus, they knew he was God’s annointed, they knew he was Gods’ son.
-But they had no idea what God was about to do on the cross.
-What is it that god is doing in your life that you haven’t even realized yet?
-If you could sit in the same room with the son of God, and share a table with him, and give thanks with him, and sing a song of thanks giving with him, Wouldn’t you want to thank him for everything he’s done and everything he’s going to do?
[Get kids]
Selah
Selah
-You all have some homework for the week.
-I want you to take some time this week, and I want you to reflect on this thought.
-This Psalm, psalm 118, was sung as an act of gratitude for things God had done in the past. It was sung at the Passover festival, it was sung as an act of thanksgiving for things God had done long ago.
-This psalm was also sung as an act of gratitude for what God was doing right then.
-After a battle that had Just happened, on the way home from a victory at war. It’s an act of Gratitude in the Moment.
-And in some ways, it was being sung as an act of Thanksgiving for things that hadn’t even happened yet.
-Hosana. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
-So your homework this week is to reflect on what God is doing in your life, and in the life of the church, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Becuase he’s the God who is, who was, and who is to come.,
From everlasting to everlasting, He is God.
And every day this week I want you to think about three different things God is doing yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
-And obviously you don’t know what God is going to do tomorrow, but I can tell you this, he’s moving.
-he’s alive.
Give god thanks for the victory in your life, give god thanks for the strength of his Right hand. Give him thanks for your salvation. give him thanks for his presence, give him thanks for his refuge. For his hope and confidence.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.”
Pray
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