praise and thanksgiving

⁵ The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
⁶ For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
⁷ A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
⁸ O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
⁹ You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
¹⁰ You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹ The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.
¹² The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
¹³ You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.

These two portions of scripture are again from the daily reading in the One Year Bible. It would seem that there is a leading toward thankfulness today. This is a thankfulness that is centered not neccessarily on what is happening currently in our lives, but rather on God, on His faithfulness and on who He is.

The context of the Jeremiah verse is based on the restoration of the nation of Israel. God promising to restore their status, reestablishing the line of David to rule. Jesus was the promise of that restoration to the nation of Israel. He is the one from the line of David who establishes His eternal kingdom.

For us, we too should be thankful for God's plan and work of restoration. Throughout history and scripture that's the central theme of God's work. From the fall of man and creation in Genesis to the return of Christ in revelation and everything in between, God is restoring mankind to the status and standing He originally intended. For us too, Jesus is that promise of restoration. Through the finished work of the cross we have been restored to the relationship God intended us to have with Him. We can fellowship with Him, walk with Him and talk with Him the same way Adam and Eve did in the garden before the fall. No matter what else may be going on in our lives, the restoration of that relationship to the God of creation, our Father is indeed something to be thankful for.  

The psalmist continues to lead and exhort us in praise and thankfulness. He begins by acknowleging God's faithfulness and loving kindness. In verses 3 and 4 we see that this faithfulness and loving kindness that the psalmist is attributing to God is based on God's promise not past experience. He is thankful in the present for what God promises for the future. That is the faith of the psalmist.

Hebrews 11:1 says Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  

Do we too have that kind of faith? The faith to thank and praise God today for what He promises for tomorrow and beyond.  As the psalmist continues we see that his faith is in fact built upon experience. But, it is not an experience so much of what God has done, rather it is an experience of who God is. The psalmist recognizes that God is above all. He rules both creation and nations, both heaven and earth. Should we too not praise the almighty God simply for who He is.

Psalm 145:…2Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. 4One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.…

Revelation 4:…10the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." 

This is the Lord's day! Praise Him! Express your thankfulness to Him. Thankfulness for what He has done to restore you to Himself. Thankfulness, in faith for what He promises knowing that :

19God is not human, that he should lie,not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23)

Praise Him because of who He is, the almighty, the ruler of all creation, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, your Father, your friend.

If your not sure how to begin praising Him today click on this link and get started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE 

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