Title: It Is Good to Give Thanks
Text: Ps 92: 1-15
Date: November 27, 2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
We are upon our national day called
“Thanksgiving.” I like that we have a
national holiday for “Thanksgiving.” I like it because it begs the question—to
whom are we thankful? If we give thanks then we have to thank someone in
particular. That is good for lost
sinners to think about. To whom does the
sinner saved by grace give thanks.
Psalm 92: 1: It is a good thing
to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
It is a good
thing to give thanks to the LORD because it gives God the glory—God’s true
saints give God all the thanks and all the praise. We acknowledge that everything we have—spiritually
and temporally—is of God. That is why
God says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Ps 50:23). That is why it is a good thing to give thanks
unto the LORD and to sing praise unto the name of the most High
It is good to
thank God when he gives us good times—but also when he brings us low and breaks
our heart. No matter our condition, the
Most High did it. And he did it for our
good and his glory. This is what Paul
says when he says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess 5: 18).
In all states that I am in, it is the will of God in Jesus Christ who
put me in that state. It is also the
will of God that I give thanks for it. Therefore,
in everything I am to give thanks. It is
good,
Psalm 92: 2: To shew forth thy lovingkindness
in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,…
God is Alpha and Omega—Christ is the Author
and Finisher of our faith. In the
morning of eternity, salvation began by God’s unmerited lovingkindness choosing
whom he would and he carries it through to the end of time by his faithfulness. In our experience of God’s grace from the
womb of the morning, we are born-again and drawn to Christ by God’s
lovingkindess and he carries us to the end of our life by his faithfulness. The same is true of each new trial. So the same is true of each new day. God gives us a new morning by his
lovingkindess and carries us to and through the night by his faithfulness. So we should begin and end each day giving
thanks to God and praising his lovingkindess and his faithfulness to sinners
such as we are.
Proposition: As we near the beginning of a new year
and end of this one, we have so many blessings for which we give thanks unto
God and praise his name, but most of all, for our great salvation in his Son.
Divisions: This Psalm gives three things in particular
for which we give thanks to God 1) For saving us by the works of his hands 2)
For strengthening us by his Spirit 3) For preserving us unto the end
THANK GOD FOR SALVATION BY THE WORK OF HIS
HANDS
Psalm 92: 4: For thou, LORD, hast made me glad
through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5: O LORD, how
great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6: A brutish man
knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
It is good to give thanks to God and good
to give him all the praise because God has saved his people by the work of his
hands.
Here is the state of each believer—"glad”. Even when I am sad, in Christ I am
glad.
Here is how we arrived at this state —"Thou, LORD,
hast made me glad…"
Psalm 100:3: Know
ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and
into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
1 Corinthians
15: 10: By the grace of God I am what I am
God made us by choosing his Son to be our Head and by choosing us in
Christ and blessing us with all spiritual blessings before ever the earth was. God made us by predestinating us to the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. The most High is not a god of chance but a
God of purpose. In God’s immutable purpose,
the works were finished from the foundation of the world—God made us before our
father and mother made us. “Thine eyes
did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
them” (Ps 139: 16).
My state — "
glad." How I arrived at it
—"LORD, thou hast made me glad.” What is the means of it? –"through
thy work." The Son of God
himself took sinless flesh and finished the work which God sent him to do
for God.
Isaiah 42:21: The
LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and
make it honourable.
Christ alone did the work of declaring the
righteousness of God—he alone made mercy and truth meet in harmony; justice and
free justification kissed in peace in Christ.
And Christ finished the work his people could not do for ourselves. When Christ cried “It is finished” he declared
that he alone finished the transgression, and made an end of sins, and made
reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness, and sealed
up the vision and prophecy, and anointed the most Holy (Da 9: 24).
My state — "
glad." How I arrived at it
—"LORD, thou hast made me glad.” What is the means of it?
—"through thy work." What is the result of it?—“I will triumph
in the works of thy hands?” Christ’s
blood is so effectual, God’s justice so satisfied, his law so upheld, the work
so finished and complete that we can speak with of our future as if we have already
won the victory and divided the spoils—I will triumph in the works of thy
hands. Christ “delivered us from so
great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us”
(2 Cor 1: 10).
Seeing this is all of God, what, then,
shall I do? I ascribe it all to God by thanking him and praising his name—"O
LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6: A brutish man
knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.” On Thanksgiving Day, some will not give
thanks to anyone but themselves; but there is no such thing as a “self-made”
man. Many will thank their lucky stars;
but there is no such thing as luck or lucky stars; everything that comes to
pass, good or bad, is by the direct hand of God who created the stars. The self-righteous will thank their idol that
they call god; they say he cannot save unless they let him so it makes you
wonder why they would even thank such a helpless one as that. But at one time, believer, we were the
“brutish man” and the “fool”. We did not
know neither understand that salvation is by the works of God’s hands. But it was those very works of God’s hands
that made us to differ. What resounding
proof that salvation is of the Lord! We
did not, nor could we, know that God’s people triumph only by God’s works. Yet by those very works which were ignorant
of, God gave us life and faith and understanding and now we know!
Brethren, only those God makes to triumph over our sin-nature give
God all the glory for making us do so. This
is why every sinner born of God thanks God for his works and puts no confidence
in our own.
THANK GOD FOR STRENGTH
Psalm 92: 7: When the wicked spring as the
grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they
shall be destroyed for ever: 8: But thou, LORD, art most high for
evermore. 9: For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall
perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 10: But my horn shalt
thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh
oil. 11: Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and
mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
We thank
God that he gives strength to his particular people. As we see from these verses, God does not do
this for everybody.
All about us we see the wicked spring up
as grass, all the workers of iniquity do flourish. We are living in one of the wealthiest generations
ever. Great prosperity is the frequent
forerunner of destruction to wicked men because it leads them to provoke divine
wrath:
·
By
hardness of heart, as Pharaoh.
·
By
pride, as Nebuchadnezzar.
·
By
haughty hatred of the saints, as Haman.
·
By carnal
security, as the rich fool.
·
By self-exaltation,
as Herod.
Yet, all the while the wicked man thinks God has really blessed
him due to his prosperity. “But thou,
LORD, art most high for evermore.” Nothing
is out of God’s control. Wicked men are
made to prosper by God for a reason: "It is that they shall be
destroyed forever!” God warns us
more than anything else against money and prosperity in this world. The cares of this world choke out the
word. Do not envy the prosperous in this
world? They are only being fattened for
slaughter.
On the other hand, for God’s particular
people, God gives fresh oil, strengthening us by his Spirit—"But my
horn [my strength] shalt thou exalt like an [wild ox]: I shall be anointed with
fresh oil.” Christ prayed the Father and sent forth the Holy Spirit in the
first hour making us to be born-again.
After bringing us to faith in Christ, the Spirit of God sealed us, “In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that holy Spirit of promise” (Eph 1:13).
And Christ promises to continue to give us “fresh oil”, the
Spirit of our God, who strengthens his child like the wild ox.
Now hear
what these verses declare! If you are outside
of Christ then you are God’s enemy. You
may flourish in this life but understand there is coming a day when that will
not be the case. If you are trusting in
your works they are iniquity. All who
have not faith in Christ are workers of iniquity. Our works do not equal the glory of God. We have all sinned and come short of the
glory of God. Be warned—"For,
lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers
of iniquity shall be scattered.” In
the great day of judgment, Christ tells us that he shall say to some, “Depart
from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” Seek Christ while he may be found. Call on him while he is near!
Still, Christ’s people, born of his
Spirit, shall live forever and behold the wicked cast out—"Mine eye
also shall see mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear the wicked that rise up
against me.” We shall see and
hear them cast out of God’s presence in righteousness. And we shall praise God for his righteousness
in that day.
So, believer, let us thank God for his
righteousness now; that is why he strengthens his people; let us thank God for
continually giving us strength and let us thank God that Christ is our
Strength.
THANK GOD FOR PRESERVING US UNTO THE END
Psalm 92: 12: The righteous shall flourish like
the palm tree [date tree]: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13: Those
that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our
God. 14: They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and
flourishing; 15: To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Christ made each of his people righteous. by Christ’s preserving hand he makes the
righteous flourish like the date tree. He
makes us flourish in godliness as well as in thanksgiving and praise to God. By Christ’s preserving hand, he makes us grow
evergreen and strong like the cedar tree.
Where and how does he make us flourish?—"Those
that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our
God.” He plants us in the house of
the Lord, in his local assembly, under his preacher. So he preserves us and makes us flourish by
the preaching of the gospel of Christ crucified in his house, in his courts. Christ preserves us to the end and shall not
lose one—"They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall
be fat and flourishing;”
Let’s end by reading the last verse. This verse applies to everything in this
Psalm. It declares why it is a good thing
to give thanks and sing praises to our LORD—"To shew that the LORD is
upright: [to show] he is my rock, and [to show] there is no unrighteousness in
him.” This is why he saves by the works
of his hands, why he destroys his enemies while strengthening his particular
people, and why he preserves his people—"To shew that the LORD is
upright: [to show] he is my rock, and [to show] there is no unrighteousness in
him.”
Each Thanksgiving Day, as every day, let us give God thanks and
praise. And if some family member or
friend asks why you are thankful to God and why you give God all the praise for
your salvation then tell them—"To shew that the LORD is upright: [to show]
he is my rock, and [to show] there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Amen!