The Right Thing To Do!
By toby Crowder
Mitchell County
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,” – Psalm 92:1-2
This time of year, our hearts and minds are drawn to themes of praise and thanksgiving, and rightly so! Even though we are blessed all throughout the year, many times we do not focus on these things until the Thanksgiving season. While we should take this time to celebrate the blessings of God, this should not be an isolated event in the life of a Christian. It is only reasonable that we would praise and thank the Creator for all His many blessings every day. We appreciate thankfulness… among our family and friends. It makes our efforts feel worthwhile when people take notice and help make what we do seem important and appreciated. Have we ever considered how God must feel when the other eleven months of the year pass by and we are not thankful and praiseful of all His blessings, even though they are a constant presence in our daily lives?
Psalm 92 is said to be a Psalm for the Sabbath… a time when our hearts should be fixed upon worship. The author of this Psalm may not be specifically known to us, yet we do know that He had a thankful heart. This only seems natural that he would sing and praise God in this manner. Actually, when we consider ALL of God’s blessings, it would seem unnatural or foolish NOT to give thanks. The writer expresses this sentiment in v.6 “A brutish man knoweth not; neither does a fool understand this.” It would certainly be foolish for God’s people not to praise and offer Him thanksgiving for all that He is and all that He does.
Notice in v.1 that the Psalmist says “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:” … As we read these simple words, we realize that it is the most natural and fitting thing in the world for the creature to praise the Creator! The Psalmist says that it is “a good thing” to give thanks. Good here simply means right… correct… pleasing… appropriate…or suitable. This just means it is the “right thing to do.” If it is “good” to praise, then it must be “bad” or foolish not to praise… right? Verse six says that a fool does not understand this… the selfish brute. How do we think that it makes God feel when we do not give Him our thanks and praise? The withholding of our praise and thanks must grieve the heart of a loving and faithful God… It is GOOD to give thanks, and so it must be NOT GOOD to withhold these from Him.
Also, notice v.2 mentions that he praises God in the morning and at night. All throughout the day, this writer finds some reason to praise God! We take so many of God’s blessings for granted, and that is increasingly evident in our culture. However, we can decide to “do the right thing” and praise Him with thankful hearts. Many times, we simply fail to realize that God is at work in the world around us. We must be proactive every day in recognizing the blessings of God and His goodness in our lives. Songs about being blessed stir us, because we are reminded to focus on God’s goodness and mercy. They help us to remember those things that come to us as blessings from God. That is what these Psalms (songs) did for the Jewish people… it helped them remember to give thanks and praise! There will not be a constant attitude toward Thanksgiving if we are not persistent in our efforts. The writer here says that the brutish, foolish man will not understand why we worship and praise God. It is our privilege to remember Him… and to praise Him! The only thing that we can give God is our Thanksgiving. That is all He desires, and He alone is worthy.
May I encourage you to offer him your Thanksgiving? It is the RIGHT thing to do!
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Toby Crowder serves as Pastor of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Spruce Pine. He and his wife Leslie have been married for 26 years and have two daughters, Emilee, and Katy. He can be contacted via the church’s website MCfamilyforChrist.org or mtcarmelsprucepine@gmail.com
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