Here is my favorite Thanksgiving Psalm with some of my thoughts:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
To bless, to speak well of God and his Goodness comes from our soul, our inner being not just fromour lips and from “all that is within” us. We tell our selves to do this. We bless his name, his character, because He is holy, perfect in every aspect. He deserves no less. We bless him with all that is within us for all his goodness toward us. It is interesting to not that the word “benefits” in verse 2 above, in Hebrew, is the same used (“gamal”) in verse 10 where it says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” This was intentional. The writer of this Psalm wanted to make clear that we enjoy God’s benefits because he doesn’t deal with us according to what we deserve.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits:
We bless the Lord and remind ourselves all the benefits He has given us. We need to be reminded of this because we often focus on the things that we want, don’t get or don’t like. Remember all his benefits today.
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
Forgiveness. God has forgiven us through Christ. It is not because we deserve it. Every sin we do is a direct offense to Him yet He has forgiven us when we put our faith in Christ’s as our Lord and savior. He forgives us daily. Yes, we must confess our sins so that we are continually cleanses of our sins (1 John 1:9). If we kept record of all our sins we would realize how much he forgives us.
who heals all your diseases,
Who hasn’t been sick? Certainly, in our times, we can say that we have experienced much more sickness this year. We can attribute healing to medicines or doctors, but it really undermines the true healer of all of our diseases. This is not limited to our physical diseases, but those of the heart as well.
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
How often we take things in our own hands and mess them up? God keeps us from destroying our lives. He rescues us. I can think of several instances when this year I have been rescued while I was driving. There are many other instances where I am not even aware of His protection.
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
Not only does he rescue us, but He lavishly gives us his committed love (hesed). His love is forever. And his mercies. His compassion, his emotional love that moves him to act on our behalf.
5 who satisfies you with good
On top of everything He gives us other general good things. Can you mention some? Family, church, food, shelter, all of our material possessions.
This year God has given us so much. He has provided beyond our needs. And not just our physical needs but our emotional and spiritual needs as well. We are satisfied, quite well. We have shared some of those good things with others, but we can still do better.
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The purpose for God in giving us all these good things is so that we can be renewed, we feel a sense of vitality, of being alive. It gives us a feeling of well-being. But let us not forget where all of this comes from. Let’s give thanks to Him and serve Him!
