The Ground of Our Gratitude: Part II

By: Brian G. Najapfour
Brian G. Najapfour is Pastor at Dutton United Reformed Church and author.
For a brief bio on Brian see: http://biblicalspirituality.wordpress.com/brief-bio/.

www.newlineministries.com

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love [mercy] endures forever (Psalm 118:1)

Do you know that if you and I are here today, it is because of God’s mercy alone? It is not because of who you are. It is not because of your education, or because of the fact that you are a good person. No! Remember the words of Lamentations 3: 22 & 23: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Oh, let’s praise the Lord for His mercies. When you wake up in the morning, you wake up to welcome these mercies that are always new every morning. When you go to work, you go with God’s mercy. In your work place you work with God’s mercy. You come home with God’s mercy. You raise your children with God’s mercy. You go to work with God’s mercy. You sing with God’s mercy. It is all about God’s mercy! And, take note, according to our text Psalm 118:1, this mercy endures forever. Once it has been bestowed on you, it will remain in you.

There is a well known hymn based on Lamentations 3:23 (quoted above) that says, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” This hymn is by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm (1866-1960):

 

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou has been Thou forever wilt be.

 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

My fellow believers, we see this mercy displayed at Calvary when God sent His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our mediator, to die for our sin, to redeem us from the curse of the law. That’s the mercy of God. And, the psalmist says in our text, give thanks to the Lord, not only because He is good, but because His mercy abides forever and ever. So, here we have the ground for our gratitude. Let’s remember the goodness of God and His mercy. And, let’s learn to trace all our blessings back to God, back to the cross, and to give Him thanks. Amen!

www.newlineministries.com