11. Dedication To Eternal Thanksgiving Psalm 30:12

Text:  “To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever.”
                                                                                     Psalm 30:12.

Good morning, ever-thankful Christian!  Before you and I open our eyes each morning, we are reminded of our Eternal position in Christ and offer up our hearts to Him in thankfulness and praise.  Even in times of natural fear and dread - Supernatural thankfulness for the grace of God in our lives causes us to stay calm and direct our hearts up onto God and to cry out to Him for help in times of great need.  Thanks be to God, in Christ Jesus, for in Christ Jesus we are assured of ever-present and Divine help.  Hallelujah!  Thanks be to the Lord God!

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46:1)

“Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not…Behold, I will bring…health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.  And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.”  (Jeremiah 33:3;6-7)

Verse 12.  “To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever.  To the end - namely, with this view and intent - that my glory - that is, my tongue or my soul - may sing praise to Thee and not be silent.  It would be a shameful crime if, after receiving God’s mercies, we should forget to to praise Him.  God would not have our tongues lie idle while so many themes for gratitude are spread on every hand.  He would have no dumb children in the house. They are all to sing in Heaven and therefore they should all sing on earth.  Let us sing with the poet:

I would begin the music here,

And so my soul should rise;

Oh, for some Heavenly notes to bear

My passions to the skies. “ (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 147)

You know, it can become quite a tiresome platitude to rehearse to someone who is going through a bad time of trial and testing, ‘Oh, count your blessings and all will soon be well again.’  However, a vital truth still remains within that statement.  If, when in the depths of Spiritual depression, sore trial, heavy bereavement, fear or dread, we can focus on what the Lord has already done for us, and in us, and with us - faith can receive the vital boost that it needs within us to help us to rise above whatever we are suffering at that given time.

The logic of this is this: IF the Lord has not let us down in the past, why should He fail to help us through this present trouble? 

He will not, He cannot, fail to keep His own sure Word to us, dear friend, and thus we rest on His promises until such sore troubles pass away.

“Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually.  Remember His marvellous works that He hath done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth.” (1 Chronicles 16:11-12)

Christ Jesus, our redeemer King; our Saviour and our Lord, is sat at the right hand of our Father in Heaven at present - interceding for us, ‘His people’, whom He has endured the cruel Cross to save.  Is God the Father going to refuse any request His dear Son, Jesus, asks of Him on our behalf?  Never!  And thus, we continually rejoice!  Christ cannot forget us, EVER!  We are graven on the palms of His hands!

“Behold (look and understand!), I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls (defences) are continually before Me.”  (Isaiah 49:16)

Eternal thanksgiving arises in our souls, even in the midst of the deepest, most crushing, troubles.  It does so because the Lord has ordained such thanksgiving for us, and in spite of anything we may have to face in this transient life - nothing can take our God-given joy from us.  His peace is always right down there in the bottom of every would-be Pandora’s Box, waiting to spring forth to reassure us of His Presence with us as the great Emmanuel.  Glory and praise, and Eternal thanksgiving to His Holy Name!

“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14)

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”  (Matthew 1:23)

“The prophet (David) in this Psalm begins with the anger of God but ends with His favour: as of old, when they entered into the tabernacle they did at first see unpleasant things, as the knives of the sacrifices, the blood of victims; the fire that burned upon the altar, which consumed the offerings; but when they passed a little further there was the holy place, the candlesticks of gold, the show-bread, and the altar of gold on which they offered perfumes; and in fine, there was the Holy of Holies, and the ark of the Covenant, and the mercy-seat, and the cherubims, which was called the face of God.”  (Timothy Rogers 1660-1729)

Thought: “What is praise?  The rent we owe to God; and the larger the farm the greater the rent should be.”  (G.S. Bowes 1869)  Give thanks forever, beloved Bible-believing Christian, for we are Eternally blessed by the Lord God.