PSALMS of THANKSGIVING: Psalm 40

PATIENCE - ENOUGH ALREADY!!

I am not always a patient man. In many areas I have gotten better at it - quite good, actually. But in some areas, well, not so much.

Many times it is in the area of "waiting for the Lord" where I still struggle.

The root of that, I suspect, is never fully trusting that He will come through. When I am not patient, I fear He has forgotten me or doesn't care about my struggles.

Of course, nothing is further from the truth!

The fact is, the Lord knows what I need and when I need it well before I do and His love for me assures that all will be done in the best way possible.

So, then...I will wait...

"Grant me patience and joy, dear Lord, as I wait on You. I praise and thank You for this glorious day of Yours and pray I will it as You desire and not as I desire. Especially, Lord, on this wonderful day of Thanksgiving, I praise and thank You for the countless blessings, bounty, and grace You continue to show me. I am thankful beyond words to express; so those words, too, I will wait for as Your Spirit wills. Amen."

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PSALM 40 – To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. (esv)

¹I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. ²He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. ³He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. ⁴Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! ⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. ⁶In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. ⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: ⁸I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” ⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. ¹⁰I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. ¹¹As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me! ¹²For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me. ¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! ¹⁴Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! ¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” ¹⁶But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” ¹⁷As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

PSALMS of THANKSGIVING: Psalm 34

I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES!

Pastor Duerr will be discussing tonight this concept of thanking the Lord for all things and in all times. This is along the same vein: blessing and praising Him at all times! All times! Blessings and praising!

Have you ever noticed that smiles and laughter are contagious? What makes it interesting (to me, anyway) is that seeing someone smile and/or laugh can actually cause someone else to do so, even if they were in a foul mood. What we often see as as resulting behavior (laughing or smiling) can actually be the cause as well!

I wonder, if we started blessing, praising, and thanking God "at all times" and "continually," would that be contagious, too? I suspect so. At the very least, when we do so, it has another awesome effect: we can't help but want to get others involved (verse 3)! Our excitement drips off of us and wants to soak up others with that same blessing, praising, and thanksgiving!

May we all be excited for and with others as we praise, bless, and thank the Lord, today and always!

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Psalm 34 – Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. (esv)

¹I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ²My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. ³Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! ⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. ⁵Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. ⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. ⁸Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ⁹Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! ¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. ¹¹Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹²What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? ¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. ¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. ¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. ¹⁶The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. ¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. ²⁰He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. ²¹Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. ²²The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

PSALMS of THANKSGIVING: Psalm 32

THANKS for FORGIVENESS!

How often, when list the plethora of things we are thankful for, do we list (or even think of) the forgiveness of sins which comes through the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ?

What would our life look like without the Lord's mercy shown through forgiveness? As David writes, our bones would waste away and our strength would be dried up.

Praise God we don't have to live that way! Praise God that, rather than having a vengeful God, seeking our destruction because of our sins, we have one who pursues us in love to become our hiding place and deliverer! Praise God that we now get counsel and instruction from the Lord and not damnation and judgement. "Be glad," "rejoice," and "shout for joy," for your sins and mine are forgiven!

Thank You, Lord, from the bottom of my now-cleansed heart!

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PSALM 32 – A Maskil of David. (esv)

¹Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ²Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah ⁵I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. ⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

¹⁰Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. ¹¹Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

PSALMS of THANKSGIVING: Psalm 18

I love You, O LORD, my strength.

What a wonderful way to begin the Psalm! Would that all our conversations with the LORD begin and end that way! He is our shield, our fortress, our horn of salvation, our savior. How could we not love Him? How can we not adore Him!

God never promises we won't suffer or have to face enemies. He never promises life will be easy. But He does promise to be our Rock, our Refuge, our Strength. He promises to not only walk with us through the difficult times, but fight for us and bring us triumphantly through them!

What a reason to give thanks to the LORD! What a great reason to praise Him! What a great reason to love Him!

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Psalm 18:1–6,16-19,27-36,46,48-50 (ESV)
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears...He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me...For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip...The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—...who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence. For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

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• https://www.youversion.com/notes/9369761
• HYMN: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"