Complete this sentence in your head, and don't be hyper-spiritual about it: It is good to _____. You may have several different ideas running around in your head of what it is good to do. It is good to sleep. It is good to eat. It is good to love. It is good to read. It is good to exercise. It is good to brush your teeth. It is good to go to bed at a reasonable hour. In fact, you could have finished that sentence in many ways. But in Psalm 92, the Psalmist gives us a conclusion to that phrase that many wouldn't use—it is good to give thanks to the Lord.
The Psalmist expounds this thought that it is good to give thanks to the Lord. Now, that might seem a bit strange. Think about what came into your head. Most of the things that came into your head were things that were beneficial for you. We often think of our worship of God as something that we do because God deserves it, which is true. He does deserve it. But sometimes, we can get into a thought pattern that giving thanks to God, worshipping, and praising Him is a sacrifice where we're at a loss. That's not what the Psalmist is presenting here. Rather, the Psalmist presents that just like the other things listed, it is beneficial to give thanks to God. Off of this main idea from Psalm 92, we're going to observe the benefits of giving thanks to God. For a more focused exposition of Psalm 92, make sure to listen to Episode 183 of the Text-Driven Podcast (listen here).
Thanksgiving Gives a Right View of God
The first benefit of giving thanks to the Lord is that it gives us the right view of God. Psalm 92 presents nine different actions and attributes of God. Time spent giving thanks to God is time learning about who God is. Oftentimes, our prayer life is filled with requests for God. We pray for our sicknesses, for our family, for our country, and so many other things, which are all good things to pray for. Yet, preceding this time of request with a time of thanksgiving reminds us of the God we're making requests to. A holistic view of God changes how we make those requests. Remembering that God saved us, sanctified us, and sustained us changes how we look at God. Giving thanks to God gives us the right view of God.
Thanksgiving Gives a Right View of Security
The second benefit of giving thanks to the Lord is that it gives us the right view of security. Psalm 92 speaks of how God deals with His enemies and how He deals with the righteous. The wicked mock God and fail to understand that God's works are great, and His thoughts are deep. Yet, the righteous are planted in the house of God. When we give thanks to God, we receive the right view of security. Security isn't found in money, armies, prestige, or anything like that. Security is found in a right relation with God. When we give thanks, we're reminded that God exalts the horn of the righteous. We're reminded that God makes the righteous flourish in His presence. When we fail to give thanks, we start believing that God blesses us based on worldly criteria. Yet, when we give thanks, we remember that God blesses based on those who are planted in His presence. Giving thanks gives us the right view of security.
Conclusion
The benefits of Thanksgiving shouldn't be our primary focus. The Psalmist in Psalm 92 quickly moved from acknowledging the goodness of giving thanks to actually giving thanks. Yet, remembering that we benefit from giving thanks to the Lord will help us in our spiritual walk.
Written by Klayton Carson
You can listen to the Text-Driven Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at www.textdriven.org/podcasts. New episodes are released every Monday, just in time for your morning commute.
