Thank God

Thank God  |  Psalm 100  |  Pastor Aaron Robinson

Thank God we finished another week of Lent. Thank God we've lived to see another day. Thank God for keeping death at bay. We have much to be thankful for, this list can go on and on and on til the break of dawn in the words of early rappers.

This particular text is a song of praise lifted by the nation Israel doing worship to remind the hearers why they should be thankful.  This Psalm is applicable to us even today because it is rich with all that we should be thankful for. We are ending this second week of our Lenten journey with a simple phrase Thank God. This psalm answers some questions for us: Why should we thank God? As we thank God, what should we do? When we thank God, what should we remember? The answers to these three questions are answered in this short Psalm.

First let me remind you why you should thank God.  The Psalm gives us three reasons why we should thank God; God made us in God's image and it was good, God shepherds us, and God loves us.

The text reminds us that God made us, and we are God’s. The text informs us that we are fashioned by the hand of God which means we belong to God and what God makes is good. Never forget you are made in the image of God and when God made you it was good.

The text also tells us that God shepherds us. None of us have been shepherds so we might not fully understand what the writer is trying to convey. Give me a moment to explain. A good shepherd looks after his sheep by leading them to water and food.  The shepherd also looks out for the sheep making sure they are protected from possible predators. When we say God shepherds us, we are saying God is leading us to what we need and protecting us from what could harm us.

The writer also reminds us that God loves us. Because God loves us, God wants the best for us. God is always intervening for us because God loves us. God loves us so much God redeems us.
 
Next the text reminds us of what we should do when we thank God. This psalm opens with a call to make a Joyful noise and worship with gladness.  People should know that we are thankful by our sound and our station.  When we profess what God has done people should be able to hear the joy in our soul and see the gladness in our stride.  We are called to enter the gates with thanksgiving, moving in gratitude.

Finally, remember that God is God and worthy to be praised. God keeps us and knows us. Therefore, no weapon formed against us can prosper. Nothing we do can separate us from the love of God. And wherever we go God is with us.   That is reason enough to be thankful. So, we say thank God for keeping us. Thank God for leading us. Thank God for covering us.

Prayer: Most gracious and merciful God thank you for the love, thank you for the law, thank you for everything.  Amen and Asé!