Gratitude - Psalm 138

August 19, 2020 

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

   before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down towards your holy temple
   and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
   for you have exalted your name and your word
   above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me,
   you increased my strength of soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
   for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
   for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
   but the haughty he perceives from far away.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
   you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
   and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
   your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
   Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 138

Did you notice all the words of thankfulness?

• Your steadfast love and faithfulness.
• On the day I called, you answered me.  
• All earth’s kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord.
• And I love that last verse:  Do not forsake the work of your hands.   Or as Eugene Peterson paraphrased it in The Message:  Finish what you started in me God; your love is eternal – don’t quit on me now.

I think it would be good to commit those words to memory, and say them day after day. 

I’m struck here by the thankfulness. 

But notice as well that the thankfulness comes after experiencing a difficult time; in fact the psalm writer said:  “Though I walk in the midst of trouble.”  We don’t know what the trouble is.  It is vague.  It can perhaps be a physical illness, a spiritual struggle, financial difficulties, or what?  But I find it intriguing that in the midst of a day of trouble the response is to cry out to the Lord. 

And very simply, that’s the point of this psalm.  On the day I called, you answered me.  It seems God brings this person through a time of trouble, and no longer thinks of that dark valley as a time of trouble, but as a time when he (or she) called out and God answered.  A time when God “increased my strength of soul.”

Thankfulness.  One of my seminary classmates - Rolf Jacobson - who is now a professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary says about this psalm:  “Giving thanks Old Testament style has less to do with some internal feeling of gratitude and more about sending God a thank you note.  And the thank you note that God desires is to tell others what God has done.”

I like that.  I think that is hard for us to do – naming God.  But I want to invite you to spend some time each day with a simple practice of gratitude. 

People who research such things tell us that we quickly focus on the negative in our lives.  And when we remember events, we remember the bad things that have happened.  Not how God brought us through them, but the negative experience itself.  Further, they say that it takes at least 12 seconds of focusing on the good to move an event from short-term memory to longer term memory.  Take 12 seconds of silence right now. 

I invite you each day to take a few minutes and simply write what it is that you are thankful for.  Where is your gratitude today?  And when you experience God bringing you through something; or giving you something you don’t expect, savor it a bit.  At least 12 seconds to store it in longer term memory. 

Let us pray: Compassionate God, you look with favor upon the lowly.  Keep us safe in the midst of trouble, make known your love in our words and deeds, and bring us to new life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.