In the Cave

Gratitude to God is a theme woven all through the Psalms.  As we approach Thanksgiving, let me highlight a few of these passages.

Psalm 57: Notice in v 1 that David wrote this prayer “when he fled from Saul, in the cave.”  The backdrop is in 1 Samuel 24:  David, running for his life, hides in a cave while King Saul and 3,000 soldiers try to hunt him down.  And yet, amidst the terror of that scene, David is not terrorized.  To be sure, he calls on God for mercy and protection.  But he also yearns to see the Lord exalted “above the heavens”; “Let your glory be over all the earth!” (v 5).

What’s more, fugitive David gives thanks:  “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations” (v 9).  God is his refuge, come what may—and he wants people to know it, so he vows to give praise and thanks to God openly, publicly, “among the peoples.”  Are you grateful to God for his unwavering love even when everything seems to be falling apart?  And do you spread your trust in God to others?

Psalm 92: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (vv 1-2).  Again, gratitude to God moves us to declare his love to other people.

Psalm 136: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his stead­fast love endures forever” (v 1).  You may not understand how the love of God is operating in a given moment, but rest assured that it is an eternal love and in God’s good time you’ll see it.

Psalm 147: “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!” (v 7).  Gratitude to God must not only be said, but sung.  And in v 8 we’re given reasons:  thank God for rain and grass and all the gifts of nature.

Psalm 100: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (v 4).