Being Thankful

I will praise Thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee. I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name. In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.  All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.  Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
Though the LORD be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly: but the proud He knoweth afar off.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me.  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of Thine own hands.

Psalm 138:1-8

I will point out three different things here in this Psalm

First, notice how the Psalmist, who is David, is saying that he will praise the LORD even in the midst of kings, and their supposed gods (verses 1-5).

That tells me that no matter where we are as followers of Jesus Christ we ought to praise the Lord God. “For great is the glory of the LORD.”

Second, we are told in verse 6 that, even though God is in His high position; that is Ruler and Sovereign over all things; He respects those who are lowly – humble, meek, brokenhearted, contrite, and poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).

We can see also that those who are full of pride for themselves are only known from a distance, meaning they do not know God.

It is better to be of an humble, meek, contrite heart, than being full of pride and headed for a hard fall (Proverbs 16:18).

Third, though he walked in the midst of trouble; maybe the wars he fought, and the enemies he had; he trusted the LORD for giving him life, “You LORD will revive me. The LORD will give me strength, and victory over my enemies with His powerful hand, and He will save me.”

He has faith that God will perfect the things concerning himself. He praises the LORD for His enduring mercy, ask Him to not forsake the work of His hands; that is the LORD’S work on himself (verses 7-8).

In times of trouble when you have the world on your shoulders, and you feel as though no one seems to care; you can know for certain that the LORD God who created all that is (Most High God); He loves you.

He has demonstrated His love for us all by sending His own Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for the sins of the world. You may think, “Well I am not a sinner. Why would I need a savior?” All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, none of us are without sin. You need a savior, and the only Savior from sin is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Turn from your sin to Jesus Christ. That is repentance. By grace through faith.

Christian, lift up your head. Your redemption draws near. God’s word is magnified even above His name (v. 2). It shall come to pass. He does not allow His word to return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11).

This Scripture Is Fulfilled

“And He began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:21 (KJB)

Jesus had been given the opportunity to read the Scriptures in synagogue that day, and He opened to the prophet Isaiah and read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19

If you will take note; Jesus stopped before completing the reading of the whole prophecy. Why? It would be because He had come to fulfill only this portion for this time; the other would come later.

The following is more of Isaiah’s prophecy from Isaiah 61. If  you want to read it in it entirety pick up your Bible and read it.  Jesus is coming again.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,…”
“…and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified…” Isaiah 61:1-3ff

We can be sure that since He came to fulfill the first portion of this prophecy; He will definitely return to fulfill the latter part of it as well.