“Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good:
for His mercy endureth forever!” Psalm 106:1-2
Have you ever felt that those who are less faithful than yourself seem to get more blessings? There are times when even the strongest believers think that God is unfair to the believer. It is not until we stop and review our actual circumstance, the good and the bad, that we reach an understanding about the nature of our blessings.
We are challenged each year at this Thanksgiving time to recount our many blessings and to name them one by one as the hymn suggest. This is the suggestion that David makes for us today through the 106th division of the Psalms. The whole psalm is a litany of reminding us of the many blessings that the Lord bestows on us as his children. Read it!
God’s blessings are new every day and whenever we find ourselves complaining and questioning whether God has blessed us, it may be necessary for us to think only on the goodness of the Lord.
When David realized the magnitude and sufficiency of God’s blessing he could only proclaim,
“Bless be the Lord God of Israel from Everlasting to Everlasting.Let all the people say Amen. Praise the Lord!”
As we approach another celebration of the season of thanksgiving, may all of us be reminded that there are many more reasons to give thanks than not. Let us recount our blessings in light of God’s power, presences and promises.
Dr. Paul M. Martin
President
American Baptist Seminary of the West
Berkeley, CA
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