Give Thanks – Psalm 136:1–3
How do you express thanks?
A man and his wife were building a house, and they were committed to staying “debt free.” However, building costs were adding up. The wife wanted some nice kitchen cabinets, but their money was about gone, and the husband thought they would have to install the cheapest kind. Just at that time, they suddenly received a very generous, anonymous gift that was more than enough to pay for the cabinets she desired.
There is no way to say thanks for such an anonymous gift. All they could do was to thank God, because He must have been the one who placed the desire to give on someone’s heart. Several years later, this couple is still continuing to thank the Lord for His goodness in enabling them to build their house.
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good” (v. 1). It may not sound very spiritual to thank God for a gift to buy kitchen cabinets, but it is better to thank Him for this than it is to not thank Him at all.
There is a very spiritual reason for every believer to give thanks to God. Three times the same statement is made in these three verses, so it must be important. The statement is “his mercy endureth for ever” (vv. 1, 2, 3). As you count your blessings from the Lord, and as you determine reasons why you should give Him thanks, the greatest of all reasons is because He is merciful to all who will ask Him for forgiveness.
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good” (v.1).