Thanksgiving. Pt. 2 Psalm 95 Thanksgiving & Worship
Today is one day closer to Thanksgiving and we have a wonderful Psalm to look at for instruction about being a thankful people.
This is another beautiful Psalm of Thanksgiving. There are a total of 9 action words (imperatives) that are calling us to respond in a certain way to Jehovah. The divine name Jehovah is found 3 times and the name Elohim twice in these verses.
The name Jehovah reminds us that the covenant keeping, unchanging, God who inhabits eternity and dwells with those of humble hearts is our audience. The name Elohim reminds us that God is Creator, Sustainer, Sovereign Ruler and King to whom we owe our lives and allegiance.
Psalm 95:1-7 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Thanksgiving because God has invited us to come.
"O come" are beautiful words from Jehovah. He is the God who saves us from our sins and He has invited the born again Christian to come near to Him. Can anyone call upon His name for salvation? Yes, for the scripture says "Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Our Lord Jesus said "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28-30).
Thanksgiving because Jehovah has invited us to worship
What are we invited to do? To sing to Jehovah with a joyful noise. A joyful noise is an ear splitting sound. It was used to signal an emergency summoning the people. It was used to signal military action and it was especially used when offering praise to Jehovah.
Why are we invited to sing? Because Jehovah is the Rock of our salvation. The name "Jesus" mean "Jehovah savior" and that is why Jesus was born. He came to earth to perfectly fulfill the righteous law of God and when He had done this, He voluntarily died as the perfect Lamb of God in our place on the cross.
Thanksgiving because we have a sure salvation in Christ
Christ's salvation is sure, unshakable, unchangeable, unassailable. That good news alone is enough to cause our spirits to soar and make a joyful noise to Jehovah.
Thanksgiving is rooted in Leviticus 3 & 7 where it is called a "thank offering." The thank offering was given by a person who was cleansed from sin and had peace with God. A thank offering was voluntarily given to Jehovah as an expression of that persons gratitude and thankfulness. A thank offering was spontaneous and offered when the Spirit of God reminded that person of all the goodness of God.
Thanksgiving because we have a Great God and King
How great is Jehovah Elohim? He merely had to speak in order to create all things that exist. He is omnipotent and nothing is too hard for Him to accomplish. He is omniscient and there is nothing at anytime that He does not know. He is omnipresent and thus, He will never leave or forsake the child of God.
This great God is the God who saves us and keeps us saved and delivers us from our enemies. This great God is the God who cares about what is happening to us and who has deep compassion for us. This great God is the God who keeps His word and who is worthy of our worship.
Thanksgiving because we are the sheep of Jehovah's pasture.
This is marvelous truth. When God saves us, regenerates our hearts and gives us His Spirit, He also put us into His sheepfold. We are one of Jehovah's sheep and He is the Good Shepherd who provides for, cares for and watches over His sheep.
I can think of a lot of reasons why I would not be a good candidate to be a sheep in Jehovah's pasture and I am sure that you can as well. We tend to be disobedient and tend to wander away from our Shepherd. We sometimes do not eat and drink the provision that He has supplied. We sometimes stumble and fall. We sometimes can be a cantankerous lot of sheep.
Yet, Jehovah loves us with an everlasting love and He will keep every promise that He has made. Shouldn't this move us to offer loud, boisterous, reverent praises to our Great God?
Points to Ponder....
This is another beautiful Psalm of Thanksgiving. There are a total of 9 action words (imperatives) that are calling us to respond in a certain way to Jehovah. The divine name Jehovah is found 3 times and the name Elohim twice in these verses.
The name Jehovah reminds us that the covenant keeping, unchanging, God who inhabits eternity and dwells with those of humble hearts is our audience. The name Elohim reminds us that God is Creator, Sustainer, Sovereign Ruler and King to whom we owe our lives and allegiance.
Psalm 95:1-7 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Thanksgiving because God has invited us to come.
"O come" are beautiful words from Jehovah. He is the God who saves us from our sins and He has invited the born again Christian to come near to Him. Can anyone call upon His name for salvation? Yes, for the scripture says "Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Our Lord Jesus said "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28-30).
Thanksgiving because Jehovah has invited us to worship
What are we invited to do? To sing to Jehovah with a joyful noise. A joyful noise is an ear splitting sound. It was used to signal an emergency summoning the people. It was used to signal military action and it was especially used when offering praise to Jehovah.
Why are we invited to sing? Because Jehovah is the Rock of our salvation. The name "Jesus" mean "Jehovah savior" and that is why Jesus was born. He came to earth to perfectly fulfill the righteous law of God and when He had done this, He voluntarily died as the perfect Lamb of God in our place on the cross.
Thanksgiving because we have a sure salvation in Christ
Christ's salvation is sure, unshakable, unchangeable, unassailable. That good news alone is enough to cause our spirits to soar and make a joyful noise to Jehovah.
Thanksgiving is rooted in Leviticus 3 & 7 where it is called a "thank offering." The thank offering was given by a person who was cleansed from sin and had peace with God. A thank offering was voluntarily given to Jehovah as an expression of that persons gratitude and thankfulness. A thank offering was spontaneous and offered when the Spirit of God reminded that person of all the goodness of God.
Thanksgiving because we have a Great God and King
How great is Jehovah Elohim? He merely had to speak in order to create all things that exist. He is omnipotent and nothing is too hard for Him to accomplish. He is omniscient and there is nothing at anytime that He does not know. He is omnipresent and thus, He will never leave or forsake the child of God.
This great God is the God who saves us and keeps us saved and delivers us from our enemies. This great God is the God who cares about what is happening to us and who has deep compassion for us. This great God is the God who keeps His word and who is worthy of our worship.
Thanksgiving because we are the sheep of Jehovah's pasture.
This is marvelous truth. When God saves us, regenerates our hearts and gives us His Spirit, He also put us into His sheepfold. We are one of Jehovah's sheep and He is the Good Shepherd who provides for, cares for and watches over His sheep.
I can think of a lot of reasons why I would not be a good candidate to be a sheep in Jehovah's pasture and I am sure that you can as well. We tend to be disobedient and tend to wander away from our Shepherd. We sometimes do not eat and drink the provision that He has supplied. We sometimes stumble and fall. We sometimes can be a cantankerous lot of sheep.
Yet, Jehovah loves us with an everlasting love and He will keep every promise that He has made. Shouldn't this move us to offer loud, boisterous, reverent praises to our Great God?
Points to Ponder....
- Jehovah has invited you and me into His presence. Will you come?
- Jehovah has invited us to offer our praises to Him. Will you worship?
- Jehovah saves us with an everlasting salvation. Will you repent and turn to Christ?
- Jehovah is the Great God and King. Will you submit to Him today?
- Jehovah tenderly puts us in with all His other sheep. Will you run to this wonderful Shepherd?
We have some very moving Thanksgiving hymns including "We Gather Together"; "Come Ye Thankful People Come"; "This is My Fathers World"; "For the Beauty of the Earth" and "Now Thank we all our God" to name a few.
I find it very rewarding to read the text of these hymns and to absorb the Bible truth that they communicate to us. Sing them with your family this Thanksgiving. It will be a real blessing to you.
Bob
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