Counting Our Many Blessings

Introduction

Awesome God, amen. Oh what a Savior we have. In Psalm one eighteen, I hope you’ll turn there with me as we have a few moments left in this morning service. Psalm chapter one hundred and eighteen. Consider the words of the Psalmist, and moreover, consider what joy, what thanksgiving, what faith was in the heart of the author of this psalm. In Psalm one hundred eighteen, beginning in verse one, O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say his steadfast love endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say his steadfast love endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord say steadfast love endures forever. Out of my distress I called on the Lord, the Lord answered me and set me free.

The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is on my side as my helper. I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations surrounded me in the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side. In the name of the Lord I cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They went out like a fire among thorns. In the name of the Lord, I cut them off. I was pushed hard, so that I was fallen. But the Lord helped me.

The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made.

1. Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and He has made His life to shine upon us. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, and I will extol you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Even though this psalm, Psalm one eighteen is twenty nine verses, I think we can see that this is a psalm that we could easily adapt to our everyday prayer. Not just in application, not just recognizing, as verse one says, that the Lord is owed thanks, for he is good.

2. The Lord Is on Our Side

Not just the fact that verse five and six tells us what we know to be true, that when we are in distress, when we call out to the Lord, He will answer our prayers, physical, spiritual, up to and including sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and not to be held by death, but rather to be victorious, defeating the one who had the power of death, being raised from the dead, knowing that we too can be baptized into his death and raised to walk in newness of life. It’s not just like in verse seven that we know the Lord is on our side and that there’s nothing that man can do to us. We can look with triumph on this world knowing that this isn’t all there is, that the ultimate blessing that God gives us is not here and now.

3. Trust First in the Lord

Despite all the many blessings we have, despite the air conditioning and the freedoms and even this local body that we can enjoy, we know our true freedom, true liberty, true blessing is only found when we are going to be with our great God. It’s not that we shouldn’t trust in man, but we must trust first in the Lord. We cannot put our trust in ourselves even but in the Lord. Verse 17 and 18, we know that while the Lord will discipline, while the Lord’s will is clear and difficult, we have a chance at going through, as verse 19 says, the gates of righteousness. What a powerful blessing in verse 19 that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. I want to pose one thought as we think about our blessings and I want to consider it a challenge this morning as we move towards wrapping up this lesson.

4. Are We Thankful? Do You Really Want Heaven?

Consider of all the blessings that God has given to us are we thankful? Do we give thanks and praise to God? Do we ever stop and think about that more than once a week more than on Sunday mornings, more than on Wednesday evenings. But consider also the idea of do you really want to be in heaven? When you think about what heaven is often we think of this some great place that’s juxtaposed rightly with some terrible place called hell. And while that is true, and we have two places to go after the judgment. Consider heaven is what? Being in the presence of God, rejoicing, praising and thanking our great God. If we can’t be bothered to do that here in this life, what makes us think that our soul is really inclined to want to or be able to be received by God to do that for all of eternity?

Conclusion

If I find it hard to make it to worship services, to praise God, if I find it difficult to focus my mind, singing praises to God and praying to Him every day, giving thanks. What does that mean about my ultimate goal if I say that it’s heaven? If I say that my ultimate goal is to be with God, which means being in heaven, which means praising and thanking my God forever. Do I have that kind of faith? Do I have that type of true joy, true thankfulness, and true trust in the Lord that the psalmist of chapter 118 had? Consider in verse 21, I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. Verse 28 and 29 should be in our hearts every day.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, and I will extol you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear righteous, loving and enduring Heavenly Father, we thank you for not only being our God for all of eternity, not only pointing yourself out to us, showing yourself in the mighty works of this earth that you have created, but we’re thankful for your steadfast love that endures forever. We’re thankful for your mercy, your grace, and forgiveness that you constantly offer to all of us, for all time, to any and all who will seek your name. We pray that you forgive us of when we stumble, forgive us of when we sin, when we violate your will.

Forgive us of when we don’t trust in you. And yes, forgive us even of when we don’t thank you as we should. We are so thankful to you for all of our blessings. Thank you for this country. Thank you for the men and women who are overseas fighting that we may have these privileges to teach your word. Help us to be active in teaching, active and using the liberty that’s unique to us in this time. Help us to make the most of the opportunity, recognizing that we will give account of ourselves to you. Thank you for being a loving God who has shown yourself to care for your creation from the beginning of time, the way you promised and made a special covenant relationship with Abraham, with the people of Israel.

And moreover, by sending Jesus to Christ to not only die on the cross, but to shed his blood, to be blood of the new covenant which you offer to each and every one of us. Help us to accept your terms, to praise your great name, and thank you for that infinite wisdom and mercy and that wonderful plan of Jesus that you made possible for us. We recognize that Jesus is a powerful and the only possible Savior, and we thank you for that plan. We thank you for his sacrifice. As we worship you, help us always to do it in spirit and truth as you would receive. Help us to read your word and understand and practice the words of life as you would have us to be.

Help us to be holy as you are holy. Again, watch out for us through this day. Continue to think we continue to thank you, and we pray that you continue to bless us with all the blessings, both physical and spiritual, that you have always promised. We pray all these things in Jesus the Christ’s name. Amen. We are now dismissed to our Bible classes.