Psalm 107:8-9
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things!”
Among the various graces which characterize the true Christian, that of gratitude to God is very conspicuous. Others indeed will confess their obligations to the Supreme Being; but none are duly sensible of them, until they have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. When once we have “tasted that the Lord is gracious,” and been impressed with a sense of redeeming love, we shall view the goodness of God in all his dispensations; and not only glorify him ourselves, but earnestly desire that all should render him the honor due unto his name.
This disposition was eminently displayed in David, when he penned the Psalm before us. No less than four times does he repeat the fervent wish, that men would praise the Lord; and at each time does he suggest the most ample grounds for the performance of that duty.
From David’s words we shall take occasion to consider,
I. The duty here recommended.
Wherever a superior being is acknowledged, there a tribute of prayer and praise is considered as due to him. The light of scripture revelation confirms this general sentiment; and expressly inculcates thanksgiving to God as a universal duty. The manner in which the Psalmist urges us to praise our heavenly Benefactor, deserves peculiar attention; it speaks more forcibly than the strongest injunction could have done; and intimates that:
1. Praise is an indispensable duty.
Praise is the external expression, whereby a soul, filled with admiration and gratitude, gives vent to its feelings towards its heavenly Benefactor. It is an exercise of which the glorified saints and angels are never weary! Revelation 4:8-9; and in which we enjoy a foretaste of Heaven itself, 1 Peter 1:8. Words can scarcely convey a more sublime idea of this employment, than those by which David describes its effects upon the soul, Psalm 63:5. In this view he strongly recommends praise to us, and we may also recommend praise to each other, as “good, pleasant, and lovely Psalm 147:1.”
Praise is a duty which we owe to God. There is not any precept in the Bible more plain than those which relate to praising God, 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Ephesians 5:20; There is not any Christian duty, the neglect of which is represented in a more heinous light. Lack of praise is the strongest mark of an ungodly state, Romans 1:21; and a certain ground of eternal condemnation! Deuteronomy 28:45; Deuteronomy 28:47.
On the other hand, there is not any religious act of which more honorable mention is made than this! Praise glorifies God, Psalm 50:23. There is not any religious act to which, if accompanied by a suitable deportment, more exalted privileges are annexed. Psalm 50:23.
Hence it is, that thirteen times in the space of six short verses, David renews his exhortations to every living creature to praise the Lord! Psalm 150.
2. Praise is a much neglected duty.
Whatever blessings men enjoy, they rest in the gift, and forget the Giver. In fact, we scarcely know the value of our blessings until we are bereaved of them. The generality of men, instead of acknowledging with gratitude God’s kindness towards them, and requiting him according to the benefits he has given to them, take occasion from his mercies to sin the more against him! Not even the godly themselves abound in this holy employment as we might expect. Many, alas! live at so great a distance from God, that they can scarcely ever rise above a petition for mercy, or, at most, a sense of thankfulness that he has not utterly cast them off. They cannot soar to a contemplation of the divine perfections, or of the excellency of Christ, or of the blessedness of those mansions that are prepared for them.
They have so much of the world in their hearts, and so little faith, that they cannot realize their principles, or glorify God in any measure as they ought.
Instead of cultivating the devout spirit of David, Psalm 63:3-4; Psalm 119:164, they rest satisfied in a lukewarm state, saying, “It is too high; I cannot attain unto it, Psalm 139:6.”
Yes, though there are some who delight themselves in God; yet, in reference to the greater part even of real Christians we must say with sorrow and regret, “O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and according to his excellent greatness! Psalm 150:2.”
To stir up ourselves to a due performance of this duty, let us consider,
II. The grounds proposed for the performance of praise.
There is nothing that may not in some view or other be made a ground of praise and thanksgiving. In the text we are led to notice,
1. Those things which are general.
The goodness of God, as manifested in the wonderful dispensations of his providence, is that which first offers itself to our consideration. How bountifully does God supply the returning needs of his creatures, even while they are continuing in rebellion against him! How marvelously has he preserved us in life from our earliest infancy to this day; and kept in tune, as it were, in the midst of continual shocks and dangers—an instrument of ten thousand strings!
With what kindness has he restrained the evil dispositions of men, which, if allowed to rage without control, would produce a very Hell upon earth In proof of this we need only look back to the slaughters and massacres, the rapes and ravages, and all the other horrors of the French Revolution.
As for the godly, they would soon be extirpated from the face of the earth, if the sons of Belial were permitted to execute all that is in their hearts! And who among us would not have perpetrated many more evils than he has, if God had not imposed an invisible restraint upon him, and diverted him from his purpose! See the instances of Abimelech, Genesis 20:6; of Laban, Genesis 31:24; of David, 1 Samuel 25:32-34.
We must particularly call to mind the wonders God has wrought for us, in preserving us from domestic tumults and foreign invasions; and in making us victorious, when our allies have been all subdued, or have even combined against us with the common enemy for our destruction. In a more especial manner should we admire the goodness of God in so suddenly disposing the hearts of our enemies to peace, and in bringing the calamities both of war and scarcity to a happy termination.
The riches of God’s grace are also deserving of the deepest attention. Surely it is not possible to overlook the wonderful work of redemption which God has wrought for sinful man.
What shall I say of the gift of his only-begotten Son to die for sinners?
What of the gift of his Holy Spirit to instruct and sanctify us?
What of all the promises of grace and mercy and peace to the believing soul?
And what of that eternal inheritance he has prepared for us in Heaven?
Truly he dealt not so with the fallen angels; but to “the children of men” he has communicated richer blessings than words can declare, or that any finite imagination can conceive. And should we not praise him for these? If we are silent on subjects like these, truly our mouths will be shut in the day that our ingratitude shall be punished by our indignant God.
2. Those things which are more particularly specified as given to “the longing and hungry soul”.
Under the image of a weary traveler rescued from the deepest distress, and brought beyond all expectation to the rest he had desired, the Psalmist represents a soul hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and raised from a state of despondency to the full enjoyment of its God.
There are thousands who are reduced to great perplexity in the pursuit of Heaven. They feel their guilty and perishing condition; but how to extricate themselves from the wilderness of this world, and to find their way to the city of habitation, they know not. Having tried in vain those self-righteous methods of escape which their own reason has suggested—they cry at last to God, and implore his guidance. He, ever ready to hear the prayer of the poor destitute sinner, “reveals his dear Son in their hearts;” he shows them that in Christ is their hope, in Christ is their refuge, in Christ is their security.
Being thus led to Christ, their “longing souls are satisfied, their hungry souls are filled with goodness!” Who can conceive what satisfaction a soul feels, when Christ is thus revealed to it as “the way, the truth, and the life!”
I wish you particularly to notice how God marks with approbation not our attainments only, but our very desires. Longing and hungering after God are the very lowest operations and effects of grace in the soul; yet does God delight in them, and magnify his mercy towards those in whom even these slight beginnings of what is good are seen.
And is not this a ground of praise? If any who have experienced such mercies “should hold their peace,” methinks Sodom and Gomorrah will rise up in judgment against them. The more we contemplate redeeming love, the more will a sacred ardor glow within our bosoms to bless and praise the Lord for his wondrous salvation! verse 43.
ADDRESS.
1. Those who never praise God at all.
What enemies are such people both to their present and future happiness! How much richer enjoyment would they now have of all God’s mercies, if they could discern his hand in them, and taste his love! And how much happier would they be in the eternal world! for, can it be supposed that God will bestow Heaven indiscriminately on the evil and unthankful, together with the good and thankful? Can it be thought that a man who was more insensible of favors than an ox or a donkey, Isaiah 1:3, shall instantly on his dismissal from the body begin to adore his God, and to join in those celestial anthems for which he had not the smallest taste?
No! We must begin on earth the work we are to carry on in Heaven; nor can we hope to participate in the felicity of the saints, if we have not first cultivated their disposition, and found delight in their employment.
2. Those who desire and endeavor to praise him.
While some find their hearts enlarged in praising God, we trust there are many who say, O that I could praise the Lord for his goodness! But whence is it that, with a desire to enjoy God, so many spend their days in sighing and mourning instead of in joy and rejoicing?
Perhaps they pore over their own corruptions without contemplating the divine attributes.
They look at themselves, more than at Christ.
They consider their own needs; but overlook the Lord’s promises.
They anticipate future difficulties, without adverting to past deliverances.
In short, they cannot praise God as they would wish, because they are forgetful of those benefits which are the occasions and grounds of praise. Let all such people then be aware of their error. Let them begin this day the important, the delightful, the long-neglected work. Let them unite in praising God for his mercies, whether public or personal, whether temporal or eternal.
To all would we say, in the energetic language of the Psalmist, “O sing praises unto the Lord, sing praises; sing praises unto the Lord, sing praises; sing praises with understanding! Psalm 47:6-7.” “Let young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heavens! Psalm 148:12-13.”
Charles Simeon