{"id":820,"date":"2017-11-23T06:33:27","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T11:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/?p=820"},"modified":"2017-11-22T22:05:49","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T03:05:49","slug":"let-the-redeemed-of-the-lord-say-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/let-the-redeemed-of-the-lord-say-so\/","title":{"rendered":"Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Autumn<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
\nfor his steadfast love endures forever!
\nLet the redeemed of the LORD say so\u2026
\n(Psalm 107: 1\u20132)<\/p>\n

Psalm 107 teaches us that we are to give thanks to the Lord. And we are to do so in the hearing of others: Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!<\/strong> In each stanza we see people in various afflictions and trials. And each time the Lord brings deliverance, each time we see His hand at work, we see an exhortation to give thanks.<\/p>\n

In light of God\u2019s glory manifest in His work in us, we are to speak<\/em> and sing<\/em> and pray<\/em> His praise. We are to encourage one another by giving thanks for what God has done and what He has promised to do. God intends that our words and our prayers strengthen those who are weak and feeble among us, that they might hear and have faith and persevere in prayer and hope.<\/p>\n

The word that is translated \u201cthanks\u201d here in Psalm 107 is the Hebrew word yadah<\/em>. Literally it means \u201cto publically confess or acknowledge.\u201d Thanksgiving<\/em><\/strong> in the Hebrew understanding of the term was not a private affair. It was always public\u2014making known what God has done. The verb yadah<\/em> simply means to declare or recognize a fact, whether that fact is good or bad. When it is used in the context of sinful human beings, the verb denotes the acknowledgment of a person\u2019s character, most often in the context of confessing or acknowledging sin. When it is focused upon the glory and splendor of God however, it denotes the giving of thanks\u2014a grateful acknowledgement and public confession of the greatness of God.<\/p>\n

Having an attitude of thankfulness was not just for the Old Testament or worship in the temple. We see it in the New Testament as well, especially in the ministry of Paul.<\/p>\n

Listen to what he writes to the churches:<\/p>\n

To the church at Corinth:<\/p>\n

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:4).<\/p>\n

To the church at Ephesus:<\/p>\n

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15\u201316).<\/p>\n

To the church at Colossae:<\/p>\n

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:12).<\/p>\n

To the church at Thessalonica<\/p>\n

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2).<\/p>\n

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (2 Thessalonians 1:3).<\/p>\n

And remember, these were churches that were experiencing many problems and troubles. Paul writes long letters explaining how they are to live and serve together as sinners saved by grace. And yet when Paul thinks of them, he give thanks. He recognizes that each assembly is a miracle of the power of the gospel, a display of God\u2019s glory in changed lives. Here were people who had been in darkness, worshipping idols and false gods, and now they are serving Christ and giving glory to God. The transformation of their lives is amazing!<\/p>\n

We need to keep this in mind as well\u2014as we live and serve here at Grace\u2014as we remember and think of one another. We are a testimony to the saving power of the gospel and we have every reason to give thanks.<\/p>\n

Paul instructs the churches\u2014including us:<\/p>\n

[give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).<\/p>\n

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).<\/p>\n

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).<\/p>\n

Let me encourage you to take time to give thanks. Think about God\u2019s work in your life and in the lives of brothers and sisters here in the church. Where you see evidence of God\u2019s grace and mercy\u2014Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[This excerpt is from a Sermon on Psalm 107 entitled \u201cLet the Redeemed of the Lord Say So.”\u00a0You can\u00a0read the full Sermon \u00a0here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

See\u00a0more\u00a0Sermons and Articles<\/a>\u00a0by Ken Puls<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so\u2026 (Psalm 107: 1\u20132) Psalm 107 teaches us that we are to give thanks to the Lord. And we are to do so in the hearing of others: Let the redeemed of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[49,6],"tags":[100,180,181,57,26],"class_list":["post-820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psalm","category-sermons","tag-psalm","tag-thanks","tag-thanksgiving","tag-witness","tag-word-of-god"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4lLgO-de","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":822,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}