Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 117 ESV).
This is the week of Thanksgiving. We may forget that gratitude is the heart’s response to grace. Our reading today is the shortest psalm in the Psalter and thereby the shortest chapter in Christian Scripture. The psalmist cannot help but be overcome by gratitude and praise. And this is because of God’s never-ending, covenant love which endures toward His people forever. Two elements of this psalm should be apparent. First, “all peoples” should shout in acclamation. The psalmist in a moment of jubilant thanks seems to peer from the old covenant into the future where this “great multitude” from every race and people will join in grateful praise (cf. Revelation 7:9-12).
As the plan of salvation comes to fruition, all, including the heavenly host, cannot help but fall down in praise and thanks to almighty God. It is the instinct of redeemed creatures when they receive blessing without merit. And that is the second element which is apparent. That for which the psalmist is so grateful is not something which he earns or deserves. It’s not something he believes he is owed. In fact, it has nothing to do with him, other than the reality that he is a recipient of this matchless gift. It is God and what He has done, without reference to our worthiness, which elicits such incredible and intense proclamations of thanks.
Gratitude is not merely passive and reflexive. It is also active and willful. According to Paul, when we willingly choose to focus on those things for which we are thankful in the Lord, it has a heart-shaping effect. Even when our hearts and minds would rather be focused on the negative. And, when we focus our minds to meditate on the gracious gifts of God, then peace from God, which surpasses all ability to cognitively work out, seems to rule in our hearts.
I often tell people that “Help!” is a perfectly acceptable one-word prayer. So too is the twice as long “Thank you!” The former is for the languishing soul, the latter for the exultant. One begs for grace, the other acknowledges grace already received. This is a wonderful week to do just that. In the next few days we’ll examine some of the specifics about our reasons for gratitude. Today, being making yourself more aware of the grace God has given to you in this life and the one yet to come.