When we think of Thanksgiving, we rightly think of an American holiday, and we've noted that in the past. It is uniquely American because it's not from the pages of Scripture. First of all, we don't find this holiday in the Bible, nor do we even find a parallel necessarily to the holiday. That doesn't mean that we can't celebrate it. In fact, we should be looking for many opportunities to lift up our voices together and to give thanks to the Lord. But scripture, even though it doesn't give us a pattern for the so-called Turkey Day, it does give us a pattern for Thanksgiving. At various times in Israel's history, we see the people pause so that they can lift up their voices and thank the Lord for what he has done so that they can express their gratitude for the many ways in which God has provided for them. And one of the most powerful examples of this in scripture is, of course, at Passover. This is when the children of Israel remember their freedom that they have from their slavery in Egypt and their deliverance from Egypt into the promised land. And what we're reading this evening is actually in the midst of what are known as the Egyptian Hallel Psalms. Hallel meaning praise. And so Psalms 113 through 118 are these Egyptian Hallel Psalms. And they're called that because they are all Psalms that were sung at Passover. And this was the tradition for them to be sang as the people remember God's mighty deliverance from Egypt. Psalm 116, of course, is right there in the middle of that group. And so this is one that would have been traditionally sung. That means that this is one that Jesus would have sung with his disciples, especially on that night of the Last Supper. After they had took the Passover meal, And the scripture says that they sang a hymn before leaving the upper room. This may have very well been one of those psalms that they sang. In fact, as we think about that, you know, when we think about the passion that's happening in that week in our Lord, for instance, Matthew 26, 38, it says that Jesus was deeply grieved even to the point of death. Well, as that's happening, he sang a song about being delivered from death. This song is not just a Thanksgiving song for the ancient worshiper. It's messianic. And it's a psalm that pointed forward to Christ on the night of his betrayal. So this is a very, very important psalm. And the psalmist here, as one commentary notes, painted this intensely personal thank you psalm to the Lord. as he recalls how Yahweh delivered him from the brink of death. And so he expresses his profound gratitude and his renewed commitment to the relationship that they have in worship. And we see the same reason Especially as we think about the Lord saving our souls and delivering us from the second death, we see the same reasons to lift up our voices and to give thanks to the Lord. And so this evening, we're going to consider the concept of offering Thanksgiving. And we'll do that from right here in Psalm 116, where we will see three aspects of offering thanksgiving. Three aspects of offering thanksgiving. First, thanksgiving involves remembering what God has done. Thanksgiving involves remembering what God has done. And we'll see that in verses one through four. Verses one through four. Second, we will note that Thanksgiving involves thinking about who God is. Thanksgiving involves thinking about who God is. And we will see that from verses five through 11. Five through 11. Third, we will see that Thanksgiving involves worshiping God together. It involves worshiping God together, not just alone, but together. And we'll see that in verses 12 through 19. And so let's begin with the psalmist's personal remembrance. And so point one, first Thanksgiving involves remembering what God has done. Take a look again at verses one through four. I love Yahweh. because he hears my voice and my supplications, because he has inclined his ear to me. So I shall call upon him in all my days. The cords of death encompass me, and the distresses of Sheol found me. I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of Yahweh. Oh, Yahweh, I beseech you, provide my soul escape. See, before Thanksgiving can be expressed, it first has to be remembered. Before Thanksgiving can be expressed, it has to be remembered, and that is sometimes a problem that we all have. Not just some of us who might have some memory issues. This is all of us. We all struggle with this. We move from one thing to the next in our minds, and we forget what came before. There are times where we just lack thanksgiving in our life because we forget about the blessings that God has previously bestowed upon us. And so the psalmist here displays an example of reflecting upon the known works of God. Of course, this is a very common thing in the Psalms to see, but let's not just pass over this quickly because it's common. We need to consider this, especially if we want to be thankful people. We need to remember what God has done. See, thankfulness and praise doesn't emerge from vague feelings of gratitude. comes from, especially in this case, a reconciliation, or a recollection of the reconciliation to Yahweh, to what Yahweh has done to help and to deliver. Now the first thing to note here is that he is calling him Yahweh. Why is that important? This is a term that is often translated, in fact, most often translated as Lord in many Bible translations. So what is this name of God? Well, it is unique in that it is the covenant name of God, where God is expressing his promises to his people in whom he has a covenant. He has a promise. And he does have a covenant with the people of Israel, a legally binding covenant. And so the blessings are a result of God's keeping his covenant people, specifically the psalmist in this case. And God is keeping his covenant promises to his covenant people. And so the psalmist is recognizing And he encourages all the people of God to respond to the God who keeps his covenant promises. Because if God keeps his promises, then we should respond with praise. We should respond with thanksgiving. These are the same promises y'all that apply not just to the old covenant, but to the new covenant as well. the same covenant that we are brought into. And just as the Lord kept his promises to Old Testament Israel, he will keep his promises to us who are in Jesus Christ. We are part of that new covenant. And if we are part of that new covenant, then we know that we are also have a covenant with God. And so this is precious what we are seeing here. And if we are in covenant, then we should, of course, love the God of the covenants. And that is what he does here. He says, I love Yahweh. And the Hebrew behind this phrase, according to one study, says that it expresses a deep emotional attachment and excitement. I like that idea of excitement even. You see, there is a legal reality to this, because God has commanded love. In Deuteronomy 6, 5, he says, you shall love Yahweh your God, or the Lord your God, with all your heart. And so that is commanded of the people of God. And sometimes we need that command to remember. But oh, when we start to reflect upon the blessings of God, as the psalmist is doing here, that's not so much a command as it is a joy. It is something to express with excitement even. This is a loyal response, yes, of a covenant relationship, but it also expresses obvious affection. You can see in the text here just how deeply personal this is. The psalmist gives two reasons here for his love, and that's where you begin to see this personal aspect. First, he says the Lord hears prayer, which is his voice, his supplication that he says. The Lord hears. But that's not enough because the Lord also inclines his ear. Now, to hear is to pay attention, and that's something we also get from Deuteronomy 6. The Shema, hear, O Israel, you're supposed to pay attention to what the Lord has to say. Jesus, I was about to say Jesus, but he is, of course, the Son of God, is the lawgiver. And they are to hear what the lawgiver has to say there. Hear, well, the Lord hears. He, Shemas, if you will. The term incline paints the picture of God leaning over. Now, of course, this is anthropomorphic. God is a spirit, scripture says, and so he doesn't necessarily lean over, but that is the picture that's being painted, God leans over. So he can hear, he inclines his ear. So it's not just that he hears, it's that he's now paying attention. He's paying attention and he is paying further attention, he is focusing. In other words, God helped. That's what's being said here, is that God helped. I prayed and God helped. And now the psalmist expresses love because of what God did. You say, well, is that right, to have love because of what God did? Well, that's what the New Testament says too, right? 1 John 4, 19 says, we love because he first loved us. See, while we were yet enemies, Christ came and died for us. So he expressed that love first. Well, this is what we see. Here the psalmist prayed, the Lord answered, and thus the psalmist loves the Lord in return. And he moves on into his therefore. In the next line there he says, so I shall call upon him in all my days. And as one study says, this is an implicit expression of trust. He is saying, I'm going to trust you. I am going to follow you. With the knowledge of God's help, he has a foundation for his future trust. And we're starting to see the main point here, that we need to remember if we're going to offer Thanksgiving, we've got to remember. He is, he is remembering. And I think it was said this morning by Pastor Jorge, sometimes we have the general and then we get into the specifics here. He is remembering and he is going to tell us by revisiting the pain of the moment so that he can fully recall what happened. He starts to go over the severity of his trial with this terrified in parallel imagery. First, the cords of death begin to coil around him as though they're ready to pull him down into the ground. And with the other image, he says that the distresses of Sheol come upon him almost like hunters might come upon a person. You can see that feeling of everything closing in. The image also is used in Psalm 18, four and five, if you're just curious about another usage of it. But there are parallels to the chords of Sheol, similarly, as it does here, and it shows the helplessness of the condition. The helplessness of the condition, and that's really what he's saying, is that he's helpless. And he is saying that death and Sheol are what he was facing. Well, why do you say that? What is Sheol? Well, Sheol, especially in this context, speaks of the realm of the dead. It's the realm of the dead. Sometimes it's talking about the grave. Sometimes it's talking about where people would go in the afterlife. He is saying he was about to die. But he's obviously saying it in a much more poetic way. But he was about to die. We don't exactly know what was happening. Could have been sickness, could have been persecution, could have been some kind of injustice from others. But the psalmist tells us how it felt. He says, I found distress and sorrow. Sheol found me. The distresses of Sheol found me. I found distress and sorrow. This is a universal experience, I think, of the heart. I think all of us have felt something of this. in our lives at least at one point if not more than once or we almost would despair of life and think that we might not survive or if we face something that we would rather not face like the sickness of a child or of something as equally heavy upon us This is something that is so universal, in fact, that it could make it into the Psalms and many, many people could sing it and relate to it. In fact, Peter even alludes to it when preaching about Christ's resurrection in Acts 2.24. And so this could be applied to Christ as well. It would be right to say, though, that the psalmist's situation was grave. Of course, literally, not metaphorically. And of course, we may face similar situations that seem just as dire. And so in verse four, we read what we should do. The psalmist says, then, then I called upon the name of Yahweh. And so rather than engage in worldly solutions, he prays to God. In Psalm 18, verse six, we read, in my distress, I called upon Yahweh, and he cried, or excuse me, and cried to my God for help. He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry for help before him came into his ears. Sometimes our problem is that we don't go to God. We don't go to Yahweh when we face distress. I recently heard the story of a homeless man who came into the church drunk. He was wandering around and he was talking very loudly to himself and perhaps to anyone who would hear. asking why God wouldn't help him in this financial situation. You know, as I thought about that situation, I thought, you know, he was actually pretty close to the answer there. In some ways, I mean, he came to the church, and he was asking the question, but where was he ultimately putting his trust? He was putting his trust in the Bible. And that's partly why he was in his financial situation. That's partly why he did not have the answer from the Lord that he sought. But we can't find the answers in the bottom of any kind of bottle, whether it be an alcohol bottle, a pill bottle, or whatever other kind of bottles I guess there are out there. Even the essential oil bottles, you can't find the answers there either. We need to find the answers in glory. Calling upon the name of Yahweh is where we find hope. And it's because we are appealing to his character. Now we're gonna talk about his character just a moment here. But it often also implies a public prayer. And so he is calling upon the Lord in public. And that part isn't a bad thing, to gather together the saints and say, please pray with me about something. And many times we do do that. And we should do that more perhaps. In times of despair, it is especially important to turn to the Lord asking him for deliverance with God's people, with God's people. Now this is what genuine faith sounds like when it is pressed. Distress should drive us to prayer. And that is what the psalmist remembers here. And he remembers that comfort will come with God's people. He recalls all of this. And that is the first aspect of Thanksgiving, remembering what God has done. Let's consider the next one here. Second, Thanksgiving involves thinking about who God is. Thanksgiving involves thinking about who God is. Verses five through 11. Gracious is Yahweh and righteous is Yahweh. and our God is compassionate. Yahweh keeps the simple. I was brought low and he saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. For you have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before Yahweh, In the land of the living, I believed when I said, I am greatly afflicted and I said in my alarm, all men are liars. That last part might seem a little strange to you, but we'll get there and see how that fits in just a moment. We're talking about Thanksgiving and it doesn't stop with just remembering. It extends to meditating on God's character. And of course, when I say meditating, I mean to think about, to think about God's character. When the psalmist recalls God's deliverance, he cannot help but reflect upon the God who saves. And so in verse five, we consider three attributes of God in rapid succession, all of which reveal His heart. First, we read that He's gracious, and amen for that, because we need a gracious God when we need deliverance. God's grace is undeserved, and it is a key in Scripture. It holds together the storyline of Scripture. If God were not gracious, the storyline of scripture would fall apart. Psalm 86.15, Psalm 86.15 says this, but you, O Lord, are a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. Oh, praise God for that. because he gives us what we do not deserve. And I mean that, of course, in a positive way, because we all sometimes expect to get what we deserve, that he gives us what we do not deserve, because he's gracious. And we know that he will give properly, because second, we read that he's righteous. He is righteous. Now this attribute of God is translated in this verse as fair, in the N-E-E-T version. Fair, God is fair. Now this is often linked to his judgments. And sometimes we think, okay, if God's fair, that means that we're all gonna be judged, and that's not necessarily a good thing, It's not just linked to his judgments. It can be also seen in his mercy, like it is here, sandwiched between God's grace and compassion. And it may refer to God righteously or faithfully keeping his commandments to his people. If he is righteous, then he will keep his promises. And so in that case, he's fair. And we want that part. We want that aspect of God. Of course, we've already said it. Third, he is compassionate. He is compassionate. Boy, that just accompanies his grace, right? He's gracious and he's compassionate. And that's what Moses learned in Exodus 34, 6. Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth. He is not a God who's given to fits of passion, but he is also not a God who is unfeeling. He is compassionate toward us. He is full of compassion for his people. And that's one of the key reasons we should give thanks. He is moved. with tender care for his people. Now, these are just some of the attributes of God in scripture. There are, of course, lots more that are there, but the psalmist chooses these to highlight why God did what he did, why God hears, why God inclined his ear, why God delivered him, Because of who he is, in his grace, and in his righteousness, and in his compassion, he protects his people, which is what we see starting in verse six. We read that Yahweh keeps the simple. Now that can mean a lot of different things in scripture depending on the context. Uh, it, it does not mean foolishness. Sometimes it can mean ignorance as in, um, being simple minded. Uh, someone who just cannot, um, think bigger than what they already think. It could also mean inexperienced. That's the Christian standard Bible. The Southern Baptist Christian standard Bible translates it as inexperienced. Let me throw out another word here, vulnerable. Vulnerable. And that's perhaps the way that the psalmist is using it here. Because he's using it of himself. And he obviously is not someone who's like a child, because we appreciate the kind of writing that we have before us here, He is saying he's innocent, but unable to protect himself. He says he was brought low. And so what did God do? We read here that God saved him. You know, God is drawn to weakness and humility. James 4, I think, says something about that, right? James 4, 6 and 8, humble yourselves before God. God comes to those who are contrite in heart, humble in heart. Having reflected on God's character, then the psalmist speaks To his own soul now. This is this is something that's neat every time we see this so in the Psalms Return to your rest. Oh my soul for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you Sometimes we have to talk to ourselves Sometimes we have to preach to ourselves Don't let yourself preach to you Don't receive teaching from your own wicked heart. You teach yourself. You teach your own soul. You say, soul, listen up. And here, return to your rest. Sometimes there's anxiety of the heart, of the mind, of the soul. And the soul needs to return to rest. Where is that rest? It's in the Lord. It's in the Lord, Sabaoth, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of the rest, we could say, right? That's where the rest is. Shabbat, that's Sabaoth, that's hosts. Shabbat, rest. I knew I was saying something wrong there. He tells his soul to find rest in the Lord. Why? Because there's not gonna be rest anywhere else. You're not gonna be able to find rest on your own. You're not gonna be able to find rest in the world. You know, sometimes we all need counsel. Right? Sometimes we are so afflicted of heart and of soul that we just need someone else to come in and to talk to us. Sometimes we can do that ourselves with the power of God, but it must be also in alignment with the word of God. It must be. because there's not going to be rest anywhere else. Jesus gives us a word of good news. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Where do we find rest? We find it in the Lord Jesus. We find it in the Lord Jesus. And so in verse eight, we see then three levels of deliverance. Three levels of deliverance that the Lord provides. First, we see that his life was spared. He says, God rescued my soul from death. Second, we see that his grief was eased because he says, God kept my eyes from tears. Third, we see his path was secured and that God kept, quote, my feet from stumbling. Wouldn't that be nice? Sometimes you just focus on that first part. God, if you can just keep me from dying here, I can, I think I can bear up under the rest of that. You don't have to. You go to the Lord and find relief for the tears in your eyes. You can go to the Lord and find that your feet can actually be kept from stumbling. You don't have to trip over your own two feet. You don't have to trip over the unknown snares that the devil puts out in front of you that the world throws out there. Because of God and who he is, he fully delivers. He fully delivers. And so in verse nine, the psalmist has confidence that we or excuse me, that he can walk, of course, by extension, we can walk, as opposed to stumbling or even lying in the grave. He says, in fact, or in fact, what he says here is, as one study notes, a vow of obedience. I think that's the MacArthur Study Bible that says that. It's a vow of obedience. He is going to dedicate himself to the service of the Lord. He says, I will walk. I shall walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. And so that brings us to the strange verses of verses 10 and 11. What does this mean? I believed when I said, I am greatly afflicted. And I said in my alarm, all men are liars. The psalmist, when he was at his lowest, He felt helpless. He felt like men had failed him. Either they had promised to deliver him and didn't, or they just were the ones causing his problem. They were accusing him. Whatever the case was, he felt low. People let him down. He was afflicted. God remained true though. God remained true. And he knew that God would remain true. And that's why he says in verse 10, that I believed when I said all this. So he spoke these things, but still he believed. In fact, the ESV English Standard Version translates this, I believed even when I spoke. And so even when these words came out, he believed. Sometimes we say things that make it sound like we don't believe, but we do believe. And maybe we shouldn't have said what we said, but we still believe by the grace of God. Of course, all men are liars. Let all men be liars. Let God be true. There might even be some truth in what we say, but we don't express it with the right heart. But praise God, even in that kind of distress, the psalmist still believed. The psalmist still believed. He still walked by faith rather than sight. You know, Paul actually alludes to this in 2 Corinthians 4, 13, where he talks about the believer's hope in the resurrection. We believe, so we spoke. We should speak what we believe. Now, of course, sometimes we are being afflicted and we can say, yes, I'm being afflicted. But the question is, do you still believe? Do you still believe? Will you still call upon the name of the Lord? See, he remembered. And he began to think about who God is. And God, of course, dealt bountifully with the psalmist. because of who he is. And because of all of that, he is able then to believe. Do you see how all this is connected? We need to remember, we need to ponder. We can then believe, and then with belief can come true thanksgiving. And such thanksgiving should come with the people of God. And that brings us to the final point here. the final aspect of our thanksgiving. Third, thanksgiving involves worshiping God together, verses 12 through 19, which we will have to, for the sake of time, consider a little bit more briefly, but let's read them all. What shall I give to Yahweh in return for all his bountiful dealings with me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Yahweh I shall pay my vows to Yahweh. Oh, may it be in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his holy ones. Oh, Yahweh, surely I am your slave. I am your slave, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. To you, I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of Yahweh. I shall repay, or pay my vows to Yahweh. Oh, may it be in the presence of all his people. In the courts of the house of Yahweh, in the midst of you, oh Jerusalem, praise Yah. Praise Yah. Now the psalmist shifts here from that personal reflection to the public response, to the public response. And so having remembered God's work in the past and having meditated upon God's character, he now commits himself to worship. And as I said, we'll go over this a little bit more quickly here. Verse 12, starting there, is the natural question of a thankful heart. What shall I give? And of course, the answer is, There's nothing that we could give that could repay God. And there's nothing we need to even give because God is giving to us in his grace. He is not giving to us so that we will give back. But why does the psalmist want to give? He wants to give as an expression of thanksgiving. As an expression of thanksgiving. And so this is his way of expressing gratitude And we see that in the next verses. He talks about lifting up his cup. Now this is the only place in the Old Testament this exact phrase appears, the cup of salvation. He could be giving a metaphor for celebrating deliverance, and that's possible, but we could see it as that. But more likely he is referencing a ritual drink offering that would be offered before the Lord or an echo of the Passover cup of salvation, which was one of the cups that they would share during the Passover Seder. It is definitely part of a public praise to the Lord, though. And he is offering here to pay his vows, and that, of course, is important. The promises that he made in crisis should be fulfilled, in worship, in fact. And the emphasis here is on corporate praise, corporate praise. And so in verses 14 and 18, he expresses a desire to do so in the presence of God's people. He wants them there. He wants them all there. You might say, why? Why does he want all the people there? Is this an expression of pride? I want all the people to see and give me applause. No, of course not. He wants all the people to be thankful for the same reason. He wants them all to give thanks to the Lord for what he has done. If everyone has come together to pray for a situation, then everybody should come together to hear the way the Lord has given an answer. And so that we can all give thanks together and we can all lift up our hearts in love and joy. See, Thanksgiving is not merely private. It can be private, don't mishear me. It's not always public, but it should be public in many, many cases. And it is meant to encourage the entire congregation of believers. Now in verse 15, we see one of the reasons why. And it is a verse that's often quoted at funerals. where he says that the life of, or lives, I should say, of God's people and their deaths are precious to him. God does not permit his people to die meaninglessly. When God's people die, it is according to his will. And if they die by some nefarious means, he notices. He notices that. And he will repay. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. But the Lord often is not pleased to allow his saints to die. And he will protect them from harm. And that is what happened to the psalmist here. And that is one reason to give praise here. Why? Because our suffering and our deliverance matter to God. Our suffering and our deliverance matter to God. And because of how precious the Lord treats his people, the psalmist here, in fact, he declares in verse 16, O Yahweh, surely I am your slave. He declares himself a slave of Yahweh. Now, that might trouble you. You might say, oh, slavery, that's troubling language. Okay, perhaps for some of us, but remember that Jesus called us to be servants of one another, John 13. We are to serve one another. We are to be the slaves of one another. We are also to be the slaves of the Lord. But there's an irony here, and I hope you don't miss it. Here, the slave has loosened bonds. Do you see that? I am your slave. You have loosed my bonds. What slave has loosened bonds? A free one. There is freedom in Jesus. There is freedom in the Son. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. There is freedom now. We are not in bondage to sin. We are not in bondage to the world. We are not in bondage to the devil. We are free. And so being the slave of the Lord provides us with freedom, a freedom that we would not have before. There is true freedom in the Lord. And so he praises God for that, and as Yahweh's slave, he says, I am yours, and in the remaining three verses here, he says, I will serve the Lord. And so there are sacrifices of thanksgiving in the Old Testament. He says, I'm gonna offer an offering of thanksgiving, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Romans 12.1 gives us a New Testament take on that. Remember that? Therefore, I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Now, I don't know if maybe you've heard that verse before, and you said, that sounds like Ooh, I don't know if I'm ready for something like that. But in the context of Thanksgiving, suddenly it makes a lot of sense. Yes, Lord, I'm yours. You do all of this for me. I am yours. Do with me as you want to do. That's where we should all get. And the psalmist sees himself as God's instrument for his holy purposes. So the joy here leads him to praise, and it should lead praise among God's people. Everyone should break out into the chorus of praise Yah. You say, what is praise Yah? Well, you've heard it. This is probably one of the few Hebrew words you know very well. In Hebrew, it's hallelujah, hallelujah, praise Yah, praise God, praise Yahweh. Hallelujah. Praise God. We should be saying hallelujah. We should be singing hallelujah. We should be living hallelujah. And when it comes time for celebration, we should all be together in agreement, saying and echoing hallelujah. So as we wrap this up, Psalm 116 here teaches us that Thanksgiving is not merely a holiday, right? Well, I mean, we should know that. We should know that. It's not merely a holiday. It's a lifestyle. One that is rooted in a constant remembering, meditating, and worshiping. We must remember. what God has done. We must think about who God is, and we must express our gratitude in worship, both personally and publicly. Some of you lack joy because you missed a step here and there. Maybe you missed two steps there. Maybe you neglect to think about the character of God when you are in the midst of sorrow. Perhaps you forget how God has helped you in the past when a new trial coils itself around you. You might even grow sullen and withdraw. from worship. You will not experience thankfulness unless you follow this positive example here. An example of thanksgiving that points us to the God who saves. And so let's remember these lessons as we praise YAH together whenever we have opportunity.