Afterwords -- week 48
"Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!" (Psalm 105:1-2)
November 19, 2022
Dear friends,
Let me start out by saying I'm thankful for family and friends like you. It's always nice to hear that people get something out of what I write, or from photos I post. We've had a stunning fall display of colors, and I can't resist posting another picture of an ironwood tree (I think) from our visit to Biltmore, above.
Over coffee in the mornings, while our feathered friends fuss over birdseed on our deck railing -- cardinals, jays, doves, titmice, goldfinches, sparrows, nuthatches, and various woodpeckers, all in their pecking order (pardon the pun) -- Jan Lu and I have been reading and talking about the Psalms, most recently, Psalms 103 through 105. Psalm 103 exalts God for who he is and what he has done for us in salvation. Psalm 104 praises him for his sovereign hand upon his creation. Psalm 105 gives thanks for God's providential care for his covenant people, specifically for his miraculous works in history. So, in three psalms we give thanks for redemption (103), creation (104), and providence (105). These three would be good passages to read over the Thanksgiving holiday.
GIVING THANKS. Note the verse written above (105:1-2), that the giving of thanks is related to other dimensions of our life: "give thanks... call upon... make known... sing to him... tell of all his wondrous works." In other words, it's not enough to feel thankful for a big meal, or to be grateful for family and friends, but also to express our thanks to the Lord in prayer, worship, and witness. Such giving of thanks comes from a heart of gratitude, sourced in our trust in God's salvation and providence, in our joy of the Lord, and in contentment. Elisabeth Elliot once wrote, "Gratitude springs from acceptance of the gifts and the conditions and the circumstances God gives." We trust that God has provided, and will provide, all that we need to live for him. Faith, joy, contentment, and gratitude all go together. That's why there is no true gratitude which is begrudging.
A HERITAGE OF THANKSGIVING. A good friend of ours, who is a retired professor, recently wrote to me that he too had been meditating upon Psalm 103...
"I had spent some time also focusing on that chapter within the last couple of months for the same reason. God is so good from generation to generation! And I am thankful too for the Mayflower heritage that He has blessed me with in this respect! I am so fortunate to be a Generation 14 William Brewster Descendant."
What a wonderful heritage! But he hastens to say that he and his wife continue to pray for their children and grandchildren, that they would "keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments” (Ps 103:18). Godly heritage is not a mechanical or automatic process. We must model prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to our children and grandchildren. We must teach them the joy of gratitude.
FOR ALL THE SAINTS. I'm also thankful for Grace Covenant PC for hosting our local gathering of the International Day of Prayer (IDOP) for the persecuted church. Don McKeon compiled a helpful, and very sobering, list of nations where our brothers and sisters are having to endure persecution. You can download that list from here. Also, at the IDOP prayer time I was introduced to a new melody for the majestic hymn, "For All the Saints." Here it is sung by Indelible Grace. And here's Fernando Ortega singing the hymn with the traditional tune.
ARTICLES.
-- "Coveting is different from mere desire or ambition. It’s an emotional state, much like lust and envy, that drives you to ignore good advice and your own conscience." (Jonah Goldberg) Read "Be Careful What You Covet."
-- "The problem with liberating ourselves from long-standing constraints and norms is that we still haven’t figured out how to liberate ourselves from our perennial capacity to consciously and deliberately get up to some harmful, nefarious trouble." (Kurt Armstrong) Read "Serious Business: After Weinstein, thinking of my son."
-- Ten things worship leaders shouldn't say. Yes, please!
-- The Architectural Photography Awards has announced the shortlist of entrants for this year’s competition.
-- The best coffee beans on the planet according to Cup and Bean.
FINAL QUOTE.
"The Church is an entity which has outlasted many states, nations, and empires, and it will outlast those that exist today." (Lesslie Newbigin)
That's it for week 48! We hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!
Sandy
Image credit: Above, photo from our visit at Biltmore last week, and below, our newest grandson enjoying the colors of a sycamore leaf (one of many in our yard). Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
