Thanksgiving 2008
Psalm 99 or 99 Reasons to thank God.
1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name
he is holy.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
8 O LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel [a] a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds. [b]
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.
Thanksgiving 2008
Well here we are at another celebration and this is one of my favorites Thanksgiving. It is a time to reflect, take stock of and count the blessings our God has poured out on us over the last year. I realize for some it has been a difficult year, for some have experienced the loss of a loved one or the loss of a job or hardships in other areas yet, yet our God has been so good. We know that since He loves us we can trust His hand with the keeping of our loved ones until we meet again in heaven. The wonderful news of thanksgiving is that we shall meet again. Until we do meet again let us celebrate Gods goodness towards all of us who remain.
In looking at todays passage of scripture I want to take the verses one at a time a kind of top ten list of things to be thankful for. You will notice there are only nine verses but I said it was a top ten list? Well the tenth reason we will save for last.
#1. Verse one Demonstrates the Kings Holiness is a threefold cord that runs through this Psalm.
1 The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
Give Thanks people for God is our King He reigns He is our only King.
We are in an election right now to choose a Prime Minister, they as we know come and go but God sits as our King forever. Take comfort in knowing that we are His subjects and come under His rule and not the rule of men. Yes, the nations should tremble when they think on this fact. See how he sits! He is enthroned between the cherubim.
1) cherub, cherubim (pl) a) an angelic being 1) as guardians of Eden
2) As flanking Gods throne 3) as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant
Be thankful for our God is our eternal King.
2 Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Our God is the God of Israel Zion the Parched Place The People of Promise.
Our God is EXALTED lifted high over the people. Our Gods place is not lowly like a President or Prime Minister, not limited to the things of earth but unlimited above ALL things.
Be thankful that though God be highly exalted he reaches down to you personally.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name
He is holy.
Gods name is unique it is the only name we know that is HOLY. It is pure it is the most perfect word you could say in the Hebrew tongue. When you speak this word you speak the name of God you speak a Holy word and the most powerful word you could utter. The Bible tells us:
Philippians 2:10 NIV
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Thank God for His Name.
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
We have a historical record of how God treats us, judges us and decides things about us in the life and person of Jacob the ancestor of the nation of Israel.
In other words you can back a long, long, long way and discover how, why, when and what God has done to demonstrate His love for us in the relationship He started with us.
Be thankful God has a history/relationship with you.
5 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
God lets you get close to Him, personal with Him right at His very feet in the room with Him.
Be thankful God wants you close to Him.
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the LORD
and he answered them.
You are in good company since you too can call on the living God just as Moses, Aaron and Samuel did. Even though you are not a Levite or a Jewish Priest God will hear your voice.
Be thankful that God hears your voice.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.
Thank God for putting His law in your heart.
8 O LORD our God,
you answered them;
you were to Israel [a] a forgiving God,
though you punished their misdeeds. [b]
Be thankful that God answers your prayers
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy.
Thank God he calls you to worship Him
He calls you to His Holy Mountain Church
He calls you to worship Him in your daily life
#10.
Your personal reason for thanks
Might be recent, long ago, might be this very service.
For me it is that he spared my life Friday, I could easily of been killed but His hand was on me. I was driving my motorcycle and had to put it down to avoid an accident. I was able to walk away.
I thank Him for His protection.
