While doing a study on the word “children” God showed me something I’d never seen before. In Psalms 107, the same verse is repeated four times:
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
Why is it there four times I began to wonder. But when you read the chapter, you see all of them are related to giving praise to God for our salvation.
The first occurrence of the phrase is in verse 8. Here it’s proceeded by a description of the lost as wandering, hungry, thirsty, and their soul fainting. Do you remember that time? Do you remember when you were seeking something to fill the void? Give thanks to God.
The second time the phrase is used is in verse 15. Here it refers to those that were rebellious, bound by the chains and bars of sin, despising God, and facing the shadow of death. Has God delivered you from this kind of life - a life bound by sin and the destruction of it? Give thanks to God.
Verse 21 repeats this phrase a third time. This time the verse is to “fools” who didn’t want his food and faced the gates of death. But through God’s word, they were redeemed. They’re instructed to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing – high praise! Has God delivered you from your own foolish ways? Were you your very own worst enemy? Give thanks to God.
Verse 31 relates this same plea to those that are “at their wits’ end”, going down into the very deep storms of life, being tossed to and fro. But God calms and quiets the storms and guides them to a peaceful haven. These are instructed to give God praise in public – to share with others what He has done so they will know God is able to calm their storms.
Indeed there are many ways in which we can just be thankful for God’s goodness and love toward us. This is a very short list. All of us fit into this list in some way. All of us owe God our thanks and praise for just being who He is – a generous, giving, loving Father.
“Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” – Psalms 107:43
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