A psalm for Thanksgiving week…
by Pastor Paul Dugan
Did you know that gratitude is proven to contribute to greater mental, relational, and spiritual health? Thanksgiving is a key to human well-being! This is the conclusion of a growing number of respected scientific studies, ex. Psychology Today, and Berkeley. See also this podcast on the amazing power of gratitude.
No wonder that so many of the psalms are songs of thanksgiving.
The Psalms provide a “playlist” for all dimensions of the human experience, for all parts of the human soul. This playlist includes a wide variety of genres that help us gather the whole of our lives in honest and grateful prayer before God.
The Psalms have changed my life. They have become medicine for my soul.
Psalm 107 is a classic example of a thanksgiving psalm:
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders…
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
Note the artistry of this psalm. What words, images, or design patterns do you observe in each of the stanzas? (vss. 4-9; 10-16; 17-22; 23-32)
Here’s a version of Psalm 107 set to music…
From the album Lost Animals (2009) by Josh Garrels. joshgarrels.com.
Psalms of thanksgiving often include four elements:
Description of past trouble,
Remembrance of our cry for help,
Description of the Lord's wonderful deliverance,
Call others to join you in a response of praise.
Now craft your own psalm of thanksgiving:
Describe a past trouble:
and how you called on the Lord:
Describe the Lord’s deliverance:
Based on his deliverance, how can you encourage others to join you in praise and thanksgiving this week?
Other examples of other psalms of thanksgiving: Psalm 9, 32, 34, 67, 92, 116, 118, 124, 126, 138
For more on praying the psalms:
Here is an introduction to the Book of Psalms. Here is a list of psalms by genre (literary style).
Here is an index to digital prayer guides for more than one hundred individual psalms.
Here is a guide to praying the psalms into your day.
Here is one of my favorite prayers of thanksgiving from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.