“Give thanks to the Lord”
[Psalms 118]
Looking back this year, when and how did we really experience God's goodness and lovingkindness? Personally, the best thing I remember is the funeral service I attended. I still remember having tasted (experienced) the goodness and lovingkindness of God while attending the six funeral services this year, especially two funeral services that were viewing and graveyard services that I had privilege to lead. At both services, as we praised the hymn “O, Lord my God! When I in Awesome Wonder”, we praised God who controls life and death, His high and greatness, and experienced God's great lovingkindness and greatness more deeply. Especially, when I think of the saving grace that God has given them in the last image of the late grandmother Eul-soo Jang or Pastor Andrew Kim, I remember praising God because I thank God for His goodness and lovingkindness.
Why should we give thanks to God? The reason is because God is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. Look at Psalms 118:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” In Psalms 118:1-5, we see that the psalmist gave thanks to God for answering his prayer as a result of his prayer in suffering. Look at verse 5: “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.” Perhaps the psalmist, as David, sinned against God and was disciplined by God (v. 18), and he was in suffering and pain. God's discipline was a situation where the nations who hated the Israelites (v. 7) and the nations (v. 10) surrounded the Israelites and felt fear of death as well as suffering and pain. If we look at verses 10, 11, and 12, we can know this by seeing these words, “surrounded” (v. 10), “surrounded … surrounded” (v. 11) and “surrounded me” (v. 12). David and the Israelites, who were in extreme pain and suffering due to the siege of these enemies, the nations, still confess that God didn’t given them over to death (v. 18). In the midst of this, David cried out to God earnestly. When he was in these difficulties, he had no way out of nowhere. So in the midst of it he prayed to God. At that time, God heard David’s earnest prayers and set him in a large place (v. 5, Park, Delitzsch). In other words, God answered David's prayer and rescued him from among the nations surrounding him and led him to the large place. In a word, God gave David the grace of salvation. David confessed, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone” (v. 22). This means that David was persecuted by many powerful people (“the builders”) in his early years, but God made him who was forsaken as a king (“the chief corner stone”) (Calvin, Park). In the end, David was severely disciplined by God for his sin, so he prayed earnestly to God in the midst of pain, suffering, and a fearful situation. At that time, because God delivered him, David experienced God's goodness and His unchanging love for all things to work together for good.
How many times do we doubt God's goodness and lovingkindness when we are suffering from hardships and adversity? In such a time, how many times have we been unable to endure in the thought of where is the good will of God while thinking in our hearts the question, ‘If God really loves me, why should I suffer such suffering and hardship?’ In particular, in the midst of the suffering and hardship, isn’t there time when it seems that both east, west, north and south are blocked, and there are no ways to solve the problem. We should use this as an opportunity to cry out to God like the psalmist. And we must experience God's unchanging love through God's saving grace and the goodness of God who works together for good. We need to experience God's unchanging goodness and lovingkindness more deeply and with certainty, both in hard times and in peace. How is this possible? How did David experience God's goodness and lovingkindness by praying to God even in the fearful situation where God's discipline threatened his life? It was because David had a fearless heart and assurance of victory in war (vv. 6-16). Look at verse 6: “The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?” There is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn. 4:18). Despite the threat of life in a fearful siege, David relied on God's perfect love and asked God without fear and boldly. He could he pray to God without fear even though he could be frightened enough to lose courage, discouraged, and afraid of losing the war? It was because David completely trusted in God. Look at Psalms 118:8-9: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.” If we look at Isaiah 30:15, the Bible says “…In quietness and trust is your strength.” As I meditated on this word, it was an opportunity to remind myself that it is my strength to quietly trust in God. In doing so, I gained strength in my heart and gained confidence and boldness of salvation rather than fear. Since David completely trusted in God, not only did he ask God without fear, but he also had boldness, courage, and assurance of victory in war. How could David have assurance of victory under siege? It was that he had nothing to fear because God was for him (Ps. 118:6, 7). He believed that God on his side would help him and the Israelites (vv. 7, 13) with His right hand of His power (vv. 15, 16). Look at verse 13: “You pushed me violently so that I was falling, But the LORD helped me.”
What did David do when he was saved by God's help? He confessed, “The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” (v. 14) and decided to enter the temple of God and give thanks to God (vv. 19-21, 28). Look at Psalms 118:21, 28 – “I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation. … You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You.” And he made up his mind to proclaim, by faith, the works of the Lord who would save him (v. 17). Not only did he give thanks to God and proclaimed the works of His salvation, but he exhorted us all: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting” (v. 29). Let us all thank God. He is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. In this season of thanksgiving, let us be grateful for the saving grace that God has given us, as we think of Jesus Christ, who has become the chief corner stone which the builder rejected.
Even in situations where we cannot be grateful, we cannot help but be grateful when we think of God's saving grace in Jesus,
James Kim
(As I give thanks to God’s saving grace)