The psalm that we're considering this morning is Psalm 147. I invite you to turn your Bibles to Psalm 147, and that's found on page 622. Psalm 147. Let's give our attention to the Lord's Word. Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it's pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars. He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power. His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble. He casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving. Make melody to our God on the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds. He prepares rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor is pleasure in the legs of a man. But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him and those who hope in his steadfast love. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise your God, O Zion, for he strengthens the bars of your gates. He blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of wheat. He sends out his command to the earth. His word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool. He scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs. Who can stand before his cold. He sends out his word and melts them. He makes his wind blow and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation. They do not know his rules. Praise the Lord. And that's Psalm 147. Well, this morning we come together and it's always wonderful to see, we think of Thanksgiving service and though it's a called service obviously by the elders, the Lord commands us to come together on Sundays, but it's always so wonderful to see willing hearts and happy hearts to come on Thanksgiving to worship him and to say thank you. It's reflective of what the gospel has done in your lives that you desire and recognize that the Lord has given you everything, Everything. It's just a wonderful truth, and to acknowledge that is good and right and fitting, as the psalm says. It's always been our custom to come together and to think about and reflect upon all the blessing and all the good things that the Lord has given to us. There really is a lot to be thankful for, isn't there? A lot to be thankful. I always am amazed by Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation, when he wrote this in the middle of the Civil War. What did he observe in the middle of the Civil War in the country? The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties we are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come. Others have been added, which are of so extraordinary in nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart, which is habitually insensitive to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which is sometimes seen foreign to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations. order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict. That's interesting. He would acknowledge that and recognize that kind of blessing in the midst of war. Our streets aren't so peaceful, are they? Our times are pretty much divided. And yet in the midst of all of this, even Lincoln in his day could stop, and if you stood back from it all, because you'll never get this on the news, stand back from it all, you can see that there's a lot to be thankful for. There's a lot that the Lord has preserved and helped and continued to care for in the midst of all of our worries. I've been preaching from Philippians, you know, and we're called not to be anxious, but to replace anxiety with prayer, supplication, with what? Thanksgiving. That is the way out of worry and anxiety is to stop and to recognize how much the Lord is actually caring for us and providing for us and giving us that which is most important. So the same is true today. We can stop what has been a few difficult years that we have lived. Has not God proven himself to be faithful? Has not God showing himself to be strong to help us. And that's where this psalm really does give us some insight into a more spiritual understanding of thanksgiving. It's not just that we're full. It's not just that we still have a lot. It is that there are many spiritual blessings that are flowing from the throne to you that it's always good to think about at a time like this. And Psalm 147 really helps us with that. It helps us to capture some of these things. And you'll notice that it's calling us to that right at the beginning. It's good to sing praises. Notice that. It's good to sing praises to our God. It is pleasant and a song of praise is fitting. So verse 7, sing to the Lord with thanksgiving. That's the right response to all the Lord's goodness. That shows that somebody has been given life by the Spirit because it is characteristic of the dark in mind not to worship God, to stay away from worship, and not to ever say thank you for any of this. Remember, that's what Romans 1 says are the fruits of darkness in somebody's life. They're never thankful. Now, this is interesting in our culture that this is a big discussion where Thanksgiving now is being attacked viciously. And I understand that if people don't understand who is the giver of every good and perfect gift. All people should thank the Lord. And that's why we have this great call in 147 to recognize the Lord's care in our life and how we should thank him. So I want you to notice there's four things today that are given here that help us with true thanksgiving, to acknowledge that he is doing and that he has provided you in life. And so you'll notice here in the first few verses here, look at verse two, the Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. That's a beautiful statement where he combines their gathering God's his people and then patching them up, if you will. Binding up all their wounds. Helping them in all the brokenheartedness they face in this life of sin and misery and difficulty. So the first thing the psalmist is celebrating here today is thankfulness to God for his help, his help to bring us home. You realize that he's doing that. Every bit of your lives, he is helping you with the purpose of bringing you somewhere, and it is bringing you home. You'll notice that the emphasis here is building up Jerusalem, gathering the outcasts of Israel, when New Covenant Christians read this passage, they realize that the fulfillment of this is the heavenly Jerusalem that God has prepared for all who love him. That earthly Jerusalem was a type of where we're all going. There's a heavenly city. There's a heavenly Jerusalem. This is what Jesus was talking about when he said, I go to prepare the place for you. And what the psalmist is here celebrating is God right now in this world that seems so crazy to us and out of control to us, he is actually gathering from all the nations, all the outcasts of Israel and bringing them back to Zion. That's what the ministry is all about. And all along the way, what does he care to do for you? To bind you up. to help you in all of your distresses. You'll notice here the beautiful words that are given. He heals the brokenhearted. How much has sin wrecked things? How much pain have we experienced? How much suffering? How much death? The Lord is pictured here as gathering you together to worship him and bringing you home and healing you all along the way. This is what Psalm 103 is saying. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Bless the Lord and forget not all his benefits. What is the Lord constantly doing for us? Number one, he's forgiving our sins, right? He heals all my diseases. I always like to say it's amazing how many times we pray to the Lord. And if it's his purpose to take a saint home, then that's a really good purpose. But how much healing and help when we call out to him in prayer has he given to you? I can't even begin to number all the blessings of praying from this pulpit and seeing people healed and helped. He crowns me. He redeems my life from the pit. He crowns me with loving kindness and satisfies me. He renews my youth and my strength. That is how intimately involved the Lord is every day in your lives. That's the kind of care you're getting, That he is helping you when you're distressed and brokenhearted. And the psalmist is saying, there's a great reason today to say thank you. There's a great reason to say thank you. All the times he's heard your cries. All the times he's heard your moans. And he's helped you. And he's loved you. And he makes the comparison here that doesn't seem to go together. But you notice verse 3 and 4. He counts the numbers of the stars. He calls them all by name. Great is the Lord and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. He lifts up the humble and casts the wicked to the ground. You know how many stars there are? Well, they say, I haven't counted them, but it's 200 billion trillion. Are you telling me he knows them all? That he's named them all? I mean, that kind of knowledge is unfathomable to us. It's infinite. And he's making the connection to say, all of those broken hearts, all of the troubles in life, all the burdens of his people, he knows you all by name and he knows every bit of what you're facing and he lifts you up. That's the comparison here. He wants you to understand. His knowledge is that infinite. His knowledge is that powerful. His knowledge is that to the ends of the earth that he can number every star, the universe. Every bit of strength that you've ever received is from the Lord's helping hand. So why do we thank the Lord today? Because he's helped us the whole way through. What's the second reason? Well, you'll notice here, the second reason is he gives us all kinds of provisions. He's comparing how he cares for creation to how he cares for you. So look at verse 7. He says, give thanksgiving to him. Sing a song of thanksgiving to him. Why? Why should we do that? because he covers the heavens with clouds. He prepares rain for the earth. He gives to the beast its food, to the young ravens that cry. He makes this comparison here that he describes. Look at how the earth is cared for. There's grass up on the mountainside. The rain comes and it replenishes the earth. There's birds in the air. Where do the birds of the air get their food? Where do the cattle of the hills get their food? And the imagery is that the Lord is so knowledgeable and caring of his creation that he made. He is actually overseeing and in his wonderful provisions feeding all of his creation all the time. Now what's the comparison? Well, notice what he says in verse 14. So, he fills you with the finest wheat. You know, I know that there have been times where there's been famines and difficulties throughout history. But the general truth of it is, what have you enjoyed the whole course of your life? A lot of fine food. A lot of fine food. We have eaten like kings and queens. And do we ever stop and deeply say before our meals, or is it the rushed prayer? Thank you. This is not normal. We don't deserve this. We are full. He has filled us with the finest wheat. That's a good gift from him. We're not ashamed of his good gifts. We don't feel guilty about his good gifts. We say thank you, Lord, for your good gifts. You filled us with all kinds of blessing. It was James Boyce who once said, he'd give you everything right now if you could handle it. You can't. I can't. You get everything. You'll get it in glory. But every time you sit down and you eat that meal and you recognize and you look up to the mountains and you see the birds, when Jesus said, do I not feed the birds of the air? I'm going to take care of you. Has he not done that? thank you lord that's your second reason he fills you with all kinds of provisions homes good gifts care love all that third verse 12 so we've seen that he gives us help the whole way he gives us provision the whole way all the way to glory he's gathered us he's gathering us together look at verse 12 praise the lord o jerusalem praise your god o zion for he strengthens the bars of your gates. He blesses your children within you. He makes peace within your borders. What's the third gift? Peace. Well, we've been talking a little bit about that in Philippians, haven't we? Peace within the borders of Jerusalem. I don't know if we appreciate that like we should, But in this world right now, who has peace? Everything's in turmoil. Everyone's fighting. Everyone's separated. Everyone's at each other. Hatred abounds. What do we enjoy in the church? Well, I see it right now. Peace. True peace. Only people, listen to this great truth our faith. The only people in life who truly enjoy peace, and those who have peace, are those within the borders of God's kingdom. You have peace with him, having been justified by faith, you have peace with God, and you have peace with one another, as we love one another. So you take all that for granted. But that's exactly, look at the world. They don't enjoy this. You have peace. And that peace and covenant love extends to you, and notice the promise here, because there's the covenant embedded in this. The promise is to you and to your children. You have peace. He gives you peace that surpasses all understanding. So think of this great blessing so far. So you have his help all the way through as he gathers you. You have his provision all the way through. You have peace because of the gospel all the way through. And then notice the fourth final blessing here that's highlighted in the psalm. Verse 15. He sends out his command to the earth. His word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool, scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs. Who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word and melts them. He makes his wind blow and the waters flow. He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation. They don't know his rules. Praise the Lord. Look at the power of creation. When he blasts the earth with cold, what happens? Everyone's freezing. When he sends out his warm wind and he sends out warmth, everyone is warmed. See, the psalm is celebrating in creation what we all know that we can't control in nature and the elements, the power, the power. What the psalmist is saying is the fourth blessing to you to be thankful for today is that this is what his word is like for you. Notice that. His word is celebrated here. He sends out his command. His word runs swiftly. He sends out his word in the earth. Who knows him? Who knows God? Who understands him? Who has heard his word? That's maybe the most important question of the psalm. Who has heard his word? And the psalm is celebrating that God has sent you his word. You realize you would all be headed for hell if he had not done that? That's how fallen we are. And he gave you a word so that you could know him and know his son and know his forgiveness. And that word is the power of your life. You understand that? It's the power of your life. Realize how special it is that God has given you his word. I think we get to come every Sunday twice and hear that word. Only those who've known and desire the power of that word love to hear that word. Because they know God has sent that out, that word, and that's the power of their life. Those are the ones who are truly thankful. Because they know, listen, he has not dealt thus with any other people. You are the people. Around all the world of his people, you are the ones whom he has sent his word. So you see, I think the psalmist challenges us whether Thanksgiving is just sort of lip service or a custom or a duty that we do. Is it just the tradition that we do? The centerpiece of the psalm is this, I think. Verse 10. His delight is not in the strength of a horse, nor is pleasure in the legs of a man. But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him. and those who hope in his steadfast love. The greatest gift, I think, here in light of all of this is that God would ever take delight in us. What a remarkable thing. That God would ever take delight in those who've rebelled against him this way. Somebody said to me this week, they said, you know, I get on my knees sometimes and I weep because I struggle to get over how God could ever love somebody who's done so many bad things. That's a thankful heart. That's a thankful heart. And the psalm is celebrating here and saying, who does the Lord take delight in? Those who have that kind of heart. Those who fear him that way. How do we fear him? We have hope in the crucial word of this psalm, his steadfast covenant love. That is the beautiful truth of this psalm. God doesn't take pleasure in the strength of man. I saw on the news this week, they were all talking about celebrating Thanksgiving and turkeys, and you heard all the turkey talk, right? And so I looked at, one of the news commentators looked at the other one and said, well, are you gonna buy a turkey this year? because the advice was, listen, you know, maybe they're too expensive, so just forego it. And then maybe some people won't even come if you don't have turkey, so it'd be better. I mean, that's what I heard on the news. So this commentator says to the other one, says, well, are you going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year? Of course I'm going to celebrate Thanksgiving, because I'm at a place in life where I've worked hard to get here. And I'm going to buy the biggest turkey I can. You see what the psalm is saying? Everything you have, every good gift comes from him. We didn't work hard to get here. God filled our life with blessing. God's provided for us. And those who fear him have this kind of humble heart to recognize this whole psalm is saying everything you have in life is from him. And none of it you got yourself. Those who understand that will truly be thankful people. And that's what the psalmist says. We thank God for everything because everything comes from Him. And what our heart attitude should be is one of deep dependency on Him in every day of our lives. Because if every good and perfect gift were taken away, though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit beyond the vines, The produce of the olive fails, and fields yield no food. The flocks be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Then would you be here? Then would you be here? The psalmist says, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God the Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the deer's. He makes me tread on high places. you have everything when you have Christ because the Lord has given you himself and that's your greatest gift. We have much to be thankful for this season and I've been amazed at the whole time how God has provided for this church. Look where we sit. This is just fabulous. Lord has given us a facility like this. Lord's provided for us to come here as word in a place like this. we should say thank you. But most of all, we should thank him for his great salvation. For apart from forgiveness of sins, we have nothing. The Lord has loved you. The Lord has blessed you. So praise him today. Praise him for all these blessings. Praise him for all his goodness. Praise him for all his wonderful works. He's forgiven us and he's gathered us together and promises to bring us home to the heavenly Zion. That's what the promise here, That's what the psalmist is describing. So may praise and thanksgiving fill our mouths today for such praise, says the psalm. It's beautiful and it's right. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for all your kind blessings and benefits to us. Thank you for helping us and gathering us all along the way. Thank you, Lord, for giving us all this provision and food and blessing that we don't deserve. And we are so full in all of this, sometimes it's easy, we confess, to forget the good giver of all of this and think that the strength is in us. We thank you, O Lord, for supplying all of our needs in Christ. We thank you for sending out your wonderful word to the ends of the earth and bringing us a knowledge of salvation in Christ. So much to say thank you for. May we have the heart attitudes that truly fear you and express deep dependency upon you and thankfulness for everything. Thank you, oh Lord, for loving us and thank you for forgiving us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.