Well, now I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 103, Psalm 103 this morning. As we reflect on this wonderful Psalm, and we will, that's found if you're visiting and looking for that, that's found on page 637, 637 in your pew Bible. I'm going to read the first 14 verses this morning, we'll really be focusing on just the first five. This is the word of the Lord. bless the lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name bless the lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquity who heals all your diseases who redeems your life from the pit who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles the lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love towards those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. May the Lord bless the hearing of His word this morning. Well, I was looking at what people were saying about Thanksgiving this year and looking at the times that we're in and the different articles that were out there. And I was reading a series of them this past week on the challenges of Thanksgiving in 2016 in our country. With all that has happened in our country, how can people be truly thankful? There was an article in USA Today titled, This election is getting people uninvited to Thanksgiving. And it had a list of Twitter responses. Here are a few. My family uninvited one of my aunts to Thanksgiving because she voted for Trump, one Twitter post said. I hereby invite all uninvited Trump supporters to my home for a lovely Thanksgiving meal. Sorry about your intolerant family. One article asking, how do you bring together your Trump-loving uncle and your Hillary-hailing cousin together for a thought-provoking, scream-free conversation at the table? Here's the pieces of advice that I found. Keep your eye on the time. Too much time together leads to uncomfortable conversations. Thanksgiving might be called for 1 p.m., but turkey time is 4. Here's what you do. Aunt Sue, we want Uncle Bob to be on his best behavior, so we will head over to your house after his nap. We'll be there shortly after 4. Have a kind of pre-dinner word with the usual offenders. Do you have a Thanksgiving provocateur who simply can't help but to pick fight over politics? Pull him aside and politely tell him to knock it off. Third, it might be the year to skip the tradition of going around the table and asking what everyone's thankful for. If you have to keep your tradition, your Trump-loving Uncle Gary and your Hillary-hailing Aunt Martha when they speak, it might kill the whole conversation and Thanksgiving dead on arrival. So set some limits around the statements. For instance, in one word only, tell us what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving. However, be prepared that someone's word might be wall or pantsuits. Strategically seat. Those with opposing views should never be seated on the opposite side of the table. Have the principle of take it outside. For most families, arguments start when there is too much time together. Whether it's a friendly game of flag football or a walk around the block, a little fresh air and a lot of big muscle activity is good for everyone's mood. I personally don't think football for the Trump-loving uncle and Hillary-hailing cousin is a good idea, but you can decide. Limit alcohol before and during the meal. If your uncle shows up with a cooler of beer, offer him or her water and bread as an appetizer. Keep your elbows off the table. Chew with your mouth closed. And make this Thanksgiving a holiday that reds and blues can enjoy together. Those were some of the advices that I found. I expected you to laugh more, but it just didn't really work. It's a really sad state of affairs, isn't it, when you think about it? um thanksgiving was originally intended to be a day that would unite the country i don't know if you knew that but it was originally given it was originally intended to be a uniting thing when abraham lincoln called for the national day of thanksgiving he wanted it to have a deep moral influence on the american character amazing isn't it on the american character to help bring together the country which was divided over the issue of slavery and here we are i don't see a lot of unity in fact this is probably one of the most divisive in um times in our country's history where we are the most divided it's just a dreadful thought to imagine showing abraham lincoln what we're doing today what would he say what would he what would he think imagine him looking at the state of the nation more divided than ever he may cancel the day if he saw what it had become. Well, this is what I think is helpful this morning. As people think and come together in our country for Thanksgiving, they might think it has some kind of healthy benefit to get together the family, and it's healthy for the mind to be thankful in unity. But what then is really, and what should be really in true Thanksgiving? What should mark true thanksgiving i want to think a few minutes with you about that and this morning uh this is really just a simple reminder of what thanksgiving is all about and and what it looks like and to whom it it belongs uh it's a day that that is set aside for us to to be thankful but we know that for christians it really should be a way of life shouldn't it uh this is something that's natural to who we are and what we do and and natural to understanding all that the lord has done for us hopefully that was captured somewhat in our prayer to the Lord a bit ago. And I thought I would provide something today that might help you around your tables to think about what you can be thankful for and how the scriptures direct our thanksgiving. And Psalm 103 is really one of the most helpful in that regard to give us and it captures reasons for true thanksgiving, reasons to really be thankful, reasons that really matter. I thought about cataloging what many of these articles said about reasons that people should be thankful, and I thought, what a waste of time. They were just so bad. This psalm is really an amazing psalm because it catalogs for us the Lord's goodness, His mercies, His provisions, His care. We can go right down the line. This psalm, did you notice as we read it, is just keeping on us benefit after benefit that the Lord has given His people, has given His sheep. And these things have so gripped the heart of David, you'll notice here, that he's thinking about these things and can do nothing else but bless the Lord, O his soul, and all that is within him for all that the Lord has done for him and all that the Lord has accomplished for him. Right at the outset, you'll notice that. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. And you think, who's he talking to? Well, he's praising the Lord, but he's also thinking within himself and calling himself to praise the Lord, to recognize certain things. It's a sort of dialogue that's taking place within himself. He's encouraging himself to do the one thing that he knows that he should be doing. He's telling himself, here's what you should be doing. You should be blessing the Lord, oh your soul your soul wake up bless the lord he's encouraging himself in a sense and the bible often uh calls us to do this it it uses the the language of musing using means to to think doesn't it i love psalm 143 i remember the days of old i meditate on all your works i muse on the works of your hands i muse it's an interesting word i think and that's such an important thing to have set before us today isn't it i think you know the word amuse in our dictionaries is typically defined as those things that are funny and those things that are entertaining but if we're going to be very technical and you put an A before amuse, you know that means not to think. Amusements mean don't think. We're amused to death in our society. And we have a culture that tells us not to think and not to reflect and not to meditate. It used to be that Christians took great joy and time to just meditate and think. Think about all that's in front of us and think that all that the Lord has done for us. And that's essentially what we have here in Psalm 103. He is not doing a sort of Buddhist meditation, of course not. He is meditating and learned to be still for a minute. Everywhere we go is noise. I cannot go anywhere without seeing this anymore. All the time, all the time. And on the car next to me. And I've done it, and I've done it. To muse, to think about all the works of the Lord and all that the Lord has done for us. To take time, to turn off the radios, to be focused and diligent and reflect. Psalm 111, the works of the Lord are studied by those who take pleasure in them. We look around at this theater we live in and we don't just run right through it. Our heads are not, as a matter of fact, Psalm 92 describes that the people whose heads are down in this life are like beasts chewing in the field. Our heads are up. We're thinking. We're reflecting. And David here is really helping us to do that with a kind of proper mindset that is helpful for Thanksgiving, isn't it? It begins with a serious reflection from his heart. You'll notice this dialogue begins, Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise Him. David, you should stop. You should think. And you should, with all your soul, praise the Lord. Think about the Lord. Reflect on the Lord. Well, what a great psalm then for Thanksgiving, isn't it? David tells us two ways to do this. He says, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. One of the things that we've been emphasizing here in the Escondido United Reformed Church as of recent, going through Mark, is that the Lord's after the heart. The Lord's not after the ritual devoid of a changed heart. And David understands that. David reflects that here. he understands the intention of love and the law, and he is saying here, as a rule of gratitude now in the course of my life, all that is within me should reflect on the Lord, should think about the Lord and all that he has done. How much do we sit down and reflect and think upon the mighty acts of the Lord's care and his providence in our lives and the kind of salvation that leads us to sing joyfully to the Lord our rock our salvation and a real test of that might be when do you ever sing outside of church my guess is is that there is little singing in the course of your lives outside of church you think singing belongs here and it's not true you might be called crazy walking down broadway singing and i've tried it but i want you to know singing should be a part of your life singing is a part of the gift that the Lord's given you and you know how difficult prayer is that's why song is given to you these are the kind of things making melody in your heart to the Lord the New Testament says you're musing you're thinking a lack of thankfulness the Bible characterizes belongs to those who have a darkened mind a lack of thankfulness belongs to those who have a darkened mind think of romans 1 they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened and they refused to do what acknowledge the true god and praise him for all of his works and his ways so how do we get there uh this morning how do we how do we bring true thanksgiving since we're uh here gathered today to be thankful to the lord well listen to what he says he gives it to us bless the lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name bless the lord oh my soul and what forget not all his benefits well there's a mouthful don't forget in your life what he's done how do we bless god in our lives how do we lead thankful lives what is thanksgiving all about well by not forgetting Him. We will put it that simply today. By not forgetting your God. By reflecting on Him. By musing about Him. By not forgetting all of His awesome and wonderful benefits to you. What are these benefits? What produces a non-grateful heart? Well, you can go through the Old Testament and you can see this. This is why we have the nation of Israel. Think about what happened to Israel. We have this glaring passage in Deuteronomy 6. So it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities, which you did not build. Houses full of good things, which you did not fill. Hewn out wells, which you did not dig. Vineyards and olive trees, which you did not plant. when you have eaten and are full, then beware. Lest you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is in me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not. all your benefits. Well, then He gives you five reasons. And you can say, okay, here's one, two, three, four, and five. What do you think's first? First thing. Well, I guarantee you, I found no news article stating this one. Not one. And this is the most important. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquities. He let them go. That's just wonderful, isn't it? Of all things that He could have mentioned, those aren't the things that we mention first often. That's where He is. You know what it costs him to be able to put that, to be able to inspire that for you? The blood of his son, your father. Look at the sadness right now in society. What got us here? What got us in this place? Well, there could be a variety of reasons and a variety of things to answer that, and I don't claim to have every single answer to that. But I have one. And do you know why we are in the state, I'm speaking as a nation right now, as a people as we are? There's one reason, in my opinion. There's no more hope as a nation. Hope's gone right now. Could come back. What made America work was the hope and a promise of blessing and future. People took pride in it. People took pride in it. They invested in it. They were happy to go to the factory and work. They took pride in those factories. They loved the country. It gave motivation to get up in the morning. It gave motivation to be about something important and not waste your life, right? We were a prosperous people. And it was hope that drove us. It was an earthly hope for an earthly nation, sure. But it still was hope. it's not there right now you can see it well what does that led to it's led to real discouragement in every facet and every pocket of this country and discouragement promotes what giving up well think what the lord just said to you that's why i love this song think of what the lord just said to you. What if you had no hope in this life of what is most important? Of his love and forgiveness. You'd turn on each other. You'd hate each other. There would be no unity among us. Wouldn't you feel like giving up? Well, you're here today. Why? Because he's giving you hope he's loved you the first thing he's saying to you and inspired for you is he forgave every one of your sins do you know what you've done do you see it you know the course of your life do you know what you've chosen you know what you've done in secret he sees it and this god has come to you and this god has loved you and told you i've loved you with an everlasting love and I has declared to you in the course of your lives the gospel of his son and he said son I have this is what church is about by the way I've forgiven your sins it's the goal that's what a ministry is for thankful for the church all this comes together under the statement he's forgiven you what hope does that give you gives you this hope there is absolutely nothing in this life that can separate you from his love and therefore who could ever accuse you even on judgment day that gives me a reason to get up and live doesn't it stand one way stand the other way from the east and the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us and then he says as a father pities his children so the lord pities you and he knows you're weak he knows your frame he remembers that you're dust he's not a father standing over you ready to strike wow what a song huh you thankful for his son that's what the first thing's saying to be first benefit is saying you should be immensely thankful for his son bless the lord oh my soul and all that is with me bless the lord and don't forget all his benefits who forgives all your iniquities well that would be enough but let's go a little bit further just a few more and then we'll close the service right muse a little bit further with me he forgives all your iniquities and then He heals all your diseases. Are you going to go Pentecostal on us, Pastor? A little. I take that as exactly what it says. I'm not doing it in the health and wealth way. You know that. He cares about your physical weaknesses. He cares about your sicknesses you saw it in the ministry of the lord didn't you on the earth healing people the signal of his coming kingdom how much kind providence has he given you in your life that you overlook how much has he helped you when you call out to him how many times have i prayed from this pulpit for people real people and we have seen them healed we've seen them delivered and we just walk away because it's a normal thing all the time in the course of my ministry I've seen it. How many of you have faced health issues? And how many of you are some very serious? And you cry and you pray and He sustains your lives. And we look at modern medicine and wow over that, but it's the Lord who's the primary cause of these things. It's the Lord who heals us and gives us strength and health. If I could catalog all the prayers and all the things that have been prayed since this church began right here for people and how they were answered. Where do you think the scale would go? It would be amazing. Oh, we forget. You say, well, Pastor, I'm sick today. You're here, aren't you? You're praising Him, aren't you? And the next blessing is even more overwhelming. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Forget not all His benefit. He forgives. He heals your diseases. He redeems your life. Notice this. From the pit. Well, David knew. They knew what that was. Everyone in here is going to die. They're all going to die. You're redeemed. Death, where's your sting? That whether we live or die, Revelation 14, we belong to the Lord. Blessed are those who die in the Lord. Brethren, I don't want you to be ignorant concerning those who've fallen asleep, those who've died. Lest you sorrow as those who have no hope. They're with Him. He's not leaving you in the pit. There's a resurrection coming. He's redeemed your life. There's no hell for His people. There's no destruction coming for His people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. All these promises. Destruction and hell, gone for you. what about your days until then? Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. Always being patient. Always being long-suffering. Keep doing that stupid thing you're doing. Always sending help and not back anger. Showing love and mercy, crowning you with all this blessing. Can't you see it? Loving providence, guiding your life. Tender mercy's fall. You know what mercy is. He's not giving you as your sins deserve. All the failures, He continues to be merciful and shower down. Instead, kindness upon you. Look, if this hasn't won your heart by now, what will? Good grief? I don't know. And then to top it off, He satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. They're going to go sit around a table today. And you have a lot of reason to be united in what's most important. It's not a turf war. This is what the psalm is showing us. He's filled your mouths with good things. He's given you all kinds of blessings. One's life is either a symphony of praises or a clanging symbols of emptiness, bitterness, and rebellion. The whole earth should praise the Lord. It's the intention. For His benefits, yes. For the greatest benefit of the kind of gracious God He has been to us in providing atonement for our sins in Jesus. That should drive you today to bless Him. That should drive you today to thank Him. A darkened mind will consider none of this. But a thankful person who knows the grace of God in Christ will relish in this and understand this and think about this. Have you come to Jesus today? Maybe you're a visitor and you haven't even come and known these things. It's my prayer that you do. He's our happiness. There's a reason that many of the Psalms are talking about the happiness of the blessed is the man, the happiness of the man who has the Lord as his God. It's a happiness. And that kind of peace, listen, brings true unity between all kinds of people. that kind of peace that's why the world doesn't know this that's why we want the world to know this this is god's calling for you today bless him with your whole being and as the psalm ends don't forget all he's done for you bless the lord you his angels who excel in his strength who do his word heeding the voice of his word bless the lord all you his hosts you ministers of his who do his pleasure bless the lord all his works in all places of his dominion bless the lord oh my soul amen and can i get one more amen let's pray gracious heavenly father we bless the lord oh my soul and all that is within us thank you for all these wonderful benefits we don't deserve we give you thanks from the heart today ashamed that we don't do this enough but yet you've given us a moment under the sun to think and to praise you and to bless the lord and so today may our homes be filled with this praise and thanksgiving and may it be a way of life for us as your people in jesus name we pray amen