"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His steadfast love endures forever."
Psalm 118, verse 1.

Psalm 118 is a psalm of thanksgiving—the perfect accompaniment to our texts from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. Psalm 118 usually finds itself, or at least parts of it, in the traditional Revised Common Lectionary during Holy Week: on Palm Sunday, alongside the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem, and then again on Easter Sunday. In each Gospel account of the events remembered on Palm Sunday, we hear the cry: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord"—words found in our Psalm.

The Spill the Beans team have included the Psalm as part of a summer series looking at thankfulness and gratitude. Hence, it was included as a reading along with the passage from 1 Thessalonians.

Many wonderful words that have become part of our church language are contained within this Psalm:

• “Give thanks for the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever.”
  
• “The Lord is my strength and my might.”
  
• “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
  
• “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”
  
• “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

All familiar words to any of us who have been part of the church for many years—all here in this one Psalm.

To understand Psalm 118, we need to look at its origins and purpose. Most scholars agree that Psalm 118 was written during the post-exilic period, or even later. The Israelites have returned to their home and are worshipping together. The tone would indeed fit the model of corporate thanksgiving for deliverance.

It is a well-used psalm by the Jewish faith to this day, being the final of the Hallel Psalms used during festivals such as Passover—a celebration of deliverance and of God’s steadfast love in covenant with God’s people.

I have in my imagination a procession of people singing it together as they arrive in the Temple—a glorious hymn of praise and thankfulness.

The repeated chorus, “Give thanks for the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever,” emphasizes the unfailing covenantal love of God—God’s unconditional love poured out for us, because God and humankind are covenanted together.

Throughout the Bible, the word “covenant” appears along with examples of God entering into covenant relationship—a relationship between two parties who make a promise to each other and work towards a shared goal. A simple example would be that of marriage: two people who love each other make their promises—their vows. The words of their vows affirm their love for each other and the promise to be together for the rest of their lives. They then work together to build this life.

God has been doing this with humanity from the very beginning—affirming with people mutual love and the sharing of purpose.

It’s there in Genesis: God, Adam, and Eve strike a deal. God promises them the Earth—literally. They can enjoy what God has given them as partners with God, trusted partners. And, well—we know what happens next. They fail.

The Bible then continues the story of God. As Whitney Woolard writes for The Bible Project, God is “repairing the broken partnership with humans.” Repeated attempts at lasting covenants are made by God. Think of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David—until at last one final covenantal climax happens: Jesus.

Whitney Woolard sees a progression. She writes:

“God preserved the world through Noah, initiated redemption through Abraham, established the nation of Israel through Moses, promised an eternal shepherd king through David, and then fulfilled all these covenants through Jesus.”

The covenantal climax.

Jesus succeeds where others fail. He is the eternal covenant—everything put right between God and humanity, for all time.

God’s love for us, poured out in Jesus. Promised and delivered.
Forgiveness of sins—promised and delivered.
God’s encouraging Spirit to guide us towards self-giving lives of love—promised and delivered.

Martin Luther said of Psalm 118:

“This is my Psalm, my chosen Psalm. I love them all... but this one has become mine.”

One of the reasons this Psalm was so beloved of Luther was what he saw as its prophetic quality—something I want to touch on just for a moment.

Verse 22 reads:

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

This was central to Luther’s Christological reading of the Old Testament. He saw Christ as the rejected stone who becomes the foundation of God's new people—the Church.

This is certainly a theme that we pick up in the New Testament.

In Acts 4:11, we read:

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.”

And in Ephesians 2:19-20:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.”

Jesus used it himself in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants found in Mark’s Gospel.

Psalm 118 offers us not just a joyful, thankful song—but it clearly sat well with early Christians and offers evidence that they understood God’s covenant with humanity was continued in Christ.

So how do we then understand covenant living? How do we live lives that celebrate the covenantal climax?

Our reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:12–24 points us in the right direction. The passage is rich in encouragement—gentle counsel with a squirt of holy urgency.

Paul begins our passage by urging the church to live in peace and honor one another:

“Acknowledge those who work hard among you.”
“Live in peace with each other.”
“Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

 

Gratitude begins with how we see others. A thankful heart leads to a gracious life. We honor others because we see them as gifts, not burdens.

And that’s not always easy. But words of encouragement and love can make a world of difference to those around us. It’s often too easy to find fault and criticize—when what Paul is calling us to do is be encouragers.

One of the joys of parish ministry in Scotland is the relationships we nurture within our communities. This last week, I’ve been in the local primary school, leading assemblies. This offered a wonderful opportunity to offer a word of encouragement to the children—to support and encourage each other.

I talked about skills that we learn—skills that will stay with us throughout life. Not just reading, writing, and doing sums, but things we learn like music, sport, and art.

I showed how learning to play a musical instrument is not easy—but once picked up, it becomes an enjoyable skill, one that has remained with me throughout my life. Had I not been encouraged by my parents and brass tutor, I could have so easily given up on learning to play my flugelhorn.

If you’ve ever tried to get a note out of a trumpet, you’ll know what I mean. My poor parents had three of us, at various stages, trying to master the technique over their tender ears! But I’m glad to report that both my brother and I still play—and we enjoy being part of the same band all these decades later.

Living a life of faith can be the same. We need a basic understanding—to do the homework—and then, as our lives are enhanced and transformed, we can take this into all aspects of our lives.

The encouragement of others will often be key to developing our relationship with God.

Perhaps you remember those who were—and are—your encouragers?

I remember when training for ministry, asking an elderly lady in our congregation if she could do something for me. She was taken aback—what could she, frail as she was, possibly do for me?

I simply asked her to pray for me. “That I can do,” she cheerfully replied.

This frail, elderly lady was one of my greatest encouragers.

As well as being encouragers, Paul tells us to be thankful—the key message in our passage. He offers three short imperatives:

“Rejoice always.”
“Pray continually.”
“Give thanks in all circumstances.”

 

Again—not always easy.

John Stott wrote in his commentary on Thessalonians:

“To rejoice, pray, and give thanks continually is possible only when we are deeply aware of God’s grace in Christ.”

God’s grace is for sure something to be grateful for. And we are all in need of God’s grace. We all get things wrong. There are none of us perfect—or at least not by our human standards.

God doesn’t see it that way—hence the grace so freely given.

Which is why—even in the hard times, the dark times—there are still things to be grateful for, if we look.

Note that Paul does not say “give thanks for all circumstances,” but “in all circumstances.”

Such a tiny difference when you first glance at it—but it’s such an important difference.

We’re not asked to deny hardship or gloss over pain, but to locate gratitude within it—because God is with us even there.

We’re not being asked to be grateful for whatever is happening in our lives. That would be nigh on impossible. For we all have times when we want to cry out to God: “What the heck?” (Or words to that effect.)

Life doesn’t always give us the things that we desire. Quite the opposite can be true.

Paul is reminding us that we can be thankful—even in the difficult, painful times—because God is in there with us.

If Psalm 118 was Martin Luther’s psalm, then I would declare Psalm 139 mine. It reminds me that no matter what is going on in my life—good or bad—God knows about it and God is in there with me.

“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”

Words that have comforted me in times of grief, when the workload is weighing me down, or when I’m just plain drained.

Paul continues in his letter to instruct us not to quench the Spirit. Being thankful to God—having a thankful heart—keeps us open to the Spirit.

Walter Brueggemann wrote in his book Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth:

“Gratitude is the end of self-sufficiency. It opens us to the voice of God again.”

I like that. Thankfulness—gratitude—opens us to the voice of God. It helps us see the world differently. Our situation—whatever that might be—differently. It allows the Spirit to do her thing.

Paul ends with a prayer and a promise:

“The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do this.”

Our ability to live with joy, prayer, and thankfulness doesn’t come from sheer willpower. It comes from God’s sustaining grace.

N.T. Wright comments in Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians:

“Gratitude is the echo of grace experienced.”

God’s grace is such a wonderful gift. The desire of God is for us to keep going—to not give up when we get it wrong.

There is always grace.

Gratitude is not a result of perfect circumstances—it is a response to a perfect God.

• It transforms relationships.
  
• It centers our worship.
  
• It opens us to the Spirit.
  
• It flows from trust in God’s faithfulness.

   

  We are to be a people marked by thanksgiving—not only on good days, but every day.

Our readings from Scripture today remind us of the covenantal nature of our relationship with God:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His steadfast love endures forever.”
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

What peace and encouragement in a turbulent world are found in these words.

Amen.