The Ministry of Hospitality

Psalm 100

²⁰ Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

    Praise the Lord, my soul.

Reflect

David King, author

I was shopping in one of the local grocery stores last year in mid-October, and I noticed that Thanksgiving had pretty much been overlooked. Christmas, because of its great commercial power, had already been pushed in the stores. Noticeably absent were the paper pilgrims that used to decorate the stores not too many years ago. Just as soon as the big push to buy costumes and candy is over (which, in mid-October, is not usually over), out comes the commercialization of Christmas. We are bombarded with Santa Claus, reindeer, and snowmen even before that season has arrived.

As God’s people, it is fitting that we should pause for a while, “unplug” and focus our thoughts upon the goodness of God and offer our gratitude to him for who he is and for all he has done for us regardless of the time of year. If God’s people do not do that, then who will? God’s people are the standard bearers to be used by God to influence others.

In Psalm 103, we have seen that David has been thorough and methodical in delineating specific things to be thankful for. He has shown us that we must speak of the attributes of God and specify the benefits of God. Now today, we will see that he tells us that we must speak of the creation of God. David talks about God’s handiwork.

David climaxes his praise by calling upon the angels in heaven and men on earth to recognize the purposes of God throughout his universe and throughout time and eternity. We cannot appreciate who God is and what he gives us without desiring to advance his cause. And David shows us that we speak of the creation of God by doing three things:

1. Obeying His Word – Verse 20 says, “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his Word.” David directs this word to God’s angels, but if they should praise the Lord and obey his Word, we who are redeemed should as well. It’s really simple—if your heart is a thankful heart, it will issue obedience. We must convert the Word of God into the primary stuff of life, and that begins with obedience.
2. Fulling God’s Will – Verse 21 tells us, “Praise the Lord, all his Heavenly Hosts, you his servants who do his will.” The Apostle Paul tells us that the ultimate expression of total dedication to God is that of proving “what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans12:2). Fulfilling God’s will is one of the ways we please our Lord and live to his glory.
3. Performing God’s Work – David closes out in a doxology of blessing in Verse 22 by saying, “Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.” Here, the Psalmist has in mind the material universe, including humanity, and he calls upon every creature of earth to perform his appointed task. In like fashion, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are the workmanship of God “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

True thankfulness is thankfulness in the heart. It manifests not only in the obedience of life, but also in the performance of labor. We do not labor to gain salvation, but because we have been saved.

Did you know that a perfect example of this is found in Jesus Christ who shows us his thankful heart? In Matthew 11:25, Jesus was thankful for the simplicity of the Gospel. In that scene of Christ’s ministry, Jesus was reaching out to the poor and needy, yet was being rejected by the proud critics and the Pharisees. They misunderstood everything about Jesus. Jesus prayed, “I thank you Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and revealed them to babes.” Then Jesus gives a marvelous invitation, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He was thankful for the simplicity of the Gospel, though his critics stumbled over the simplicity of it.

Jesus was thankful for something else: the sufficiency of the Father. In John 6:11 we see a miracle so impressive that it was recorded in all four gospels. Christ was thankful for the provision of those loaves and fishes. An incredible paradox exists in that he made the universe and yet was thankful for the loaves and fishes. He called forth the first stalk of wheat and yet was thankful for the bread. He spoke the first fish into existence, and yet was thankful for those given to him. That seems to highlight, even more, how little I am thankful.

Jesus was thankful for something else: salvation through the cross. In describing that upper room experience, Paul tells us that when Jesus took the bread, he blessed it and gave thanks. There must have been a tremendous realization going on in the humanity of Jesus at that time. He knows this bread and wine is a representation that he will spare not his body which will be broken, and he will spare not his blood which will be shed—yet, he is thankful. Jesus is thankful even though death is imminent. What an amazing love! What a Savior who loved us so much that he was thankful to give whatever it would take for us to be saved.

Respond

If Jesus was thankful for his own eventual death that would save us, why is it that we often cannot say, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name”? What hinders that response in us?

Other than obeying God’s Word, fulfilling God’s will, and performing God’s work, Can you identify other ways we can be thankful?

What have you learned from Psalm 103 this week?