Psalm 108:1-9
Giving Thanks with Abandon

A Song. A Psalm by David.

My heart is steadfast, God.
      I will sing and I will make music with my soul.
Wake up, harp and lyre!
      I will wake up the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations.
      I will sing praises to you among the peoples.
For your loving kindness is great above the heavens.
      Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, God, above the heavens!
      Let your glory be over all the earth.
That your beloved may be delivered,
      save with your right hand, and answer us.
God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph,
      I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
      Ephraim also is my helmet.
      Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my wash pot.
      I will toss my sandal on Edom.
      I will shout over Philistia."

World English Bible

I find there are a handful of different circumstances in which I regularly use the phrase "thank you". One such circumstance would be when I am eating at a restaurant and the server fills up my tea glass--although it is his job to do so, I express my appreciation by saying "thank you". In another such circumstance, a friend helps me out of a problem, and I say "thank you" as both a statement of gratitude and an apology for inconveniencing him with my issue. In a third such circumstance, my boss compliments me on my work, and I say "thank you" mostly to acknowledge the power he has over my career, and to a lesser extent, as an expression of my appreciation for his positive comments.

However, there seem to be very few times I show strong emotion when I use the phrase "thank you", and certainly not like the emotion shown by King David in this psalm. There's an easy explanation for his exuberance explained in the latter part of this selection: God has protected the nation of Israel, specifically calling out the tribes Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah, claimed the regions of Gilead, Shechem, and Succoth, and completely defeated the enemies around them in Moab, Edom, and Philistia. The only reasonable response is wild jubilation!

None of my typical uses of the phrase "thank you" fit this mighty victory God provided the Kingdom of Israel. Certainly, it was not God's "job" to save Israel, and later in this chapter David even commented that God had rejected the nation as punishment for their sinfulness. He couldn't offer an apology to God for winning a victory that he should have been able to achieve himself, for Israel's condition was too desperate for human military action to resolve. Neither did he express gratitude as a way to gain influence with God. David's response came from receiving a magnificent, undeserved gift at a time when his situation was critical. He saw no escape, but God worked miracles to rescue the people of Israel, so his thanksgiving to God was emotional, enthusiastic, and completely sincere. David expressed his thanks to God with complete abandon, with his entire focus on the goodness and mercy of God.

Is desperation required before such worthy thanks can be offered to God?

I don't know the answer to that question, but it occurs to me that we are not as far from desperation as we want to think we are. Most of us will never see a military threat as serious as the ones King David faced, but we know we are never far away from serious illness or injury, or from financial disaster, or from deep emotional loss. We read in the early chapters of Job how quickly life's directions can change.

At the same time, God does not desire for us that we live in panic, but that we live in joy. We can be more receptive to God's direction when we are in a crisis, and we can experience the joy of Grace with abandon after God has rescued us from catastrophe, but God's purpose is that we would always live and breathe God's grace, love, and joy. God's desire is that we would put aside the selfish motivations that distort our expressions of gratitude, so that we can be filled to overflowing with God's blessings.

Secular society understands this principle. You have probably received an email or read a web page containing the following principle for living:
        "Work like you don't need money,
        Love like you've never been hurt,
        And dance like no one's watching."

All that's missing from the truth in these words is that the source of our joy and the object of our first love is God. We might emulate this saying by our own positive thoughts, or we can live those words by the power of God in us. We can trust our own mental discipline to steel ourselves for the hurts others will cause, or we can love the One who will never let us down. In life, we can distance ourselves from God, or we can embrace God with all our being and allow God to live in us and through us.

We might offer a well-meaning gesture of thanksgiving to God, but we know that to embrace life completely is to throw ourselves with selfless abandon into offering thanks to God.