Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Welcome to a week of Thanksgiving. Let’s begin by responding to our recognition of who God is, with a Proclamation of Thanks!

Today’s scripture, Psalms 105:1-3 (NLT) exhorts…
[1] Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. [2] Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. [3] Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD.

Consider…
Oxford Languages defines proclaim as…

• declare something one considers important with due emphasis.
• declare officially or publicly to be.

I like the first definition best, because it says considers important with emphasis.

That’s what Ricky Dillard and New G do in the simple song that proclaims…

The greatness of the Lord in inconceivable
The love that he shows is unconditional
The power of the Lord is unbeatable
Great is the God we serve

God is Great
And Greatly to be praised

I think that’s a good place to start this week, meditating on, and proclaiming the greatness of God.

in concert with today’s scripture, Psalms 145:1-10 (NLT) emphasizes…
[1] I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. [2] I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. [3] Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. [4] Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. [5] I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. [6] Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. [7] Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. [8] The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [9] The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. [10] All of your works will thank you, LORD, and your faithful followers will praise you.

Notice the Psalmist acknowledges in verse 3…
Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

Have you ever thought about the vast or immeasurable greatness of God? The Prophet Isaiah did when He witnessed seraphim angels in Isaiah 6:1-3 (NLT)…
[1] It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the LORD. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. [2] Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. [3] They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Notice Isaiah said the train of the LORD’s royal robe filled the temple and His glory filled the who earth. That sounds like a great God!

Moses also gave us a glimpse of God’s visual greatness, when he wrote in Exodus 33:18-23 (NLT)…
[18] Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” [19] The LORD replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. [20] But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” [21] The LORD continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. [22] As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

I like that, when you want to see God’s glorious presence look no further than His goodness!

But seeing the greatness of God wasn’t limited to Isaiah and Moses, because Colossians 1:15-17 (NLT) explains…
[15] Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, [16] for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. [17] He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

That makes me hear my friend Tony singing…

Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God
Mary, did you know?

Yet, even more amazing than that 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NLT) emphasizes…
[16] Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

Isaiah saw the LORD in a temple, but after the atoning death and blood of Jesus, Paul declared we’re the LORD’s temple.

Let that marinate…

That means we have greatness living inside of us. 1 John 4:4 (NLT) affirms…
[4] But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

I say all that to point out we should be intimately aware of the greatness of the LORD.

By the way we, God’s temple of believers is who the author is talking to when he says…
Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD.

But I also noticed that in Psalm 145:10 the Psalmist said…
All of your works will thank you, LORD, and your faithful followers will praise you.

Notice the conjunction ‘and’. All of God’s works had me flipping the pages back to Psalms 96:11-13 (NLT), which declares…
[11] Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! [12] Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy [13] before the LORD, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

And thumbing back further to find Psalms 19:1-6 (NLT), which declares…
[1] The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. [2] Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. [3] They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. [4] Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. [5] It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. [6] The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.

That makes me think of a beautiful song Nicole C. Mullen sings, which asks…

Who taught the sun?
Where to stand in the morning
And who taught the ocean
You can only come this far
And who showed the moon
Where to hide till evening
Whose words alone can
Catch a falling star

I especially appreciate when she says…

The very same God
That spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary
The worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands
That hold me when I’m broken
They conquer death to bring me victory

Those lyrics resonate with me because they recognize the greatness of God and His humility to graciously deal intimately with a dust bubble like me.

David describes my sentiment best in Psalms 8:3-4 (NLT)…
[3] When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— [4] what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?

You see, I don’t think we can be truly grateful to God unless we fully recognize His greatness.

That reminds me of the LORD’s response to Job, and all who question His…

• Existence
• Decisions
• Actions
• Greatness

Permit me to share Job 38:1-22 (NLT) to glean just how great God is…
[1] Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: [2] “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? [3] Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. [4] “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. [5] Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? [6] What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone [7] as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? [8] “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, [9] and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? [10] For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. [11] I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’ [12] “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? [13] Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? [14] As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. [15] The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence. [16] “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? [17] Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? [18] Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! [19] “Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? [20] Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? [21] But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced! [22] “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?

You see we like Job can take God’s greatness for grant it, and complain about what we don’t like or appreciate, rather than recognizing and thankfully proclaim all that He routinely does.

Perhaps it’s in our boredom with the routine and ordinary and mundane that we stop being awe-struck with God’s greatness.

But I challenge you to make the lyrics of this old hymn your daily anthem…

Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Yesterday, my Pastor said there are two camps of praising God…

• Declarative…Praise for who God is
• Descriptive…Praise for what God does

He preached from Psalm 100, which includes verse 3 (NLT), which says…
[3] Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Notice we’re told…

• Yaweh is God…who He is
• Yaweh made us…what He’s done

Which brings me back to that conjunction ‘and’ from verse 10 in Psalm 145 that links the thanksgiving of all God’s works with the praise of His followers.

We know we’re God’s followers, but we’re also His works. Psalms 100:3 (NLT) tells us to…

Here’s the kicker, that reiterates that we should to thank and praise God, because He created and we follow Him!

That’s what the Psalmist is doing in Psalms 139:14 (NLT)…
[14] Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

We should be grateful to the God who wonderfully made us!

Hopefully we won’t mind me expanding the praise camp to include thankfulness…

• Declarative…Thanking for who God is
• Descriptive…Thanking for what God does

While adding that, I wondered what’s the difference between giving praise and giving thanks? Well my Google search returned…
Praise is celebrating God’s greatness, while thanksgiving is expressing gratitude for His actions and blessings. Both are acts of worship often expressed through prayer, song, and a grateful heart.

That seems straightforward, but contradicts my enhancement to thank God for who He is. Then the Holy Spirit helped me. Psalms 107:1 (NLT) says…
[1] Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Notice we’re told thank God because He is good!

The Holy Spirit then decided to blow my mind…

• God does good because it’s who He is
• God does great things because it’s who He is
• God loves because it’s who He is

There’s no separating seeing who God is by looking at what He does.

So let’s start this week of thanking God, by declaring He’s great and describing His greatness to others.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to let everyone know that, as my Pastor pointed out, giving thanks and praise is a mandate/requirement from God.

Then the Holy Spirit showed me Psalms 71:15-18 (NLT), which replaces excuses
with testimonies…
[15] I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. [16] I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD. I will tell everyone that you alone are just. [17] O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. [18] Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

You see, proclaiming God’s greatness is not about what or how we feel, it’s about what God reveals.

• The sun shines regardless
• The rain falls regardless
• The Oceans, Rivers and Streams flow regardless
• The earth produces vegetation regardless
• All types of creatures, crawl, climb, fly and swim regardless
• We breathe regardless

You see, God does what He does because He is who He is. Our declaring and describing God’s greatness simply says we’re aware!

So I encourage, rather exhort you to follow today’s mandate and…
Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.

…not because you feel like it, but because He is great and has done great things.

You know what, as I think more about it, we should also thank and praise God because like LaShun Pace sings…

He keeps on doing great things for me
Oh, oh, he keeps on doing great things for me
Oh, he keeps right on doing great things for me, for me
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me
He keeps, keeps, right, right, right on doing great things for me

Hey, he knows me better, So much better, Than anyone else that I know
And the Lord he takes Good care of me, Better than I could do for myself
I want to let you know that he keeps right on (right on)

Right-on (right-on)
repeat

Oh Thank Ya

Since we know that we serve a great God, let’s be Thankful and Grateful and proclaim He’s an Incredible God who deserves incredible praise!

Today’s song is…
Thankful / Grateful / Incredible God / You Deserve It

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)