Words of Thanks

• Posted on sdgale
• in 'CHOP Talk' Blog
• on November 20, 2012
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Ten lepers approached Jesus as He entered a village. Nine of the lepers were Jews; one a Samaritan.  Samaritans and Jews did not associate.  But the state of their defilement bound them together.  Together sinners.  Together outcasts. Together helpless.

From a distance mandated by their uncleanness, they cried out to Jesus for mercy. Jesus cleansed them. Of the ten, only one returned to Jesus, the Samaritan. In awe and adoration, that leper fell prostrate before Jesus pouring out his heart in thanks.  Jesus interprets that thanks as “giving praise to God” (Luke 17:18).

It’s easy to make the parallel between the lepers and us as separated from a holy God, unclean in the defilement of our sin, unworthy to be heard, and unable to save ourselves. In His grace, God attends to our cries for mercy and cleanses us.

The appropriate response is thanks. Who are we that the holy God should take note of us?  Our gratitude gives praise to God for His mercy, His grace, His love, His compassion, His power.

Aware of the meaning and the magnitude of his cleansing, the Samaritan leper returned to Jesus to express his gratitude.  What springs to mind is the text of Hosea 14:2, “take with you words and return to the Lord.”

What words might the Samaritan have taken? Likely, they were spontaneous words of simple gratitude that flowed from the depths of a humbled heart.

“Thanks” is the word of the week as we approach Thanksgiving Day. What words can we take with us in recognition of God’s mercies to us in salvation, and mercies that are new with each day?  Certainly, we can be spontaneous.  But I’d like to suggest words provided for us by God in the psalms.

Often when I visit someone in home or hospital who is one the other side of surgery or who has emerged from trial, I share one particular psalm—Psalm 138.  It seems to capture the tone of the grateful heart that gives praise to God.

I’ve included Psalm 138 below and encourage you to meditate upon it.  Fill it out with the specifics of your situation, especially the wonders of your salvation in Christ.  Make it your prayer of thanks for blessings past, blessings present and blessings to come.

May the Lord grant you a blessed Thanksgiving. Especially, may thanks punctuate our conversation with God each day of our lives.

Psalm 138

¹  I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

²  I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.

³  On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.

⁴  All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

⁵  and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

⁶  For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

⁷  Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

⁸  The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.