Thanksgiving Obtains the Spirit’s Blessing Pt. 2
As the redeemed people of God, it is only proper for us to be filled with thanksgiving and praise to our Savior. In the fortieth psalm, which likens our salvation to being lifted out of a “horrible pit,” the psalmist writes, “[the LORD] hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God” (Psalm 40:3). Even the angels cannot sing the song of the redeemed because they have never experienced it (Rev. 5:9), but this is our great privilege as Christians! Therefore, we ought always to be filled with rejoicing and praise. We must always declare from our hearts, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Rev. 5:12).
Application to prayer:
Pastor Vradenburgh pointed out the connection between unity in worship and the blessing of the LORD. In the fifth chapter of Second Chronicles, we read that “the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD” (2 Chron. 5:13). There is a magnificent spiritual unity that attends heartfelt corporate praise to God.
We see similar language in the New Testament when the apostle Paul writes, “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 15:5-6). Jesus prayed for this spiritual unity when He requested of the Father, “that they may be one, as we are” (Jhn. 17:11). Let’s pray that the LORD blesses this local congregation with this spiritual unity in praise!
Praise application 1:
In the twentieth chapter of Second Chronicles, we have the fascinating victory of Jehoshaphat over the Ammonites and Moabites. When the enemy armies came against him, Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2 Chron. 20:3). As a result, a prophet of God told king Jehoshaphat and the Israelites that they would not need to fight this battle, for the Lord would fight for them. It was on the basis of faith in this word that Jehoshaphat placed the singers ahead of the army as they went out to face their enemies. The Bible says that “when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” (2 Chron. 20:22). When we find ourselves in the midst of a trial, let’s follow the example of king Jehoshaphat, humbling ourselves before the LORD and praising Him in faith for the victory!
Praise application 2:
Back in the fifth chapter of Second Chronicles, we see that unified thanksgiving and praise preceded the glory-cloud filling the tabernacle. The Bible says, “when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD…the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD” (2 Chron. 5:13). As Pastor Vradenburgh pointed out, we are spiritual tabernacles of the Living God; and just as the glory of God filled the earthly tabernacle, it should also fill us (Eph. 3:21). Notice also that when the glory filled the tabernacle, “the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud” (2 Chron. 5:14). Praise glorifies God, and when God’s glory is “all and in all,” we are wholly consumed with God’s presence and glory – and hardly even conscious of ourselves!
In both the Old and New Testaments, praise is connected with the manifest presence of God. As we read last week, “…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” (Eph. 5:18-20). If we hunger and thirst for the glory of God to rest upon us, we should begin by offering up continual praise to God!