How do I thank the Lord?
by Pastor Glenn Crouch
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I love the Lord, for he heard my voice (Psalm 116:1a).
Read Psalm 116:1–4,12–19
The psalmist has turned to the Lord God for help and has been saved. How do they repay the Lord for all that they receive? As we read through the passage for today, and as the psalmist lists the various things they will do, it keeps coming across as not enough – as though they realise that their praise, offerings, obedience and service all pale in comparison to all that the Lord has done for them.
While in its original context, this psalm may have been used for the nation of Israel to celebrate the Passover, Martin Luther saw it more as the Christian’s response to the work of our Redeemer – Jesus Christ. We cannot and could not save ourselves from our sins. We were dead, and he gave us life. Our response is that we sing praises to Jesus; we want to follow him and obey his commands; we want to tell others about Jesus; we want to be more like him. However, how is this enough? Our Lord did not save us so we could pay him back – any more than God saved the psalmist expecting an equitable return.
How great is our God! How deep is our Saviour’s love! As we slowly come to understand how great the grace of God is, our hearts burst forth with praise and thanks. Perhaps this psalm could be your prayer of thanks today?
Merciful and loving Father, I cannot begin to comprehend how much you have done and continue to do for me. May my ears be opened to the Holy Spirit as he continuously reveals your amazing grace and continues to point me to my Lord and Saviour, nailed to a tree. Praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Glenn Crouch was born in Brisbane, baptised in the Methodist Church, and married Karen in a Reformed Baptist Church. They moved to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia 37 years ago, where Glenn worked as a lecturer in computing. After serving as a Baptist pastor, Glenn joined the Lutheran Church with Karen in 1995. Glenn served as a lay preacher, which led to him becoming a Specific Ministry Pastor, and then a General Ministry Pastor. Recently Glenn and Karen have bundled everything up and moved to Esperance, Western Australia, where Glenn has his first full-time paid ministry role as pastor of St John’s in Esperance and St Paul’s in Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
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