“Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.” There is so much in this simple verse in Psalm chapter 105 that summarizes pictures we see all over the Bible. “Oh give thanks to the Lord.”
– Psalm 105:1
Psalm 105:1 summarizes one of the central commands we see from Old Testament to New Testament, God calls us to be a thankful, grateful people. 1 Thessalonians 5: “Give thanks in all circumstances.” So as we pray, we should always be giving thanks in all circumstances, not some, all circumstances. Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name and this is what prayer is.
Lord help us to see that making Your deeds known among the peoples is as fundamental as giving You thanks and calling upon Your name.
This Verse Reminds Us To Talk To God
From the beginning to the end of Scripture, we see people created by God to call upon his name. Even just this is so basic, but it’s so awesome. You and I were created for relationship with God where he speaks to us and we speak to him. Where we call upon God even what we’re about to do right now in prayer. What a privilege. And then we get to speak to God. God didn’t have to design it this way, where we would hear from him and call upon him, speak to him. But he has, he’s designed us for relationship with him.
“Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name,” and then “make known his deeds among the peoples.” Now, is that just as basic to the Bible as giving thanks and calling upon God? I would argue it is. Make known the deeds of God. And the works of God. What he has done to save us from our sins. Make known his deeds among the peoples. So not just among people generally, but the peoples, meaning the nations, the tribes, the tongues, the languages, all the different groups of people in the world. Make known God’s deeds among all of them.
Psalm 105:1 Reminds Us to Pray For Unbelievers
So just as basic as giving thanks to God, just as basic as calling upon God, just as basic is making the works, deeds of God known among all the peoples of the world. This is why oftentimes in this podcast, and I would encourage every single day possible in our lives, we should be praying together for the spread of God’s works, God’s grace, God’s redemption, God’s salvation among all the peoples. And specifically among groups of people who have yet to hear what God has done in Jesus, who have yet to hear God’s word, that tells how we can be saved and reconciled to him.
I think about the Nos people group in China. They are a minority people group, and there’s even smaller groups within the Nosu. But the Nosu have little to no knowledge of the works of God. And just as basic as giving thanks to God. Also calling upon God’s name, we should be working and praying in our lives and our churches for the spread of God’s works among the Nosu.
This Verse Leads Us to Thank God
So God, we pause today and we give you thanks. We give you thanks for every good thing in our lives. There is nothing good in us, around us, that did not come from you. So we pause right now and we give you thanks and we call upon you. God, we want to grow in our relationship with you. We need your help, your grace, your mercy in so many ways in our lives. We want to tell you that we love you, we glorify you, we praise you. And we want to grow in closer relationship with you. So, we pray that as we call upon your name, that you would draw us closer to yourself.
Psalm 105:1 Leads Us to Pray For China
And God, we pray that you would use us. Use our lives, our families, and our churches to make your works known. And use us to make your name known where it is not yet known. God, we pray right now that your deeds would be made known among the Nosu in China, Also that every subset of the Nosu in China will know your name. May they know what you have done in Jesus. We pray that you would send out laborers to the Nosu in China, that you would give those laborers strength, wisdom, and success.
Success in the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of your church there. That your works, word, deeds might be made known. Your grace, love, mercy in Christ might remain known among the Nosu. And God we pray that you would cause us, in each of our Christian lives and each of our churches, to see making your deeds known among the peoples as basic and as fundamental as giving you thanks and calling upon your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
