I will give thanks to you, oh Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.
– Psalm 108:3
Think about the last phrase and each of the parts of this verse. I will give thanks to you, oh Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations.
Psalm 108:3 Calls Us to Celebrate God’s Goodness Among All People
It’s good to give thanks to God always when we’re alone, when we’re with other followers of Jesus, to thank God for his grace in our lives. Also, it’s good to sing praises to God when we’re alone. It’s good to sing praises to God in the church with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet the emphasis here in Psalm 108:3 is on giving thanks among the peoples. And that’s a clear reference to people outside the people of Israel, people outside the covenant people of God.
I will sing praises to you among the nations. I’m not just gonna sing the praises of God when I’m with the people of God. I’m gonna sing the praises of God when I’m with all kinds of people in all the nations. I just want you to think today about how often the people around you who don’t know Jesus, hear you giving thanks to God. How often the people around you who don’t know Jesus hear you praising God, singing God’s praises, maybe not necessarily with a song. Although there’s a great picture in 1 Corinthians 14 of unbelievers coming into the worship gathering of God’s people. Hearing, singing, and prophesying and celebration of who God is. Being convicted of their own sin and falling on their faces saying God is really among you.
So there’s so many different ways we could apply this. As simple as inviting someone to come with you to church this week. To come hear the praises of God’s song. To come hear thanksgiving to God being offered. And to pray that God would use that to draw them people outside the church to himself. But not just to invite them to church. For you and me today to be intentional. To give thanks to God among the people around us. To sing the praises of God. Tell about the greatness of God as we have everyday conversations with people around us.
Psalm 108:3 Encourages Us Toward a Global Chorus of Thanksgiving
Then obviously, as we pray all the time on this podcast, to be intentional. To give thanks to God among all the peoples of the world. To sing the praises of God among all the nations of the world. Oh God, help us to do Psalm 108:3 today and each day this week. Help us tell other people who don’t know you, how thankful we are for your goodness and your grace, and your provision and your promises.
How thankful we are for who you are, what you do, what you have done, what we know you will do. God, help us to be intentional, to thank to you among the peoples around us today. Help us sing your praises, to tell other people around us today, this week, how great you are. Lord, we pray that you would give us boldness to invite people to come to the gathering of your people, where we will give you thanks and sing your praises.
God, we pray that you would use our worship gatherings as your people, our gatherings, to give you thanks, to draw people around us, in our cities, in our communities, to yourself, and God, we pray for the spread of the gospel, the good news of your glory and your grace for thanksgiving and praise to spread among all the peoples, among all the nations.
Praying for the Jat Aulak People
God, we pray for the Jat Aulak people of India, this Sikh people group, 60,000 of them who speak Western Punjabi. How do we pray that people would go to the Jat Aulak people, and give thanks to your name among them, sing praises to your name among them, no known followers of Jesus among them. God, we pray that that would change and that your praises and thanksgiving to you would be offered among the Jat Aulak people of India. God, help us today, this week and in our lives to spend ourselves giving thanks to you, oh Lord, among the peoples singing praises to you among the nations, until all the nations are singing your praises and giving you thanks. We pray this according to your word in Psalm 108:3. In Jesus name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
