Thirty Days of Thanksgiving in Psalms Day 29

Psalm 140:13 – Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in the presence.

Once again, David is fleeing for his life from Saul. There are spies everywhere. He has no idea who is loyal to him and who is feeding information to Saul.

He’s gathered a ragtag group of people with him, along with his brothers and family. I Samuel 22:2 says that the men who came to support David were those in distress, those in debt, and everyone who was discontented.

This wouldn’t have been a boost to most people’s confidence. But thankfully, David’s confidence wasn’t in himself. His faith was in God.

His words were big on faith. He prayed, “Deliver me, O LORD…preserve me…” And later he says “Keep me, O LORD…preserve me…”

Even though David’s deliverance didn’t come immediately, we know that ultimately he was safe from Saul and was made King of Israel. Because of his faith, he could give thanks to God and know that he lived in God’s presence.

Whose confidence do we walk in? When the way before us is unclear, the path behind us is filled with traps, nets and snares, and we don’t know who to trust, do we throw yourself on the deliverance of God?

My friend, as David tells us, the “righteous” will give thanks to God for deliverance, and the “upright” live in God’s presence. A righteous person is one who is holy in heart and observant of divine commands (the Word of God). “Upright” means to be honest and just.

If we want the Lord’s deliverance, we need to live God’s way. David knew that his preservation depended on his obedience. And at least during this stage of his life, he got that right. Later on, David had some serious stumbles, and the Lord did not deliver him from the consequences of those sins.

We need to learn the principle that God wants our heart. He wants to be assured of our thanksgiving because we are upright and live righteously. If we don’t live according to His Word, why would we want to give Him thanks?

Living according to God’s Word goes hand-in-hand with the joy of thanksgiving.