We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds. (Psalm 75:1)
We see this theme of recounting God’s deeds throughout the psalms. It is a practice tied to hope in the midst of trouble, and joy and thanksgiving at all times. It is most often found in the congregational plural. In other words, it is something God’s people do together. Often, it is even a reminder of what God has done in past generations, a reminder of his faithfulness, of his love, of his promises.
I wonder that we have not taken up, or rather continued, this practice in the modern church. Occasionally we may offer a prayer thanking God for our salvation, or some specific answer to prayer, but I don’t see a regular practice of the church gathering and reminding each other of all that God has done in our lives together, or in the history of the church. We don’t seem to have a regular practice of recounting God’s deeds and then thanking him in prayer and praising him in song. I don’t mean simply saying that God does great deeds, but reminding each other of specific things he has done in the history of the church, even the church in our city, nation, or denomination. Or perhaps, if your church is long-established, you could even recount God’s deeds in the history of your specific church in past generations.
This recounting of God’s mighty deeds doesn’t occur in every psalm, but it is a recurring theme throughout the psalter. Perhaps it should have a regular practice in our life together as his children. I imagine it would serve to encourage us during times of spiritual dryness, or physical hardship. It would lift our gaze beyond our immediate circumstances to the larger context of God’s work in the world. And it would help humble us by giving us some perspective by which to judge our own importance and the weight of our particular circumstances.
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