THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXLV. Thanking God In Today’s World

(Psalm 145:1-21)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving, a day when we gather with family and friends and express our gratitude to God for His many blessings. However, in today’s world, one may wonder how he can be thankful:

(1) This Thanksgiving, Congress is called by some a “‘theater-kid-occupied government’” as “both chambers . . . have ceded hard power to the presidency, the judiciary, and a slew of unaccountable bureaucratic behemoths” and “legislators have tried to distract people from their unwillingness and/or inability to govern” (“Curtain call on shutdown theater,” Republican-American, November 13, 2025, p. A8).

(2) This Thanksgiving, “(t)he massive welfare state expansions that one expects Democrats to cram through” with rising taxes “are unlikely ever to be dislodged . . . Once the Left creates dependency, it is virtually impossible to wean voters off it” (David Harsanyi, “Filibuster nuke would hand Democrats keys to remake America,” Ibid.).

(3) This Thanksgiving, “(a)bout 800 people are estimated to be sleeping outdoors in Connecticut at any one time . . . Another 3,000 are said to be using homeless shelters. Many others are bounding from motel rooms to cars to the couches of friends. Others are on the verge of eviction and soon to be homeless . . . But . . . many if not most of the people” in these situations “may be incapable of living on their own and supporting themselves under any circumstances. Many are mentally ill. Many have or are recovering from drug problems. Some have criminal records that hobble their chances of getting jobs and housing. Some have physical disabilities or are too old. Some are healthy but lack work skills. Then there are the homeless teenagers, parentless or runaways” (Chris Powell, “Report on state’s homeless mocks housing legislation,” op. cit., November 14, 2025, p. A6).

(4) This Thanksgiving, many people who are still living in homes are strapped with oppressive debt: Recently, “the New York Federal Reserve reported that U. S. household debt hit a record level at just under $18.6 trillion,” and “over two thirds of” the “increase was in the form of mortgage debt . . . About 616,000 mortgages were on lender books to Connecticut borrowers as of June 30” with “a total unpaid balance of $153.3 billion. That averages out to nearly $249,000 per loan, at an average interest rate of 4.3% and monthly payments running at nearly $2,300” (Alexander Soule, “A 50-year mortgage? What you need to know,” op. cit., p. A14).

(5) This Thanksgiving, Project Veritas by use of undercover footage has found that Rev. Aaron Miller of the Metropolitan Community Church of 155 Wylly Street in Hartford and Tony Ferraiolo, Director of Youth and Family Programs at Healthcare Advocate International, both transgender individuals, were involved in a secret transgender network in Middletown and New Haven and were helping minors transition in gender with the use of hormone blockers and surgery without parental awareness or consent (“Without Consent, Part 1: Connecticut Pastor, Youth Director, Secretly Steer Kids Toward Gender Transition, Defying Parents,” June 24, 2025; projectveritas.com)

(6) This Thanksgiving, “(a) group of . . . students, faculty members, and alumni” of “Wesleyan University in Middletown has asked the university to erect a plaque outside the university’s dining hall to memorialize all the animals killed for the food eaten inside . . . (T)he plaque concludes: ‘There will come a time when we will look back on this treatment of our fellow animals as indefensible.’” (Chris Powell, “Wesleyan’s vegetarian plaque may become more persuasive,” op. cit., November 18, 2025, p. A6). They expect us to feel guilty if we eat an alleged “fellow animal” turkey on Thanksgiving!

Need: So we ask, “How can we be thankful in today’s world of so many intense human problems and needs?”

I. Psalm 145 is a praise psalm by David that expressed his appreciation for God’s comprehensive blessings:

A. David introduced the psalm by asserting that he would exalt the Lord every day forever, Psalm 145:1-2.

B. Accordingly, David added that he had authored this psalm to praise God for His comprehensive blessings:

1. David was grateful for the infinite greatness of God that no one could fathom, Psalm 145:3.

2. He was grateful for God’s eternal faithfulness in performing wonderful works for all generations, v. 4-7.

3. David rejoiced in God’s grace, His unmerited favor of expressing compassionate slowness to anger, rich loyal love, His wholesomeness and compassion upon all He had made, Psalm 145:8-9.

4. David was grateful that God was sovereign, that His kingdom was eternal for all generations, v. 10-13.

II. David then CLIMAXED his list of things he appreciated from God by mentioning the Lord’s ministry to specific needs that all people have, but that especially God’s people face in Psalm 145:14-20:

A. David told how the Lord supports all those who fall in weakness under their burdens in life and how He lifts up all who are bowed down but have not yet fallen under their loads, Psalm 145:14.

B. David added that all living creatures look to the Lord and He gives them their food at the proper time, Psalm 145:15. God opens His hand of livelihood provision and satisfies the desires of every living thing, v. 16.

C. David noted that God is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works, Psalm 145:17 ESV.

D. In addition, David claimed that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him in honesty, or truth (v. 18), that He fulfills the desires of those who revere Him, for He hears their cry and delivers them, Psalm 145:19.

E. David added that the Lord watches over all who love Him, but that He will destroy all the wicked, v. 20.

III. David closed the psalm with an expression of praise to the Lord, and he called on every creature made by God to praise His holy name forever and ever, Psalm 145:21.

Lesson: David praised the Lord for His comprehensive blessings in life, climaxing his praise with voicing God’s provisions for all the needs of people in general and especially the needs of His godly people.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) If we have trusted in Christ for salvation and we fellowship with Him (1 John 1:9; Galatians 2:20), (3) may we claim David’s Psalm 145:14-20 comprehensive blessings for the godly and see the Lord provide all we need that we might fulfill His assignments in life.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

We address the issues of concern in our introduction using Psalm 145:1-21 with other Scripture passages:

(1) On the unwillingness or inability of Congress to govern properly, Psalm 145:10-13 teaches that God’s sovereignty applies to all generations. Regardless of the failure of government officials to take proper responsibility, the Lord sovereignly moves to provide all His people need by way of livelihood and deliverance from danger (v. 14-20). We should then responsibly vote to elect the best officials we can but ultimately rely on God for His oversight.

(2) On the massive welfare state expansion efforts by officials to the cost of taxpayers, we are still to pay our taxes to obey government laws (cf. Romans 13:1-8). Thus, God must provide all we need to obey the law and to thrive in the realm of livelihood issues according to Psalm 145:14-20.

(3) On the needs of the homeless, (a) Psalm 145:15-16 promises God’s provision for such livelihood needs. (b) In addition, since many homeless people have underlying problems that contribute to their homelessness such as mental illness, substance abuse, criminal records, physical disabilities, old age or a lack of training, Psalm 145:14 reveals that God supports the burdened or those have fallen under heavy burdens. (i) One must then rely on the Holy Spirit to handle personal weaknesses that obstruct productivity (Galatians 5:16, 22-23) and (ii) get involved in a Biblical church like Hebrews 10:25 directs to be discipled and to acquire contacts toward becoming self-sufficient.

(4) On many who are burdened with debt, (a) Psalm 145:14 directs that God helps those who look to Him for help when they face overwhelming burdens. (b) Practical solutions involve trying to avoid more debt (Proverbs 22:7) by (i) getting into a smaller home, (ii) budgeting to avoid overspending (Luke 14:28-29), (iii) getting a better paying job or getting side jobs (Proverbs 27:23-27) (iv) and frugally saving for emergencies (John 6:12).

(5) On the Hartford transgender pastor who secretly influences youths for gender transition by use of blockers and surgery without parental awareness or consent, (a) Psalm 145:20 claims that God watches over those who love Him and destroys the wicked. (b) Keeping this in mind, Deuteronomy 22:5 teaches us that even cross dressing is an abomination to God, and (c) Ephesians 6:1-4 claims that parents – not pastors – are responsible to rear their children. Thus, this Hartford pastor is a wicked minister! (d) 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 KJV claims Satan has ministers who pose as ministers of righteousness, so we must test all ministers by Scripture before we heed them, 1 John 4:1-6.

(6) On the effort of some to erect a plaque by Wesleyan University’s dining hall to memorialize the “fellow animals” who lost their lives for the food eaten there, Psalm 145:3-13 reveals God is sovereign over all He has made, what applies here: (a) God created man and animals to be vegetarians (Genesis 1:27-30), but due to man’s sin and God’s resulting judgment in the Genesis 3:1-8:22 Flood, God added animal meat to man’s diet since the post-Flood environment reduced the nutritional value of plants, Genesis 9:1-3. (b) God later limited Israel’s diet to ceremonially clean animals (Lev. 11:1-47) but withdrew those restrictions in the Church era so that we must not let anyone judge us about our diet (Acts 10:9-16; 1 Tim. 4:1-5; Col. 2:11-17). (c) Also, in contrast to the proposed Wesleyan University plaque, man is not a “fellow animal” but was made in God’s image to rule over all of the animals (Gen. 1:26-28)!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then fellowship with God and claim David’s Psalm 145 comprehensive promised blessings.