感谢主，因他本为善，他的慈爱永远长存！
Dexu Xia
（The following is a special message on gratitude shared by brother Will Graham after taking a closer look at Psalm 106. May this message draw you closer to the Lord with a grateful heart on this special Day of Thanksgiving.）
“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” —Psalm 106:1 It’s an uplifting statement, which springs from a grateful heart. God is good! In the highs and lows of life, the mountains and valleys, He is worthy of our unending thanks and praise. If you focus only on the first verse of Psalm 106, you would think that this chapter is going to be full of joy, contentment, and excitement, but—frankly—it’s not. Psalm 106 goes on to chronicle Israel’s sad history of sinning against God. The chapter covers everything from forgetting God’s “wondrous works” while captive in Egypt (v. 7) to building idols and worshiping a “metal image” (v. 19), and yoking “themselves to the Baal of Peor” (v. 28). We witness seemingly minor transgressions such as jealousy (v. 16) and truly heinous acts such as sacrificing their sons and daughters to the “idols of Canaan,” also referred to as “demons” (vv. 37–38).
We also see that God didn’t ignore—let alone approve—of the Israelites’ sinfulness. Psalm 106 is filled with punishment and judgment. Interspersed in the penalties for their sins, however, was the faithfulness and longsuffering of God. Though the Israelites repeatedly turned their backs on Him and “provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds” (v. 29), God’s mercy and character were evident. He delivered them time and time again, despite their many—and horrifying—transgressions.
This passage perfectly captures both the righteous judgment and unending love of God. For the psalmist, there is no sugarcoating the situation. There are no excuses or attempts to explain away the sinfulness. Rather, the depravity is clear and spelled out, and the punishment was just. The fact that God had any mercy at all on these broken humans was reason enough to give thanks. Given their outright disobedience, He could have removed His hand from them completely. But instead, He was faithful.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving of 2022, perhaps we could say something very similar. We live in a culture saturated in sin. We are called to be set apart as followers of Christ, yet many who claim the name of Jesus excuse or justify lives that are opposed to His Word. We look down on the Israelites and their legacy of turning their backs on God, but we do the same thing and don’t feel the smallest bit of remorse.
Through it all, God is faithful! While there is breath in our lungs, there is still time to repent and come back to Him, turning away from sin and claiming a new life in Him. The fact that He still calls us to Himself rather than turning His back is reason for thankfulness, praise, and worship.
This year as you celebrate Thanksgiving, I pray that you will return to God. Like the Israelites, cry out to God in your sorrow and suffering, and know that He is right where you left Him, waiting for you to come home. Then you, too, can proclaim, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
（以下是威尔格兰罕弟兄研读诗篇106篇后对“感恩”的有感而发）
“赞美主！哦，感谢主，因他本为善，他的慈爱永远长存！” (诗篇 106:1) 这是发自感恩之心的令人振奋的宣告。上帝本为善！在人生的起起伏伏，高山低谷，他配得我们无尽的感谢和赞美。 如果你只关注这诗篇的第一节，你会认为这篇诗章充满喜乐、满足和振奋，事实并非如此，诗篇 106 篇在记录以色列得罪上帝的悲惨历。 这一诗章涵盖了以色列人从在埃及被俘时忘记上帝的“奇妙作为”（第 7 节），到建造偶像和崇拜“金牛犊”（第 19 节），以及“与巴力庇珥联合”（第 28 节） )。其中还记录了一些看似轻微的过犯，例如嫉妒摩西（第 16 节），以及真正令人发指的恶行，例如将自己的儿女祭祀“迦南的偶像”，也称为“鬼魔”（第 37-38 节）。
我们还看到，上帝并没有忽视，更没有赞同，以色列人的罪恶。诗篇 106篇 充满了惩罚和审判。 然而，在对他们的罪的惩罚中穿插着上帝的信实和恒久忍耐。尽管以色列人一再背弃他，“以他们的恶行惹耶和华发怒”（第 29 节），但上帝的怜悯和神性是显而易见的。他一次又一次地再给他们机会，尽管他们行了许多极可怕的恶事。 这段经文完美地捕捉到上帝公义的审判和永无止境的爱。诗人丝毫没有美化或用任何借口试图解释罪恶。相反，堕落是一目了然的，神的惩罚是公正的。而上帝对这些破碎的人类的怜悯，足以让我们有理由感谢。鉴于以色列人的完全悖逆，上帝本可以将他的手完全从他们身上移开。但相反，上帝持守了祂的应许。
当2022年的感恩节快到时，也许我们都可以说一些（和以色列人）非常相似的话。我们生活在一个充满罪恶的文化中。我们蒙召被分别为基督的追随者，但是有许多自称是基督徒的人，为违背上帝话语的生活辩解或辩护。我们鄙视以色列人和他们背弃上帝的传统，但我们正在做同样的事情，而且还丝毫不感到悔恨。然而在这一切事上，上帝是信实的！只要我们的鼻孔里还有气息，我们仍有机会悔改并回到他身边，要远离罪恶，在基督里获得新的生命。现在，上帝仍在呼召我们归向祂，而不是背弃祂，这是我们感恩、赞美和敬拜的理由。
今年当你庆祝感恩节时，我祈祷你能回到上帝身边。像以色列人一样，在悲伤和痛苦中向上帝呼求，知道他就在你离开他的地方，等着你回家。然后你也可以说：“感谢主，因他本为善，他的慈爱永远长存！”