On sunny days when the air is crisp and the colors spectacular, gratitude flows so easily. Awe, wonder, and thanksgiving easily slip out of our mouths. Even our posture signals our sense of well-being and praise as we experience God’s blessings and grace full strength. The psalmist seems to be enjoying this full-strength kind of day. Superlatives describing the character of God jump off the page to remind us, fill us, and encourage us in our own experience of the Almighty One. Our God answers prayer, forgives our brokenness, and even satisfies our longing for intimacy. And there is yet even more: The God we worship provides deliverance and salvation, hope and strength. When we allow this psalm to wash over us, we feel humbled before the expansive nature of our God.
Recently I drove through the “big sky” region of the western United States. The ever-changing vista of thousands of acres of lush, green, ripening grain, from horizon to horizon, set against a backdrop of majestic mountain peaks capped with snow amazed me. What an egregious sin it would be were I to express no gratitude to God in response, to turn away from verse 8 of this psalm as it calls me to stand in awe as I witness God’s signs. Or, perhaps, to feel some sense of awe but not remember the One who gives this wonder.
Not all our days lend themselves easily to gratitude. But today may this psalm serve as a call to worship for a week of spiritual work: remembering awe for our God, establishing anew the gratitude that forms the foundation of our faith in Jesus.