Thanksgiving and Praise

 Read Psalm 100

We know Psalm 136. Every stanza concludes with, “His love endures forever.” God's love endures forever.

The psalm begins and ends with “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good and Give thanks to the God of heaven.” The rest of the psalm tells of his mighty works.  We should be thankful that we are on the right side of his story. 

Some stood in opposition to God, but not for long and not with a good ending; yet the psalm doesn’t read, give thanks or you will be smote, or is it smitten? Maybe I should brush up on my fire and brimstone lexicon.

This is a psalm of thanksgiving.

Let’s try Psalm 107. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” The psalm continues with examples of God’s greatness, mercy, and lack of regard for anyone’s worldly status.

The psalm concludes by advising the wise person to meditate upon God and what he has done. If we did that we would find God to be sovereign, righteous, almighty, and the Author of a love that endures forever.

If we pondered all that God was and how he has regarded our humble estate, we would give thanks. We wouldn’t have a choice. Our very being would compel us to thanksgiving.

If we genuinely considered that almighty God has considered us worthy of his love, care, and salvation, only the most vile among us could reject the truth and not give thanks.

Let’s try Psalm 50. God tells his people that they checked the box with their livestock sacrifices, but God doesn’t need livestock. Everything in the earth belongs to God anyway. Give him a thank offering.

Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

    fulfill your vows to the Most High,

and call on me in the day of trouble;

    I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

More than the blood of goats or bulls—the shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sins—but more than that, the relationship with God that grows and is strengthened in thanksgiving is a better target.

The psalmist did not dismiss or discount the other sacrifices and offerings. To throw an anachronism into the mix, I will use Paul’s words. And yet, I show you the most excellent way.

What way? Thanksgiving.

Psalm 28 petitions God not to include the psalmist with the wicked. C’mon God, don’t abandon me or kick me to the curb. Like most psalms, this one moves from the struggle to the affirmation. Faith abounds in the Psalms.

Praise be to the Lord,

    for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

    and with my song I praise him.

One of the telltale signs of thanksgiving is praising God.

So, thanksgiving and praise must be an Old Testament thing, right?

We have received Jesus as Lord and in him is our everything. Paul counsels us to be thankful. In fact, he says that we should be overflowing with thanksgiving.

Overflowing, now there a descriptor we should visualize.

Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Visualize a fountain overflowing with water. Now visualize a fountain overflowing with blessings.

Now visualize our most appropriate response to mercy, grace, and blessings—a fountain overflowing with thanksgiving and praise. Every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise.

Consider Paul’s words to the church in Thessalonica.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

How many times is the word thanksgiving used in the Bible? More than 70 and perhaps more than that when we include other words of gratitude. It’s a big deal.

Yes, the word love appears more than 500 times and counsel against fear another 365 times, but if God through his word tells us something more than 70 times, we need to pay attention.

The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of God endures forever. As his word does endure, don’t you think we should pay attention to something he tells us more than 70 times?

Thanksgiving is an American holiday. It is celebrated in other countries in similar and different ways. We have turned it into a feast, usually accompanied by football games and naps.

Thanksgiving for the believer must be more than turkey, dressing, and pecan pie. It must be our new nature as a new creation. We must give thanks at all times and in all circumstances.

That is who we are! We are a thankful people. We are a grateful people. We are people who praise the name of the Lord.

We are people in whom others should see the Lord through our love, thanksgiving, and praise.

I am close with words that should be familiar to us now. We know these words. They are not the only words concerning thankfulness, but let’s claim these just like we have the gospel that we find in John 3 or the proverb—trust in the Lord--that we know so well.

Let’s make Psalm 100 a part of who we are. Some might think, but it’s a lot longer.

Yes, but it has an idiom, a rhythm, a poetry to it that has not only survived translation but perhaps in enhanced by the language in which we read it today.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

   Worship the Lord with gladness;

    come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

    It is he who made us, and we are his;

    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

    and his courts with praise;

    give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

Amen.