Thanksgiving
—Giving thanks to God
- Thanksgiving is a theme of Psalms — Ps 100:4
- Thanksgiving is a command
- A command in the psalms — Ps 75:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1-3
- A command in the prophets — Isa 12:4; Jer 33:11
- A command in the New Testament — Eph 5:20; Phil 4:6; Col 3:15, 17; 1Thes 5:18
- The command to give thank offerings — Lev 7:12-15; 2Chr 29:31; Ps 107:22
- The duty of certain Levites to give thanks — 1Chr 16:4-7, 23:28-30
- Reasons for thanksgiving
- For God’s goodness and love — 1Chr 16:34; 2Chr 20:21; Ps 118:29
- For God’s wonderful deeds — Ps 75:1; 107:8, 15, 21, 31
- For God’s protection — Ps 56:12-13
- For salvation — 1Chr 16:35; Ps 118:21; Rom 7:24-25
- For daily provisions — Mt 14:19; 2Cor 9:12; 1Tim 4:3-5
- For faith, hope and love — Rom 1:8; Col 1:3-5; 1Thes 1:2-4; 2Thes 1:3-4
- For God’s grace — 1Cor 1:4
- For healing — Lk 17:16
- For victory over sin and death — 1Cor 15:57
- For all people — 1Tim 2:1
- For everything — Eph 5:20; 1Thes 5:18
- Methods of thanksgiving
- By singing — Ps 28:7; Neh 12:27, 31, 40; Col 3:16-17
- By playing musical instruments — 1Chr 25:1
- By praying — Rom 1:8-10; 1Cor 1:4-9
- By giving offerings — Lev 7:12-15; Ps 56:12; 2Cor 9:12-15
- By worshiping God — Ps 100:2-4; Heb 12:28
- By speaking about Jesus — Lk 2:38
- By living holy lives — Rom 12:1; 1Cor 6:20
Thanksgiving to God Commanded:
Lev 7:12-15; 1Chr 16:7, 34-35; Ps 100:4; 107:21-22; 136:1-3; Isa 12:4; Jer 33:11; Eph 5:19-20; Phil 4:6; 1Tim 2:1; 4:3-4.
Sacrifices expected of the Christian:
Mt 16:24-25; Lk 14:27; Rom 12:1; Phil 4:18; Heb 13:15-16; 1Pet 2:5.
Reasons for Thanksgiving
1Chr 16:7, 34-35; 2Chr 20:21; Ps 7:17; 28:7; 107:15; 118:21; Mt 14:19; Rom 7:24-25; 2Cor 9:12-15; 1Thes 1:2-4; 5:18; 1Tim 4:3-5.
Ps 100:4 Notes:
Psalms 100:4
Ps 100:4 (NASB) –Enter His gates with thanksgiving, [And] His courtyards with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
This is a command not a suggestion. We are commanded to approach the Lord with thanksgiving and praise. We are to bless His holy name for all the good things He has done for us.
But often Christians’ prayers are all about their problems and making petitions for all the things they need. That’s not how the Lord told us to pray. In what is often called “The Lord’s Prayer” (Mt 6:9-13), Jesus taught us to enter into His gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise by saying, “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
There is a place in that prayer to say “Give us this day our daily bread” and to ask for forgiveness. But it is not the first thing we do or the main thing we do in prayer. Jesus then ended this prayer with praise and thanksgiving again when He said, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
So, Jesus told us to start and end our prayers with thanksgiving. If we magnify the Lord before we get to our problems, our problems wouldn’t be as big. Our faith would increase and be more than enough to overcome the situation.
When we are born again, we receive God’s supernatural faith. But we need to get rooted and built up in faith. One of the ways we abound in faith is with thanksgiving. Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:17,20), so faith without praise is on life support. Thanksgiving is a powerful force.
Ps 75:1 Notes:
Psalms 75:1
Ps 75:1 (NASB) –We give thanks to You, God, we give thanks, For Your name is near; People declare Your wondrous works.
The Hebrew word “Sapar,” (saw-far’) which was translated “declare” in this verse, means “properly to score with a mark as a tally or record, to inscribe, and also to enumerate; to recount, i.e. celebrate.”
All of these definitions of declare stress the obvious. Indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1-4), and all the good things He does in our lives declare His glory as well. If we pay attention at all, we ought to continuously give Him thanks.
“Men declare Your wondrous works” As Israel taught her children about their ancestors and God’s promises (cf. Dt 4:9,10; 6:7,20-25; 11:19; 32:46), they were passing on the promises and their fulfillment in the next generation. These “wondrous acts” were the wonderful, powerful acts of deliverance, protection, and provision that Israel had experienced throughout her history.
True worship centers on the Lord and not on us, our personal problems, or our “felt needs.” We praise God for who He is – His glorious attributes – and for His wonderful works (see, Ps 44:1-8; 77:12; 107:8,15).
This psalm celebrates anticipated victory, it tells us that God will establish judgment at the appointed time, and that the judgment will destroy the wicked and exalt the righteous. We must give thanks and declare (recount) His wonderful works!