A Thanksgiving Psalm

Thanksgiving is this Thursday. A national holiday set aside where we, as Americans, are reminded to pause and give thanks for what we have. We often picture in our minds Native Americans and English Pilgrims sitting down to eat a huge meal together. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national holiday, a day that Lincoln declared the day to be a day of “thanksgiving and praise to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”.

               And so today some of us get a day off from work, schools are closed, and we feast on turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Of course we can’t rest too long, Black Friday shopping begins the day after this day of thanks, and some stores are even enticing us by opening up Thanksgiving day for their celebrated and long-awaited Black Friday Deals. And so we buy, cook, hurry, stress, eat, buy some more, and eat some more.

               I wonder if this is what President Lincoln had envisioned for this day when he proclaimed a national holiday back in 1863. Of course as Christians we recognize that every day is a thanksgiving day. Every day we celebrate that what we have are gifts from God, and should be used to bring Him glory and to help others.

               Psalm 100 is often one of the most quoted Psalms this time of year. Today I encourage you to read it slowly. And on Thanksgiving Day, read it with the family you are gathered with. And if you are alone, read it aloud anyway. Because the focus of the Psalm isn’t on how many people you’re eating turkey with, or how many Christmas presents you can get a deal on this weekend. In fact, the focus of the Psalm isn’t on you (or me) at all. The focus is on God. But there are some verbs I want us to recognize. Here, let’s read this together:

               “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100- KJV)

               I normally don’t read or preach from the King James Version very often, but there are some passages that the beauty of these words seems more pronounced in this text. Maybe it’s because this is the way that I memorized them when I was a child. And those beautiful words have stuck with me. If you don’t usually read from the KJV, then read this is in the translation you prefer. After all, the best Bible translation is the one that you actually read daily.

               Now, back to those action verbs (they are underlined in the passage above). All of these verbs are things that we are told to do:

-        “Make” – sometimes we all seem to be making a lot of noise about something. Is your noise (your words and actions) joyfully proclaiming Jesus?

-        “Serve” – It’s not about whether you are serving the lunch or being served as a guest. It’s about serving the Lord. And when we do that, we will always be aware of ways that we can serve others in His name

-        “Come” – the word used here in the Psalm is an image of kneeling before the King. Bow down as you slow down. There is no greater place to be than in the presence of the Lord (which will make you want to sing praises to Him—and those noises all sound joyful regardless of your pitch!)

-        “Know” – We ‘know’ lots of things; some are important (like your spouse’s birthday), some don’t benefit us daily (like some algebraic equations we had to know for tests in school), and some we know because we are interested in something (like the Pittsburgh Steelers have played in 8 Super Bowls and won 6 of them). What matters most is knowing that God is God; Creator, Savior, Redeemer. Everything that we are not, and everything that He is.

-        “Enter” – Almost everyday you can see a sign that reads “Do Not Enter”. God’s desire is that we all enter into Him through the Jesus (John 14:6)

-        “Be Thankful” – the focus of our Thankfulness is grounded in God (note there is no mention of being thankful for turkey, family, friends, or Black Friday shopping deals here---being thankful is about knowing God)

-        “Bless” – we tend to ask God’s blessing on people and events, buildings and budgets. We ask God to bless us, our family, and our country. But here we are called upon the bless the source of the blessings! We bless His name (or praise His name) through our worship, which includes the serving Him (and others in His name), coming to Him, Knowing Him, and Entering into His presence with a thankful heart

Maybe you love Thanksgiving Day with all the family, football, food and hustle and bustle. Maybe you dread Thanksgiving Day because it reminds you of a loved one who has passed away. Maybe you ignore Thanksgiving Day because you seem to have so little compared to so many others.

This Thursday let’s try to live those verbs in Psalm 100. It will change how we view this day, and every other day that follows. Because God is good…all the time!