Thankfulness to the Lord Psalm 100
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Thankfulness to the Lord Psalm 100
Introduction: In 1621, the Plymouth colonists from England and the Native American Wampoanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
It is this day of remembrance that we are preparing to celebrate Thursday. This celebration is a day to gather together with family and friends to give glory to God for all that He has done in our lives.
So, today we are going to glorify God and give thanks to Him for all that He has done in our lives.
So, exactly what is thanksgiving - or thankfulness?
According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
THANKSGIVING is:
1. Gratitude directed towards God (except Luke 17:9; Acts 24:3; Rom. 16:4), generally in response to God’s concrete acts in history. Thanksgiving was central to OT worship. Sacrifice and offerings were to be made not grudgingly but with thanksgiving (Ps. 54:6; Jon. 2:9). The psalmist valued a song of thanksgiving more than sacrifice Psalm 69:30 “30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.” David employed Levites “to commemorate the LORD God of Israel, and to give Him thanks and praise.” (1 Chron. 16:4 HCSB; 23:30; Neh. 12:46). Pilgrimage to the temple and temple worship were characterized by thanksgiving (Pss. 42:4; 95:2; 100:4; 122:4). Thankfulness was expressed: for personal (Ps. 35:18) and national deliverance (Ps. 44:7–8); for God’s faithfulness to the covenant (Ps. 100:5); and for forgiveness (Ps. 30:4–5; Isa. 12:1). All creation joins in offering thanks to God (Ps. 145:10).
Thanksgiving is a natural element of Christian worship (1 Cor. 14:16–17) and is to characterize all of Christian life (Col. 2:7; 4:2). Early Christians expressed thanks: for Christ’s healing ministry (Luke 17:16); for Christ’s deliverance of the believer from sin (Rom. 6:17–18; 7:25); for God’s indescribable gift of grace in Christ (2 Cor. 9:14–15; 1 Cor. 15:57; cp. Rom. 1:21); and for the faith of fellow Christians (Rom. 1:8).
So let’s read -
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
Transitional Sentence: So, give thanks to God for all the things He has done for you and all those in your life.
Thanksgiving - After that introduction can you answer a question?
What is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is simply an expression of gratitude to God for his care and concern, especially as shown through his redemptive acts.
The Dictionary of Bible Themes says this about thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is a Heartfelt gratitude to God, expressed in response to His love and mercy.
So just like Praise, thankfulness or gratitude, is a heart felt emotion. Thankfulness to God isn’t something you can fake. It has to come from inside, from who you are to be sincere. He knows the true condition of your heart and will know if you are faking it.
Which leads us to the next question:
b. When to Give Thanks? Since thankfulness or gratitude is a matter of the heart then you should give God thanks every time you think about the great things He has done or the things He has done specifically for you.
Which would probably be all the time.
As 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says:
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
c. So, here is a small list of reasons why to Give Thanks to God.
1. Practicing thankfulness can have positive effects on your physical and mental health. That makes sense - how many of you are able to remain angry and negative when you are giving thanks to God?
2. Reduced stress: thankfulness reduces stress hormones and negative emotions. Which helps your physical and mental health.
3. Improved mood - increases positive emotions like happiness.
4. It strengthens your immune system.
5. Reduced risk of disease - People who are thankful may have a lower risk of developing disorders like depression, phobias, bulimia, and alcoholism.
6. Better relationships - Gratitude can lead to better relationships by increasing the production of oxytocin, which fosters feelings of calm and security.
7. Slowed aging - In older adults practicing gratitude can slow down some of the effects of neurodegeneration.
8. Increased serotonin and dopamine - gratitude activates the brain stem to produce dopamine, which is the brain’s pleasure chemical and serotonin helps in sleeping.
Gratitude can also help you shift your psychological posture. With it you can dispel pride and entitlement, which will help you shift to humility, dependence and submission.
2. So just like praise there are many words which translate into Thanksgiving or mean to give thanks.
a. Yada - (Hebrew)
(yādâ). vb. to give thanks, praise. Describes the act of giving thanks and praise to God.
This verb primarily refers to giving thanks; the majority instances of yādâ in the OT are in Psalms. Like other terms with similar meanings, yādâ is often accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the thanks or praise. Reasons for which people thank (yādâ) God include the birth of Leah’s son (Gen 29:35), the righteous rules of God (Psa 99:3), the righteousness of God (Psa 7:17), the goodness of God (Psa 54:6), and the great and holy name of God (Psa 99:3). The verb can be used in an exhortation inviting people to thank (yādâ) God, as in Psa 97:12: “Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous, and give thanks (yādâ) to his holy name” (see also Psa 30:4; 105:1; 118:29). The intent and act of praise and thanksgiving can also be declared by the worshiper in a statement like that in Psa 86:12.
Psalm 86:12 (NASB95)
12 I will give thanks (yādâ) to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.
b. Toda - (Hebrew) Thanksgiving (v4)
(tôdâ). n. thanksgiving, sacrifice of thanksgiving, thank offering. Describes the giving of thanks to God, thank offerings, exhortations, and declarations of praise and thanksgiving.
This noun is related to the verb יָדָה (yādâ, “to give thanks”). It can refer to thank offerings (e.g., Lev 7:12; 2 Chr 29:31; Psa 56:12; Jer 17:26) and to general thanks given to God (Isa 51:3; Neh 12:38; Jonah 2:9; Psa 42:4). The word is also used by the scriptural authors to convey declarations of praise, as in Psa 69:30: “I will … magnify him with thanksgiving (tôdâ)” as well as in exhortations to offer praise and thanksgiving, as in Psa 95:2
Psalm 95:2 (NASB95)
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving (tôdâ), Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
c. ydh - (Hebrew) to give thanks (v4) v. — to express gratitude or show appreciation to (someone).
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving (todah) and His courts with praise (tehillah). Give thanks (ydh) to Him, bless (barak) His name.
d. eucharisteo (NT) (Greek)
(eucharisteō). vb. to give thanks. Describes the act of giving thanks.
This verb means “to give thanks.” It is used in the NT only of giving thanks to God, except for one occasion where it is unclear whether the person giving thanks to Jesus believed him to be God (Luke 17:16). It is used when Jesus gives thanks (eucharisteō) at the Last Supper (e.g., Luke 22:17, 19; John 6:11, 23) and before the miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 (Matt 15:36; Mark 8:6). Paul often gives thanks (eucharisteō), especially for the faith and salvation of the churches to which he is ministering and writing (e.g., Rom 1:8; Col 1:4). He also expresses thanks that he did not baptize many at Corinth (1 Cor 1:14) and that he speaks in tongues more than all of the members of the Corinthian church (1 Cor 14:18). In Revelation, the living creatures in the heavenly realm give thanks (eucharisteō; Rev 4:9; 11:17). Sinful people do not give thanks Romans 1:21 “21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” , and hypocritical religious leaders sometimes give thanks (eucharisteō) in an arrogant, presumptuous fashion (Luke 18:11). The related adjective εὐχάριστος (eucharistos, “thankful”) occurs one time in Col 3:15, where Paul exhorts the Colossians to be thankful (eucharistos).
e. (eucharistia) (Greek) . n. thanks, thanksgiving. Describes the expression and experience of being thankful and the action of giving thanks.
This noun is related to εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō) and refers generally to giving thanks to God. Ephesians 5:4 recommends thanksgiving (eucharistia) in place of “obscenity,” “foolish talk,” and “coarse jesting.” Likewise, in Philippians 4:6, Paul exhorts the church at Philippi to not be anxious but rather “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (eucharistia) to let your requests be made known to God.” Christians are to abound in thanksgiving (eucharistia) in light of their rootedness in Christ (Col 2:7). Thus the Scriptures indicate that thanksgiving is a central Christian virtue, intended to replace despair, anxiety, and worldly ways.
3. That brings us to the question of who to Thank?
a. Is it right to thank people?
Absolutely. However James 1:17 says:
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
So every good thing that happens to you is from God, but God uses the actions of people to bring about many good things in your life. So, be able and willing to thank people for the things they do for you. Your thankfulness of others actions will show the love of Christ to those who do random acts of kindness or simply do some small insignificant act, like opening a door for you.
Think of it this way - your thankfulness may be the only good thing that happens to someone on any given day.
So you should certainly be thankful to people for the things they do but remember all the good things are from,
b. God. Ultimately, it is to Him that you owe your gratitude. People do things for you, but God directs the actions of their hands or God charges His angels to lift you up so that you won’t even strike your foot on a stone. So don’t forget to thank God. Not only on Thanksgiving day when the government has set aside a day to remind the unfaithful that God provides, but every day. Because everyday God is Jehovah Jirah - the God who provides. Genesis 22:14 says:
14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
So, be thankful to Him for He provides all things everyday.
Who knows, Your thankfulness to God might just turn into a witness before men.
Exit: So, remember one of the definitions, Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude to God for his care and concern, especially for His redemptive acts.
It’s His redemptive acts that mean the most in the lives of humans and especially for those who have accepted the gift of His grace through faith in Christ Jesus.
Its time to wrap this up but instead of closing this with my words I am going to close it with the words of Frances J. Crosby which describes God’s redemptive acts. I’m sure most of you will know this.
To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.
Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
And the Refrain says:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.
Now that you know what thanksgiving is. Who would like to give thanks to God for the great things He has done in your life?
Pastoral Prayer!
