Oh, Give Thanks To the Lord

-November 28, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday, happy Thanksgiving Day,

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures mercy endures forever.”

(Psalm 136:1).

Today across America we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, not with fireworks, but around the dinner table with those we love. It is fitting because the pilgrims ate a meal in peace and harmony with the native Americans.

The pilgrims were thankful to God for bringing them to this land and for all that God had provided for them. Like them we should collectively thank Him for all that He has done for us and given to us.

The unknown psalmist writes, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” This phrase, Oh, give thanks to the Lord” is found 11 times in the Scriptures. It is a call to action—thanksgiving from the heart.

You can just imagine the joy, excitement, and gratitude in his voice and in his words. In my translation (NKJV), there is an exclamation point for emphasis. I love exclamation points; they express fervor and excitement to what is being said. It is a writer’s way of speaking loudly and clearly.

The psalmist tells what to do: give thanks; who to render it to: the Lord; and why we should do it: For His mercy endures forever. All the blessings we have as individuals, as a church, and as a nation are because of the Lord alone.

The hymn writer Seth Sykes wrote the short chorus, entitled, “Thank you, Lord.” He proclaimed, “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul, Thank you, Lord, for making me whole; Thank you, Lord for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.”

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving Day. Stay safe and healthy.

Blessed and thankful we come to Jesus, thanking Him for our salvation; and so much more.

Dean