Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. – 2 Samuel 22:50 KJV
Thanksgiving: celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year… Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well.
gratitude
The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
[Oxford Dictionary]
Yet why would a ‘heathen’ give thinks ‘in a secular manner,’ as opposed to thanking God?
Who does the heathen, the unbeliever, thank?
Do you thank yourself for what you have given yourself this past year… for your successes in this brief moment of your mortal time in human flesh? Do you thank your boss, your neighbors, the leaders of your country and community, your family, your friends?
Why would you have gratitude to any, if you have not gratitude to God?
Last year at this time I reflected on the well-known Thanksgiving hymn: We Gather Together. Even unbelievers in these places of Thanksgiving tradition may briefly hope for some gathering such as the Rockwellesque images of families (yes families: husband and wife, sons and daughters) gathered together to thank God for one great Turkey dinner (with all the trimmings and treats).
The traditions of thanking God for our blessings acknowledge by our humility, that we remain in debt daily to a Power higher than ourselves for our very life and existence. God IS and God provides.
By the higher Authority of God the King is made King (the President is made President and the Prime Minister made Prime Minister). No man or woman, even those in highest authority on earth, is in charge of the blessings of God – and for this we give thanks.
David, King of Israel, which God would judge and destroy into a remnant for a time, gave thanks to God. (You may be familiar with some of David’s many Psalms of thanksgiving.)
The Book of Samuel records the thanks given by David to God for delivering him out of the hands of his enemies. We should be so thankful for the same so much more often; for God has many enemies among the heathens, as do the faithful of Christ Jesus.
2 Samuel 22
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Is there any question who David is thanking for his life – for his deliverance from Saul? David thanks God. David praises the Lord for saving him. David takes refuge in God. Do you?
8 “Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them;
lightning, and routed them.
Would you want to anger the Living God?
Would it not behoove us to rather give thanks to the Creator of all the heavens and earth, who is mighty to save the indefensible man of this flesh?
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
21 “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Will the Living God not reward the righteousness of His servants – those who give thanks to Him?
26 “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely,
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from men of violence.
50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
51 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.”
The word, ‘thanks,’ given by David demonstrates an imagery even beyond the scope of our discussion which further explains other verses of this psalm in 2 Samuel. The traditions of giving thanks to God go back as far as Adam and forward beyond the example of Jesus Christ until this day.
Even many Christians giving thanks at Thanksgiving will not know even the meaning of ‘thanks’ as spoken by our Lord and God, Christ Jesus. In this word you will see the deeper significance of Thanksgiving in the community and family of Christ Jesus.
eucharisteō – eucharist or communion
Matthew 26
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks,
and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Yes, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, gave thanks to God the Father for His own sacrifice about to take place for your sins and for mine.
Gratitude – The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Jesus gave thanks to God. Jesus showed His readiness to show appreciation for the kindness of God our Father to save whose God loves from the deserved wrath of sin. This is the new testament, the new covenant of love with God.
It is God’s love and provision for which we give thanks in communion, in the breaking of the bread, in our daily lives (hopefully), and also as celebration of just one Thursday in one month of one year of one mortal live given to us by God.
From Adam to Noah to David to Christ Jesus; to you and me, and until the Kingdom is proclaimed in the highest heavens: we will give thanks to God.
Revelation 11: NKJV
Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
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