Jer.33:11 – the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“Give thanks to the LORD of hosts,
For the LORD is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;
and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the LORD.
Singing songs of thanksgiving is often a new song given to his sons and daughters by the touch of His hand. The lost person has no understanding of God’s goodness and thankfulness is far from Him. It is when we begin to experience God’s mercy for ourselves that our hearts are flooded with thankfulness. The natural man often only sees his lack while the spiritual man sees God’s work all around him. Jonathan Edwards preached a message of thanksgiving in November of 1740, his church was in the midst of revival and the congregation was flooded with gratitude toward the Lord. When we see Him at work our heart is filled with a new song which is permeated with thanksgiving. Here is a quote from Edwards from that Thanksgiving sermon.
“The melody of this song is most acceptable to God. The great God is delighted with it. ’Tis acceptable to Jesus Christ. He accepts of such praise, and never rejects it. If we sing this new song in our hearts when we are alone and retired from the world, to spend some time in secret between God and our own souls, Christ will come to us and will as it were listen to the melodious notes, and will reward us with some token of his favor. If we sing this new song in our public assemblies, it will be to worship God in the beauty of holiness, and will be the way to have God delighting to be in the midst of us. In singing this new song to God and the Lamb, our thanksgiving days will be acceptable to God. This song is more pleasing to God than the offering up of thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of oil.”
The beauty of Edwards’ words is that his church (and Jonathan himself) were caught up in an outpouring of the Spirit of God. There could not be a greater way to spend Thanksgiving. Like everyone else I love the family gatherings, the turkey dinner and all the fixings, and maybe even a football game – but that is not what makes this day so special. Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement that God is among us as well as His favor. Thanksgiving Day is getting close for us this year, make sure you have some private time with the Lord and sing a new song of thanksgiving to Him.
