"God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness." (Genesis 1:16-19) That is how Genesis describes what God created on the fourth day in his work of creation. In addition to the stars God made two great lights to govern day and night. I am certain that even the very young children here this morning could name those two lights. The greater light in the sky that governs the day is obviously the sun. The second light is also easy to identify. The lesser light that governs the night is the moon. Have you ever wondered why God didn’t cause the writer of Genesis to name those two lights? The Hebrew language had names for the sun and the moon. Why didn’t God use them to describe what he had created?
At the time when Moses wrote the book of Genesis the word for sun and the word for moon were the also names of false gods. The pagan peoples of the world were worshiping the sun and moon so those two great lights in the sky were known by the names of the gods they represented. It seems that God deliberately left out the names for the sun and moon so they didn’t draw his people’s attention away from him. He simply called one the greater light and one the lesser light and left it at that. This illustrates a truth about God’s dealings with people. Although the sun and moon are important God wanted his people to know that their relationship with him was more important. God never wants the things he has created for people to enjoy to become a barrier in their relationship with him.
However, throughout the history of mankind things in creation have drawn attention away from the creator. Sometimes people have actually worshiped what God created. They have worshiped heavenly bodies, mountains, and creatures. At other times people have become stuck seeing only material things so that they fail to see the God who made them. Although we are not tempted to worship the sun or the moon there is a very real chance that the things God has created can block our view of him. Even on Thanksgiving Day the blessings for which we are thankful can hinder us from seeing the One who gave them to us. Before we count our blessings let’s count our greatest blessing. Our greatest blessing is God Himself. The Holy Spirit will use Psalm 100 to direct our attention away from material things to God. We will be lead to:
GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD
I. Give thanks because He is God
II. Give thanks because we are His people
III. Give thanks because His love endures forever
In our Bibles the Psalms appear as one book among the others books of the Old Testament. We learned to say the book in order along with the others, "Esther Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes..." To the Jews the Psalms were not another book in their Bible but their hymnal for worshiping God. Some of the Psalms served as liturgy for worship. Other Psalms were performed by choirs and groups of musicians. Just as our hymnal has special hymns for the seasons of the church year and festivals like Christmas and Easter certain Psalms were used for seasons of the year and for special celebrations.
Psalm 100 begins with the heading, "A psalm. For giving thanks." As we read the Psalm we might wonder why nothing specific is mentioned for which we are to give thanks. The writer doesn’t say, "Give thanks for your food and clothes, your home and those you love." How can you say thanks without describing what you are thankful for. The Psalm shows us where our thanksgiving to God begins. It focuses on God not on what he gives.
The name of God, the LORD, stands out as we look at the Psalm Not only because is it in capital letters but also because it appears four times. Remember that the name LORD is God’s personal name. It means "I am." When God sent Moses to the Israelites he told him, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" (Exodus 3:13-14) Some time later God gave Moses an explanation of what his name means. He said, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." (Exodus 34:6-7) When you take the name of God, the LORD, and connect it to love and forgiveness and care you have something very special. It never runs out. When the "I am" God says something it doesn’t change. When the "I am" God makes a promise it will happen. Just the name of God leads us to give thanks.
Having the LORD as God would have been much different than having any other god for the people living when this Psalm was written. The gods of the pagan nations around Israel were vengeful and mean. All the peoples around them lived in fear and at times even hatred of their false gods. Some of the false gods were portrayed as uninterested and distant. What a difference it must have made to know the truth about God. That he is the LORD who cares about his creation and provides for it.
Once we identify the true God as the LORD we can begin to connect with the call to worship in this Psalm of thanksgiving, "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." Our thoughts are directed beyond what God has done, or what he has given us to who he is. We give thanks to the LORD because he is God.
Then the focus becomes more direct, "Know that the LORD is God." When we use the word know we may have a number of meanings for it. To know may mean just to have a little knowledge about something. Or when we say we know something it may imply that we know it very well. In the original language this word means to know something very well. In connection with the LORD it means to know about him in our head but also to know and love him in our heart. The Psalm writer tells us knowing God means knowing him as the LORD.
Certainly the times have changed since this Psalm was written. The circumstances in the world have changed. The false gods that surrounded God’s people have changed. But new gods have taken there place. Now the gods of science, materialism, humanism, and all the other "isms" that surround us are just as uncertain as the pagan gods of ancient times. But the same LORD is God. Today this Psalm of thanksgiving calls us to shout, and worship, and know that the LORD is God. That is only place to begin the act of giving thanks.
When we give thanks for something we direct our attention from the gift to the person who gave it. Before we give thanks for all the blessings we enjoy let’s look to the One who is the giver of all good gifts. His Name is the LORD. We give thanks to the LORD because he is God.
The second thought taken up in this Psalm of thanksgiving is the LORD’s relationship to his people. It also leads us to give thanks. "It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Again we don’t see a list of blessings or a long description of what God give and what he does. The Psalm writer doesn’t see things as important as focusing on God and how he loves his people.
Reflecting on the history of God’s chosen people someone once said, "How odd for God to choose the Jews." They weren’t the strongest, bravest or most noble of nations. In fact, they were actually small and rather insignificant. But God in his mind boggling mercy, and according to his incomprehensible plan called Abraham and made him into a great nation. The fact that the writer of Psalm 100 and his people belonged to God was the main reason for them to give thanks. No other nation was cherished in the same way as Israel was by God.
Before we give thanks today may we see ourselves as the Psalmist saw himself and his people. "It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." God made us both physically and spiritually. He then made us his people through his Son. Sin separated us from God but he so loved the world that he gave his Son for it. In him we have a substitute and a sacrifice. Of all the blessings for which we are thankful it is the spiritual blessings that come from God that we treasure the most. Someone described that kind of focus on thanksgiving in this way:
As we gather ’round our firesides / On this new Thanksgiving Day,
Time would fail to count the blessings / That have followed all our way;
Grace sufficient, help and healing, / Prayer oft answered at our call;
And the best of all our blessings, / Christ Himself, our all in all.
While we love to "count the blessings," / Grateful for the year that’s gone,
Faith would sweep a wider vision, / Hope would gaze yet further on.
For the signals all around us / Seem with one accord to say,
"Christ is coming soon to bring us / Earth’s last, best Thanksgiving Day!"
The things for which we are thankful today are secondary to the fact that we belong to God now and forever. From our relationship with him through Jesus Christ come all the blessings we enjoy. Let our thanksgiving begin with the fact that the LORD is our God and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Giving thanks to the LORD because he is God and because we are his people will then lead us to give thanks for how he blesses us. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Again the focus is on God. The Psalm doesn’t mention everything that God gives us. It points to the fact that he is good and that his love endures forever.
The second half of the Psalm follows the same pattern as the first half. There is a call to worship God and give him thanks. Then the reason for giving thanks is given. Living in a simpler time where most people were involved with farming the Israelites were dependent on their good God whose love endured forever. If the rains didn’t come at the right times the people would go hungry. If bugs and pests devoured their crops there would be famine. It was God’s love and faithfulness that kept them alive.
Perhaps we are at a disadvantage. Most of our food is grown for us. It comes from around the world. Science and medicine have solved many of our problems. We have machines that can overcome the hardships of life. The economy is good. Things seem to just roll on But it is only God’s goodness, love, and faithfulness that keeps them coming to us. From his love that endures forever comes the food and clothes, the shelter and family, the cars, jobs, and money with which we have been showered. As we count our blessings on Thanksgiving, which really are too numerous to count anyway, may we see them streaming from our God who is good and whose love endures forever.
It is customary in our culture to send a person a "thank you" when they send a gift for a birthday, or wedding, or for Christmas. We are also in the habit of naming what the person gave us. "Thank you so much for the toaster." "Thank you for the money." "Thank you for the fruit basket." When I was younger I used to spend the whole letter telling how I used the money or the gift that I received. In a way it seems kind of silly to talk about what we have received from the person. The person knows what he or she gave us. The person would rather here about our thanks and appreciation.
In a similar way it is customary to send God a "thank you" on Thanksgiving Day. We tell him how much we enjoy all the stuff we have. But I believe that he would much rather have us give thanks for who he is and what he does. Or at least begin our thanksgiving there. The writer of Psalm 100 had a similar thought in mind when he called his people to focus on God. He pointed to the fact that the LORD is God and the Israelites were his people and that his love endures for ever. His inspired words are timeless. He now calls us to give thanks to the LORD. Give thanks because he is God. Give thanks because we are his people. Give thanks because his love endures forever. Amen.
