TOPIC:“The Thrill of Thanksgiving”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).
As we enter this Thanksgiving season, I want us to look at a Thanksgiving classic that came, I believe, from the hand of David. It is one of the great Psalms of the Bible and one of the most well-known. Some congregations sing this Psalm in their worship services. It seems that this Psalm was sung by the Israelites as they brought their thank offerings to the Temple.
I have entitled this message “the thrill of thanksgiving” because of the following phrases found within the Psalm. In verse 1: “Make a joyful noise.” In verse 2: “Serve the Lord with gladness.” In verse 2: “Come before His presence with singing.” In verse 4: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving.” Again in verse 4: “Enter…into His courts with praise.” I say to you, there should be excitement when we come into the sanctuary of the Lord to worship Him.
On this Thanksgiving Sunday I want us to think of several aspects of this Psalm of thanksgiving.
Consider, first of all, let us think on what I am going to call the DIMENSION of thanksgiving as we find it in this Psalm. We read in verse 1 these words: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Now notice the Psalmist's words: “all ye lands.” The NIV has it: “all the earth.”
Here the call to thanksgiving goes out to the whole world, which ought to acknowledge the Lord because of what He has done. It is not for Israel alone, but for all mankind. It is not a solo by one individual, but an international chorus of praise by people of many colors and from many different countries of the world. If the people of the world would pause and reflect upon what God has done for them, then David shows they will find numerous reasons for offering praise and adoration . . .