“Thanksgiving 2020” by Romans
Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgxn9DW1ng
Youtube Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2krLvgafU0
As I said I would last week at the close of our Discussion, I would like to dedicate our time together to the Day we will be celebrating tomorrow. No, it is not Thanksgiving Day. Yes... I did say it is not Thanksgiving Day, and I am quite serious when I say that. President Lincoln did not establish a National Day of Thanksgiving. Now, before you log out, and go screaming into the night, give me a chance to defend my words, and explain.
First, let's take a brief look at the historical roots of the celebration Thanksgiving, as it was originally celebrated in this country. Among the early settlers to this Continent, as people seeking religious freedom, and facing hardships on many levels, giving thanks to God was a spontaneous celebration that took place when God's Mercy and Providence was evident. But what are the origins of this annual fixed date of what we call, today, Thanksgiving Day?
On the 3rd of October, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made an official proclamation declaring that from hence forth, the last Thursday in November would celebrated. The Civil War was still raging when he made his Proclamation. In it he names the blessing of rich farm lands, and the wealth of Natural Resources that America had been blessed with. He referred to our increasing population in spite of the ravages of the ongoing war, and the years of freedom bestowed on us. Then he said,
“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People...” Notice now the actual words of Lincoln's Proclamation:
“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” Lincoln did not merely proclaim a Day of Thanksgiving, but a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise. How is it that the Praise half of what we are supposed to be celebrating is something I never heard referred to even one time by anyone, anywhere, before I looked it up, and read for myself exactly what Lincoln established to be observed annually.
And it has continued to be watered down! Even in the known half ~ the Thanksgiving half ~ it has been virtually buried under the Macy's Day Parade of Marching Bands, and giant balloons of cartoon characters, buried under Football Games, buried under what can only be described as wholesale gluttony participated in by far too many thankless Americans, and buried under the Doorbuster Sales of Black Friday, a day dedicated to the frenzied celebration of unbridled materialism.
Where in all of the above is any hint, much less Thanksgiving and Praise, of “our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in the Heavens”? President Lincoln's humble and reverent appreciation of Almighty God resulted in the establishment of this annual celebration which has been so distorted and gutted. I do not mean to say or imply that no Thanksgiving takes place anywhere in America; I know that is not true. But I speak of the overwhelming and dominating glare that blinds us in the Media. And, unfortunately, even where thanksgiving is offered, God is excluded, and a generic thankfulness for family, friends and health is offered, instead, essentially to no one.
In its main essence, Thanksgiving Day was set aside to recognize, and thank and praise the God Who had so abundantly blessed this nation. The Day was set aside to also acknowledge the Freedom that we enjoy, it being recognized as a Gift of God. In addition, in his Proclamation, the President also acknowledged that God, “while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
As Americans, we have been blessed with physical blessings; but as Christians we can also thank God for all of the Spiritual Blessings that have poured out on us in addition to the physical Blessings. Our Thanksgiving to and Praise of God should not be limited to the 4th Thursday of November.
Notice how this is phrased in Psalms 92:1-2: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”
Of this Matthew Henry writes, “Observe, 1. How they please themselves with their relation to God. “Though we are oppressed and brought low, yet we are the sheep of thy pasture, not disowned and cast off by thee for all this: We are thine; save us.”
2. How they promise themselves an opportunity of praising God for their deliverance, which they therefore desired, and would bid welcome, because it would furnish them with matter for thanksgiving and put their hearts in tune for that excellent work, the work of heaven.
3. How they oblige themselves not only to give God thanks at present, but to show forth his praise unto all generations, that is, to do all they could both to perpetuate the remembrance of God's favours to them and to engage their posterity to keep up the work of praise.
4. How they plead this with God: “Lord, appear for us against our enemies; for, if they get the better, they will blaspheme thee; but, if we be delivered, we will praise thee. Lord, we are that people of thine which thou hast formed for thyself, to show forth thy praise; if we be cut off, whence shall that rent, that tribute, be raised?” Note, Those lives that are entirely devoted to God's praise are assuredly taken under his protection.”
Let's review what Scripture has to tell us about Thanksgiving and Praise:
Thanksgiving Should Be Offered In Everything:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Of this, we read in the Sermon Bible: “1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: I. "Rejoice evermore." The Thessalonian converts were living in the sphere of sorrow. The Apostle exhorts them to be "girded with gladness." This rejoicing, being in the Lord, is opposed to the spurious joy which is the possession of sinners. The rejoicing before God is the deep, calm delight of the soul in communion with the Saviour. It springs out of the three Christian graces which this epistle so strongly emphasises—faith, hope, and love.
II. "Pray without ceasing." Prayerfulness is the atmosphere in which all things appear bright and joyous. The Apostle takes it for granted that none of his readers will call in question the duty of prayer. What he enjoins is constancy in prayer. The only conceivable way in which, on our part, this communion may be maintained, is the lifting up of the heart in conscious dependence and petition. The Church militant must ever be the Church suppliant. Prayer is the very beating of the pulse of the Christian’s inner life. Without it life would cease to be.
III. "In everything give thanks." The clause seems to suggest not merely that the heart is at all times, and for all things to be grateful, but that the gratitude is to overflow into every action of the life—thanks giving and thanks living. Here is a sense in which we are evermore to pay back, as it were, in active service, what we receive from God. That debt ever due, never cancelled, we have ceaselessly to pay, and in paying it to find our highest joy.
J. Hutchison, Lectures on Thessalonians, p. 216. Reference: 1Th_5:16-18.—A. Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, p. 242.”
We read in Psalms 111:1: “Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”
I would like to quote from, for the first time, a Commentary made available by eSword by commentator Robert Hawker, who wrote, “Psalms 111:1: This Psalm is remarkable as being the first of the seven which were known in the Jewish church under the title of the grand Hallelujah; probably so called because it begins with Hallelujah. It forms a devout hymn of praise; and the writer, while stirring up himself to praise God, calls upon others to join in the same delightful service.
Whether we are to consider these as the words of Christ, by the prophet, I will not presume to say; but one thing is certain, that it was Christ of whom the Royal Prophet spake, and to whom alone he referred, as speaking in similar words in another psalm. And as the apostle Paul, that the church might not overlook Jesus, had it in commission to explain that very passage in direct allusion to Christ, I think we cannot err in supposing that it is the Lord Jesus in this psalm also, who declares "he will praise Jehovah with his whole heart in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation."
Let the Reader compare with diligence, Psalm 22 with Hebrews 2:11-12, and then judge for himself...” I want to break here and follow a quick Rabbit Trail to look at these two cross-references: I also want to point out that, if you are not already familiar Psalm 22, it begins in verse 1 with the familiar question, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” but was written by King David 1,000 years before Jesus' Crucifixion!
The remainder of the Psalm is an amazing eyewitness account of Jesus' crucifixion including such details as: “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. (in verses 7 and 8), “... they pierced my hands and my feet” (in verse 16), and “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (in verse 18).
Hebrews 2:11-12 says, “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.”
Robert Hawker continues, “Nay, let him then put the further question to himself; and ask, who indeed but the ever blessed Jesus, could undertake to praise Jehovah with his whole heart? Who but Christ, the surety of sinners, had Jehovah in view, when he said their Governor shall proceed from the midst of them. And I wilt cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me, saith the Lord?
Reader! it is blessed to see Jesus going before in all our approaches, and to behold his lovely example: then in his name and in his righteousness, and not else, you and I may say or sing with faith this sweet verse, and determine to praise the Lord with our whole heart in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”
We read in Psalms 145:2: “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”
Of this, John Gill writes, “Every day will I bless thee,.... For new mercies had every morning; for fresh supplies of grace every day, which all come from the fulness of Christ, to whom all grace is given, and from whence it is received, and in whom all spiritual blessings are, and by whom they are bestowed;
and I will praise thy name for ever and ever; as long as he lived in this world, and to all eternity in the world to come. David understood the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, and knew he should not be an apostate and blasphemer of the name of Christ, but a praiser of it as long as he had a being; and that his principal service, and that of all the saints in the other world, will be praise; not praying, nor preaching, nor hearing the word, and attendance on other ordinances, which will be no more, but adoring and magnifying the riches of divine grace.”
The Word of God is full of thanks to God. God has given us not just physical Life and Blessings, but we were created in the Image and Likeness of God. Psalm 139:14: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:”
John Gill writes, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,.... the formation of man is not of himself, nor of his parents, but of God, and is very wonderful in all its parts; it has been matter of astonishment to many Heathens, as Galen and others, who have, with any carefulness, examined the structure and texture of the human body, the exact symmetry and just proportion of all its parts, their position and usefulness;
holy every bone, muscle, artery, nerve and fibre, are nicely framed and placed to answer their designed end; particularly the eye and ear, the exquisite make of them for sight and sound, have filled the most diligent inquirers into nature with amazement and wonder, and are a full proof of the wisdom and knowledge of God...”
(l) אודך "confitebor tibi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "confiteor", Tigurine version, Cocceius, Michaelis. (m) נפלאתי "tremendis modis separatus sum", Cocceius; so Gussetius, p. 676, 677."
We read in Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” I find it so beautifully ironic that scientists who discount anything Supernatural are at the forefront of discovering and revealing how the Heavens declare God's Glory. There are scores of discoveries which describe a Universe exquisitely fine-tuned with infinitesimal precision which supports life. One amazed astronomer, of the Life Support characteristics of the Universe, said that somehow it “knew we were coming.”
We can be thankful and praise God that live on a planet that exists within what astrophysicists have come to call, “The Goldilocks Zone:” everything within it is just right. We are not too close or two far from a star that is both stable and not too small or large. The earth, itself envelops us in multiple shields against radiation. First, the molten, flowing iron core of the earth creates the Magnetosphere, a 350,000-mile high Force Field, deflects deadly solar winds and high-energy particles that are fired at us from the sun. Next, oxygen exhaled by plants interacts with otherwise lethal Ultraviolet Light in the upper atmosphere creating the Ozone Layer which blocks it, protecting all Life on earth.
In Psalm 145:3 we read, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”
John Gill writes of this: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,.... Christ is the great God as well as our Saviour; great in all the perfections of his nature, of great wisdom, power, faithfulness, holiness, grace, and goodness; great in his person as God-man, God manifest in the flesh; great in all his offices and relations he bears and stands in to his people;
and great in all his works of creation, providence, and redemption, in which he is concerned; and upon all which accounts he is to be praised, and greatly to be praised, by his people, even to the utmost of their capacities, here and hereafter.”
We should thank and praise God because He gave us His Word of Truth, and also pledged in Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” The Word of God is not, as many claim, the work of mens' imagination. Rather, it is the all-sufficient revelation of God, as we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Matthew Henry writes, “What is the excellency of the scripture. It is given by inspiration of God (2Ti_3:16), and therefore is his word. It is a divine revelation, which we may depend upon as infallibly true... The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves, but what they received of the Lord that they delivered unto us. That the scripture was given by inspiration of God appears from the majesty of its style, - from the truth, purity, and sublimity, of the doctrines contained in it...
(2.) What use it will be of to us. [1.] It is able to make us wise to salvation; that is, it is a sure guide in our way to eternal life. Note, Those are wise indeed who are wise to salvation. The scriptures are able to make us truly wise, wise for our souls and another world. “To make thee wise to salvation through faith.” Observe, The scriptures will make us wise to salvation, if they be mixed with faith, and not otherwise, Heb_4:2. For, if we do not believe their truth and goodness, they will do us no good.
[2.] It is profitable to us for all the purposes of the Christian life, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It answers all the ends of divine revelation. It instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good. It is of use to all, for we all need to be instructed, corrected, and reproved: it is of special use to ministers, who are to give instruction, correction, and reproof; and whence can they fetch it better than from the scripture?
(3.) [3.] That the man of God may be perfect. The Christian, the minister, is the man of God. That which finishes a man of God in this world is the scripture. By it we are thoroughly furnished for every good work. There is that in the scripture which suits every case. Whatever duty we have to do, whatever service is required from us, we may find enough in the scriptures to furnish us for it.
(3.) On the whole we here see, [1.] That the scripture has various uses, and answers divers ends and
purposes: It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction of all errors in judgment and practice, and for instruction in righteousness. [2.] The scripture is a perfect rule of faith and practice, and was designed for the man of God, the minister as well as the Christian who is devoted to God, for it is profitable for doctrine, etc.
[3.] If we consult the scripture, which was given by inspiration of God, and follow its directions, we shall be made men of God, perfect, and thoroughly furnished to every good work. [4.] There is no occasion for the writings of the philosopher, nor for rabbinical fables, nor popish legends, nor unwritten traditions, to make us perfect men of God, since the scripture answers all these ends and purposes. O that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them than ever! and then shall we find the benefit and advantage designed thereby, and shall at last attain the happiness therein promised and assured to us.”
We should thank and praise God because He gives us His Holy Spirit, first to be ale to recognize that it is His Word. The the Holy Spirit grants us the ability to understand It, and the power we need to live by it. Jesus spoke of our being given this Gift in John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Of this, Matthew Henry tells us, "He promises this great and unspeakable blessing to them, (in John 14:16,-17). 1. It is promised that they shall have another comforter. This is the great New Testament promise (see Acts 1:4), as that of the Messiah was of the Old Testament; a promise adapted to the present distress of the disciples, who were in sorrow, and needed a comforter. Observe here,
[1.] You shall have another advocate. The office of the Spirit was to be Christ's advocate with them and others, to plead his cause, and take care of his concerns, on earth. When Christ was with them he spoke for them as there was occasion; but now that he is leaving them they shall not be run down, the Spirit of the Father shall speak in them. And the cause cannot miscarry that is pleaded by such an advocate.
[2.] You shall have another master or teacher, another exhorter. While they had Christ with them he excited and exhorted them to their duty; but now that he is going he leaves one with them that shall do this as effectually, though silently. Jansenius thinks the most proper word to render it by is a patron, one that shall both instruct and protect you.
[3.] Another comforter. Christ was expected as the consolation of Israel. One of the names of the Messiah among the Jews was Menahem - the Comforter. The Targum calls the days of the Messiah the years of consolation. Christ comforted his disciples when he was with them, and now that he was leaving them in their greatest need he promises them another.
How this blessing is procured - by the intercession of the Lord Jesus: I will pray the Father. He said (in John 14:14) I will do it; here he saith, I will pray for it, to show not only that he is both God and man, but that he is both king and priest. As priest he is ordained for men to make intercession, as king he is authorized by the Father to execute judgment. When Christ saith, I will pray the Father, it does not suppose that the Father is unwilling, or must be importuned to it, but only that the gift of the Spirit is a fruit of Christ's mediation, purchased by his merit, and taken out by his intercession.
(4.) The continuance of this blessing: That he may abide with you for ever. That is, [1.] “With you, as long as you live. You shall never know the want of a comforter, nor lament his departure, as you are now lamenting mine.” Note, It should support us under the loss of those comforts which were designed us for a time that there are everlasting consolations provided for us. It was not expedient that Christ should be with them for ever, for they who were designed for public service... must disperse.
{A}nd therefore a comforter that would be with them all, in all places alike, wheresoever dispersed and howsoever distressed, was alone fit to be with them for ever. [2.] “With your successors, when you are gone, to the end of time; your successors in Christianity, in the ministry.” [3.] If we take for ever in its utmost extent, the promise will be accomplished in those consolations of God which will be the eternal joy of all the saints, pleasures for ever.”
(2.) “He is the Spirit of truth.” He will be true to you, and to his undertaking for you, which he will perform to the utmost. He will teach you the truth, will enlighten your minds with the knowledge of it, will strengthen and confirm your belief of it, and will increase your love to it.
The Gentiles by their idolatries, and the Jews by their traditions, were led into gross errors and mistakes; but the Spirit of truth shall not only lead you into all truth, but others by your ministry. Christ is the truth, and he is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit that he was anointed with.”
I commend President Lincoln for setting apart a National Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, but he limited his recognition of the Blessings of God to material and temporary Blessings. Yes! We should thank God for our freedoms, the amber waves of grain and natural resources, but far and above those temporary material Blessings, listen in these opening verses of Romans 5, to what we, as followers of Christ, should meditate on more, dwell on more, and thank and praise God for, every single day because of their Eternal import and impact. Listen as I read these verses, and be thankful for, and praise God for what we have already received:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:1-10).
Finally, as I close, quote I defer to the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. As I read these selected verses, I would like you to realize, first, that everything Paul describes that applied to the Colossians applies also to us: God is truly worthy of our praise and thankfulness, not merely on the fourth Thursday in November, but every day we draw breath:
Paul, along with Timothy wrote: "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness...
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:9-14, and Colossians 1:19-22)”
One-hundred trillion centuries from now, these are the things we will still be praising and thanking God for: that our Creator God was made flesh, and sent to suffer the death penalty that we deserved. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he (the Father) hath made him (the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son, for adopting us into Your Family and Kingdom, and for Being the Source of every good and perfect Gift. Thank You, Jesus, for laying down your life for us when we were sinfuly and hopeless enemies, accepting the Father's pouring out of His wrath on You for our sin and rebellion, and Thank You Holy Spirit for opening our eyes to the Truth of God, and empowering us to live godly lives.
As believers, we have so very much for which we can praise and thank our Great and Awesome God. Help us, Father, tomorrow, and every day of the year, to offer up the praise and thanksgiving you so richly deserve, in our thoughts, in our words, in every action and reaction, and in every intent of our hearts, all of it to Your Glory and Honor. And I pray this, in Jesus' Name.
This concludes this evening's Discussion, "Thanksgiving, 2020." There is much more in my notes regarding praising and thanking God, that I have had to edit out due to time constraints. If you would like me to finish these next week, let me know, now, and I will. Shall I do a Part 2? The answer was unanimous: Yes! Please do a Part 2. And, God Willing, I will.
This Discussion was originally presented "live" on November 25th, 2020.
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