Drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed, edited and approved by Jeff Robb. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
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Key passage: Psalm 100:1-5 (KJV)
1 A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Reflection
It's Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. Across the country, families are setting tables, and some of us are already thinking about the leftovers. So it seems right to spend this morning in Psalm 100.
In the King James Bible this psalm carries a short heading. A Psalm of praise. It's only five verses. You could read it before the turkey comes out of the oven. But there is a lot packed in.
It starts wide. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Not just Israel. All the lands. Every country and every people. And notice it says a joyful noise. It doesn't have to be a beautiful noise. There's some comfort in that.
Then verse three gives the reason we can be thankful at all. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. That little phrase, and not we ourselves, is worth slowing down on. Giving thanks is partly an act of humility. It's admitting that we didn't make ourselves. Our life, our breath, the people around our table, the food on it. We didn't produce any of it out of nothing. It came from His hand.
And then, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Sheep don't grow their own grass. The shepherd leads them to it.
Verse four is the one most people know. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. The picture is of worshippers coming up to the house of the LORD, through the gates and into the courts. And what is the way in? Thanksgiving. Gratitude is how you come through the door.
That turns things around. We tend to think of thanks as something we say after God has done something. Here, thanks is how we come to Him in the first place. Before we bring our requests, we bring our thanks.
Then the psalm closes with the reasons. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Good. Merciful. Faithful. None of those depend on how the harvest went, or how this year has gone for you. Some of us come to this Thanksgiving with a full table. Some come with an empty chair. The psalm doesn't pretend otherwise. It simply says that God's goodness outlasts our good years and our hard ones.
Thanksgiving traditions differ from home to home. Some go around the table. Some read a psalm together before the meal. Some simply pause for a moment of quiet. Whatever it looks like where you are, the heart of it is the same: remembering where every good thing comes from.
So today, before the meal, try something simple. Go around the table, or sit quietly on your own, and name a few specific things. Not just thanks for everything. Specific things. A person. An answered prayer. A meal. A morning I wasn't sure I'd see.
That's how we enter His gates. With thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.
Cross-references
Prayer
Lord, You made us, and not we ourselves. We are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture. On this Thanksgiving Day, I come into Your gates with thanks for Your goodness, Your everlasting mercy, and Your truth that never fails. Be near to those who come to this day with sorrow, and teach all of us to be thankful every day. In Jesus' name, amen.
For today: Before you bring God your requests today, bring Him your thanks, and name the specific things.