Words of Thanksgiving

Our text this morning is 1 Chronicles 16:34.

When King David celebrated the return of the Ark, he commissioned Asaph to sing a song for the occasion, featuring this line – give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his faithful love endures forever.

That line became a centerpiece of Jewish worship. It is repeated 41 times throughout the Old Testament.

When God spoke through Jeremiah hundreds of years later, his message of hope to the exiles included the image of a day when the streets of Jerusalem would once again be filled with festivity and the sounds of this song – give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his faithful love endures forever. (Jeremiah 33:11)

Let’s look at a few words in this line.

Yadah

The first is the word translated ‘give thanks’ in our bibles.

Yadah means to literally hold out or extend the hand. It is translated as ‘give thanks or praise’.

For the Jewish people, worship involved the whole self, including the body.

“God repeatedly connects the thoughts of our hearts with the movement of our bodies.” -Bob Kaughlin

“The inward attitude certainly holds first place in prayer, but outward signs, kneeling, uncovering the head, lifting up the hands, have a twofold use. The first is that we may employ all our members for the glory and worship of God; secondly, that we are, so to speak, jolted out of our laziness by this help. [there is a] third use in solemn and public prayer, because in this way the sons of God profess their piety, and they inflame each other with reverence of God.” -John Calvin

When we imagine David and the citizens of Jerusalem celebrating the triumphant return of the ark, singing a song of praise – we should imagine a great crowd with their arms reaching out to God.

Tob

The next word is tob. It means pleasant, agreeable, good.

There are times when some experience – the tasted of an excellent piece of pie or the sight of a spectacular feat of athleticism – cause us to exclaim ‘wow that’s good!”

God is the ultimate good. He is the source of all good. His character is good. His creation is good. His plans are good.

“The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.” -A.W. Tozer

When our eyes are opened to behold something of the spectacular goodness of God, our hands are prone to fly into the air and our mouths to proclaim, “oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his faithful love endures forever!”

Hesed

The next word is translated ‘faithful love’ in our Bibles.

It is Hesed, which means goodness, loving kindness, or faithfulness.

It is one of the greatest words that has graced the human tongue.

When two people love each other more than anyone else on earth they are moved to seal that love with a promise. That love is so powerful that it will cause two people to commit themselves in exclusive relationship to one another, no matter the cost or difficulties involved.

Where does that come from?

It comes from the hesed of God.

“Hesed is love that is willing to commit itself to another by making its promise a matter of solemn record. . . it is not merely love, but loyal love; not merely kindness, but dependable kindness; not merely affection, but affection that has committed itself. . . The order is: love gives itself in covenant and gladly promises devoted love in that covenant; the covenant partner then rests in the security of that promise and may appeal to it . . . In confusion and trouble, you take yourself to the one person who has made a covenant with you. . . hesed ultimately flows not from a formal covenant promise but from the very nature of the covenant God, Yahweh, who is “rich in hesed.” -Ralph Davis

Hesed is “one way love without an exit strategy.” – Paul Miller.

When our eyes are opened to the realities of God’s hesed love for us, our hands are prone to reach out towards the heavens and our mouths sing out, “oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever.”

Olam.

The final word is olam. It means forever, continuous existence.

God’s hesed endures forever.

• It is eternal.
• It stands the test of time.
• It knows no end.
• It cannot be paused.
• It cannot be changed.
• It cannot be overcome.
• Nothing can break it.
• Nothing can interrupt it.
• It will not change its mind.
• It knows no regret.
• There will never be a time it does not fill the earth.
• The heavens and earth may be consumed with fire, but the hesed of God will always remain.

Once the faithful love of God has taken hold of you, nothing can break it’s grip.

Friends, when the light of hesed breaks into your heart, you cannot hold your hands down or keep your mouth from shouting, “give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his faithful love endures forever.”

The key to knowing the goodness and kindness of God is to understand that we are sinners.

We cannot make sense of this life or of God’s character without understanding this fact.

We are sinners who live in a world that we have broken with our sin.

The apostle Paul’s great indictment of humanity lies in this fact – we did not glorify God or give thanks to him. (Romans 1:19)

We are ungrateful rebels who have broken God’s good creation.

How does he respond?

He causes the sun to rise and the rains to fall on us. (Matthew 5:44-45)

Praise God. But he doesn’t just love us sinners from a distance.

The king of kings left his palace to enter the slums and befriend sinners in their homes. (Luke 15:2)

Praise God. He loves sinners from afar, he condescends to befriend sinners. Can there be anything greater?

“Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:7-8)

This is the source of Christian Thanksgiving.

God is good to sinners. He commits himself in eternal, faithful love to sinners.

No matter how much food is on the table. No matter how much is left in our accounts once the holidays are over. No matter how difficult family relationships may be. No matter who is missing at the table. No matter what is happening in the outside world – we Christians can stand and throw up our hands and sing out, “oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever!”