A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Make a joyful shout to the LORD all the earth!

           Serve the LORD with gladness! 

Come before his presence in song!

Know that the LORD, he is God!
            It is he who made us, and not we ourselves
            we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
            and his courts with praise!
            Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good,
            his mercy everlasting,
            and he is steadfast to all generations.  (Psalm 100)

Among the shortest of the psalter, psalm 100 entitles itself as a song of thanksgiving.  The Hebrew word translated as thanksgiving is תּוֹדָה (todah).

God’s expectation of humanity, at very least, is an attitude of thankfulness and this is to be found everywhere in Scripture.  It is the very basis of prayer:

Paul writes:

 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  (Colossians 4:2)

And again, this time reinforcing the expectation:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Jesus expects a remembrance of thanksgiving, based on his own gratitude to his Father in heaven:

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘take, eat; this is my body.’  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins…’ (Matthew 26:26-28)

Indeed, this act and the ordination he instituted in his final Passover feast in the company of his disciples is known as eucharist, from the Greek εὐχαριστία eucharistia for ‘giving of thanks’.

In the Law of Moses, there was also thank offerings, known as todah, and is a foreshadowing of the eucharist.

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord.  If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil.   With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread.   And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings.  And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.  (Leviticus 7:11-15)

An attitude of thankfulness is the mark of the faithful:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness (or mildness, gentleness) be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:4-7)

And note how elements of praise, rejoicing and peace (that peace that only God can bestow that makes all mild and gentle) echoes The Psalm of Thanksgiving.  

So, for what does humanity owe an unpayable debt of gratitude?  Psalm 100 tells us:

• God is ‘Lord of all the earth’: to stand on the earth is to witness creation in all its glory (even blighted and groaning for renewal – Romans 8:19-22).
• ‘God made us’: to be alive is all.  Jesus says gives only one instant, regarding one person, for whom to never have been made was preferable and that is Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26:24)
• To know God is to be presume to among the elect, ‘we are the sheep of his pasture’.  This is the both a promise and an assurance of salvation.
• There is a place awaiting the elect beyond the grave, when they ‘enter his gates’.
• And to know God is to see his goodness, faithfulness, his covenant-love that is everlasting.

This psalm says nothing about the circumstances of mortal existence and Paul understands more than most harshness and suffering, a few verses on from his exhortation to rejoice and be grateful, he says:

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  (Philippians 4:10-12)

God requires all are thankful in whatever the circumstances.  This is not to make light of individual tribulations, nor even to recognise their temporary nature in comparison as the glory to come (2 Corinthians 4:17), rather this is an expression of fact, the necessary standing of creature toward Creator.  To live and breathe is reason enough; to be created with self-knowledge, free will and a consciousness is enough; to have the knowledge of the Creator is enough – and all see God through his creation (Romans 1:20).

To ‘come before His presence with song’ is that act of thanksgiving, and all can choose to do this as mortal and as immortal creatures; moreover, the destiny individual eternity rests on this.