Martin Luther believed that giving thanks is the greatest service that we can give to God. This he says in his comments on Psalm 118 verse 1: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Likely, you recognize this verse from our liturgy, from Divine Service III. After we have received the gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and after we have sung the Nunc Dimittis (song of Simeon saying now, Lord, let us depart in peace, for we have seen your salvation, prepared for us in the sight of all people), we speak these words: “Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever”. Elsewhere, as an offertory, we sing, “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116). What else can we give except our thanks to God for providing all that we need for the good of body and soul? Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Cor 9:15)
In the month of November, our nation sets aside a day of thanks, as did the Pilgrims of the Mayflower, who attributed their survival and first good harvest to the benevolent hand of God. Having arrived late in the fall and just before the onset of a harsh winter, the Pilgrims were ill prepared for what was to come. Half of their number died before spring. However, with the help of the Wampanoag Indians, they had a good harvest in the fall. Our Thanksgiving feast is patterned after their own, as they set aside three days to give thanks for God’s gracious provision.
Psalm 23 begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” What this verse is describing to us is an existence under the Lordship of Jesus in which all of our needs are met. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall lack nothing.”
In the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed from Luther’s Small Catechism, he writes, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.” God certainly provides for all our needs of the body, and for this we are thankful.
Not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day we have also to thank God for supplying the needs of our soul. Lost and condemned in our trespasses and sins, God sent His only Son to live a sinless life, to die on the cross bearing all of our iniquity, and to rise victorious over death, hell and the grave on the third day. Christ atoned for every one of our sins, no matter how great, and removed them from us, giving us in return His own robe of righteousness.
Now, it’s easy, maybe, to be thankful when the harvest is plentiful, when the family is doing well, when our health is good, and when the future is bright. But what about when things go south, when our health takes a turn for the worse? How easy is it to be thankful when prices are up and the 401k we’re drawing on is losing value, or when world events make us wonder if there might be a wider war brewing? How can we be thankful when the evil around us and the difficulties of life are threatening to overwhelm us?
Five hundred years ago Martin Luther said famously, “Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” He was referring to his commitment to stand on Scripture alone as his guiding truth. When life gets difficult, let us remember that we stand on Scripture, too. When we do so, we stand on God’s promises and we stand on God’s revelation to us of His abiding, steadfast love.
Jesus gave up His glory to take on human flesh and walk among us. He had no place to lay His head, no steady income to rely on, not even a supportive family. He stood alone on God’s promise to care for Him. John writes in the opening of his Gospel, “He came to his own, and his own received him not.” Jesus faced hatred and great antagonism from the Jewish leadership who opposed him. He waged spiritual battle against Satan himself, as Satan tempted Him and tried to thwart God’s plan for our salvation through His Son. In spite of all of this, with nothing but crucifixion ahead of Him, Jesus stood on the Word of God, on God’s promise to be with Him and to supply His needs. And on the very night that He was betrayed and arrested, the night before He was to be crucified, we find Jesus giving thanks over bread and wine as He shares a last meal with His disciples. Standing on God’s Word is the safest and best place to stand.
God’s Word says that He is your loving Shepherd who will supply all of your needs. You can trust Him. God’s Word says that He will never leave you or forsake you. You can trust Him in that as well. Feast or famine, the God who knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), who knew each of your days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16), this same God holds you in the palm of His hand (John 10:28-29). And He will never let you go!
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
Psalm 138:1-2
Be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thanksgiving in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:16
- Pastor Vanderhyde
"The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe. Public Domain.