The main thing that Bible says to give thanks for is the goodness of the Lord and his enduring love. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever” is repeated so often it is practically the definition in the Old Testament of how to give thanks. When we read about Jesus taking the bread and cup at the last supper and giving thanks before he gave it to the disciples, I wonder if that was how he did it?
At the highpoint of the Old Testament, when the glory of God fell at the dedication of the temple with such intensity that the priests couldn’t enter, the priests and Levites took the instruments David had made for praising, and which were used when David gave thanks, saying “his love endures forever.” A generation later their worship was with David’s instruments and David’s instructions on how to worship - give thanks to God for his eternal love (2 Chr. 7:6).
At the end of his life the great king himself worshipped God:
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, or everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.1 Chr. 29:10-13
He rehearsed who God is, his nature and character, his attributes, kingdom and the gifts he gives. And, therefore, gave thanks and praised him for his glory.
Of course this is repeated throughout the Psalms, most obviously in Ps. 136, which is a Bible overview of God’s redeeming acts with thankfulness woven through every single couplet. But perhaps the highest point of all is Ps. 100:
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Thanksgiving, praise, thanks, praise, he is good, his love is eternal and his faithfulness never ends. The heart of thankfulness, the core of glorifying with thanksgiving, is: “give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.”
However, God’s goodness and love are not the only things that attract thankfulness:
His righteousness Ps 7:17
That he lets people in through his righteousness and himself becomes salvation Ps 118:18-21
His righteous laws Ps 119:62
His wonderful deeds for mankind Ps 107
The revelation of his glory - eg at the completion of the temple 2 Chr 7:3
And then starting to head towards the New Covenant passages like Jer. 11 or 33 thanking for future fulfilment of his promises
People gave thanks in all circumstances - including trouble. When King Darius was led to forbid prayer, we read of Daniel:
Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God just as he had done before (Dan. 6:10)
In the Bible, believers pray with thankfulness regardless of circumstances. Whether we face possible calamity like Jehoshaphat or Daniel or victory like Nehemiah, the thankfulness is just the same, because God is just the same. Our thankfulness is not dependent on our victory but on his. We do not give thanks because I was rescued or I was successful” but because “he is good, his love endures forever”.
Satan would love to use the pain of calamity, especially at the present time, to stop us feeling like giving thanks. He destroys our security through pain, thereby stopping us giving thanks in all circumstances and thereby stopping glory going to God, which is his chief aim.
Next blog: thanksgiving in the New Testament