GIVE THANKS
As we celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation, I hope that our focus on gratitude to God extends well beyond this special day. To help guide us in our expressions of thankfulness to the Lord this weekend, here are several passages from King David. Please use these to be reminded of all we have to be thankful for and to give voice to your feelings of thanks. And if you want further support, I’d encourage you to study the entire chapter or psalm.
— Josh Hall
1 Chronicles 16:8–13
Give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him; sing praise to him;
tell about all his wondrous works!
Honor his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.
Remember the wondrous works he has done,
his wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced,
you offspring of Israel his servant,
Jacob’s descendants—his chosen ones.
1 Chronicles 29:10–13
May you be blessed, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor come from you, and you are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.
Psalm 28:6–7
Blessed be the Lord,
for he has heard the sound of my pleading.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
Therefore my heart celebrates,
and I give thanks to him with my song.
Psalm 100:1–5
Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to God!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we are his—
his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever;
his faithfulness, through all generations.
Psalm 118:19–24
Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the Lord’s gate;
the righteous will enter through it.
I will give thanks to you
because you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord;
it is wondrous in our sight.
This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 138:1–3
I will give you thanks with all my heart;
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.
On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.