Not all of the material on Abraham Lincoln was presented during the sermon. I find his pilgrimage interesting and have included it for those who may not know this aspect of the famous President's life.
Psalm 100
We can only imagine how many turkeys have gone into our ovens and how many pumpkin pies have been doused with whipped cream in the past 150 years since Abraham Lincoln first proposed last Thursday of November, 1863, as a day for the nation to give thanks to God for his blessings and for the victory at Gettysburg. Andrew Johnson made the last Thursday of November an annual day of thanksgiving.
In 1939, on the advice of Fred Lazarus, Jr, Franklin Roosevelt moved it to the third Thursday to extend the Christmas shopping season. That created so much flak about a third of the states refused to celebrate “Franksgiving;” insisting on celebrating the traditional last thursday. Of course, the other two thirds of the states celebrated on the third Thursday. Texas couldn’t decide so the legislature declared both the third and fourth Thursdays to be holidays that year.
In December1941, the US Congress finally established the fourth Thursday as the date for Thanksgiving, even on those occasions when November had five Thursdays. For a few years, some states continued to insist on celebrating on the final Thursday but to day everyone seems to have agreed to celebrate on that fourth Thursday.
In all of the political wrangling and stubborn clinging to tradition, every one seemed to agree there should be a time for thanksgiving. Even though the nation faced the prospects of another war, they believed there should be time for thanksgiving.
[What must Lincoln have been thinking when he made that proclamation? Gettysburg had been a great victory, but the war was far from over. His wife Mary continued to show signs of mental instability. Most significant, Lincoln’s beloved son Willie had died scarcely a year before. Was it painful for him to even think of giving thanks?
It may be asking too much for us to try to guess that. Historians are divided on the issue of Lincoln’s spiritual commitment. A few believe he was converted while in the White House (a belief I share). There seems to be little doubt that he appreciated the Bible and had considerable spiritual insight.
He supposedly told a minister from Illinois:
When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.
While we can’t speak with absolute certainty about Lincoln’s personal faith, his Thanksgiving Proclamation seems to have assumed people would be giving thanks to God. Given today’s climate, a presidential proclamation regarding thanksgiving might be greeted with protest. there would be demands that Congress investigate to see if the president had ties to the cranberry industry or if the turkey lobby might have contributed heavily to a reelection campaign.
Before we move on, let me share one more bit of historic trivia. As Lincoln’s body lay in state in Springfield the military band played “Old One Hundred” the tune to which this psalm has been sung for hundreds of years. Lincoln had almost certainly read the psalm; perhaps its message reminded him of the importance of giving thanks to God for his blessings.]
This psalm has a long history in Christian worship. Listen to this paraphrase from the Scottish Psalter.
All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell!
Come ye before Him and rejoice.
Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep, He doth us take.
Oh, enter then His gates with praise
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
What does it say to us about thanksgiving?
It is Time for Thanksgiving Because of Who We Are
The psalm begins with an invitation to join in a time of thanksgiving to God. The recipients of that invitation depend on how you translate the first verse. The words might mean “all the land,” meaning all Israel, or they might mean “all the earth,” meaning “everyone on earth”. A Jewish psalmist, familiar with the traditions of Biblical religion, could have written either. The psalmist never sees God as being limited or territorial. He yearns for the Lord to be worshipped by all humankind.
Certainly the glory and blessings of God are not limited to any one place or to any one nation. Praise recognizing that glory and thanksgiving inspired by those blessings can be offered in any language, by any perceptive worshipper. As the psalm progresses, the psalmist begins to focus on the temple setting. This is a reminder that those who know God best should be especially eager to participate in a celebration of gratitude.
Listen to the psalm’s description of those he calls to give thanks.
He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
We are his people.
We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
These are words that point to the identity we have as God’s people. That gives us meaning and purpose. To be “the sheep belonging to his flock” doesn’t mean God looks at us like livestock. We don’t exist to provide him with wool or mutton. The idea is that God the shepherd had dcommitted himself to care for us and protect us. Centuries later, Jesus would remind his followers that they knew the same privileges and protections when he told them, “I am the Good Shepherd.”
How should we respond?
While we often interpret “joyful noise” as enthusiastic singing, it is more likely to have been a kind of “shout” of joyous praise (Hallelujah, perhaps?). It’s an interesting thought. Wherever Christianity has gone, it has introduced one Hebrew word into almost every culture: Hallelujah. In a sense, what this and other psalms anticipate has happened, men and women all around the world have found the Lord and the joy which comes from knowing him. And they can’t keep silent.
The psalmist calls us to “worship the Lord with gladness,” or as the Good New Bible says, “Worship the Lord with joy; come before him with happy songs!” The verb “serve” implies worship. A token of that gladness is seen in our coming before God with songs of praise. Singing is often mentioned as part of Biblical worship. But, who sang? Choirs seemingly made up of priests and Levites are mentioned, but was there any kind of congregational singing? It’s not clear in the OT but Paul clearly encourages churches to sing. Believers—musically gifted or not—may raise their voices in concerted praise—praise which God welcomes. It’s one of the unique blessings of Christianity.
It is Time for Thanksgiving Because God is Still the Same
The fourth verse pictures a procession of worshippers moving into the temple, all the while giving thanks to God. While the psalm sets the act of giving thanks within the setting of corporate worship, the same spirit of gratitude may be exhibited by the individual worshipper.
What is the reason for this thanksgiving and praise? It is grounded in the very nature and character of God. We are to thank him and praise his Name. We should be thankful for who he is and what he has done for us.
The psalmist presents a cluster of reasons to offer thanks to God.
-He made us. He is our creator; we are his, despite all the freedom we may enjoy. The idea is that we are not independent, we belong to him, we need him. Though God “owns” us, he has chosen not to treat us as mere property or chattel. This is seen in the second reason we ought to give thanks.
-We may have a special relationship to him. This psalm may have been specially addressed to the people of Israel but it applies to all who, by faith in Christ, have entered into a relationship with God. He behaves toward us as a caring shepherd would toward a flock. Though we are creatures, God has chose to have a relationship with us.
We need to remember that. Sometimes we tend to point to things to explain why we are thankful. We ought to be grateful for our “daily bread,” but we ought to be especially grateful that the Giver of that bread allows himself to be called “Our Father.”
--Above all, we should be thankful that God is God. That fact alone—when we fully perceive what it means—is grounds to worship, praise, and thank him.
The psalmist expands on this thought by focusing on some aspects of God’s character: The ground for our thanksgiving. The three clauses are packed with implications.
“The Lord is good.” The notion relates not simply to God’s character but to his intentions toward us. He will never act capriciously to harm us. Even if he should bring us through a trial, is goal is our good. (Jer. 29:11)
“His steadfast love endures forever.” His reliable love is reliable. The word translates checed (hesed) which suggest loving mercy, marked by endurance and kindness. It is roughly equivalent to the New Testament notion of grace. We live in a world where love may last only as long as we do the right thing, say the right words, think the right thought—but God loves us even when we blow it. A reason to be thankful, right?
“His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.” Because God is true he will be faithful to fulfill his promises. There is no reason to look back to the “good old days” because with God every day is a good day.
Conclusion
In one sense, Thanksgiving calls us to thank God for who he is: A God who love us and yearns to bless those who honor him.
Listen to Lincoln’s proclamation. It reflects a great theological maturity. Remember, Lincoln believed God was chastising both the South and the North for so long allowing the crime of slavery. Still, Americans had reason to give thanks.
They [the growth and blessings America enjoyed] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
Many Thanksgivings have come and gone since Lincoln’s proclamation. But God is still faithful, still good, still loving. It is still wise to pray for him to heal our nation. And proper to thank him for his blessings.
