Proclaim Thanksgiving Throughout the Land
By Dr. Shelton Smith

So basic it is to the text of Scripture and so essential an element in the context of Christian behavior that it seems trite to the unthoughtful, the proud and the unbeliever; but to those who walk with the Lord, who understand the privilege of salvation and who recognize the bounty of blessing we receive daily, the expressions of thanks to God are both significant and necessary.

Scripture Mandates Our Thanks

Refresh your memory of these scriptural teachings for us.

“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
“To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
“Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.”—Ps. 92:1–3.
“O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”—Ps. 95:1,2.
“O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
“Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
“Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
“For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.”—Ps. 96:1–4.
“Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”—Ps. 100:3,4.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”—I Thess. 5:18.

Christians Should Lead the Way

If we allow ourselves to swell up with pride and lose sight of the greatness and goodness of God, then we simply are not thinking straight.

(1) As Christians we are forgiven! Sin has been deleted from our account. We ought to be thankful!
(2) As Christians we are saved! We have been given a wonderful salvation for which we paid nothing. We ought to be thankful!
(3) As Christians we are secure! We are admitted to the family of God and sealed therein by the Holy Spirit of God Himself. We ought to be thankful!
(4) As Christians we can pray! To have instant and unceasing access to the throne of God is amazing. We ought to be thankful!
(5) As Christians we are blessed! With a Heavenly Father who loves us and who is so incredibly generous, we receive so much. We ought to be thankful!
(6) As Christians we are privileged to serve! When we consider how special it is to be an ambassador on this earth for the God who created the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it is incredible. We ought to be thankful!
(7) As Christians we have a home in Heaven! Yes, all this and Heaven too—amen! We ought to be thankful!

Indeed, Christians ought to set the pace in making thanksgiving a routine part of our lives and a special event at the national season of Thanksgiving.

Whatever others may do, we may lift our voices toward Heaven to give our heartfelt gratitude to the Lord.

Thanksgiving Should Abound Throughout the Land

Thanksgiving proclamations by presidents of the United States have been issued continuously since President Lincoln but were infrequent from Washington to Lincoln. Most are dry and mechanical, larded with “whereases” and “now therefores.”

But, in a striking manner, many reveal the tenor of the day from which they sprang—in a brief allusion to a current event, to general national well-being or to contemporary tragedy. They are, in a way, a barometer of America’s life since independence 231 years ago.

George Washington, the first of our presidents, on his very first year in office, made the first of the presidential proclamations of thanksgiving. In 1789 he asked the nation to render “sincere and humble thanks” to Almighty God “for the signal and manifold mercies…which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the great war,” the War of Independence.

In America’s great civil conflict, Abraham Lincoln (president number sixteen) addressed the nation on July 15, 1863. Somberly, yet hopefully, he wrote: “It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people and to vouchsafe to the Army and Navy of the United States victories…so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence that the Union of these States will be maintained….But these victories have been accorded not without sacrifices of life, limb, health, and liberty.…It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of His hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows.”

During the era of reconstruction following the Civil War, millions of immigrants flooded America’s shores. In 1876, Ulysses S. Grant (president number eighteen) took note “to express our hearty thanks to Almighty God” that the U.S. “has been enabled to fulfill the purpose of its founders in offering an asylum to the people of every race.”

During a time of virtual tranquility, in 1905, Theodore Roosevelt (president number twenty-six) looked inward to see that “the foes from whom we should pray to be delivered are our own passions, appetites, and follies; and against these there is always need that we should war.”

In three proclamations (1914– 1916), Woodrow Wilson (president number twenty-eight) touched on the “disquiet abroad.” With U.S. entry into World War I in 1917, his Thanksgiving proclamation became rousingly militant: “We have been given the opportunity to serve mankind as we once served ourselves in the great day of our Declaration of Independence.…In this day of the revelation of our duty not only to defend our own rights as a nation but to defend also the rights of free men throughout the world, there has been vouchsafed us in full and inspiring measure the resolution and spirit of united action.”

The blossoming optimism of (president number twenty-nine) Warren Harding in 1922—“We have seen the race of mankind make gratifying progress on the way to permanent peace”—had completely wilted by the time of later proclamations of Franklin D. Roosevelt (president number thirty-two), who in 1942 urged Americans to ponder Psalm 23 and in 1944 asked nationwide Scripture reading between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 1940, FDR included a prayer in his proclamation: “In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail.”

When World War II ended in 1945, Harry Truman (president number thirty-three) gave thanks for war’s cessation: “We give thanks with the humility of free men, each knowing it was the might of no one arm but of all together by which we were saved.… Let us give thanks to Almighty Providence for these blessings.”

President Eisenhower (president number thirty-four) recurrently reached back to the Pilgrim Fathers as a source for inspiration and emulation. He said, “In the enjoyment of the good life, let us not forget the birthright by which we reap the fruits of life and labor in this fair land.”

When our leaders, such as these presidents, proclaim Thanksgiving for the nation, we are glad for it. Not all of them were good men. No doubt a lot of them were not saved men, but if they call the nation to pause on a day to lift its eyes heavenward to acknowledge God and to express appreciation for His blessings, we commend them for it.

Our churches should be citadels of both example and encouragement that would also make the case.

Our families can make Thanksgiving Day into something that will testify to our faith and our devotion.

Every Christian should live a life daily that gives voice to the concepts of thanksgiving. Let the Scriptures quoted above lead us in this.

Bow your head at meals and expess thanks.

Pray at the day’s start and at its finish. Give thanks!

Let the verbiage of your conversation be such as always to give glory to God!

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, 2007, here in America, may the Lord be praised for all His goodness all the year.

To all of our friends everywhere, do have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.