Let the Thanks Come Out! #9

We've seen how David was the one who instituted thanksgiving to God in public worship. But it was by no means impersonal. In I Chronicles 29, He had just completed a fund drive for the building of the temple, which he would never see, but yet was a cause for great thanksgiving in his heart. We begin in verse

 10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 

Notice here what thanksgiving says: First: everything belongs to God. David says it repeatedly. He gets all the glory, all the credit for what had been accomplished. It is by His power.  It is His Kingdom. (Notice here a familiar ring in the Lord's Prayer.) It is His riches. It is His strength.  Secondly, true thanksgiving is humbling: Who am I? Who are we?, David asks. we have no legal rights to be here; they are God-given rights. We come and go, but God stands forever. Notice that this humility is not belittling or depressing or hopeless; it is empowering, rejuvenating, and makes you want to shout out for joy. Finally, God chooses to share His abundance with us and make us a part of His plan.  We are like poor children who God gives our favorite food, or a needed jacket, or a prized toy, making us know someone cares about us, so we want to run up and give God a big hug. Let the thanks come out: tell God it's all His; Thank Him for sharing it with you; run up and give Him a big hug.