A Thanksgiving Anthem
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his love endures forever."
Psalm 107:1 (NIV)
In my preparation for Thanksgiving, I've been reading the Book of Psalms for the last two weeks. Psalm 107 has been named "The Pilgrim's Psalm.”
James Montgomery Boice in his Psalms Commentary writes that Psalm 107, more than any other portion of the Bible, best describes the many dangers, toils, and snares that the Pilgrims experienced prior to, during, and after their courageous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to found America's Pilgrim colony. The Pilgrims had been driven from their homes in England as a result of religious persecution. Many were imprisoned and others were forced to flee houses and livelihoods. The Pilgrims were hounded from place to place, eventually escaping England for Holland, before finally setting sail for the Americas. The 65-day turbulent crossing of the North Atlantic saw four members of their group die prior to landing on America's shores. The Pilgrims are credited with founding the first permanent English settlement in America. Half of those settlers died in that first cruel winter that Governor William Bradford described as "the starving time."
In summarizing the Pilgrim's achievement, William Bradford referenced Psalm 107 with these words:
"May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they 'cried unto the Lord, and he heard their voice and looked on their adversity,'.. “Let them therefore praise the Lord, because he is good: and his mercies endure forever." Yes, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, see how he hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness and his wonderful works before the sons of men." (William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation)
Psalm 107 is a picture of perils that include:
being hungry and homeless (v 4-5);
imprisoned (v 10-14);
sick unto death (v 20);
storm tossed (v 25);
at their wits end (v 27);
and humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow (v39).
Out of his desperation, the Psalmist cries out in dependence to God and is delivered from distress and death. The result is a five-fold command to "Give thanks to the Lord" for his goodness and enduring love. Giving thanks is the sacred echo of Psalm 107 and its theme is “thanksgiving and the motives for it." (Charles Spurgeon)
It's been almost 400 years since the Pilgrims landed on America's shores. For most of us living in today's America, our perils are very different than the original Pilgrims. We may not be hungry and homeless, but most of us have been, or will be, storm tossed, at our wits end, or oppressed with calamity and sorrow. Like the Psalmist our desperation should lead us to dependence on the God who delivers. Our deliverance should then lead to thanksgiving and "songs of joy." (v 22) Deliverance deserves and demands praise.
Ultimately our thanksgiving should lead to thanks-living. (Ann Voskamp) For what deliverances are you most thankful? What blessings has God bestowed? What sorrows has He carried and how have you seen God’s faithfulness and provision this year?
As I’ve read through the Psalms this week and compiled my own Thanksgiving blessings list, Laura Black’s words keep returning to my mind and heart; “God is always good, and we are always loved.” And those truths are realities for which we can all be thankful.