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November 1928
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A Thanksgiving Meditation B y R oy A llison Tenghsien, Shantung, China
HE Psalms are divided into five books and each book ends with praise. The Psalms begin with the word “blessed” and end with the word “hal lelujah.” The last five psalms are called “halle lujah psalms” and the last of the five books of the Psalms, which begins with the one hundred and seventh psalm, is.;'called the “hallelujah psalter.” Although the Psalms are full of praise and thanksgiv ing, there are few psalms that are strictly known as thanksgiving psalms. One of these (107th) begins with the words : “O give thanks unto Jehovah : for he is good; For his lovingkindness endureth forever; The words “thanks” and “thanksgiving,” although two different words, mean the same, “to hold out the hands" that is, in adoration. In the New Testa ment we read that “God is love” and in the Old Testament we read that “God is good.” As with the word “love” so with the word “good,” all His attributes seem to be included in the one word.
isfieth the* longing soul and the hungry soul He filleth with good.” GMsTOvERWHELmNG REASONS FOR PRAISE The great lesson of experience is to understand the lovingkindness of the Lord. The redeemed of today have overwhelming reasons for declaring the goodness of the Lord.;’ Theirs is a peculiar redemption and for it, they ought to render peculiar praise. The Redeemer is so glo rious, the ransom price so immense, and the redemption so complete, that we can never in this world or in that to come, praise the Lord sufficiently for His goodness to the children of men. It has long been the custom in America for the President to set apart one day in the year as a day of thanksgiving for mercies both temporal and spiritual. This idea of a*“ Thanksgiving
Day” goes back to the Pilgrim Fathers^) When they arrived in America they endured much suffering due to' lack of food. Dur ing the famine of 1623, the best dish they could set before their friends was a bit of fish and a cup of water. It is recorded of Elder Brewster that over a meal Consist ing onlylpf clams, “he thanked God who had given them to suck the abundance of the -seas and of the treasures hid in the sands.”
In this;’psalm, it is not enough to know about the'goodness of God or to have experienced it ; they are to make it known : ‘‘Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so.” Four times the Psalmist calls on men to praise Jehovah for His goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Bût notice, it is the redeemed who are to praise him,—those who have been bought back. They were slaves, help less, and they were set. free. It is not an empty heart that ië 1 called upon to praise Jehovah, but a full lieart. In the Gospel of Mark, it is recorded several times after Jesus healed people, He strictly charged them not to make Him known. The record is that the more He charged them, the more unwilling they were to keep quiet. One of these was a deaf and dumb man. Think of it ! That man
Congress recommended days of thanks giving annually during the Revolutionary War, and in 1784 for the return of peace, as did President Madison in 1815. Wasbo ington appointed such a day in 1789 after the adoption of the Constitution. This was ’issued October 3, 1789, and is as follows: “Whereas, it is the duty of all nations ‘ to acknowledge the Providence of Al- ■ mighty God, to obey His will, to be grate ful for His benefits and humbly implore His protection and favor: and, whereas, both V> .....Houses of Congress have, by their joint commit tee, requested me ‘to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness’ ; “Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thurs day, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all. unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country, previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interposi tions of His great providence, in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to estab-
had'been trying for years to talk and couldn’t, and now when he was healed, Jesus forbade him to talk. He just couldn’t keep still. If he didn’t talk, he would burst. “Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so.” Four classes are mentioned in this psalm; travelers lost in a desert, prisoners, sick folks, and sailors. Each class is represented as helpless, and their deliverance as beyond human power. The first were hungry and thirsty and their souls fainted; the second fell down under their burdens and there was none to help ; the third drew near to the gates of death; the fourth reeled to and fro on their ship and all their wisdom was swallowed up. There is an old proverb : “Let him who knows not how to pray, go to sea.” Four times it is recorded: “Then they cried unto Jeho vah in their trouble and He delivered them out of their distresses.” And four times the wondrous deliverance of Jehovah is recorded, and four times it is written; “Oh, that men would praise Jehovah for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men. For he sat-
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