Give Thanks to the Lord!

Reflection on I Chronicles 16:8-36

This week, as we mark Thanksgiving in the United States, we rightly give thanks for family, friends, and the blessings around our tables. Yet Scripture reminds us that the heart of thanksgiving is more than pumpkin pie, family gatherings, and sentiment—it is worship. In I Chronicles 16:8–36, King David leads Israel in a song of thanksgiving that beautifully models gratitude as an outward expression of an inward heart of praise to God.

David does not leave thanksgiving to quiet reflection alone; he calls God’s people to act. He invites them to give thanks to the Lord and call upon His name, to make known His deeds, to sing and rejoice, to seek the Lord and His strength, to seek His presence continually. He urges them to remember God’s wondrous works and His covenant forever, to tell of His salvation day after day, to declare His glory among the nations, to ascribe to Him glory and strength, to tremble before His holiness, and to proclaim with confidence: “The Lord reigns!”

The New Testament echoes this same calling:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful… And whatever you do, in word or deed… giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15–17, ESV).

From David’s song to Paul’s exhortation, thanksgiving is not merely felt—it is outwardly and upwardly proclaimed, lived, remembered, and declared—rooted in worship and expressed in community. The song of David thunders to its crescendo:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever! (v. 34, ESV)

David then closes with a corporate prayer—a plea established on the praises of God’s people:

Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. (v. 35-36, ESV)

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For those who have been saved in Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit, praise is the natural response of being born again. Thanksgiving is not merely seasonal—it is the inheritance of the redeemed and a sign of maturity in Christ. How could we ever withhold gratitude from the One who has flooded His people with undeserved mercy, steadfast love, and covenant faithfulness?

So this Thanksgiving, I encourage you to set aside time to sing of God’s goodness, tell of His works, declare His praise in your home, remember His salvation, and give thanks for His steadfast love. In all of it, let this call from David inspire you:

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! (v. 11, ESV).

There is no greater comfort for the people of God than knowing that the Lord is with us. His presence is not a casual blessing—it is our greatest need. Moses understood this when he pleaded, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15, ESV). The Lord has assured us of His presence, yet we are invited to acknowledge daily that our dependence and trust rest solely on Him.

Prayer: Lord God, we ask that our thanksgiving would not remain silent in our hearts, but that praise would overflow from our lips. Lift our voices to honor You with adoration for all You have done—for You have saved us, delivered us, and sustained us. Teach us to seek Your strength and to long for Your abiding presence. Grant it to us, to our families, to Your Church, and to our nation, that we may walk in dependence on You alone. And may the world be drawn to Christ through the witness of a joyful and thankful people, redeemed as Your children through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.