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Count Your Blessings Psalms and
Hymns of Thanksgiving Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.—Psalm 149:1 Oscar Elbert Singing joyful thanks to God is a blessed part of our spiritual endowment. Music has a power, together with words of sincere thanks, that lifts us closer to God and his precious fellowship. Our heavenly Father wants us to give thanks to him for all the many blessings that we enjoy each day. Does God need our thanks? No! When he encourages us to give him thanks, he is actually giving us yet another blessing. God does not need our thanks, but he knows that giving thanks is good 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” (Psalm 92:1,2). As the beloved hymn wisely admonishes, “Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your blessings, See what God hath done.” If we take time to consciously thank the Lord for every blessing we have received from him, we will be surprised to find the list is virtually endless.
Martin Luther observed in his book Table Talk,
“The greater God’s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.” A hungry man
will appreciate his plain meal far more than a rich and full man his heavy-laden
table. We are rich in spiritual things and, many of us, are likewise rich in
earthly goods compared to the majority of earth’s population. We take a wise
course when we conscientiously name our blessings one by one, counting our many
blessings and seeing what God has done. Singing hymns is an excellent way to
express our blessings to God. In biblical days, psalms of thanksgiving were sung
to the accompaniment of music. The Miracle of Music To allow us to appreciate music and enjoy expressing thanks to God in hymns, he ordained laws of the physical realm, each a miracle in itself. The mind’s ability to feel elation in singing, the ear’s ability to receive sound and transmit it to the brain, the principles governing sound waves as they travel through the air, the instant and innate ability we possess to control the pitch of our voice and form words with our mouths are only a few of God’s miracles that enable us to sing thanksgiving to his holy name. Many of the Lord’s people may experience doubt in times of despair and find strength in their feebleness by singing a hymn of thanksgiving to their heavenly Father.
The psalmist put the heart-felt sentiments of the
saints to words: “Sing unto the LORD,
O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. … Hear,
O LORD,
and have mercy upon me: LORD,
be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast
put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may
sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for
ever.” (Psalm 30:4,10-12). Psalms and Hymns of Thanksgiving, In Other Words We need not limit ourselves to the use of the word “thanksgiving” as we seek to give God thanks. There are many expressions of thanksgiving in psalms and hymns that do not use the word specifically. Note, for example, the bountiful thanks given God in this hymn: I know no life divided, O Lord of Life, from thee; In thee is life provided for all mankind and me; I fear not death, O Jesus; my life is hid with thee; Thy power soon shall free us from death eternally. I fear no tribulation, since, whatsoe’er it be, It makes no separation between my Lord and me. Since thou, my Lord and Teacher, hast claimed me for thine own, E’en now with thee I’m richer than monarch on his throne. Thus, while o’er earth I wander, my heart is light and blest, My treasure is up yonder, my heart is there at rest. O blessed thought! I’m trying to live to please the Lord, In faith and hope rejoicing, through his most precious Word. –I Know No Life Divided
The sentiments of this hymn express deep thankfulness
to God. It recognizes that we have no life apart from the Lord, acknowledges our
complete trust in him and rejoices in the life of faith and hope that we have.
Thus it expresses, without specifically using the word “thank” our thanksgiving
to the Lord for his watch care.
Using Psalms and Hymns to Congregational singing has an edifying influence on the body of believers. This is because the words are actually prayers set to music. We are united in prayer when singing hymns to God. Paul confirms this idea, and the profound benefit of raising our voices together: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:15-17).
Far from being merely a perfunctory requisite for
starting or closing a worship service, hymns of praise and thanksgiving are a
vital part of it. However, we cannot get a full blessing from singing hymns
unless we give thought to the words we are singing. In the early years of the
Gospel age church, difficulty arose when those who could pray or sing in another
tongue did so without translation. The music was there, the act of singing was
there, but the blessing was not there. To get the blessing one must understand
the words. Note how this is verified by the sentiments of the apostle and the
psalmist: “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with
the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the
understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15). “For God is the King of all the
earth: sing ye praises with understanding” (Psalm 47:7). This admonition is
especially helpful when we use hymns to calm our troubled soul. Using Hymns to Soothe Trials The Christian life is not without adversity. Trials of faith are essential to the development of Christian character. We may find the experience to be unpleasant initially: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). The ability to offer thanksgiving to God in adversity is the key to success in overcoming such adversity. Psalms and hymns of thanksgiving help us to overcome. During severe trial and grief perhaps the melody of one of our favorite hymns begins to run through our mind. As the healing balm of that melody begins to rise in our hearts, the words entwine with it. Soon we find comfort as the words permeate our mind and heart, and we realize God’s love and care for us. Paul and Silas were remarkable examples of how the power of singing psalms and hymns can help overcome adversity. We read of their stripes and imprisonment in Philippi in Acts 16. Imprisoned in the dark, dank inner jail, their backs lacerated from severe lashing, and their feet bound in stocks, they showed a victorious trust in God. They opened their mouths together and sang hymns of faith, praise, and thanks to the Lord. It was a powerful witness to the other prisoners. It was a powerful witness to the jailor. It remains a powerful witness to us today. Paul and Silas had no scrolls or books in prison. Yet they were able to recall the psalms and hymns from memory. Many European brethren were stripped of their Bibles during the darkest days of Communism. Hymns committed to memory formed a basis for their worship. Still today, many of them sing hymns from memory.
While there are many to choose from, some are
excellent in their expressions of thanks to God. Among the very best are these:
“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.” (Psalm 147:1-7). |