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in us already. That's partly because God gives us so freely, so calmly, so continuously that we forget that what we have is a gift. It's partly because it's easier to focus on what we want than on what we've already received. We've got that. That's okay. And especially it comes when you think about things you have not received recently, have received a long time ago. You forget that God gave you that gift. It's easy enough for us to join in traditional Thanksgiving celebrations, but it's hard to establish a real sense of Thanksgiving, real spirit of Thanksgiving. The first North American Thanksgiving proclamation came in 1623, three years after the pilgrims settled at Plymouth. In that proclamation, the governor noted God's bounty, and he called the pilgrims to gather from nine o'clock in the morning until 12. And he, with the call, was to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye almighty God for all his blessings. And brothers and sisters, I think you'll recognize that's a little different than the image we have of that. We see pictures of tables laden with turkeys and pumpkin pies and so on. We do not see people spending three hours in hearing God's word and praying. The governor of that day called the people to gather from nine to 12 for preaching and prayer for three hours. Are you ready to spend three hours giving thanks to God? This is what they did. In the passage we read in Chronicles, David teaches you to give thanks. He teaches you by his words and by his example. He shows you the kinds of things which you should recall thankfully, some of them at least. He shows you how to express your thanks. He sets out before you an outlook of joy and thanksgiving before God. Matthew Henry comments that all our rejoicings must express themselves in thanksgivings to him from whom all our comforts are received. If you're familiar with the book of Psalms, you will have seen that several Psalms appear at least in part of in this thing. Psalm 95, 105, 106, 136 are all partially reflected in this Psalm. But again, we take them with Matthew Henry as here is a particular Psalm. It's not that we sort of say, well, what did it mean and look at this other Psalm that's as its own context. We look at this in its context. The theme, remember his marvelous works, runs all through this. And just a two point sermon today, cause for thanksgiving and the pattern of thanksgiving. Cause for thanksgiving first and the first cause expressed is God's wonders. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make his deeds known among the peoples. Verse eight, the deeds of God should lead you to thanksgiving. Remember his marvelous works in verse 12, because they are marvelous works. David was thinking particularly of God's mercy in letting them bring the Ark into Israel. The Ark was the symbol God had given them of his throne. In principle, it was the throne he set before them were from which he reigned and ruled. Their land and bringing the Ark into Jerusalem to the capital city meant bringing God himself into their midst. He came, he carried with it the sense of all God's blessings, everything he gives, he was there to give. First Samuel six records this event in more detail. And actually it's a two fold event, not just the one we have here. David had tried before to bring the Ark into Jerusalem, but they didn't do it the way God taught, they didn't handle the Ark the way God told them to do it. They didn't give God the honor to do him in his symbolic throne. And the offender who in good concern, no doubt acted, but he did what was forbidden. God struck him down and David was afraid to continue that time. He stopped and left the Ark on the outskirts of Jerusalem in the home of Obed-edom. And we read in first Samuel six, seven, eleven rather, the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. And so as David saw how God had blessed this man where the Ark was in his presence, he was encouraged to continue. But this time they didn't write, this time they did it the way God commanded them to handle the Ark, they carried on their shoulder instead of putting on a cart that might tip off. It was a time of glorious joy in God's presence with his people. But the Psalm doesn't stop there, he calls all of God's care for his people, not just that he's with them, but everything that goes with that. It teaches you to remember God's wonders. Think of the good things he's done for you, for his church. It would be good exercise to sit down and make a personal list. And let me tell you, if you want to complete the list, plan to spend a couple of years. You soon start making such a list, you'll get a better feel of how much God gives you. You should consider all these gifts and be filled with thanksgiving. Give thanks for God's judgments. Verse 12, remember his marvelous works, which he has done his wonders and the judgments of his mouth. That's one of the marvelous works. David doesn't say more here, but you don't have to think very hard to know what he meant. God gave Israel the law, the law of his kingdom and all who follow him. Our first citizenship is with God. I'm a citizen of Canada, secondarily, primarily a citizen of God's kingdom. Moses addressed Israel in Deuteronomy and asked them to consider this, what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law. It's incomparable, but still true today. Who else? You look through the world and who else has a law which guards the weak against the strong and protects the strong against favoritism toward the weak. Where else do you find a law which gives women and men equality? The feminists of our day have claimed that to themselves and corrupted what's always been God's teaching. They fail to see how men and women fit together, compliment one another. And the consequence of their divorcing this from God who gave it and failing to understand it is that today they're suffering as the trans movement takes away the things they've gained. Because they don't have the root. Where else is there a law which changes people's hearts to destroy the evils of slavery? Who else has a law which cares even for unborn children? Who else besides God combines perfect justice with perfect mercy? What great nation is that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in God's law? Give thanks for his judgments for the wonderful law he gave to guide our lives and our actions. Then remember God's covenant. Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham and his oath to Isaac, the covenant in which he gathers us into his people. David's immediate cause for celebration was the presence of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. The token of God's giving himself to people, making people his people. God said to Abraham and repeated again and again and whole in her part through the Bible, I will be God to you and to your descendants after you and you shall be my people. That's his covenant. I will be your God and you shall be my people. It is his promise to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to their descendants. It's now fulfilled for us in Christ. It's applied to you, God is here in his name to every one of you who loves him. He will be your God and you will be his people. God gives you an inheritance. He doesn't just give you things, we have an abundance of that, but he gives you himself. Imagine a billionaire who takes interest in a couple of homeless kids. For one, he provides a good place to live and the best of educations as far as he wants to go and a great job afterward. The other he adopts, which has the greatest gift. God has chosen not just to give us things, but to adopt us, to make us his children. He keeps us, he holds us, he loves us, he will not let us go. If you follow Jesus Christ, you can no more be lost than Israel could fail to inherit Canaan. The greatest gift God gives is himself as your God and your Father. It's a gift for which your praise and your thanksgiving should never end and will never end in fact. Give thanks for his saving grace. David recalls how God had protected his people when they were weak. They went from one nation to another and from one kingdom to another people. He permitted no man to do them wrong. Yes, he rebuked kings for their sakes saying, do not touch my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. Verse 20 and following. He brought them safely into the promised land though various kings and rulers and authorities tried to stop them. And you can remember that God guarded you when you did not follow him. It was not just something that happened back then, it's something he continues to do for his people. If you had died before you came to Christ, you would be lost forever in the horror of hell. But he saved you. He sent his gospel message to you, perhaps through parents who taught you, perhaps through friends who reached out to you, perhaps through some preacher or evangelist, certainly through his word, the Bible. He told you of his love and called you to follow him, invited you, urged you, taught you to follow him. And he still keeps you when you stray from him, as we all stray from him and he pulls us back and holds us in love. It draws you ever back to himself. It's God who saves you, beginning to end, it's God who saves you. There's nothing anybody else contributes that actually affects our salvation. He uses people in different ways, events to reach us, but it's God who does it and what price he paid. He had to endure the cross to save you and me. His humiliation was placed in place of your humiliation and my humiliation. His death in the place of our deaths and not just physical death, not just even the horrible torture, the pain of the crucifixion. He endured hell of that cross so that you could be spared hell. Can you ever thank him enough? You know you can't, we can't. And then there are as many gifts beyond that. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for his good, for his mercy endures forever. Beyond all these eternal blessings that God has given you, consider your daily blessings. What have you done to deserve being among the richest 10% of the human race? And even the poor among us are rich. You know, what have you done to enjoy comforts that Solomon, the richest king in the world, couldn't even dream of? For all his wealth, Solomon would find it harder to travel from Jerusalem to Egypt. It's a little further from here to Cape Breton, Sydney. Not much. He'd find it harder to make that trip than it is for you to travel to Australia. You think about that. The other side of the world, it's easier for you to get there than it is for Solomon to make what we consider a three or four hour drive or, you know. Solomon wanted to talk to somebody at a distance. You know what he had to do. Write it out, send a messenger, wait for the messenger to come back. He couldn't pick up a phone and say, hi, how are you? You know, he didn't have that. He couldn't email them. We're rich in ways that the ancient world couldn't even imagine. If you feast today or tomorrow, remember the multitudes that are starving today. Don't do that to dampen your joy, though it's proper to grieve for them and to pray for them. Do it to sharpen your awareness of how God has blessed you, that you're not in that position so that you can thank him as you should. Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. The words from the old traditional hymn, every good thing you have is a gift. Everything comes from God. It's good. It starts with the fact that you're alive. Your life is his gift. Your life is his gift. Everything you have, there are others around who lack it. Every grain of salt is part of his blessing to you. Whatever you lack, there are many who lack far more. How much you have for which to give thanks. Give thanks to God. So how do we do it? The pattern of thanksgiving then. Thank God formally and informally. Thank God in the church. We have a record here of prayer and praise before the Archon Jerusalem and they're an account of how God, how David and God's service set out to maintain that sort of continued day by day, year by year. It was the place where God's people gathered to worship from David's time on. They were formally led by the Levites who were appointed to commemorate, to thank and to praise Lord. Verse four, it was led as well by individuals such as David himself. Everybody took part. Then there was the altar in the Cabernacling Gibeon. It was the place where God's people had previously gathered to worship until this time. And there they offered sacrifice with thanksgiving and went through the appointed formal worship led by the priests and the Levites. The whole church of that day took part. Formal public worship. And then in your own home, David returned to bless his house. Verse 43. And everybody else went to their homes as well. In the same way you should work and your worship should continue when you get home. When you remember how much love God has poured out on you. How can you help but thank him? Always, everywhere. You should be worshipping our God in thanksgiving and praise. You should worship him in song and music as well as words. Certain Levites were specifically appointed to give thanks in song or with musical instruments. To express their thanks in the way that words alone could not. And song does that for us as well as it does for them. Give thanks. Worship. Formally. Worship. Informally. And worship God. Don't just go through a ritual using the right words. Humble yourself before him. Give him all honor and glory. Let your words of thanksgiving be the expression of a heart filled with devotion to God. Rejoice in his blessings. Better rejoice in his presence. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Verse 10. And David goes on to call you to seek his face. Have you done that? Sought his face. You've never done it before. Hear that call today and come to him. Part of your thanksgiving is that you give the Lord the glory due to his name. Bring an offering and come before him. O, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. What does that mean? Lois and I were driving somewhere a couple of days ago and we noticed a sign up about a about a meal being offered at a, I think it was a harvest festival celebration. You hear what's happening? This is not thanksgiving to God. This is a common festival we get together and have a nice meal. They've lost sight of the giver of the harvest and of all the other good gifts that he gives. They've rejected the idea of worship of the one living God. Brothers and sisters, friends, don't drift into that swamp, that slew of despair where you enjoy some food but don't find joy. When you recognize that all good things come from God, it leaves you only two honest choices. You receive his gifts gladly and accept and worship God. Or you reject God and in honesty reject his gifts too. Refuse the food, the clothing, the light, the warmth, the love, the friendship, the life he offers as you refuse to give her. The alternative to those choices is to brand yourself as a despoiler, one who will take whatever God puts in his hands or anybody else for that matter while thumbing your nose at him. Thankfulness means worshiping God, honoring him with your whole heart. Remember what he's done. The Levites were appointed in verse 4 to commemorate, to preserve the memory of what God had done. That was part of their leadership of the people in thanking God. Matthew Henry wrote, let God's former mercies to his people of old, to our ancestors and predecessors in profession be commemorated by us now with thankfulness to his praise. David didn't just thank God for present mercies. He recalled the blessings of old, he recalled his covenant mercy to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hundreds of years before. He recalled his leading the people out of Egypt. He recalled his gift of the promised land to his people. He recalled his protection in all generations and gave thanks for those gifts. And your thanks should also reflect those blessings, recall those blessings and others. You can see what David couldn't see yet. The gift of God's son and the fullness of time. David only had a dim sense that there was one coming who would be the Redeemer. You can see God's preservation of the church in all ages, not just in the biblical period, but down through the years ever since. You know, starting with a little band of low ranked people to the belief a system which more people accept in this world than any other system by far. You can look back to the establishment of our land in freedom. That has been one of the great hallmarks of our society. That starts with things like Magna Carta a thousand years ago where there's a faint beginning of limited government and freedom for all. And it goes on with those who gave their lives, many of them, most of them Christians standing up for the freedom to worship God as he taught, who gave their lives to establish our common freedoms. There's this protection in war after war after war down through the years. You think about those who taught you and nurtured you in Christ. There's a history of blessing which goes all the way back to his creation, his giving of life in the first place, how much there is for which to thank our God. And thanking him make known his deeds. O give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make his deeds known among the peoples. Red and yellow, black and white, they're precious in my sight, the children's hymn we song we sang long ago, or some of us did anyway. Perhaps I'm the only one old enough to remember that, I don't know. But the messages for not just for Israel, not just for the churches, for the peoples. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day, declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods, everywhere, by everyone. God's purpose is that all might know his name. His desire is that every person be invited to follow him. Do you love him? Do you appreciate his kindness to you? Then respond by doing what will please him, tell the world of his grace and his glory. True thanksgiving will motivate you to fulfill his purpose to reach out to all the world. So far as you are able, bring the gospel message to all. Your appreciation of God's gifts should lead you to extol him to all around. Just stop and think, if somebody gave you one million dollars today, nice, wouldn't they? He told you he'd do just as much for those you told if they'd come to get to know him. Would you hide the deed? Would you go around with a sober face letting people thinking you were struggling in a need? Surely not. Surely not. Wouldn't you shout for joy and tell your friends what a wonderful gift you'd received and invite them to come and meet your benefactor too and receive that gift? Brothers and sisters in Christ, think what riches God has given you, adopting you as his child, his heir. Start with eternal joy he gives you. Isn't that worth more than a million dollars? Make his deeds know and tell people what he's done for you. Call the world to serve you. Thanksgiving and worship was not just for the Jews. It's not just for those in God's church right now today. Give to the Lord, O ye families of the peoples. Give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due to his name. Bring an offering. Come before him. O worship the Lord and the beauty of holiness. Tramble before him all the earth. Christianity is the most inclusive belief that exists because we invite everybody. Rich and poor. Smart or dumb. Weak or strong. Sick or healthy. Whatever family you, human family you grew up in, you know, race, it doesn't matter. Everybody is invited to come to Christ. Your thankfulness should move you to call all others to thank and praise God with you. And when every creature joins in that praise, it still will not be enough of a response to his grace. We have eternity to it and we still will not have finished. You're called to Thanksgiving, not just in a traditional formal Thanksgiving season pattern. The local harvest is a very appropriate time still to focus in a particular way on thanking God, but we should always be thankful because we always enjoy God and his blessings. David teaches you how to give thanks. Worship God yourself. It starts there. Saying thank you. Begins with giving yourself into God's hands, the hands of Christ. You show your appreciation by accepting the benefits he won for you. You show your thanks by honoring him as your God and your Savior. Have you done that yet? If you have not, come to him now. There's no better time to put your trust in Christ if you never have before. And remember what he's done, not just for you directly. For those who've gone before you, the blessings you've inherited. Make no one his deeds. Tell people what he's done. Call the world to serve him. In teaching you how to give thanks, David reminds you of the bounty for which you should thank God. The harvest, food and prosperity are the least of his gifts in many ways. The whole, beautiful, marvelous creation is his gift to us. Everything in it from Mount Everest to a little microbe running around in the ocean somewhere. From the biggest star to, you name it, the atoms, they're his gift to us. God's wonders. The things he's done to enable us to gather as a church. Many places you can't gather freely as we do today here. His intervention, which is usually done quite quietly in our lives to shape us, to help us. God's judgments, the wonderful word of God, which he's given us to teach us right from wrong, to give us what we need to know to live well and then his just judgment in the last day for all. God's covenant, giving himself to be your God, God's saving grace, making you his people. How can you help but give thanks? Let's pray. Father, we thank you because you are so gracious to us. We can't even begin to measure your goodness. We can't count the number of good things you've done for us and sometimes we don't even realize they're good things until much later. But we bless your name, Father, and we'd ask you to help us to be filled with awe at your rich blessings to us, to your greatness as you give them to us. Be filled with thankfulness and to express that, in praising you and in telling the world your blessing, your riches, your grace, your glory. Keep us in Christ, we ask in his name, amen.