| The Christian Life | November 1944 |
Heart Gratitude
The Voice of Thanksgiving
“I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord: That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.”—Psalm 26:6,7
IN THE UNITED STATES, Thursday, November, 23rd will be observed as Thanksgiving Day—a day on which the people are supposed to remember and give thanks to God for the blessings they have enjoyed at His hands during the year past. Certainly it is appropriate that all God’s creatures recognize His goodness, and endeavor in whatever way they can to show their appreciation. It is better to be thankful one day out of the year than not to be thankful at all.
Christians, consecrated to follow in the footsteps of Jesus should, above all others, give thanks to God. Every day with them should be a thanksgiving day. They should be glad, too, to have their privilege of giving thanks brought especially to their attention by this national observance of Thanksgiving Day. Together with all the people, Christians appropriately give thanks to God for the material blessings of food, raiment, homes in which to live, etc. However, for those who are walking in the way of sacrifice with Jesus, there are blessings of far greater importance than those which have to do with our temporal needs.
All should be thankful for temporal blessings, for they are the necessities of temporal life. How much more thankful we should be for those divine favors which are the necessities of eternal life! If we were to single out any one of these spiritual blessings as being more important than another, it would probably be the knowledge of God. “This is life eternal,” Jesus said, “that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) A knowledge of God is possible only by knowing His plan—or, as our text states, His “wondrous works”—and our part in that plan. To know our part in the plan of God—our share in His works—means having a knowledge of the manner in which He is dealing with us, and a faith understanding of His providences in our lives, whether they be bitter or sweet.
Knowledge of Creation
To know and believe what the Scriptures say concerning the creative works of God is essential to knowing God Himself. In those creative works as outlined in Genesis we see displayed God’s mighty power, His infinite wisdom, and His boundless love. In the events which followed creation we see God’s justice displayed. How truly thankful we are for this knowledge! How glad indeed we should be that the Lord has given us eyes to discern and hearts to believe what His Word declares to be the truth concerning creation! How wonderful is this knowledge as compared with the unbelief of the evolutionists, whose god is chance!
In the creation of man and God’s provision for him we see the purpose of the Creator concerning the human race. Man was made a little lower than the angels, the Scriptures declare. (Psalm 8:4-8) He was not half human and half angel. He was not put here to live temporarily, to suffer and to die, with the possibility of enjoying a better existence in some other part of the universe later—or a far worse experience of suffering eternally in a fiery hell. A knowledge of the truth concerning man’s creation and the divine purpose for him may seem commonplace but it is well to remember with thankfulness what it means to us in connection with the complete plan of God through which the Creator’s character is revealed to us. It is a fundamental truth which we should ever remember with appreciation.
Man’s Fall
Beautifully simple and understandable is the truth concerning the fall of man. Having been created perfect, and in the image of God, the Creator properly demanded absolute obedience. Man disobeyed, and the penalty of death was pronounced upon him. Here God’s justice is revealed. Everything that Adam possessed, including life; was his because of God’s goodness. The least he could have done was to manifest his appreciation by obeying the Creator’s law. But he failed to do even this, hence the withdrawal of his blessings by God was just and right. “Unto dust shalt thou return,” demonstrates God’s justice, and how thankful we should be to have learned that the penalty was not “Unto eternal torture shalt thou go.”
It is a blessed thing to know the truth for the truth’s sake, but when we recognize that its every item contributes to our acquaintance with God, then our knowledge becomes far more important. God’s justice condemned the race to death, but God’s love provided a way of escape from that penalty. Because the Creator’s love became operative He began to make promises of future deliverance. The “seed” of the woman was to bruise the “serpent’s head.” The “seed” of Abraham was to bless all the families of the earth. A “King,” a “Messiah,” a “Prince of Peace,” an “Everlasting Father,” a “Redeemer,” was to be sent; and, as the apostle explains in Acts 3:19-21, there were to be “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
The Unspeakable Gift
How wonderfully this divine provision of restitution highlights the Scriptural portrait of God! How meaningful is this knowledge in the light of God’s gift of His beloved Son in order that His plan for restitution might be accomplished in harmony with His will! Are we truly thankful for an understanding of that old familiar text, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? One of the greatest tragedies that could befall us as Christians would be to lose our appreciation of this “unspeakable gift” of God’s love.—II Cor. 9:15
Because the Logos was made flesh for the suffering of death, and because He was faithful in laying down His life to redeem the sin-cursed and dying world, God’s great project of restitution is to be accomplished. And what a glorious prospect for the world! Has the knowledge of the truth given us such a vivid picture of God’s interest in the world of mankind that we, in our endeavor to be like Him, can truly thrill over the prospects of restitution blessings for the poor groaning creation? Let us not think that we have no interest in restitution. True, we are not expecting restitution blessings for ourselves—not if we are living a consecrated life—but we are in training to be the dispensers of restitution blessings to the world. And besides, it is a part of God’s plan, and nothing that He has planned should ever be considered as commonplace by His children.
The High Calling
Jesus means more to us than He will ever mean to the world. He is the world’s Redeemer, even as He is our Redeemer. But He is also our Head, our Advocate, our High Priest, our future Bridegroom. As we think upon these blessed realities (and we will fail to be thankful if we do not think upon them), we are reminded of the glorious privilege that is ours of being workers together with God and with Christ in the outworking of the divine plan. We are called, not to participate in restitution blessings, but to a heavenly reward. Ours is a heavenly calling, and we have the privilege of running for the prize of this high calling of God in Christ Jesus.—Phil. 3:14
As we think of the various details of the Lord’s loving plan which make it possible for us, as members of the fallen race, to enjoy such an exalted position as partners with Him and with Jesus, our thankfulness should know no bounds—nothing should be held back in the expression of our appreciation for His loving-kindness. We should be thankful every day of the year, and everything which we have and are should be put into our giving of thanks.—Psa. 103:1
The divine grace which makes it possible for such as we to be servants of God is great cause for thankfulness. That grace is manifested through God’s unspeakable gift, the gift of His Son to be our Redeemer and Advocate. The proper appreciative viewpoint of this is expressed by Paul when he wrote, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again.”—II Cor. 5:14,15
Reckoned Perfect
We should never forget what the merit of Christ’s sacrifice really means to us! Think of the fact that because of this loving provision God views us as though we were perfect! The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us and God accepts our best endeavors as though they were perfect endeavors. Upon the basis of this provision we have the privilege of presenting our bodies “living sacrifices”—no longer dead in trespasses and sins—with the assurance that they are “holy” and therefore “acceptable” to God. This, the apostle explains, is our “reasonable service”—the only reasonable way we can properly express our thankfulness for God’s grace.—Rom. 12:1,2
Our text gives us a similar thought. David, who was a type of Christ and the church, said, “I will wash mine hands in innocency.” Jesus was innocent—“holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7:26) The sin of the fallen race did not contaminate Him, and He was not responsible for it. Through His merit the church enjoys the same blessed position of innocency. But we should remember that with Jesus, as well as with the church, innocency before God was possible only through faithfulness in the doing of His will. Righteousness in God’s sight is never a negative, inactive attitude; but a positive, active obedience to His will. Jesus said, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to DO Thy will, O God.”—Heb. 10:7
The language of our text takes our minds into the court which surrounded the typical tabernacle, where were located both the brazen altar and the laver of water. The priests washed at the laver which foreshadowed our “washing of water by the Word.” (Eph. 5:26) It is only as we do thus wash that we have a standing of innocency before the Lord and have the privilege of offering sacrifice.
Cleansing ourselves by the “water of the Word” calls not only for a study of the Word, but the bringing of ourselves into harmony with its righteous requirements. Briefly, these requirements are: recognition of and repentance for sin; faith in the shed blood of the Redeemer; full consecration to do God’s will; and a daily effort to conform our every thought, word and deed to the high standards of righteousness set forth in the Bible.
But there is more to the Christian life than to wash our “hands in innocency.” Our text gives us the further thought, saying, “So will I compass Thine altar.” The cleansing of our lives by the blood of Christ and by our best efforts to bring them into line with the righteous requirements of the Word of God, is the necessary prerequisite to sacrifice, but is not of itself the sacrifice. Typically, the cleansing was done at the laver, but the sacrifice was made upon the altar.
Sacrifice of Praise
David associates the altar—symbolic of sacrifice—with the voice of thanksgiving. This indicates that whole-hearted thanksgiving calls for sacrifice. The Psalmist presents this viewpoint in the 103rd Psalm, first verse, saying, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” The expression, “all that is within me,” denotes all our powers, all we possess. Nothing short of this should be considered an adequate thanksgiving offering to the Lord in return for all that He has done for us.
The Apostle Paul expresses a similar thought, saying, “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” (Heb. 13:15) Here Paul may have had in mind the statement of Hosea 14:2 where the prophet speaks of the “calves of our lips.” In any case, the thought is that true Christian thanksgiving involves sacrifice as foreshadowed by the typical sacrifices of the tabernacle.
There are various ways, of course, whereby we can praise God. We can sing hymns of praise, which, without doubt, is pleasing to Him. Not a great deal of sacrifice is involved, however, in this form of praise. It is a delight to raise our voices in songs of praise to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We should also express our thanks to God by means of prayer. How blessed to pour out our hearts to Him in praise and ado ration, telling Him how much we love and appreciate Him! Such incense of praise is sweet-smelling savor to our Heavenly Father. It is this form of praise that is pictured more particularly by the offering of incense at the Golden Altar in the Holy of the tabernacle.
But we should remember that the fire that burned the incense at the Golden Altar was brought by the priest from the Brazen Altar out in the court. If the fires of sacrifice were not burning on this altar there could be no burning of incense at the Golden Altar. The one depended upon the other. Commenting upon the relationship of the sacrifices offered on these two altars, Brother Russell wrote:
“While prayers, adorations and praises are the most direct offerings of incense to the Lord, nevertheless He has so arranged matters that we cannot offer these sincerely and acceptably except as we have His spirit; and if we have His Spirit, we will at the same time that we offer this incense on the Golden Altar be offering also upon the Brazen Altar in the Court good works—‘doing good unto all men as we have opportunity, especially to the household of faith.’—Gal. 6:10.”
“Thy Wondrous Works”
In our text David explains what is involved in offering the sacrifice of praise, saying that we should tell of all God’s wondrous works. To do this means to bear witness to the truth. Certainly David doesn’t mean that we should tell the Lord about His own works. Sometimes the Lord’s people, when offering prayer in public, tell the Lord considerable about His plan, but this is a mistake. God knows all about His own works and doesn’t need us to remind Him of any feature of it. However, the expression of thanksgiving and praise to God for all His wondrous works would always be in order.—Psa. 89:5; 107:8; 150:2
It is to others that we tell of God’s wondrous works. It is by doing this that we shew forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. (I Pet. 2:9) And what a wonderful privilege it is to tell others of God’s works! Every feature of His plan is a delight to His people, and their joy in the truth increases as they tell it to others. Even when relating it to one another it becomes more precious, more wonderfully sweet.
There is no better way—in fact there is no other way at all—to live a true life of thanksgiving and praise to God than to lay down our lives in showing forth His praises. When we consider that all we have and all we hope for are ours by God’s grace, then we will know that our debt of gratitude calls for nothing less than the devoting of our all to Him, no longer living unto ourselves nor for ourselves, but for Him. It is this thought that is expressed by David in those well-known words:
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the [sacrificial] death of His saints. O Lord, truly I am Thy servant, … and the son of thine handmaid: Thou hast loosed my bonds [released me from Adamic condemnation]. I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people.”—Psalm 116:12-18
Again the Psalmist calls upon us to remember the Lord’s goodness with thanksgiving, saying: “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.” (Psa. 107:21,22) How clearly does David here, as elsewhere, associate thanksgiving with declaring the works of the Lord! This is a very practical arrangement. Had we received special favors from an earthly friend and wanted to show our appreciation by letting others know of his goodness, there would be no better way to do it than to tell of his works, of what he did for us.
And how wonderfully the Lord has favored us! What rich blessings He has bestowed upon us! And how grand are the things He has promised yet to do for us; and not only for us, but also for the whole world. To tell of all His works it is necessary to publish the truth of His plan. Thus it is that in appreciation of what God has done for us, because His love calls forth our love in return, His people become “the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
Thankful for Trials
As we count our many blessings we should not overlook the trials which the Heavenly Father has permitted to come into our lives. If we had the choosing of our own experiences we would avoid the things which annoy and vex and try us. But God, in His wisdom, sees that we need trials, and in His love permits them. If our wills are wholly resigned to Him, then we will be thankful that He is providing all our needs, even ordeals that are so necessary for the rounding out of our Christian characters.
Some of our trials may be permitted by God to test our faith and confidence in Him; others, to develop our patience and long-suffering; and at times they may be in the nature of chastening from the Lord. In any case, they are permitted by our Heavenly Father who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind. Even though He may discipline us, it is in love, and our hearts should respond in grateful appreciation for this evidence that He is supplying all our needs.
“In everything give thanks,” the apostle exhorts. (I Thess. 5:18) None but truth-enlightened, consecrated Christians can do this whole-heartedly. These know that nothing can come into their lives except that which is for their good. (Rom. 8:28) They know that they are the children of a loving Heavenly Father who is watching over their every interest. They have the assurance that even the minutest affairs of their lives, illustrated by the hairs of their head, are known by Him, and directed according to His wisdom and love.
“The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord,” is a promise which every Christian should apply to himself and believe with all his heart. (Psa. 37:23) If we are truly thankful for the manner in which the Lord is directing our lives then we won’t try to resist or go contrary to His will. Instead, with a prayer in our hearts and a song on our lips, we will continue to pay our vows unto Him, keeping our sacrifice on the altar until it is wholly consumed.
“He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” said Job. (Job 23:10) God also knows the way we take, and He is trying us as gold is tried. This means that He puts us through the fires of affliction that the gold of our character might be refined. But how precious the thought that the Great Refiner tempers the heat. He will not permit us to be tested above that which we are able to bear. If he sees that the heat is becoming so intense that we are liable to be injured He provides a way of escape. (I Cor. 10:13) Yes, He knows and He cares! (I Pet. 5:7) May this blessed truth become so thoroughly fixed in our minds and hearts that nothing will be able to disturb our inner peace and rest in Him and in His promises!
We have been blessed with the light of the knowledge of God. His “wondrous works”—the glorious doctrines of the divine plan—have enlightened us. We have a hope for the world and for ourselves. We have the assurance of divine care, of divine forgiveness, of divine help, and of divine discipline. All of this convinces us of divine love. Yes, we know that He knows and cares, and that no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.—Psa. 84:11
We enjoy this knowledge because “God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light.” Shall we not then respond with the voice of thanksgiving, making melody in our hearts unto the Lord and sounding forth His praises throughout the land? Yes, let us thus offer the sacrifice of praise continually, and let us “bind the sacrifice with cords even unto the horns of the altar.”—Psalm 118:27