By Pastor Robb Brunansky |
Scripture is clear that all men are commanded to give God thanks. This command for gratitude for His goodness is not just one day each year but continuously. However, from the earliest days of this nation, Thanksgiving has been an important celebration.
The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as the Puritans held a feast to thank God for His blessings. Throughout our time as British colonies, we celebrated Thanksgiving at various times and for different reasons. The first national Thanksgiving Day was observed December 18, 1777, after the Americans won a significant battle against the British in Saratoga, New York. Similar proclamations were made annually through 1784.
After 1784, the next annual Thanksgiving Day was celebrated on Thursday, November 26, 1789, after the ratification of the Constitution. President George Washington issued a proclamation that Americans ought to give thanks to God for the blessings of the Almighty on this nation. The proclamation is truly a model future presidents and national leaders should follow. Read what Washington wrote:
By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor: And whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, 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 Thursday 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 or all the 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 interpositions of His Providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; – for the great degree of tranquility, union and plenty, which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general, for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us – and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. George Washington
Thanksgiving, thus, was not to be simply a time of generic giving of thanks, but a true day of national acknowledgment for God’s many blessings and prayer for His continued care.
We find precedent for such a proclamation in Scripture, where Paul enjoins upon us to pray and give thanks for all people, including all rulers and governing authorities, that we might live a peaceable and quiet life in godliness (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
As I reflected on this magisterial document, I returned to something of infinitely greater significance than the formation of our nation. I reflected on our salvation in Christ and the many parallels we find in Scripture for those realities Washington wrote we should be grateful for in the establishment of our nation.
Here are a few things, then, to be grateful for as we contemplate the blessing of living in this country and, more importantly, the blessing of being a citizen of the heavenly country.
First, believers should be grateful for God’s care and protection prior to our coming to faith in Christ. Salvation is truly a marvelous work of the Lord because He called us while we had no care for Him and no thought of Him. We were in rebellion against Him and were His enemies. Yet, think how His Providence interposed in our lives to bring us to the point of hearing the Gospel, repenting of our sins, and believing in Jesus Christ! How can we take credit for any part of our salvation when we realize that every step of our lives has been governed by God, so even the very circumstances in which we found ourselves when we believed the Gospel were led by His providence and mercy (Titus 3:5)? Believers must never fail to thank God for His providence as He guides us in His most excellent wisdom.
Second, believers should be thankful for the peace and union we have enjoyed with God since our salvation (Romans 5:1). Paul says we have been joined to Christ, and we are now in Him, in union with Him – and His Spirit dwells in us (Romans 7:4, 8:9). Believers have peace with God, are united to Christ, and have fellowship and communion with our Creator and Redeemer. This is such a mystery we should have such intimacy with God.
Third, believers should be grateful for the new covenant established for our security and blessing. We no longer live under the old covenant, where God dwelled behind the veil. Now, we have the new covenant, founded on better promises, and ratified, not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by the blood of the Son of God. This covenant has been established for our security and blessing, giving us immediate access to God through Christ. The writer of Hebrews, in fact, reminds us that through the new covenant we know the Lord, and we come into the blessings of this eternal promise that can never be broken because Christ has kept it for us (Hebrews 8:11). Our relationship with God as His children is thus eternally secure because of this covenant.
Fourth, believers should be thankful for the liberty we have in Christ under the new covenant. With this covenant comes liberty (Galatians 5:1)! Christians are no longer bound by types and shadows of what is to come! Instead, we have freedom to serve one another in love through the Holy Spirit, who gives us true liberty (Galatians 5:13).
Finally, believers should be grateful for the unlimited blessings we have in Christ. Paul again tells us that we have those blessings now (Ephesians 1:3) and in the future (Ephesians 2:7).
God has established us as a holy nation, a people for His own possession. And our participation in that nation and covenant, with God as our King, is the greatest cause for thanksgiving. Let us rejoice in that marvelous truth this season!
Dr. Robb Brunansky is the Pastor-Teacher of Desert Hills Bible Church in Glendale, Arizona. Follow him on Twitter at @RobbBrunansky.
