Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord!
     Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation! 
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
     and extol him with music and song. 

For the Lord is the great God, 
     the great King above all gods. 
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
     and the mountain peaks belong to him. 
The sea is his, for he made it, 
     and his hands formed the dry land. 

Come, let us bow down in worshiop, 
     let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 
for he is our God
     and we are the people of his pasture,
     the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
"Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, 
     as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 
     where your ancestors tested me; 
     they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation; 
     I said, 'They are a people whose hearts go astray, 
     and they have not known my ways.'
So I declared on oath in my anger, 
     'They shall never enter my rest.'

FOOTNOTES: v. 8, Meribah means quarreling; Massah means testing.

Psalm 90

1Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 
2Before the mountains were born you you brought forth the earth and the world, 
     from everlasting to everlasting you are God. . . . . 
12Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. . . . . 
     13bHave compassion on your servants. 
14Satisfy us with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 
15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. 
17May the favor of our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us--
     yes, establish the work of our hands. 

In the United States, we set aside a day to give thanks to the Lord our God for His bountiful goodness, for the earth’s fruitfulness, for our sustenance and for His provision for us in all things. It began as a thankful feast of European pilgrims and native people November 1621 for God’s provision, and celebrated since 1789 after a proclamation by our first President George Washington. President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed the day a national day of

“Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, calling on the American people to also, “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience … fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation” .

– “Thaksgiving (United States)”, Wikipedia.org)

While this day has a uniquely American history, some other countries also have a similar day of thanksgiving. From ReadPsalm119.com to all of you, I hope you have an awe-filled, grateful, and blessed Thanksgiving Day!

©by ReadPsalm119.com. PHOTO: Flame Azalea, by ReadPsalm119.com