“The Nature of Thanks and Giving”

Psalm 100:3-5  Know that the Lord, He is God; It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

A.   True Thanksgiving is a matter of Knowledge

1.     That the Lord is the only living and true God (v. 3)

2.     That He is our Creator—we did not make ourselves

3.     That He is our Rightful Owner

4.     That He is our Sovereign Ruler (v. 4)

5.     That He is our bountiful benefactor

6.     That He is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (v. 5)

7.     That He is a God of truth and faithfulness

B.   True Thanksgiving Can Never Cease, because God is everlasting (v. 5)

1.     God is not mere justice, stern and cold; He has compassion—wants us to repent!

2.     Toward His own people mercy is displayed—it has been theirs from all eternity, and shall be theirs world without end.  That is our sacred song.