A heart giving thanks at any given moment is the real test of the extent to which we love God. Love must carry with it a ‘thank you’ to God. –Francis Schaeffer
How is your contentment this Thanksgiving?
A Hebrew word for praise is “halal” from which we get the “Hallel Psalms” (113-118). It is instructive to note that “thanks” occurs there as frequently, or even more than the word “praise,” especially in Psalm 118. Furthermore, our praise word “hallelujah” combines “halal” and “Yah” [the shortened form of God’s name Yahweh) meaning “Let us praise YAH.” This is retained by the KJV and Jerusalem translations of Psalm 68:4: “Sing to God, sing praises to His name…by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him.” Most other translations miss this hallelujah connection by substituting “Lord” for YAH.
The sacrifice we are to offer God this Thanksgiving is not an ox or a bull (or a “turkey”!) on a temple altar, but “the fruit of our lips” (Hosea 14:2; “our lips as bulls” in the Masoretic Text, the authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible). The Psalmist says, “…magnify Him with thanksgiving, and it will please the Lord better than an ox” (Psalm 78:30-31).
