Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

GATES OF THANKSGIVING

This entry was posted on 11-25-2009 and is filed under THANKFULNESS.

"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" (Psa. 100:4, 5 NKJV).

Picture with me the ancient Israelites approaching the city of Jerusalem on pilgrimage. As they approach the gates of the city, they break forth into spontaneous singing and portals of praise. I believe that is the way God desires us to approach Him yet today - with thanksgiving and praise. David even gives us three reasons to praise God in this passage: God is good, His mercy is eternal, and His truth endures to all generations (including our generation).

These are the gates of God. The Bible speaks of the gates of hell, but these are the gates of God - a God who is good, merciful, and full of truth. We enter into His gates with thanksgiving and praise. Thanking Him for life itself. Praising Him for His wonderful attributes. I have entered the gates of the Kremlin into Red Square, but when I did so it was with sorrow for all the people whom Stalin and his cohorts slaughtered (including millions of his own people). When I enter the gates of God I do so with thanksgiving for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon me - and all of His people throughout all generations. Think about His bountiful blessings that He has bestowed upon you this year. "Count your many blessings, name them one by one." Once you have done so, enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) said, "From David learn to give thanks for everything. Every furrow in the book of Psalms is sown with the seeds of thanksgiving."

Prayer/Hymn: "We thank Thee, then, O Father, For all things bright and good; The seedtime and the harvest, Our life, our health, our food; Accept the gift we offer for all Thy love imparts, And, what thou most desirest, Our humble, thankful hearts." (Matthias Claudius)