Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Thanksgiving to the Lord

November 2010

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.” - Psalm 28:7

This is the season of Thanksgiving.  One way we give thanks is through singing.  Now I have to say that I really love to sing.  The problem is that nobody loves to hear me sing.  In fact that’s putting it mildly.  Yet we are called to sing because this is not only an expression of praise but one of giving thanks.

One of the great moments of thanksgiving recently was the rescue of the Chilean miners who had been trapped for literally months.  In spite of deep concerns for the physical and psychological welfare of the group they seem to be doing very well.  The whole world watched this story unfold and the joy of seeing the miners reunited with their loved ones was a great moment of Thanksgiving.

Bob Reinfurt called my attention to the fact that while the media was talking about the human ingenuity that had accomplished the rescue in the background you could hear the miners themselves singing the Spanish song, “Alabare.” This is one of the most popular gospel songs in Latin America. It is a song of praise to the Lord focusing on the vision that John of Patmos has in Revelation of the great number of those who are redeemed in Christ.  I remember it from the years I spent as a missionary in Central America. Our mission teams to Pisco, Peru have sung it. Our choir has sung it several times. The rescued miners in Chile were singing it.

The irony is that while the US newscaster was talking about the greatness of human ingenuity the miners themselves were singing a praise to the Lord.  We should certainly be thankful for all the human effort and planning that went into this dramatic rescue.  Yet we must also reflect on where those human gifts came from.  The miners themselves had the right perspective.  They were praising the Lord for their rescue.  It is he and he alone who rescues us from every peril (II Cor. 1:10).

Thanksgiving is an occasion for singing.  Several of the greatest hymns of the faith, such as “Now Thank We All Our God,” focus on the theme of giving thanks.  Some of us can only make a “joyful noise” (Psalm 100:1-2).  Yet, whoever we are, we have many reasons to sing songs of Thanksgiving to the Lord.