My Song of Thanksgiving

"Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving

To God the Creator triumphantly raise,

Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,

Who guideth us on to the end of our days.

His banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,

A pillar of fire shining forth in the night,

'Til shadows have vanished and darkness is banished,

As forward we travel from light into light.

His law He enforces, the stars in their courses,

The sun in His orbit, obediently shine.

The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,

The deeps of the ocean proclaim Him Divine.

We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing,

With glad adoration a song let us raise,

'Til all things now living unite in thanksgiving

To God in the highest, hosanna and praise!

                                                                              -Katherine K. Davis

Those are the words to a hymn titled "Let All Things Now Living", written by Katherine K. Davis and typically sung to a traditional Welsh melody.  It's one of those hymns we don't sing in church any more, which makes me a bit sad.  And before you get jump to a wrong conclusion, that was not an anti-new-music statement. I'm not anti-new-music as much as I am anti-ignoring older music! Much of what we hear and sing in our churches these days that would be classified as "new" or "contemporary" is music that I like very much.  But I don't like all of it. Not all of it is good.  Some of it is just new.  Some of it I don't like.  It's a personal-preference-thing.  But that isn't my point.

 

I was thinking about this song this morning. Not because we have sung it recently; we haven't.  We sing some wonderful music in our church.......new songs, old songs, the great hymns of our faith.  This particular hymn hasn't been sung recently; in fact, I can't even remember the last time I sang this hymn in a church setting!  Rather, it has been called up from deep in the recesses of my memory.  It's a catchy tune, but it's the text that has my attention.

 

Perhaps it's because I'm not as young as I used to be!  Or perhaps there is some other reason.  In any event, I am becoming more and more aware of how much I take for granted.  How often I forget to say "thank you". It's not that I'm ungrateful.  Forgetful, yes.  A little scatter-brained sometimes.  Distracted.  But not ungrateful. 

 

Today is Thankful Tuesday, a perfect day for a "Song of Thanksgiving"! And I have so many reasons for thanksgiving this morning, not the least of which is the beauty of the world around me.  We have had a glorious autumn this year, full of brilliant reds and golds. Spectacular sunsets.  Breathtaking morning skies.  The mornings, like this one, when the fog dips into the valley below.  It's a beautiful time of year here in the mountains, and I am so thankful.

 

 

There are many, many reasons for thanksgiving this morning beyond just the beauty of this season.  I'm thankful for dear friends. For the best husband ever! For my family.  For my church family.  For my pastor.  For my health. 

 

 

I'm thankful for the privilege of prayer.  Thankful that God hears and answers.  Thankful for those times, like yesterday, when I had uttered a prayer with a very specific request, and within five minutes, the phone rang and I had my answer!

 

 

After having our house on the market for several months now, I am very thankful that we had a showing this past weekend, and that our home is still one of the ones under consideration by this potential buyer.  After all these months, I'm thankful for this encouragement.  And I'm praying that this might be "the one"!

 

 

I am beyond grateful for a Sovereign Lord.  One who knows me best and loves me most.  One who knows when and how and to whom this house will sell.  One who has all things under control.

 

And so to Him today I am singing my song of thanksgiving!

"My heart overflows with a good theme."  (Psalm 45:1 NASB)