Editorial November 24, 1923 Issue

On the Giving of Thanks

Albert F. Gilmore

The reader of the Psalms is deeply impressed with the spirit of praise and thanksgiving pervading them. It is evident that the Psalmist was imbued with a sure sense of God's presence and goodness, in recognition of which he lifted his voice in thanksgiving. So spontaneous does this appear to have been that one is sure that it welled forth from the deep springs of joyous gratitude, even from the consciousness of God's eternal love for all His children. This quality of spontaneity, and its genuineness, are unmistakable. "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works," he declared. And again, "Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." And yet again, "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me."

These are but types of the praise which poured forth from the heart of the Psalmist, chastened by many seemingly bitter experiences, but with unshakable confidence in God's goodness and in the nearness and perfect love of Him under whose sheltering wing men can forever abide in an absolute sense of security and lasting peace. One cannot read these psalms of glory and gratitude without imbibing something of the splendid enthusiasm which pervades them, thus becoming in some degree the beneficiary of the sweetly healing influence which they breathe forth.

Moreover, the earnest student of the Psalms eagerly inquires how he, too, may gain the degree of assurance which enabled the Psalmist to become so fully conscious of God's healing and saving presence. Did he possess some quality of thought, some superior spiritual sense, which brought him into the consciousness of a closer relation to God than other mortals may gain? While it is unquestionably true that David was peculiarly receptive to spiritual truth and, in consequence, was the constant recipient of God's messages, it should be remembered that all are equally privileged, if they will attain the same degree of spiritual insight.

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