Thanksgiving

The anxiety and folly of trusting fallible men and women have been very evident during our recent election. Our country remains strongly divided over social, moral, and economic values, and mistrust has led to wide spread disappointment and even despair. However, Isaac Watts redirects us to an encouraging truth. He pulls us back to the great, over arching reality of God’s sovereignty and providential care.

Although he was a theologian who also wrote books on astronomy, geography, and philosophy, Watts is probably best known for the hymns he wrote to accompany the sermons he preached. One hymn, “I sing the mighty power of God,” was originally written in 1715 for children and is still found in contemporary hymnals.

I sing the migh­ty pow­er of God,
That made the mount­ains rise,
That spread the flow­ing seas abroad,
And built the lof­ty skies.
I sing the wis­dom that or­dained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His com­mand,
And all the stars ob­ey.

I sing the good­ness of the Lord,
That filled the earth with food:
Who formed the crea­tures with His Word,
And then pro­nounced them good.
Lord, how Thy won­ders are dis­played,
Where’er I turn my eye,
If I sur­vey the ground I tread,
Or gaze up­on the sky!

There’s not a plant or flow­er be­low,
But makes Thy glo­ries known;
And clouds arise, and tem­pests blow,
By or­der from Thy throne;
Creatures—as nu­mer­ous as they be—
Are sub­ject to Thy care;
There’s not a place where we can flee,
But God is pre­sent there.

In Hea­ven He shines with beams of love,
With wrath in hell be­neath:
’Tis on His earth I stand or move,
And ’tis His air I breathe.
His hand is my per­pe­tu­al guard,
He keeps me with His eye:
Why should I then for­get the Lord,
Who is forev­er nigh?

Watt’s hymn ends with assurance of God’s goodness and omnipresence but also raises the question of whether we have forgotten that God has final control over life. We have the freedom to make choices and at times are at the mercy of others’ choices, but ultimately God’s righteous purposes will prevail.

If that is so, why do we experience despair? Jesus put that questions into perspective for us. He said that we need not fear man or circumstances but should “fear” God because God has ultimate control over life and our soul’s eternal destination (Luke 12:4-5). Fortunately, Jesus nuanced that “ fear” with God’s demonstrable, redeeming love. He prevailed over disease, the elements, sin, and death as visible evidence that his disciples need not fear in this life.

Although God will not tolerate sin, and our unholiness separates us from Him, He loves humanity, has eternal purposes for us, and has provided a solution for our sinful natures through Christ’s perfect life and sacrifice on the cross. By his death and resurrection, Jesus nullified sin’s consequences of condemnation and death and has brought God’s Kingdom to those who have faith.

Faith is the remedy for fear and is the source of peace and joy. Scripture reassures believers 365 times to not be afraid. Although the verbiage differs, the meaning is the same: fear not, worry not, be not dismayed, don’t be anxious.

So, along with Isaac Watts, we can give eternal thanks to God for His mighty power, His goodness, His wisdom, and above all for giving us His “indescribable gift” of Jesus, who is God’s power, wisdom, righteousness, and redemption (2 Corinthians 9:15) (1Corinthians 1:24,30).