6 Inspiring Psalms of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for family to gather around the table and enjoy a lovely meal filled with turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberries. Before the turkey is carved, the family is welcome to join hands to say a special prayer of thanks for the food before them.

Prayers of gratitude have been around since long before the official Thanksgiving dinner of 1620. During the historic feast, the Pilgrims said a prayer of thanks before beginning their meal with the Wampanoag Native Americans. The Pilgrims looked to the Bible to express gratitude and thank God for their first harvest. They were inspired by the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of In gathering of the Israelite and looked upon their harvest, as it is one of the most jubilant feasts still to date.

The history of giving thanks has also attributed to Samuel’s “setting” known as the Ebenezer Stone. The Ebenezer Stone was an artifact to remind the people to be thankful to God during an attack from the Philistines. This is noted in the Bible:

No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Psalms of Thanksgiving

In all early celebrations of thanks, God was at the center. Across many historic celebrations, the people were thanking God before meals as they believed that all good things came from Him, as followers of the Lord still do today. With many indications of Thanksgiving in the Bible, we wanted to provide Thanksgiving psalms that you can use at your Thanksgiving feast this year, and for many years to come.

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Psalm 105:1-3

I am under vows to you, my God;

I will present my thank offerings to you.

Psalm 56:12

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

and call on the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116:17

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.

Psalm 95:1-2

Open for me the gates of the righteous;

I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

Psalm 118:19

I will extol the Lord at all times;

His praise will always be on my lips.

I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:1-3