11.1. Praise and Thanksgiving in Ordinary Speech

Most people both like and need to be appreciated. We want people to tell us that we did a good job, that we are a fine person, or that our contribution counted. While we may appreciate receiving this affirmation from others, a certain maturation comes when we no longer depend on them telling us that we have done well. We carry out our job or give ourselves to others because these things are in and of themselves good or true or beautiful, as Plato would say. Still, even though a person may not need our acknowledgment, we sometimes feel the need to acknowledge someone who has done something good or true or beautiful. Here we are not building up the person or currying favor. Rather, the quality of the person or the thing they have done demands a response from us. “Monet’s painting is masterful!” “The touchdown pass was perfect!” “The care was exquisite.” Even though the person may not be there to hear it, we may feel compelled to say it out loud. The thing somehow demands our acknowledgment. Here we have pure praise, a fundamental human reaction.

Linguistically, praise is a statement. If you want to praise someone, you make a statement about them. You might say to them: “You are very generous.” Or you tell them that they have done something well: “You have written a fine essay.” Or you praise the thing itself: “This essay has many perceptive insights.” Statements are the essence of praise.

In the Scriptures, praise is a statement about God. Praise acknowledges who God is and what God has done. As such, praise implicitly acknowledges that we are creatures before our creator, that we are dependent on God in countless ways. Praise defines our relationship with God. Clearly, we do not offer praise to bolster God’s ego. We sometimes praise God before making our petition, and as we shall see below, this is typical. However, this is not the heart of praise. Instead, praise acknowledges our proper relationship to God, and in these moments, we can be most truly ourselves, most fully human.

Thanksgiving is similar. We thank people by making statements, but here there is a personal dimension. We tell the other person what they have done for me or us, so I feel responsible for acknowledging that and letting the person know that I realize what they have done for me or us. Thanksgiving has a personal, subjective dimension, while praise is more objective. If Monet had done the painting for me, I would thank him; as it is, I praise him and the painting. Still, there is not always a clear line between praise and thanksgiving. They are related—sometimes closely.

God did not make the world just for me, yet I benefit from it. Thanksgiving focuses on what God has done, especially for “us” or for “me.” It becomes the offering that we make when justice is impossible. Some try to repay every act of human kindness lest they owe anyone anything. However, this is foolishness. Sometimes we can only be thankful.

Both praise and thanksgiving point out what another has done. Praise points out the goodness, truth, and beauty of what they have done. Thanksgiving points out what they have done for us or for me.

11.2. Hymns of Praise

Hymns of praise consist of statements about God and often begin with a call for others to praise God. Psalm 117, the shortest of all the psalms, reveals this pattern.

call:

Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!

reason/statements:

For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

call:

Praise the LORD!

The first two lines have parallel grammar, words, and meaning, and they form an inclusio with the last line.

The second couplet, introduced by ‘for,’ gives the reasons for praise. The Hebrew word is kî (pronounced: “key”), which can mean either “for/because” or “that” or “indeed.” We could translate the second couplet:

Indeed! Great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

This translation becomes what we say in order to praise God. The Hebrew encompasses both meanings. English translations almost always choose “for” and make these statements the reasons for praise. However, the Hebrew also gives them to us as statements of praise.

We see this use of “for” also in Isaiah 49:13.

call:

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!

reason/statement:

For/Indeed! the LORD has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

Again, the statements introduced by “for” indicate the reason to “sing for joy” what to say.

a. the call for others to praise: a command or an invitation

Many hymns begin with a call for others to praise God. They use either the imperative or an invitation beginning with “let.” The imperative mood expresses both commands and requests depending on the relationship between the speaker and the audience. Ps 100:1-2 begins with three imperatives which add a sense of directness and insistence:

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

The call can also be introduced by “let,” which creates a stronger sense of politeness. Ps 149 begins with two imperatives and then follows with “let” clauses:

Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

By using the “let us,” the speaker invites the audience to join in a corporate action, as in Ps 95:1.

O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

The call may go out to Israel, but it may include all the earth as in Psalm 66 or all heaven and earth as in Psalm 148. Psalm 150 contains only a series of calls to praise to which it adds who, where, why, and how God should be praised. Only an indication of ‘when’ is missing, which we find else.

Ps 102:1 creates an interior dialogue by calling “my soul” to praise.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,  bless his holy name.

This contributes to the psalm’s sense of intimacy.

b. the psalmist’s vow of praise

The Hebrew verb forms can have several possible translations because they do not indicate time and have lost earlier endings. The word ˀodeh can be translated in the following ways:

• a present: “I praise,” or “I am praising.”
• a future: “I shall praise.”
• a modal: “I should praise.”
• a subjunctive: “I may praise.”
• a petition: “let me praise.”

If translated as a present tense, “I am praising,” the verb states what the psalmist is doing. However, if translated as a future, “I shall praise,” the statement becomes a vow, as we see in Ps 145:1-2 with statements following in 145:3.

vow:

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.

statements:

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

The British philosopher J.L. Austin pointed out that sometimes language performs an action. Much of language is indicative; that is, it describes what we believe to be true. However, some language does what it says. Originally Austin called this performative language. The easiest examples are marriage vows. When you say, “I do,” you are not describing a fact; rather, by saying those words, people perform the marriage; by saying the words. Likewise, in a courtroom, a witness takes an oath by saying: “I swear, so help me, God.” The saying of the words performs the action of the oath. Verbs having this performative dimension include marrying, naming, bequeathing, betting, and promising. The “I will” in Ps 145:1-2, as translated, does not describe but makes a promise of what the psalmist will do. It is performative language, and by it, the psalmist vows to praise God “forever and ever.” People may want to stop and think about what they are doing before taking these words into their mouths.

c. statements about God as the reason for praise

The statements about God are the heart of praise, and they typically follow the call as in Psalm 117 and Isa 49:13 above.

Sometimes the statements may precede the call, as in Ps 97:1.

The LORD is king!
Let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!

In 1969, Frank Crüsemann made the argument, presented above, that kî introduced a statement of praise. He pointed to Miriam’s hymn in Exodus 15:21, which the NRSV translates:

“Sing to the LORD, for [kî] he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Crüsemann also insisted that kî did not mean “for/because.” Other scholars reacted by rejecting his insight and insisting on the translation “for/because.” Words give us possibilities. The Hebrew word can mean both “for/because” and “indeed.” Both fit the context, and so both are possible. We should not eliminate either one, although a translator will have to choose. 

In some texts, the statements follow the call without “for”/kî, as in Ps 147:7-8:

call:

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.

statement:

He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.

Other examples that begin without for/kî can be found in Psalm 29; 66:1-4; 67:6-7; 68:4-6; 75:1; 103:1-5; 104:1; 105:1-7; 111:1-2; 113:1-3; 144:1-2; 145:1-3.

Just as Psalm 150 is constructed only of calls to praise, some hymns contain only statements about God, such as Pss 8; 46; 48; 76; 93; and 114.

Creation and Israel’s history form the main two themes for the statements about God. We have this in Psalm 136, in which 136:4-9 sings of creation, and 136:10-22 tells the story of the Exodus and victories leading to the Promised Land. The covenantal refrain emphasizes the main theme: “for his steadfast love endures forever.”

In summary, the pattern for the hymn of praise has two main elements.

1. an introduction which consists of a call for others to praise God and/or a vow that “I” the psalmist will praise God.
2. statements about God, often introduced in English by “for” (a translation of kî), which form both the reason for praise and the statement of what one should say to praise God.

The psalmist may repeat this pattern as often as it seems good. Psalm 147 repeats the pattern three times, creating three sections: 147:1-6, 7-11, 12-20. Psalm 146 shows the pattern’s flexibility by adding other elements.

d. the formula: Blessed be God!

The Hebrew word barak, “to bless,” means to bestow power for success, prosperity, and fertility. The passive participle, baruk, serves to introduce praise. In Genesis 14:19-20, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brings out bread and wine and blesses Abram and God:

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

The blessing of Abraham asks that he receive success, prosperity, and fertility because of his rescuing Lot. The blessing of God acknowledges the Most High as the source of success, prosperity, and fertility.

This formula “Blessed be God” is found often in the Old Testament—in the mouth of Abraham’s servant (Gen 24:27), Jethro (Exod 18:10), Naomi (Ruth 4:14), Abigail (1 Sam 25:32), Solomon (1 Kgs 1:48), Hiram (1 Kgs 5:7) among others. The phrase also serves as the doxology at the end of the first four books of the Psalms (Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48), with the whole of Psalm 150 forming the final doxology. We also find it at the beginning of the Canticle of Zachary, followed by ‘for,’ as we expect.

Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. (Luke 1:68)

“Blessed be the LORD our God,” the translation of “Baruk Adonai Elohenu,” becomes a standard introductory formula for praise and prayer during the Rabbinic period with great importance for the liturgy of the synagogue.

11.3. The Thanksgiving Hymn

While I would like to be influenced by all the virtues, there is no quality I would rather have, and be thought to have, than being grateful. For this is the one virtue that is not only the greatest but also the mother of all the other virtues. — Cicero, Cnaeo Plancio, xxxiii.80

Cicero, the great Roman orator, calls gratitude the mother of virtue, and there is much to be said for his insight. Thanksgiving recognizes that I am not self-sufficient and that I depend on others. It acknowledges that others are good to me, and this lays the foundation for the other virtues which define and clarify our relationships. Our culture values independence, and so thanksgiving makes some people uncomfortable. They try to repay every favor as if it were a commodity. However, some things have no price. If someone gives you life or saves your life, how do you repay that? What is your life worth? Thanksgiving acknowledges both the goodness of another and our inability to repay in kind. In smaller things, it may be possible to repay the debt of kindness, but this approach misses the point. I cannot predict what I may need from others or what they may need from me. Nor do I know when or whether I will be able to repay the “debt” of kindness. A culture of thanksgiving creates a world of mutual dependence where I can depend on others, and they can rely on me, and this trust allows us to meet the future with confidence.

The Bible understands thanksgiving as a dimension of praise, and the difference is not hard and fast. The Hebrew words that we translate as ‘praise’ and ‘thanks’ are often interchangeable. One verb, hallel, makes up the first part of ‘Halleluiah’ or ‘Alleluia.’ The other verb, yadah, and its noun tôdah are traditionally translated as “thank” and “thanksgiving,” but the context does not always carry the personal dimension of “thanks.” Often, both may have a sense of “praise.” As a result, Claus Westermann eliminated Herman Gunkel’s category of thanksgiving hymns and gathered these psalms into the genre of hymns of praise. Both make statements about God and what God has done, and their elements are similar:

1. call to others or a vow (“I will thank…”)
2. statements about what God has done for “me” or “us.”

In Ps 138:3, the psalmist clearly states what God has done for “me”:

“On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.”

While it is difficult to know exactly what happened, the psalm gives praise as a sign of thanks. Moreover, the deliverance also allows the psalmist to trust in the future, and so the psalm ends with a statement of trust and a prayer (138:7-8).

We often add a gift to our works of thanks, and in the Bible, thanksgiving to God is linked to sacrifice, which the psalmist vowed to offer when facing some great trouble. While some may regard these vows as bargaining with God, they represent the psalmist’s desperation and not some calculated deal. Furthermore, a gift recognizes the act of goodness and acknowledges that God’s kindness is beyond our ability to repay.

In conclusion, praise and thanksgiving hymns have a close connection. They share a common pattern: statements about what God has done, often with a call and sometimes a vow. The hymns of praise proclaim what God has done in creation and the saving history of Israel, and sometimes they focus on what God has done for me or us in the recent past.

11.4. Exercises for Chapter 11

Vocabulary

• hymn: statements about God and God’s deeds either in general (praise) or as related to “me” or “us” (thanksgiving), often with a call for others to join the psalmist or a vow or the formula: Blessed be God. §11.1-2
• thanksgiving hymn: statements about what God has done for “me” or “us,” sometimes with a call for others to join or a vow by the psalmist to thank God. §11.3

Questions

1. Give two examples of praise and two of thanks in your daily life.
What is the motivation for this praise and thanks?

2. Write your own hymn of praise or thanksgiving. It need not be religious.

3. The praise & thanksgiving psalm has two main pieces:

1)  the call to others or to oneself

2) the statements, often introduced in English by “for” giving the reasons to praise but also the statements of praise.

Analyze the following texts for these two elements:

Psalm 46
Psalm 47
Psalm 138
Psalm 145
Psalm  150

4. Make a close reading of one of the psalms given above.

5. Psalm 147 is one psalm in the Hebrew text and two in the Greek text: 147:1-11 and 147:12-20. How many psalms do you see here? What are your reasons?