Well, people of God, we look together in God's Word. I invite you to turn with me to the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter 12, 27 through 31. And just a reminder that in the book of Isaiah, which many of us have looked at for some time in this past couple of years, the book of Isaiah would anticipate the exile, but it also would talk about the return out of exile, out of Babylon. And, of course, Nehemiah, though it's towards not really the front, but towards the more beginning of the Bible, and it is representing the final years of God's revelation to his people in the Old Testament time. Now there were a number of prophets and a number of books that are connected to that time period, but Nehemiah is certainly one of the historical books that sets before us those events. And one of the great last events in the life of the Old Testament people of God that is commented on by the Word of God itself is the building of the walls and then of the temple of Jerusalem as the people returned out of exile. It was a culminating moment that then led to 400 years of silence in terms of revelation from God until the time of Jesus Christ, and John the Baptist in particular. People of God, it's that context that we read, this culminating moment. It is a moment of victory, a moment of dedication to the Lord, It's a moment in which the walls of Jerusalem are dedicated in the context of a worship service of praise and thanksgiving. And so we see that in Nehemiah chapter 12, beginning with verse 27. Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and singing with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. and the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem from the villages of the Nephites, from the house of Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Asmathbeth, for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. And then the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates and the walls. So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the refuse gate. People of God, that reading of God's word that we will look at a number of verses that are connected to these verses and connected to this service of thanksgiving and praise to God for the walls of Jerusalem. The people are gathering to give thanks at this culminating moment, a moment when the labor of their hands, and it had been a long labor, it had been fraught with both positive and failures on the part of the people and then successes, but ultimately God blessed the labor of their hands and they now came to dedicate the walls that had been built. These are, of course, the walls of Jerusalem. And, of course, those walls symbolize something far greater, and they were much more significant than simply a wall surrounding an ancient city. These were the walls of Jerusalem. which were a sign to the people of God that God was the one who would protect them. God would be the one who would protect them from all of the forces that were arrayed against the people of God. And in this day and age, we ought also to note that God has given us promises and we can thank him for the protection that he has given to the church of Jesus Christ, particularly that protection that he's given us. Because just as those walls became a point of protection for the people of God, there are those things which God has established that brings protection to us. We yet, especially in this place and time and nation, we yet have the freedom to gather together. Those religious liberties are protected in ways that they are not protected in some other parts of the world, but we give thanks. for that. But we also note that protection by a government can come and go for the church of Jesus Christ, and yet God, even in the most dire circumstances of persecution, protects His people. They were also walls of separation, and we'll note that later in the sermon as well. These walls made a distinction between the people of God and the place of the temple and the world that surrounded them. And so we would, too, give thanks for walls that God has established that separates the church and the world, separates believer and unbeliever. in the text. And we know that that is a key calling of the church of God today. And we would give thanks for the separation, for the way in which God has set us apart from the world. There is the walls of blessing. The walls were, again, a visible reminder of all the blessings that God had given. And yet They know that these walls, though built by hands of man, were walls that came from the blessing of God, from the leader and the king of the greatest power on earth that allowed the walls to be built, and in fact did more than allow, he commanded that they be built. In other words, God turned the heart of the leaders of the nation to the people of God. But it would always be noted that unless the Lord brings the blessing, there would be no reason for thanksgiving. In Psalm 127, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. So there was a clear recognition, though they had walls, it is the Lord God that they would look to as that one who would be the ultimate provider of of all things that they needed. They were looking to the Lord's blessing. So these were walls of blessing. And they were also walls of purification. They were in the context of the people. In coming together to sing praise to God, there was also a clear recognition that they were sinners. that they needed to be saved by grace. Chapter 12, verse 30, and then the priests and the Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates and the wall. There was a need for purification. There was always that need, a recognition that sacrifice had to be made in order for the people of God to be established. So in the context There was a proclamation of the gospel of atoning sacrifice, of the forgiveness of sins. Verse 43, also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced for God had made them rejoice with great joy. But they made sacrifices. So, this day of dedication was also a day of thanksgiving, was also a day in which they absolutely recognized, once again, the need for the forgiveness of sins. Atoning sacrifice. and people of God, there can be no true thanksgiving without a clear recognition of our absolute need for and giving thanks for all that Jesus Christ has done for us. of which the sacrifices at the dedication of the wall, but were a dim shadow. And now we see in the context of the glories of the completed work of Christ on the cross, the forgiveness of sins. And so may our hearts and minds never, never remove that sacrifice from Thanksgiving. They gathered for Thanksgiving with a sermon. in Nehemiah chapter 13 verse 1, And on that day they read from the book of Moses and the hearing of the people, and in it was found written, They were coming together, and as they gathered together, and there's great evidence that the Levites, even in the places that they were surrounding the city, were teaching the people constantly. This was one of the jobs of the Levites. They were teaching and training the people, but as they gathered together in this great celebration of thanksgiving to God, they submitted themselves to the will of God. And so, we would know that we would always, as God's people, be those who would desire to hear from the Word of God and the Word of God preached and given us direction, because apart from the preaching and the truth of the Word of God, once again, there can be no true thanksgiving. It is a good and glorious thing that we would gather. And in the gathering to give thanks, there would be a word from the Word of God, even concerning thanksgiving. The book of Deuteronomy is itself a a book that is almost a sermon in itself, but they read from the book of Deuteronomy, and they applied that to their lives. Because that word about thanksgiving, and in the context of hearing the word, turned into thanks living. Because when we hear the word of God, and when we gather for thanksgiving, it ought to spur us to a life of thanks giving, what we might call thanks living. It's not just a service of thanksgiving, but it's a life of giving thanks. And so they dedicated themselves to obey the Word of the Lord. And so again in chapter 13, and in the hearing of people, and it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into the blessing. And so it was when they had heard the law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel. So they rededicated themselves to living in the context of obedience to God. Now, of course, we know that they never did that perfectly, nor do we, but we would strive in every way that in the context of thanksgiving, we would live for Christ in the commands that he has given to us. In particular, in this passage, it is a focus on the fact that we are separate from the world. that there is a clear distinction between the church and the world. Our world is gathering today, supposedly for Thanksgiving. There is a national declaration that we ought to have a day of Thanksgiving. But that national declaration has not resulted in a nation bowing before God, humbling themselves before Him, desiring to be purified by the Lamb of God, and then living to the glory of God in obedience to God. Far from it. our world. I never heard one word this morning or read one word in any articles about giving thanks to God. Not once was that mentioned or seen That's not to say it wasn't. I have no idea what the presidential proclamation was. I didn't read that specifically. There may have been some reference to God there. But our world is looking at parades. There were several parades mentioned, the difficulty and the coldness of parades, all kinds of things. Football games were mentioned, sports activities. And no one ever mentioned going to church. of having an actual service of thanksgiving to God. It may have happened here or there, but I didn't see it or hear it. No, our world does not know what thanksgiving is. I saw an email that thanked me for buying a shaver. in the past year. A razor, razor blades. Wow, that's a great thing to do on Thanksgiving. Thank people for buying things. That's about as far from the biblical concept of Thanksgiving as you can get. No, God would have us to give thanks to Him. Not thanking one another. Not thanking those who provided us with a job, particularly, or who bought from us, or we bought from them, or we sold it to someone and we thanked. No, this is a thanksgiving to God at the walls of Jerusalem. They didn't come together, even in this context, and thank each other for the great job that they had done in building the wall. They came to give thanks to God for the fact that that wall existed. And so they're bowing together before God. They're seeking to thank Him with their lives. And that is certainly the pattern that God would give us in His Word. There was thanksgiving, and there was also a critical element to thanksgiving, and that is prayer. we didn't see the word prayer in our text, but in Nehemiah chapter 11 verse 17, Nehemiah 11 verse 17, we have a list of names of Levites. Mattaniah, the son of Micah, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with prayer. So this thanksgiving service, this service of the walls of dedication, it began with prayer. Although we don't see it in chapter 12, it is it is introduced to us before the whole thing even begins. So this is, the verses that we read do not give us the complete picture of everything that was happening. Prayer was an essential element in the context of the people of God giving thanks. And so it is. They may hear the Word. They may recognize what they have to give thanks for, the wall. They may hear the Word of God concerning how they ought to live in the light of giving thanks. But prayer was an essential element to that of giving thanks. Prayer, of course, is seen throughout the Word of God in its importance. Isaiah chapter 12 verse 4 would declare, and in that day you will say, praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his deed among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. We would constantly be going to the Lord in prayer. Give thanks to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. And so it is that God would have us, or the New Testament verse that we so often refer to, Philippians chapter four, verse six, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. a prayer in a service of thanksgiving. Nehemiah prayer is a pattern of life in the child of God, but with thanksgiving. And so it is that God would have us to come together as His people to pray. but is also a time of bringing praise to our God through song. And Nehemiah chapter 13 will emphasize that in a number of ways. We have the dedication of Jerusalem in 27, and they brought together the Levites to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. It ought to be noted, who are the Levites in the New Testament? Who are the priests in the New Testament? It is not one particular group of believers. It is the universal priesthood of all believers. And so if, and of course in the Old Testament, it wasn't just the choir that sang. it was the people of God that sang as well. Certainly there were those who were appointed to sing, but singing to the Lord is something that God would have all His people be engaged in, and in the New Testament is even more focused on the fact that it is the entire congregation that would sing to God. Psalm 147, verse 7, "'Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praises on the harp to our God. And so it is that God would call us to sing to Him, and not as a symbol of entertainment, but as an act of giving thanks to God. And David was one of those who had been raised up by God to set before the people of God many of the Psalms of the Old Testament, many of the Psalms of the people of God. 2 Samuel chapter 23 talks about the very last words of David. Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David, the son of Jesse. Thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel. The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spoke to me. He who rules over them must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be the light of the morning when the sun rises and the morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after their rain. In other words, he is singing praise to God. And this actually is also a Psalm of David. in 2 Samuel chapter 23, but it is in poetic form, just like the rest of the Psalms of David. But there is this declaration that there is this psalmist, not so much that he's a player, but he's the one that God used to give the songs of the people of God that we too would take up as God's people in the New Testament era and we would declare the praises of our God in song. And, of course, we do that as God's people. Psalm 79, verse 13, would declare it this way. Psalm 79, verse 13. So we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will show forth your praise to all generations. in the context of this declaration. We also have an element of worship in the dedication of the temple, and that element is the giving of offerings. So we give thanks with offerings. We give thanks with a sermon, with prayer, with singing, and with offerings before our God. In Nehemiah chapter 12, verse 44, And at the same time, some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the first fruits, the tithes, to gather them in from the fields of the city, the portions specified for the law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. And here we see that the primary part is that there is ties and offerings for maintaining the walls of Jerusalem, for maintaining the temple building itself, but it is a focus on the priests and the Levites. those who are teaching, those who are proclaiming the gospel in sacrifice. And so, too, in the present, we would bring tithes and offerings, and we would bring them for the establishment of the proclamation of the gospel, for the maintenance of the church of Jesus Christ, for the causes of the people of God that are on our hearts, and it's a part of an expression of our gratitude to God. And so, too, we give thanks with an offering. It is part of our worship. It is an integral part of the service of thanksgiving dedication at the walls of Jerusalem. and people of God. There is one further element that ought to be part of the giving thanks for the walls. It ought to be a part of listening to a sermon. It ought to be a part of our prayer. It ought to be a part of our singing. It ought to be a part of our offerings. And that is in verse 43. And also that day they offered great sacrifices, which is a focus of the gospel. The sacrifices were all pointing to Christ. So they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced. You see in verse 43, the theme, we'll get the theme. And they rejoiced for God had made them rejoice with great joy. The women and the children also rejoiced so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. People of God, we come together to give thanks with joy. I hope you children hope that you may look at this time that we come together in worship and this day, which may be a day of thanksgiving, but you come together with joy. How can you give thanks for what God has given without joy in your heart? The joy of the Lord is our strength. Men, women, children, the whole assembly gather and we rejoice before God. It is a joy to our heart. May our Thanksgiving have this kind of fervor. And those in your neighborhood know that you have joy in the house of the Lord, that it is a joy for you to gather for Thanksgiving, whether that be on a special day of Thanksgiving, or whether that be in your life of Thanksgiving, or whether that be in the common course of, although it's not common, but in the regular course of gathering together with God's people on the Lord's day to give thanks, may we do it with joy and thanksgiving to the praise of our God, giving glory to our God. For of all people in this world, we have a reason for joy and thanksgiving. Amen. O Lord God, bless this word and help us to be a people that truly give thanks from our heart with a faith that arises out of the glorious blessings in Christ. May we bring glory and honor to Your name. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.