What are Christians actually doing when we give thanks? Scripture describes a response to God that reaches far beyond a holiday meal. The American holiday has a history worth understanding, though the familiar version often leaves out people and events we should remember. I believe we can appreciate occasions of public gratitude while being honest about national sin. Neither affection for our country nor criticism of it should take the place of examining what happened and what Scripture teaches.
Thanksgiving Begins With the Living God
We thank God because we have received from Him. He is our Creator, and our dependence on Him did not end when He brought us into existence. We need the life and breath He gives, the food He provides, and the strength to work. Friendship, opportunities to learn, and help from another person are mercies we did not create for ourselves. Beyond those daily gifts, God has provided forgiveness and eternal life through His Son.
Psalm 100 calls the whole earth to serve the LORD with gladness and enter His gates with thanksgiving. The psalm gives reasons for that worship: He made us, we belong to Him, He is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to every generation (Psalm 100:1–5). We are responding to the living God who has made Himself known. Our thanks have someone to whom they are addressed and reasons that remain true when our circumstances change.
Moses warned Israel against forgetting this dependence once they enjoyed houses, crops, and increasing wealth. They were not to say, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” They were to remember the LORD, who gave them the power to gain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17–18). Their hard work was real, but so were the land, strength, and provision God had given them. I need that warning when I begin treating my accomplishments as though nobody helped me and God supplied nothing.
Gratitude does not require us to pretend that everything happening around us is good. Scripture includes prayers of lament, confession, and urgent appeals for rescue. I can grieve a death, oppose cruelty, and ask the Lord to relieve suffering while still thanking Him for His mercy. Giving thanks in painful circumstances does not mean calling evil good or declaring that the loss itself is pleasant. We can speak truthfully about our pain because the God who hears us is good.
Israel and the Psalms Teach Us to Remember
God gave Israel definite ways to remember His provision. Leviticus 7 describes a thanksgiving offering within the peace offerings, accompanied by unleavened cakes and leavened bread. The worshiper was to eat the flesh of this thanksgiving sacrifice on the day it was offered (Leviticus 7:11–15). He approached through the worship God had established, acknowledging His goodness. The offering was no attempt to purchase forgiveness through personal effort.
Israel’s appointed feasts also joined remembrance with food and worship. At Passover they recalled God delivering them from Egypt. At the Feast of Weeks they brought firstfruits before Him, and at the Feast of Tabernacles they rejoiced over the harvest and remembered their dependence on Him in the wilderness. Enjoying a crop while forgetting who had given them the land and rain would have missed the purpose of that worship. Their provision came from the same God who had redeemed them and made His covenant with them.
Yet sacrifices and festivals could not make persistent rebellion acceptable. Through Isaiah, God rebuked Judah for maintaining religious observances while practicing evil. He commanded them to stop, learn to do good, seek justice, and defend the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:11–17). I cannot use a thankful prayer to excuse cheating an employer, mistreating a neighbor, or refusing to correct a lie. God sees the conduct that accompanies our religious words.
The Psalms teach us to remember His mercy with the same honesty. Psalm 107 begins, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). It describes hungry wanderers, prisoners, people afflicted because of rebellion, and sailors terrified by a storm. They cried to the LORD in their trouble, He delivered them, and they were called to give thanks for His goodness.
Consider the sailors. Their skill could not overcome the storm, and their courage failed as the waves rose around them. They cried to God, He calmed the storm, and He brought them to their desired haven (Psalm 107:23–32). Their gratitude arose from remembering the danger and the rescue. The psalm does not ask them to forget how desperate they had been. Remembering their helplessness gave them reason to acknowledge who had delivered them.
Psalm 103 likewise calls us not to forget the LORD’s benefits: forgiveness, healing, redemption from destruction, lovingkindness, and tender mercies (Psalm 103:1–5). I would not turn that praise into a guarantee that every believer will recover immediately from every illness. The same psalm remembers human frailty and the LORD’s compassion toward those who fear Him. We can thank Him for healing when He grants it and trust His mercy while we continue to need help.
These passages teach Christians about the God we worship, but Israel’s appointed feasts remain part of Israel’s covenant history. The United States has not taken Israel’s place, and an American day of thanksgiving is not a feast God commanded. Christians may use the occasion to worship and serve others without claiming that its observance gives the nation a special covenant standing.
Jesus Gives Thanks and Gives Himself
Jesus Himself gave thanks. Before distributing the loaves to the multitude, He thanked the Father (John 6:11). At Lazarus’s tomb, He thanked the Father for hearing Him and explained that He spoke for the benefit of those standing there, so they would believe the Father had sent Him (John 11:41–42). He then called Lazarus out of the grave (John 11:43–44). His thanks expressed His fellowship with the Father and directed those listening to the truth about who He was.
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave thanks as He took the bread and the cup and spoke about His body and blood given for His disciples (Luke 22:19–20). He knew the suffering that lay before Him. Thanksgiving did not depend on having a comfortable evening ahead.
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, completely without sin. Wicked people mocked, tortured, and crucified Him, while He willingly gave Himself for our sins and shed His innocent blood. The Father did not punish, curse, abandon, strike, bruise, or pour wrath on Jesus. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were united in providing our salvation. Christ completed His saving sacrifice through His blood and death before He was buried, and He rose bodily on the third day.
Because Christ’s sacrifice is complete, the church gives thanks for a salvation He has already accomplished. When we observe the Lord’s Supper, the bread and cup remember and proclaim that sacrifice; they do not repeat it or add to it.
When Paul wrote about generosity toward believers in need, he ended with these words: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). God’s grace in Christ gives us reason both to thank Him and to give to others. Food, shelter, employment, and family are mercies, but gratitude that never reaches the Savior leaves out the greatest gift God has provided for sinners.
Romans 1 exposes the rebellion involved in refusing to thank Him. People had knowledge of God through what He made, yet refused to glorify Him or give Him thanks. Their thinking became futile, and they exchanged the Creator’s glory for images of created things (Romans 1:18–25). They continued receiving His gifts while rejecting Him as the Giver. Ingratitude here is a refusal to acknowledge the God to whom they owe their existence.
A religious meal cannot cure that rebellion. Neither a public proclamation nor a family tradition reconciles anyone to God, and saying grace before dinner does not save us. Christ died for the whole world, and His offer of mercy is genuine, though people can resist His grace. Those who turn from sin and trust Him are born again, made new, indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and eternally secure in Christ. Their standing rests in Him rather than their observance of a holiday. The study on salvation explains this new life and the forgiveness He gives.
Remembering the Plymouth Gathering Honestly
With that biblical understanding of thanksgiving, we can consider the American observance without confusing it with salvation or Israel’s covenant worship. The familiar account usually begins at Plymouth in 1621. The English colonists who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 had endured a devastating first winter, and the following harvest gave the survivors an occasion to rejoice.
Edward Winslow’s surviving account of the gathering, published in Mourt’s Relation in 1622, says the governor sent men to hunt fowl after the harvest. Massasoit, also known as Ousamequin, came with about ninety men. Winslow describes three days of feasting with these Wampanoag participants, who hunted and brought five deer. He also attributed the colonists’ provision to God’s goodness. We have enough to recognize a harvest celebration involving both communities, without pretending to know every item on the table or every conversation that occurred.
Many Plymouth colonists had separated from the Church of England and sought freedom to order their worship according to their Christian convictions. Their references to God’s providence belong in an honest account of their lives. But the gathering was not a federal holiday, the beginning of the United States, or the first time anyone in North America offered thanks. Earlier European observances and Indigenous practices of gratitude have their own histories. Plymouth does not mark the invention of thanksgiving.
The Wampanoag also belong in this account as people with a history beyond supplying food at an English celebration. Their experience included disease, alliances, conflict, and loss of land. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s historical timeline recalls the deaths and enslavement suffered during King Philip’s War, which began in 1675, as well as later restrictions on their community and land. Those events do not disappear because a harvest gathering gives us a happier scene to remember. The Wampanoag remain a living people, not merely participants in a distant colonial occasion.
I see no need to erase the good in the gathering or to conceal what came afterward. We can appreciate people sharing food after hardship and acknowledge the Christian convictions expressed in the English records. We must also refuse to use a pleasant national memory to obscure other people’s suffering. Gratitude to the God of truth should make us more willing to tell the truth about our history.
National Thanksgivings Are Not a New Covenant
Colonial and early American communities proclaimed days of prayer and thanksgiving on various occasions, including harvests and deliverances. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress designated December 18, 1777, as a day of thanksgiving. Its call included confession of sin and a request for forgiveness through the merits of Jesus Christ.
After a request from Congress, George Washington recommended Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. His proclamation thanked God for protection, the establishment of government, and civil and religious liberty. It also called for pardon for national and other transgressions.
In his October 3, 1863, proclamation, Abraham Lincoln invited Americans to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise. The Civil War was still raging. Alongside the nation’s blessings, he called for humility over national disobedience and prayer for widows, orphans, mourners, and others suffering from the war. The regular annual national observance developed from this period, although the date later became disputed.
In 1939, the last Thursday fell on November 30. Franklin Roosevelt moved the observance a week earlier in the hope that a longer Christmas shopping season would help the economy, and states divided over which date to observe. Congress eventually established the fourth Thursday in November as the federal holiday, with Roosevelt signing the resolution on December 26, 1941. The National Archives preserves the legislative record. The date we now observe came through those civil decisions, rather than a biblical command.
I appreciate the calls for repentance in the proclamations from Congress, Washington, and Lincoln. A nation can have good things to acknowledge and serious sins to confess at the same time. I would not dismiss every public expression of gratitude merely because the people involved were imperfect, nor would I treat religious wording as proof that their actions were righteous.
Nor can national thanksgiving establish a new covenant with God. He made specific promises to Abraham and his descendants, including promises concerning their land. Those promises cannot be transferred to America, or to any other modern country, because its leaders invoke His name.
Prosperity is no reliable certificate of national righteousness either. Scripture describes corrupt people prospering for a time and faithful people suffering. We can thank God for protection and provision, pray for leaders, and seek justice without claiming to know His verdict on every event. The study on the providence of God considers His care and government of the world without making human choices blameless or suffering a sure sign of weak faith.
Every nation still needs the gospel. Civil religion, meaning public religious language and customs used to express national identity, can obscure that need when it treats patriotism as a substitute for repentance and faith. Churches must proclaim Christ’s shed blood, the forgiveness He offers, and the judgment to come. We must also speak truthfully about wrongdoing and honor the dignity of every person made in God’s image.
A Thankful Christian Life
Paul tells believers to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything because this is God’s will for them in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). A grieving believer can obey those words while weeping. We may miss someone terribly and still thank God for the resurrection He has promised. Prayer allows us to bring both the sorrow and the gratitude before Him.
Philippians 4 addresses thanksgiving when we are anxious. Paul tells us to bring our requests to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, and promises that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7). He does not promise that each request will be granted exactly as we picture it. Remembering the Father’s faithfulness helps us entrust a new burden to Him while we ask for what we need. The study on prayer develops that dependence on God.
Colossians places gratitude within the shared life of the church. Believers are to let Christ’s peace rule in their hearts and His Word dwell richly among them, teaching and singing with grace and giving thanks to the Father through Him (Colossians 3:12–17). The surrounding instructions concern patience, forgiveness, love, and conduct toward one another. A thankful congregation should be learning to practice those things, rather than allowing its songs to conceal bitterness or indifference.
Generosity is one practical response. If God has supplied food, money, time, or a useful skill, I can consider who needs help and what I can share. Gratitude should move us to support faithful ministry and care for people whose needs are easy to overlook. It does not relieve us of addressing sin, and it does not entitle us to become complacent because our own household is comfortable.
A Thanksgiving meal can provide a simple opportunity to put this into practice. Those gathered may read Scripture and name particular mercies for which they thank God. If someone is ill or absent, they can pray and arrange practical help. Neither an expensive menu nor a crowded room makes the thanks more acceptable. We can honor the Lord around a modest table without straining our finances to maintain an appearance of abundance.
For others, the holiday brings family conflict, loneliness, or the fresh pain of bereavement. I do not want us to pressure someone into pretending everything is well so the rest of the room can remain comfortable. Listen when they speak, ask what help would be welcome, and make room for grief. A church should notice people who have no easy gathering to attend and offer the kind of Christian hospitality Scripture commands.
The people around any table also need reconciliation with God. We can explain why Christ deserves our thanks without turning the meal into a performance or assuming that a family heritage makes everyone there a believer. Jesus is the only Savior and Mediator, and He receives those who come in repentance and faith. The gratitude we express should agree with the gospel we proclaim and with the care we show the people listening.
My Final Thoughts
I do not see a conflict between giving thanks and telling the truth. We can appreciate public calls to prayer, acknowledge national sin, and remember people whose suffering a familiar account has overlooked. We need the same honesty in our own worship. God has given us daily provision and mercy through His Son, who shed His blood for sinners and rose bodily from the grave. Whether a holiday brings joy, grief, or both, we can bring our circumstances before Him and thank the God whose goodness has not changed.
We hear “Hosanna” in songs and around Palm Sunday, but the word means more than a familiar expression of celebration. It comes from a plea for the Lord to save. When the crowds cried it around Jesus on His way into Jerusalem, they joined that prayer to a public welcome for the promised King.
I want us to understand both the plea and the praise. The people spread garments and branches before Jesus, and those ahead of Him and behind Him called out words drawn from Scripture. Their welcome was fitting, but many had not understood how He would save. Jesus entered the city knowing that rejection and crucifixion lay ahead, and neither the crowd’s enthusiasm nor His enemies’ hostility would change His mission.
Hosanna Means “Save Now, I Pray”
The Textus Receptus, a printed Greek New Testament tradition, uses ὡσαννά, or hosanna. This is a transliteration: the sound of an expression from another language is carried into Greek letters. A translation, by comparison, gives its meaning. The Hebrew words behind this cry appear in Psalm 118:25, so the psalm helps us understand what the crowds were saying.
In the Masoretic Hebrew text, the line begins anna YHWH hoshiah na. Anna introduces an earnest appeal, and YHWH is God’s name, represented by LORD in the quotation below. Hoshiah calls on Him to save or deliver; na gives the appeal its pleading force, as in “please” or “I pray.” The familiar rendering “Save now, I pray” expresses the request, rather than giving the worshiper authority to impose a deadline on God. The translation notes on Psalm 118:25 trace Hosanna to these Hebrew words.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, "His mercy endures forever." Let the house of Aaron now say, "His mercy endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD now say, "His mercy endures forever." I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD. The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD, Through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 118:1-29
The psalm begins and ends by thanking the Lord for His goodness and enduring mercy. Between those declarations, the worshiper describes distress, surrounding enemies, severe discipline, and God’s help. Having been delivered, he asks to enter the gates of righteousness and give thanks. Rescue leads him into worship; he does not speak as though he has made himself secure without God.
As the psalm nears its close, a rejected stone becomes the chief cornerstone, and the people rejoice in what the Lord has done. The appeal for salvation follows, alongside a request for success and a blessing on the one who comes in the Lord’s name. The psalm goes on to speak of sacrifice at the altar, keeping the plea within the worship of God. These are words of dependence spoken within thankful worship. Asking God to continue helping His people does not contradict thanking Him for the help He has already given.
The request for prosperity does not turn the psalm into a guarantee of personal wealth. It asks God to grant success, within a passage that credits Him with deliverance and calls His people to righteous worship. I cannot take that line out of its setting and use it to promise that every person who says Hosanna will become financially comfortable.
When the crowds welcomed Jesus, the plea had become part of a joyful acclamation, an expression of public praise. Its origin still helps us hear what kind of praise this was: the people welcomed the One associated with God’s promised salvation. If I hear only celebration, I miss their dependence on the Lord; if I hear only desperation, I overlook the joy of welcoming the King.
The Son of David Is Zion’s Humble King
Calling Jesus the Son of David gave the procession a significance that a general shout of welcome would not have carried. The title reached back to God’s promise concerning David’s royal house.
Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house. "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever."'" According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:8-17
David had wanted to build a house for the Lord, but the Lord promised to establish David’s house, meaning his royal line. Solomon would succeed him and build the temple. The promise also extended beyond one mortal king: David’s throne would be established forever. The lasting fulfillment comes through the Messiah, the promised King, whose life and reign will not end.
The warning about chastening a son who commits iniquity concerns the failures of David’s descendants; Jesus Himself never sinned. He belongs to David’s line according to His true humanity and fulfills the promise of everlasting kingship. The church does not replace Israel in this covenant, and we should not reduce the throne to a private feeling of peace. The study on the Davidic Covenant explains the promise more fully.
Zechariah also described how Zion’s King would come. His prophecy joins a humble arrival to a rule extending far beyond Jerusalem.
The burden of the word of the LORD Against the land of Hadrach, And Damascus its resting place (For the eyes of men And all the tribes of Israel Are on the LORD); Also against Hamath, which borders on it, And against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a tower, Heaped up silver like the dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. Behold, the LORD will cast her out; He will destroy her power in the sea, And she will be devoured by fire. Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. "A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have seen with My eyes. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.' "As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you. For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man." Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land– For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.
Zechariah 9:1-17
The King is righteous, brings salvation, and comes lowly on a donkey. His humility does not mean that He lacks authority. The prophecy continues with the removal of weapons of war, peace for the nations, and dominion to the ends of the earth. Jesus’ entry fulfills the promised manner of His arrival, while the full public extent of that peace and dominion remains ahead.
Jesus deliberately arranged the entry by sending disciples for the animals and telling them what to say. The royal sign did not originate in the crowd’s imagination. Yet He was not leading an immediate revolt against Rome. He would first accomplish His saving work, rise bodily, and ascend to heaven before returning to exercise His promised rule openly. His humility and future authority belong to the same King.
Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion." "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'" Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Psalm 2:1-12
Psalm 2 describes rulers conspiring against the Lord and His Anointed, while God declares that He has established His King. Their rebellion cannot remove the Son or annul His inheritance of the nations. Those rulers are called to submit, and those who trust Him are blessed. No political movement can claim Jesus as its possession or enlist Him merely to make its own side powerful. His authority extends over every ruler who would try to use His name.
The Four Gospels Show the Entry From Different Angles
Passover was approaching, and pilgrims were gathering to remember the Lord’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Jesus approached Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Matthew connects His arrival directly with Zechariah’s prophecy and records the crowd’s words about David’s Son.
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.'" So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
Matthew 21:1-17
Matthew mentions both the donkey and her colt. Zechariah’s two descriptions refer to the same mount: a donkey, specifically a colt. That poetic repetition does not require Jesus to ride two animals. Matthew records that both were brought, while Mark and Luke specify that Jesus sat on the colt.
The crowd’s arrival stirred Jerusalem to ask who Jesus was. The reply that He was the prophet from Nazareth was true, though incomplete. The Son of David was also the Lord who had the right to expose corruption in the temple and heal those who came to Him.
When children continued crying Hosanna to the Son of David in the temple, the chief priests and scribes became indignant. Jesus did not silence the children or explain that their words had been an embarrassing mistake. He answered from Psalm 8 and defended their praise. The religious leaders’ objection did not make their judgment more reliable than what the children were saying.
Later in Matthew 21, Jesus quoted the rejected-stone passage when confronting the chief priests and Pharisees (verses 42–45). Their rejection would not have the final word about Him. The Lord would vindicate His Son, just as the psalm credits the Lord with exalting what the builders had rejected.
Mark includes the blessing on the coming kingdom of David, making the royal hope explicit. He also records Hosanna in the highest. The expression lifts the prayer and praise toward heaven without naming particular heavenly speakers or listeners.
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here." So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?" And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Mark 11:1-11
Mark’s sequence also clarifies the temple chronology. On the day of the entry, Jesus looked around the temple and returned to Bethany because it was late. Mark 11:12–17 places the expulsion of the buyers and sellers on the following day. Matthew groups these related events without that day-by-day explanation. We can attend to each writer’s emphasis without assuming that every event in Matthew 21 happened before sunset on the day of the procession.
Luke brings us back to the descent from the Mount of Olives, where praise was followed by Jesus’ tears over Jerusalem.
When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'" So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of him." Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
Luke 19:28-48
Luke does not use the word Hosanna here. He records the blessing from Psalm 118 and explicitly names Jesus as the King. The disciples rejoice because of the mighty works they have seen, and some Pharisees demand that Jesus rebuke them. His answer about the stones crying out makes clear that their praise is appropriate. He will not deny His identity to satisfy those who object.
As He draws near, however, Jesus sees Jerusalem and weeps. He speaks of the peace the city has missed and the coming destruction: enemies will surround it, hem it in, and tear it down. The welcome of the procession has not concealed the city’s unbelief from Him. The opportunity to recognize His visitation carries responsibility, and He does not treat rejection as harmless simply because many people are celebrating.
I do not want us to overlook His tears. Jesus knows the judgment that lies ahead and grieves over the people who have failed to recognize the way of peace. We should not turn the entry into a cheerful scene detached from His warning, or speak about the coming destruction as though He took pleasure in the suffering it would bring.
John takes us first to Bethany, where Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised, sits at supper and Mary anoints Jesus’ feet. Jesus speaks of His burial, while Judas objects under a pretense of concern for the poor. John explicitly tells us that Judas was stealing from the money box. The approaching death is already in view before John describes the crowd gathering to welcome Jesus.
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt." His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!"
John 12:1-19
Those who witnessed Lazarus’s resurrection kept testifying, and others went out to meet Jesus because they had heard of that sign. John identifies their branches as palms and records their welcome for the King of Israel. The Pharisees complain that the world has gone after Him, although their exaggeration does not mean everyone believed. Even the disciples did not yet understand the significance of what they were doing; after Jesus was glorified, they remembered the Scriptures concerning Him. The study on Jesus riding on a colt follows that prophetic connection.
The Crowd Was Mixed, but Jesus Accepted the Praise
The Gospels do not present the crowd as one person with one motive. Disciples, pilgrims, witnesses to Lazarus’s resurrection, curious residents, and hostile leaders appear in the accounts. Some likely hoped for national deliverance, given the language about David’s kingdom. Others came because they had heard of a miracle. We can recognize those possibilities without claiming to know what every person secretly expected.
For the same reason, I would not confidently identify the people crying Hosanna as the same individuals who later demanded Jesus’ crucifixion. The Gospels do not tell us which people, if any, belonged to both groups. People can be fickle, and religious enthusiasm can be shallow, but neither truth gives us permission to supply an identification the text does not make.
Jesus accepted the praise because it rightly honored Him. Earlier restrictions on publicity did not mean He would always conceal His identity; here He arranged the prophetic sign and defended the acclamation. He is the eternal Son, fully God and fully man, so divine honor belongs to Him. Calling Him King does not by itself establish that every speaker understood His deity or possessed saving faith. Their limited understanding could not make the true confession false.
Nor did His acceptance endorse every political hope in the crowd. He went on to confront the temple’s corruption and teach with an authority the leaders resisted. If I praise Jesus while expecting Him to preserve a dishonest arrangement that benefits me, I have misunderstood the King I am naming. The study on the Messiah in the Bible considers His identity and mission beyond the expectations of one crowd.
That warning belongs in our churches too. Enthusiastic singing cannot make financial manipulation acceptable or excuse treating vulnerable people as a nuisance. Matthew records both Jesus’ expulsion of those corrupting the temple and His healing of the blind and lame who came there. Defending holy worship did not require contempt for people who needed mercy. If our institution protects its income and reputation while neglecting truth and mistreating people, singing Hosanna does not remove the need to repent.
The Cross and Resurrection Answer the Plea
The King came to provide a salvation deeper than temporary relief from foreign rule. Early in His ministry, before the procession into Jerusalem, John the Baptist had identified Him as the Lamb of God.
Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" He said: "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"' as the prophet Isaiah said." Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
John 1:19-34
John refused to claim the position of the Christ and directed attention to Jesus instead. He testified that Jesus is the Son of God and the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. The titles belong together: the promised King would give Himself for sinners. His authority and His willing sacrifice are both part of the salvation He brings. Isaiah had already described the innocent Servant who would give His life for the sins of others.
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked– But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:1-12
Isaiah describes the despised Servant suffering oppression and injustice, being cut off from the living, and receiving a grave with the rich. He is innocent, yet bears the sins of others. The prophecy also speaks beyond His death: He will see His seed, His days will be prolonged, and the Lord’s purpose will prosper through Him. Jesus’ entry was not a failed campaign that required Him to improvise another plan after the welcome faded.
Wicked men inflicted the torture and punishment He endured in His body and put Him to death. He willingly bore that suffering for our sins and shed His innocent blood for the whole world. I understand Isaiah’s words about the Lord’s purpose in light of that willing offering, rather than making the Father the one who tortured His Son. The Father did not punish, curse, abandon, strike, bruise, or pour wrath on Jesus. Jesus said that the Father was with Him even when His disciples would leave Him (John 16:32).
His saving work through His blood and death was complete before His burial and bodily resurrection. God then raised Him from the dead; the rejected King was not defeated by those who condemned Him. At Pentecost, Peter explained both the human guilt in the crucifixion and God’s fulfillment of His promises through the risen Christ.
"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know– Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Acts 2:22-36
Peter calls the hands that crucified Jesus lawless, even while saying that He was delivered according to God’s determined purpose and foreknowledge. Those men were responsible for what they chose to do. God’s purpose did not turn false testimony, mockery, torture, and murder into righteous conduct. Their sin could not thwart His saving work, but neither did His use of their actions excuse it.
Peter then explains David’s words about the Holy One not seeing corruption. David himself had died and been buried, and his tomb remained known. As a prophet, he had spoken of the Messiah’s resurrection in connection with God’s promise concerning his throne. Jesus was raised bodily, His flesh did not decay, and He was exalted at God’s right hand. The Son of David whom the crowd welcomed is the living Lord and Christ, not a teacher whose mission ended in a grave.
Christ’s provision is for the whole world, though that does not mean everyone is automatically saved. People can resist God’s genuine offer. Everyone who repents and believes is forgiven and justified, meaning declared righteous before God. That person is born again, indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and eternally secure. When I speak of new birth, I mean God’s work making someone new, rather than someone merely adopting the Christian name. Changed conduct is evidence of that life; it does not earn salvation or keep us saved, and eternal security is no excuse for lawlessness.
Palm-Bearing Worship Looks Toward the Returning King
Revelation gives us another gathering with palm branches, this time before the throne and the Lamb. The elder identifies these worshipers as people who have come out of the great tribulation.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:9-17
The multitude includes people from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They credit God and the Lamb with their salvation, and their white robes are explained through the Lamb’s blood. Neither their nationality nor their endurance has purchased their place before Him. The King acclaimed in Jerusalem saves people far beyond that city and nation.
These worshipers have come through terrible suffering, yet the Lamb now shepherds them. Hunger, thirst, scorching heat, and tears no longer afflict them. The vision does not promise that faithful people will avoid hardship on earth; it shows God’s care for those who have endured it.
I understand these events within the Bible’s future fulfillment: the church will be gathered before the seven-year Tribulation, and Jesus will afterward return bodily to establish His literal thousand-year reign. The multinational multitude coming out of the Tribulation does not erase God’s promises concerning Israel or make Christ’s royal rule merely symbolic. The Son of David will openly exercise the authority the procession acknowledged.
While we wait, Hosanna can still express our dependence on Him. We can ask for rescue from danger, relief from suffering, and help for people under oppression without pretending that these needs are trivial. Sometimes God provides through ordinary help, and sometimes faithful people must endure trouble while awaiting deliverance. I think it is reckless to use someone’s suffering as proof that he lacks faith when Scripture describes faithful people enduring precisely that kind of trial. Our plea does not require Him to adopt our method or our schedule.
I also need to let His Word examine what I am asking Him to save or preserve. Asking for protection for a family is not the same as asking Him to protect dishonest income. Praying for a nation’s well-being does not entitle me to demand success for my political side at any cost. The King may confront the very ambition I hoped He would serve. We can praise Him for the salvation He has accomplished while bringing our present needs to Him and obeying what He has already told us to do.
We can also give practical help to people whose needs we are praying about and proclaim the gospel to those who have not heard it. Looking for His return should encourage that faithfulness through opposition.
My Final Thoughts
When I say Hosanna, I want to understand the plea for salvation and the praise offered to the promised King. Jesus accepted that welcome, willingly went to the cross, and rose bodily from the dead. He receives those who repent and believe, and He will return to fulfill His royal promises. We can bring Him our trouble honestly, without making our praise conditional on receiving the answer we prefer. The Son of David deserves our trust and obedience as well as our words.
I ought to know what I am saying when I sing to God. A familiar song can come so easily that I scarcely think about its lyrics, especially when I enjoy the music. But those words make claims about God, about us, and about what He has promised. Before calling a song biblical praise, we need to examine those claims. A moving arrangement can help us express the truth, but it cannot make an inaccurate lyric true.
Praise Begins with God
The book of Psalms does not reach its final call to praise by ignoring suffering. We have already heard God’s people confess sin, grieve over evil, and cry out in fear. Some of their prayers are anguished. After letting us hear all of that, Psalm 150 calls everything with breath to praise the Lord.
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:1-6
The psalm begins with God’s sanctuary and His mighty firmament, calling for praise among His people and throughout His creation. I can praise Him outdoors or while working at home, but that does not make gathering with the church unnecessary. Under the new covenant, believers also come together to thank Him and confess the truth as a body.
The psalm directs our attention to God’s mighty acts and excellent greatness. He made the world and rules it righteously, and His works reveal His power and faithfulness to His people. Those are reasons to praise Him even when our own circumstances are painful. I do not have to pretend a loss has stopped hurting before I can acknowledge the goodness of God.
The Hebrew verb halal, used repeatedly here, means to praise. God’s people are openly declaring greatness He already possesses. Singers and musicians should use their abilities to help people honor Him. If we leave the gathering impressed with the performers but have scarcely considered the Lord they sang about, we ought to question where our attention has gone.
For Christians, praise for God’s saving work centers on Jesus Christ, His death for our sins, and His bodily resurrection. A church can sing a great deal about its own hopes and feelings while saying very little about what the Savior actually did. Our songs need to speak truthfully about His character and grace, take sin and judgment seriously, and give us reason to trust Him and live holy lives. Not every song has to explain every doctrine, but the songs we keep singing should teach us to know the Lord rather than simply describe how we want to feel.
Psalm 150 gives us no reason to despise musical beauty or instruments. It names everything from the trumpet and harp to clashing cymbals, with dancing among its expressions of praise. These are not instructions to assemble the entire list every time the church meets. They do, however, make it difficult to argue that instruments or vigorous rejoicing are inherently worldly.
We still need to consider how our expression of praise affects the gathered church. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul directs believers to use their gifts so that others can understand and be built up. His closing instruction applies to the gathering as a whole.
Let all things be done decently and in order.
1 Corinthians 14:40
Order does not require everyone to look solemn, and joy does not excuse ignoring the people around us. If the volume prevents people from understanding the words or participating, turning it up further is not a spiritual accomplishment. The Old Testament includes dancing at times of celebration, but it does not command every church gathering to include it. Nor should we insist that someone who moves while singing must be irreverent. We need reverence and self-control, and we should care about how our actions help or hinder others in worship.
God Saves, Then His People Sing
After the Lord brought Israel through the sea, Moses and the people sang about what He had done. They had been trapped, unable to deliver themselves from Pharaoh’s army, and God had rescued them. Their song followed His deliverance.
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
Exodus 15:1-2
Israel did not obtain that rescue by singing enthusiastically enough. I need to remember that when I come to praise God, because it is easy to start treating a worship experience as something that earns His approval. Neither my voice nor my emotional intensity can purchase His favor. Believers give thanks because He has acted mercifully to redeem us, and we approach Him through Jesus Christ.
Paul makes that dependence on Christ explicit when he describes praise as an offering to God in Hebrews.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Hebrews 13:15
The words “by Him” tell us how we come. Jesus is the eternal Son, fully God and fully man, who lived without sin. Wicked men tortured Him and put Him to death, but He willingly gave Himself to be slain as the sinless, perfect sacrifice for our sins. He shed His blood to redeem us and completed that saving work through His death before His burial and bodily resurrection. The Father did not punish, curse, abandon, strike, bruise, or pour wrath on Jesus. Father and Son acted in unity to redeem us.
Christ died for the sins of the whole world, so God’s offer of salvation is genuine for every person. A person can resist His grace and reject Him, but everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus receives forgiveness and new birth. The Holy Spirit lives within that believer and seals him, and his salvation is eternally secure in Christ. That is why acceptance before God cannot depend on whether a song moved me or I managed to sing it well.
Calling ourselves Christians and joining the singing are not, by themselves, proof that we have been born again. Regeneration means that God has given a person new life, and we should see evidence of that life in his conduct. His obedience does not earn salvation or keep him saved, nor does being born again mean that he never sins. The assurance we have in Christ gives us reason to thank Him, without giving us permission to disregard His commands.
The sacrifice of praise in Hebrews is offered through Christ in joy as well as sorrow. At times, though, giving thanks is costly because grief makes the words difficult to say. A believer can acknowledge that pain and still thank the Lord for what is true about Him. I think we should be careful not to pressure someone into pretending to be cheerful in order to prove that he trusts God.
Continual praise does not mean singing every waking moment. Gratitude should become part of our speech and ordinary conduct, including at home and at work, where no one is leading the music. The study on thanksgiving in the Bible considers how believers can keep giving thanks, including during trouble.
Singing Teaches the Church
When believers sing together, they address one another as well as the Lord. The words we share can remind a discouraged person of God’s faithfulness or confront an attitude we have been excusing. Paul connects that shared singing with learning and living by the word of Christ.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16
Paul expects singing to teach us the truth and to admonish us, meaning to warn or correct us. A song can help us remember what God says long after a spoken explanation has faded from memory. Yet a familiar lyric can also become our explanation of a doctrine we have never examined in Scripture. We may accept its claims without question simply because we have sung them so often.
Repetition itself is not the problem. Repeating a biblical truth can help us dwell on it, but repeating a vague promise does not make the promise biblical. I want to be able to explain what I am singing and why I believe it. A short chorus can do that well; a lengthy song can still say very little.
Paul uses the Greek expressions psalmois, hymnois, and odais pneumatikais for psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs here and in Ephesians 5:19. These terms have overlapping uses, rather than dividing music into three modern styles. A hymn is a song of praise, and the word for song is broader. Calling something a hymn does not establish that its theology is sound, just as calling it a chorus does not establish that its theology is shallow.
In Ephesians, singing belongs to the Spirit-filled life: believers address one another, make melody to the Lord, and give thanks to the Father in Jesus’ name. The Holy Spirit is a divine Person who directs us to Christ and works in agreement with the Word He inspired. His work gives us reason to sing with understanding and gratitude. We should not confuse being filled with the Spirit with being carried along by an atmosphere we find exciting.
Paul’s instruction involves the whole church, so leaders need to choose songs the congregation can actually sing. A soloist may handle a demanding vocal range and an intricate melody beautifully, but that does not make the same arrangement suitable for the whole congregation. Leaders should consider whether ordinary singers can follow the tune, keep their place in the rhythm, and understand the words. Musical skill serves the gathering when it helps those people participate.
I would not insist that every arrangement be plain or that every unfamiliar song be discarded. The congregation can learn new music, but if the musicians consistently take over while the people watch, the church is losing something Paul told it to do together. The leader should want to hear the people singing, and the accompaniment should leave room for their voices and the meaning of the words.
That includes making room for people whose taste differs from mine. An older believer and a younger believer worship the same Lord, as do the trained singer and the person who struggles to carry a tune. If a song is faithful and helps the church sing, I can receive it gratefully even when I would not have chosen its style. My preference does not deserve to govern everyone else’s opportunity to praise God.
Worship Must Join Spirit and Truth
Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman takes the question of worship deeper than musical choices. She raised the dispute between worship on Mount Gerizim and worship in Jerusalem. Jesus did not treat both traditions as equally true; He said that salvation is of the Jews. As the Messiah, He announced that worship of the Father would no longer depend on either location.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:23-24
Worship “in spirit” reaches beyond an outward ceremony to the person who is approaching God. Completing the expected actions is not enough if my heart is disengaged. Jesus was not giving instructions for producing an atmosphere or telling us to trust every inward impression. The Father seeks people who truly worship Him, wherever they are.
To worship “in truth” is to approach the God revealed in Scripture and made known through Jesus Christ. We cannot invent a version of God we find more agreeable. I cannot dismiss His holiness because a song about unconditional approval makes me feel accepted. Nor should I imagine that He is less merciful than Scripture says because I find it difficult to believe He would forgive me. We need His Word to correct our thinking in both directions.
That does not require us to sing without feeling. God’s mercy should stir gratitude, and recognizing our sin should bring repentance. The Psalms also give us words for grief and fear. We can bring those feelings honestly before the Lord while allowing what He has said to govern what we believe about Him.
Isaiah warned people who could say the expected words of worship while keeping their hearts far from God.
Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.”
Isaiah 29:13
Jesus later repeated that warning. I can sing a true lyric and still refuse the correction it brings. Tears during a song do not settle whether I will forgive someone, admit a sin, or stop defending conduct Scripture condemns. Music can affect us deeply, and there is nothing wrong with that. The danger is treating the experience as proof that all is well with God while avoiding what He has told us to do.
When a song brings God’s mercy or holiness to mind, I need to respond to Him, rather than merely enjoy the way the song expresses them. The study on the Lord’s Prayer follows a similar order: Jesus teaches us to honor the Father and His name while bringing our actual needs before Him.
Test Songs as Part of Whole-Life Worship
Discernment does not require finding fault with every song. Paul told the Thessalonians not to quench the Spirit or despise prophecies, and also required them to examine what they received. They were neither to reject everything nor accept every claim uncritically.
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
The same instruction helps us assess the songs we sing. Read the lyrics without the music for a moment. What are they saying about God, about Jesus, and about our relationship with Him? If a line makes a promise, we should be able to find grounds for that promise in Scripture. Familiar Christian words do not guarantee that the songwriter is using them with their biblical meaning.
We also need to read the whole song. One accurate line about the cross cannot correct repeated claims that make repentance unnecessary or treat God as someone obliged to fulfill our wishes. On the other hand, a song does not become self-centered merely because it uses the word “I.” The Psalms speak personally about fear, gratitude, and dependence on God. We need to examine what the singer is saying, rather than object to a pronoun.
Once the lyrics have been examined, church leaders still need to consider where a song comes from. A biblically sound song can come from a ministry that also teaches serious error. That connection does not automatically answer every question about using it, but it deserves more thought than whether the tune is popular. Repeatedly drawing from one ministry may introduce its language and influence, and people may take the church’s use of its songs as a recommendation of its teaching.
Using one song carefully is different from building the church’s music around a source that directs people toward dangerous teachers. Leaders need to consider whether their choices will confuse less mature believers or draw them into following that ministry. The study on false teachers examines the doctrinal danger more fully. Here, we need to weigh the actual teaching and the effect on people, without condemning every song by association or ignoring an influence because we enjoy the music.
I also need to be honest when my objection is a preference. If I dislike a song’s tempo, its instrumentation, or an unfamiliar arrangement, I ought to say so. Practical preferences can help leaders decide what suits a particular congregation, but they do not carry the authority of a biblical command. A doctrinal objection needs to identify what the song teaches and explain where it conflicts with Scripture. Neither the song’s age nor the generation that enjoys it can do that work for us.
We should be willing to keep a faithful song and just as willing to leave one aside when its teaching is false or it consistently hinders the church’s participation. This calls for honesty from people on either side of a musical disagreement. I cannot defend a favorite song merely because it feels meaningful, and I should not condemn someone else’s favorite merely because its style is unfamiliar to me.
These questions apply to private listening too. The music we listen to while commuting, exercising, or working at home can keep words in our minds for hours. Music is a gift when it helps us remember Scripture, pray, and give thanks, including while grieving. Whatever we listen to, we should not use it to replace time in the Word, fellowship with believers, or obedience we have been putting off.
Paul’s appeal in Romans 12 helps keep singing in its proper place within the rest of our worship.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
He calls believers to present their bodies to God because of His mercies. If I sing passionately on Sunday and then cheat someone at work on Monday, my singing does not excuse the dishonesty. The Lord has a claim on the way I work and speak, my sexual conduct, and the way I treat people who depend on me. Praise should help me remember His mercy and obey Him in those responsibilities.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2
Having our minds renewed includes learning to judge differently from a culture preoccupied with celebrity and image. A performer’s popularity cannot tell us whether his lyrics are true, and an exhilarating experience does not establish that the church has been helped. Scripture teaches us to consider God’s honor and other people’s good, even when that requires changing something we personally enjoy.
My Final Thoughts
I want our singing to give us words we can mean before God and remember when the music has stopped. That requires truthful lyrics, but it also requires a willingness to believe and obey what we sing. We can value skill, enjoy a range of musical styles, and express real feeling while keeping those things under the authority of Scripture. If a song helps the church thank the Father through Christ and carries His truth into our ordinary lives, we have good reason to sing it together.
