Psalms that give thanks to God, from the only psalm headed a psalm of thanksgiving to the refrain of Psalm 136.
Thanks in the psalms is almost always specific. The writer names what happened: a prayer answered, a life saved, mourning turned into dancing, a good harvest. One line of thanks recurs across the book: give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. It stands at the start of Psalms 106, 107, 118 and 136, and Psalm 136 repeats its second half in all 26 verses.
The picks are grouped by the kind of thanks: the shared refrain, thanks for an answered prayer, everyday thankfulness, and the sacrifice of thanksgiving. A note below gives the KJV wording of the best-known verses. Tick any verse to add it to a printable sheet.
Group thanksgiving, written in the plural to be said together.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,for his loving kindness endures forever.
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
The line gives two reasons for thanks: God is good, and his loving kindness lasts. Psalm 107 then describes four groups of people in trouble who cried out and were rescued.
who remembered us in our low estate,for his loving kindness endures forever;
Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Every line of Psalm 136 is answered with for his loving kindness endures forever. This verse names a plain reason: he remembered us in our low estate.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,and into his courts with praise.Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psalm 100 is the only psalm whose heading calls it a psalm of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the way in: through the gates and into the courts.
Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving.Let’s extol him with songs!
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Thanksgiving comes first here, as the way to approach God's presence. The KJV has make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD,to sing praises to your name, Most High,
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
It is a good thing to give thanks. The heading calls Psalm 92 a song for the Sabbath day, and verse 2 sets the thanks in the morning and every night.
Thanksgiving after a specific rescue. The writer usually says what went wrong before saying thank you.
to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent.LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
The reason for being rescued is given as singing and not being silent. The verse before it says God turned mourning into dancing.
What will I give to the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
A question with no easy answer: what can I give back for all his benefits? Verses 13 and 17 answer with the cup of salvation and the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me,and have become my salvation.
I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Thanks with the reason attached: you have answered me. The psalm starts and ends with give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
Many, LORD, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done,and your thoughts which are toward us.They can’t be declared back to you.If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted.
Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Too many things to list. The writer says God's wonderful works and thoughts toward us are more than can be counted.
Come and hear, all you who fear God.I will declare what he has done for my soul.
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
An invitation to listen to one person's story. Thanksgiving here means telling others what God has done for my soul.
The LORD has done great things for us,and we are glad.
The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
Short and plural: the LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad. The psalm is about people brought back to Zion.
For gratitude that is not tied to one event: daily care, a good year, and the things that are easy to forget.
Praise the LORD, my soul,and don’t forget all his benefits,
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
The instruction is not to forget. Verses 3 to 5 then list the benefits: forgiveness, healing, rescue, loving kindness and good things.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens,even the God who is our salvation. Selah.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
The WEB reads who daily bears our burdens. The KJV reads who daily loadeth us with benefits. Both make the care a daily thing.
You crown the year with your bounty.Your carts overflow with abundance.
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
Thanks for a good year: you crown the year with your bounty. Psalm 65 describes rain, grain and pastures covered with flocks.
Several psalms call thanksgiving a sacrifice, and one says it pleases the LORD better than an animal offering.
Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving.Pay your vows to the Most High.
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
God speaks in this psalm, and what he asks for is thanksgiving and kept vows. Verse 13 has just asked whether he eats the meat of bulls.
I will praise the name of God with a song,and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Praise with a song, and magnify him with thanksgiving. The next verse says this will please the LORD better than an ox.
Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,and declare his deeds with singing.
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
The offering is paired with telling what God did, in song: offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
In the King James Version, Psalm 100:4 reads: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 107:1 reads: O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Where the WEB says loving kindness, the KJV usually says mercy.
Psalm 100 is five verses long, short enough to read at a table, and it is headed as a psalm of thanksgiving. Psalm 65 gives thanks for rain, grain and a crowned year. Psalm 136 can be read with one person saying each first half and everyone answering with its refrain: for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psalm 100 is the only psalm headed as a psalm of thanksgiving, and it is five verses long. Psalm 107 and Psalm 136 are longer and are built around the line give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 118:29 and Psalm 136:1 all use it, with the second half: for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psalm 68:19 speaks of the Lord who daily bears our burdens, and Psalm 92:2 sets thanks in the morning and every night. Psalm 34:1 says I will bless the LORD at all times.
Psalms 50:14, 107:22 and 116:17 call thanksgiving an offering to God. Psalm 69:30 to 31 says a song of thanks will please the LORD better than an ox.
Psalm 118:21 says I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me. Psalm 116 and Psalm 30 also give thanks after a specific rescue.
Psalms of Praise and WorshipPsalms for Blessing and FavorPsalms About God's FaithfulnessPsalms of Happiness and JoyPsalms for a BirthdayPsalms About Giving