Sarah Kroger – A Thousand Thank Yous

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is an American holiday born out of a harvest festival and cemented by George Washington in his 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation and reaffirmed by Abraham Lincoln.  It was originally on November 26th, dedicated to thanking God for His blessings on the United States and to come together, for God to pardon our sins, and come together as a nation as one under God.  I found this part to be fascinating, reminding me of James 1:27:

“To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue,”

As we spend time with our families (though perhaps limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic), let us not become swayed by the onslaught of consumerism, remembering to be thankful for all that God has done for us.  I hope that my review of Sarah Kroger’s A Thousand Thank Yous helps us all to have an attitude of gratitude.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is about our gratitude towards God, reverently respecting Him in wonder and adoration at the depth of God’s wonderful love and mercy towards us.  He gave us Christ, who is unique, kind, and worthy of our praise, even if more than a million words are inadequate to express it.  All glory belongs to Him.

This song follows basic format.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The entire song is Scriptural.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Intro]

Ah, ooh
Ah, ooh

Kroger starts with four calls to Casper the friendly ghost.

[Verse 1]

How rare, the riches of Your glory

The phrase “riches of His glory” appears twice in Scripture.  The first is Philippians 4:19, which is part of Paul’s benediction to the church in Phillipi in response to their generous gifts.  The second is Colossians 1:27, which is part of a larger context about Paul’s preaching of the “mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints” (Colossians 1:26).

Paul describes this mystery as “Christ in you”, which would be rare indeed!  In fact, the Koine Greek word “monogenés”, which means “only, only-begotten, or unique” appears in the famed John 3:16 passage, as well as Luke 7:12, Luke 8:42, Luke 9:38, John 1:14, John 1:18, John 3:18, Hebrews 11:17, and 1 John 4:9.  In all these cases, this specific word describes the uniqueness of Jesus: begotten by the Father, but not made.  Begotten, in the sense, that He is of the same nature as the Father, much like my daughter is of the same nature as me.  I am human and so is she.  The Father is God and so is Jesus.

How deep, the Father’s loving heart
How vast, the reaches of Your mercy
Stretching wider and further than the stars

Much like in Psalm 36:5, Psalm 103:11, Psalm 108:4, Ephesians 2:4, and Ephesians 3:14-19, Kroger uses words to describe the depth of God’s great love for us that cannot be described in words.

[Chorus]

More than a million words could say
A thousand thank You’s, a fountain of praise
With every breath of all of our days
Jesus, You’re worthy of all of our praise (Ooh)
All of our praise (Ooh)

Christ is more than worthy of our worship, adoration, and words of gratitude (1 Chronicles 16:25, 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 145:3, and Revelation 4:11).

[Verse 2]

How wild, beyond imagination

Probably a reference to Ephesians 3:20, which describes how God does more than we could ask or imagine.

How kind, the nature of Your heart (The nature of Your heart)
How extravagant, the beauty of Your splendor

Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45 that “his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart”, though the context is more about works than mere speech.  How do we know God’s heart is kind?  He demonstrates His love towards us that while we were wicked, undeserving sinners (Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Proverbs 21:16, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, and 1 Timothy 5:6), Christ died for us (John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, and 1 John 4:9-10).  It is His kindness that will lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

We stand in awe of who You are

Dwelling within us is a mixture of wonder, fear, and reverential respect for God (Psalm 2:11, Psalm 33:8, Psalm 65:8, Psalm 119:161, Luke 5:26, and Luke 7:16).

[Bridge]

All of thе glory, all of the glory
Belongs to You, belongs to You

As stated in 1 Chronicles 29:11, Ephesians 3:20-21, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, Jude 1:25, and Revelation 19:1, all glory belongs to God.

All of the glory, all of the glory
Belongs to You, belongs to You
All of the glory (All of the glory)
All of the glory (All of the glory)
Belongs to You
Belongs to You (Belongs to You)
All of the glory (All of the glory)
All of the glory (All of the glory)
Belongs to You
Belongs to You, oh, oh

Repeats lines 1 and 2, with two calls to Casper the friendly ghost to end this section.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside the camp of Christ should arrive at similar conclusions as I, that Christians believe Jesus is great and worthy of praise, indescribable by human language.  Kroger’s language is poetic and easy for unbelievers to comprehend.  It is not esoteric.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God when we praise and thank Him for how awesome He is.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Sarah Kroger’s A Thousand Thank Yous is awesome.  Much like George Washington’s intentions behind Thanksgiving, it presents an opportunity to be thankful for all the great and wonderful things God does for us and bring glory to God, even if our many words are inadequate to the task.  Unbelievers should find this poetic expression of God’s lovingkindness easy to interpret.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: A Thousand Thank Yous (listen to the song)

Artist: Sarah Kroger

Album: Light

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year:  2020

Duration: 4:03

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2020 The Worship Society (SESAC) Fiat Music (BMI) Capitol CMG Paragon (BMI) Integrity’s Alleluia! Music (SESAC) Integrity’s Praise! Music (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.