A
Time For Thanksgiving
by
Samuel Logan Brengle (1860-1936)
Edited
& Prefaced by Dr. Riktor Von Zhades
Brethren:
A
brief comment to the preface this morning. In all things whether good
or bad remain steadfast in your confession of Him. For He that
brought you through each event is faithful to continue to do it. His
love for you extends beyond your wildest imaginations. Therefore seek
to give thanks at all times.
Additionally,
this sermon as you shall read below is based on verses from Psalms
and 1 Thessalonians. It is herein suggested that you also consider in
your meditations upon today’s sermon that you read Matthew 6:25-34
- Dr. Riktor Von Zhades - Humble Servant of Christ
“Enter
into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be
thankful unto him, and bless his name." - Psalm 100:4
“In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you."
1
Thessalonians 5:18
As
lilies of the valley pour forth perfume, so good hearts pour forth
thanksgiving. No mercy is too small to provoke it, no trial too
severe to restrain it. As Samson got honey from the carcass of the
lion he slew, and as Moses got water from the flinty rock, so the
pure in heart are possessed of a sort of heavenly alchemy, a divine
secret by which they get blessing out of all things, and for which
there is giving of thanks.
A
jubilant old saint in Boston came down to hoary hairs in deepest
poverty and had to live on the charity of such friends as God raised
up, and He raised them up. Bless His name! He who fed Elijah in the
wilderness by the brook and in the poverty-stricken home of the
desolate widow, found a way to feed His child in Boston. God is not
blind, nor deaf, nor indifferent, nor indigent[Read 1 Peter 5:7]. He
is not "the silent God" that some people in their
self-conceit and wayward unbelief suppose. He knows how to be silent,
and how to hide Himself from the proud in heart. But He cannot hide
Himself anywhere in His big universe from childlike faith and pure,
obedient, long-suffering, patient love. Hallelujah!
This
old saint believed, obeyed and rejoiced in God, and He raised up
friends to supply her needs. Now, one day one of them went upstairs
with a dinner for the old lady, and as she came to the door, she
heard a voice within, and thinking there was a visitor present, and
delicately wishing that her charity should not be a cause of
embarrassment, she stopped and listened. It was the voice of the old
Christian at her table, and she was saying, "O Father, I do
thank Thee with all my heart for Jesus and this crust!"
I
heard of a rich man the other day who killed himself because he
feared he might become poor. He was poor. Jesus said, "A man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth," and no more does a man's real riches, but rather in
the spirit with which he possesses them.
Heaven
is not parceled off into lots and estates. The angels own nothing and
yet they possess all things and are eternally rich. And so with the
true saint that trusts God and loves and obeys and is thankful.
The
stars in their courses fight for him. He is now in harmony with the
elemental and heavenly forces and the eternal laws of the universe of
God, and all things work together for his good[ Read Psalm 34:9-10].
Not a hair of his head falls without God's notice. Not a desire rises
in his heart but God's great heart throbs responsive to fulfil it,
for does not the Psalmist say, "He will fulfil the desires of
them that fear Him"? Not simply the fervent prayer, but the
timid, secret desire that has not been voiced in prayer, shall be
fulfilled. And how dare God do that? Because a holy fear will not
allow a desire that is not in harmony with God's character and the
interests of His Kingdom.
Napoleon
gave blank checks on his bank to one of his marshals. One complained
to the Emperor that the drafts made were enormous and should not be
allowed. "Let him alone; he trusts and honors me, and I will
trust him," said Napoleon. God puts all things at the command of
His saints, and trusts them while He asks them to trust Him. Why,
then, should we not be thankful?
Nothing
will keep the heart so young and banish carking care so quickly, and
smooth the wrinkles from the brow so certainly, and fill the life
with such beauty, and make one's influence so fragrant and gracious,
and shed abroad such peace and gladness, as this sweet spirit of
thankfulness.
This
spirit can and should be cultivated. There is much in the lot of each
of us to be thankful for. We should thank him for personal liberty,
and for the measure of health we have. There is a good old soul up
the Hudson who for thirty years or thereabout has been lying in bed,
while her bones have softened, and she is utterly helpless and always
in pain, but she praises and praises and praises God.
We
should thank Him that we are not insane, that our poor minds are not
unbalanced and rent and torn by horrid nightmares and dreads and
nameless terrors and deep despair and wild and restless ravings. We
should thank Him for the light and blessings of civilization, past
mercies, present comforts and future prospects, food, with the
appetite to eat it, and the power to digest it, raiment to wear,
books to read, the Church, The Salvation Army, the open Bible, the
revelation of Jesus Christ, the Fountain opened for sin and
uncleanness, the glorious possibility of escape from the penalty and
the power, the consequences and the character of sin, for home and
friends, and heaven bending over all, with God's sweet invitation,
"Come !" Truly we have much to thank God for, but if we
would be thankful, we must set our hearts to do it with a will. We
grumble and complain without thought, but we must think to give
thanks. To murmur and repine is natural1,
to give thanks to really give thanks is supernatural, is gracious, is
a spirit not earth-born, but comes down from God out of heaven, and
yet, like all things from God, it can be cultivated.
Know
this, that if you are not thankful your heart is yet bad, your soul
unclean, for good hearts and pure souls are thankful. So go to the
root of the matter and get rid of sin and get filled with the Holy
Spirit. Flee to Jesus for riddance from the unholy spirit, and the
subtle selfishness that possesses you. And when this change has
taken place the joy of Jesus will be poured into the heart, and
praise will well up and bubble forth in thanksgiving as an unfailing
fountain of sweet waters, filling it with joy, and earth, your little
corner of earth, with peace, and gladdening all who see and hear. But
if that change has not fully taken place in you, do not withhold the
praise that is God's due, but think of His loving kindness and
tender and multiplied mercies, and begin to thank Him now, and your
very giving of thanks will help to hasten the change. Begin now!
Praise the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment