Forget Not All His Benefits

Come, sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31


                  "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."  Psalm  103:2

     Praise and thanksgiving should not be confined to a formal celebration on one day of the year alone (good as that in itself may be); it should characterize our continuing attitude of heart throughout the entire year.  If our deepest joy is found in knowing God Himself and in gratefully blessing Him from the depths of our heart for what He means to us, then it will not be difficult to also remember His individual "benefits" to us. To have God as our Father, Jesus Christ as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Guide, is to experience a fellowship and to enjoy a satisfaction that the broken cisterns of this world can never begin to provide.  To have this true gladness in the heart is to know the greatest blessing of all.  If this is your happy portion, you, with the psalmist, will put the emphasis in the proper place today by first blessing God for Himself, and then praising Him for all His benefits toward you.

     Ira D. Sankey used to tell this beautiful story of a little girl who went sightseeing with her father to the top of Mount Washington. Standing in the rarefied air and bright sunshine, with the clear blue sky above them, they saw to their surprise that dark heavy clouds were gathering below.  As they looked down, the lightning began to flash and with a roll of thunder a storm broke majestically over the valley below.  The father, a very prosaic, unimaginative man, said apologetically,  "Well, Lucy, with the clouds all around, there is nothing much to see, is there?"  Unlike her parent, the child, who was deeply spiritual, was enthralled by the beauty and majesty of the scene.  Grasping his hand she said,  "Oh, daddy, I think it is wonderful.  I see the doxology!  Everything seems to be saying,  "Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!'"

     Those who have been enlightened by grace see God's goodness and love both in storm and in sunshine and reverently echo the words,  "Bless the Lord, O my soul"!

"Bread For Each Day"