Next, the sacrifice of thankfulness, of which it is written, "I will
offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name
of the Lord." And again--By Christ let us offer the sacrifice of praise
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks unto His name.
Ah! my friends, if we offered that sacrifice oftener, we should have more
seldom need to offer the first sacrifice of repentance. I am astonished
when I look at my own heart, by which alone I can judge the hearts of
others, to see how unthankful one is. How one takes as a matter of
course, without one aspiration of gratitude to our Father in heaven--how
one takes, as a matter of course, I say, life, health, reason, freedom,
education, comfort, safety, and all the blessings of humanity, and of
this favoured land. How we never really feel that these are all God's
undeserved and unearned mercies; and then, how, if we set our hearts on
anything which we have not got, forget all that we have already, and
begin entreating God to give us something which, if we had, we know not
whether it would be good for us; like children crying peevishly for
sweets, after their parents have given them all the wholesome food they
need.
Pages:
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493