Latest Gems
December 2 - 3
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed." (Psalms 103:2-5)
Whether an atheist denying the existence of God, or a believer overlooking the blessings of God, the contradiction is obvious, even as it is unabashedly ignored. To overlook the good in our lives is to state that there is no one to thank. To grumble is to emphatically declare that there is someone to hold responsible. But which will it be?
The countless hints or kindness that surround us in moments of beauty, glimpses of order, and felt provision are rumors that tell us we are not alone. We are not orphans or nomads roaming the earth. A grateful soul is widened to wonder as it follows the sunbeam up to the sun. It is possible, with practice, to see only the beam of light and not the source that offers it.
Matthew Henry who at an old age was mugged on the street corner wrote in his diary, "Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed." (Selected)
N.J. Hiebert # 2814
"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."
(Psalms 119:11)
I would, in earnest affection, and in the deep sense of personal responsibility to my reader, exhort him to give diligent heed to the importance of close - I had almost said severe - adherence and reverent subjection to the Word of God. Let him try everything by that standard, and reject all that comes not up to it; let him weight everything in that balance, and cast aside all that is not full weight - let him measure everything by that rule, and refuse all deviation. If I could only be the means of awakening one soul to a proper sense of the place which belongs to the Word of God, I should feel I had not written for naught or in vain. (C.H. Mackintosh)
N.J. Hiebert # 2815
