p. 19 | Motives of Gratitude by President Nott

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 1, 1873

Motives of Gratitude.

By President Nott

Man, so fearfully and so wonderfully made, was not left unprotected and unprovided for, an outcast on the earth. On the contrary, by day and by night alike, an Eye has watched for his happiness that never slumbers—an arm has been stretched out for his defense that never tires. It is that arm that sustains him during the helplessness of childhood, that shields him amid the perils of youth, and props his enfeebled constitution, when sinking beneath the infirmities of age. For none are mercies conveyed by accident. It was God that kindled that sun that lights the laborer by day, and planted those stars that guide the wanderer by night. His are those showers that bring forward the harvest, and his those dews that ripen the vintage. The good and the bad alike experience his care, and subsist upon his bounty. Not even the veriest wretch can deny that God has fed and clothed him—that he has nourished and brought him up. And are there no motives in these considerations to induce rebellious man to return to his allegiance? Is God, then, a friend that may be forgotten? His mercies, too; deserve they no requital? Ah, shall this earth of ours be cursed forever with the crime of cold ingratitude?—and yonder heavens, which have witnessed God's goodness, always hear him say, in reference to the race and the abode of man: “There, in that ungrateful world, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me?”—President Nott.