THANKSGIVING AND HONOR.
By S.
When the work of God is finished in this earth; when the long story of oppression and misery and sorrow is done, and the saints of God are sealed to eternal life; the angels of God unite in a grand chorus of rejoicing over the completed work, ascribing “blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, unto our God forever and ever.” Having witnessed through thousands of years the struggle between right and wrong, liberty and oppression, loyalty and disobedience, it could not be otherwise than that thanksgiving should form a part of that mighty symphony of praise over the complete triumph of righteousness. Anticipating that glorious consummation, it is the Christian’s privilege now to render unstinted thanksgiving to the One who is now accomplishing that wonderful work. It is now going on. God is in Christ “reconciling the world unto Himself.” For that we can thank Him, honor and praise Him. We can do that for the accomplishment of that work for the whole realm, for the whole race. But included in that glorious work is the triumph of the individual, and that from day to day, and then the reward of the individual in the consummated work. That work is not completed without the triumph of individual man, through Christ. That great reward is to be distributed in severalty to individual men and women. “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Those who take part in that song of thanksgiving then will take part here in the work which makes possible the singing of that song. God’s work will triumph in men; for in men the great transgression came that made redemption’s work necessary. Then in place of disobedience will be loyalty; in place of hatred, love; in place of variance, brotherly-kindness; in place of strife, peace; in place of sorrow, joy; in place of discord, harmony; in place of discontent, contentment and fulness of satisfaction forever. Eternal years will not be long enough to empty the heart of redeemed man of all its thanksgiving to God, or to enable man to tell the wondrous depths of God’s love in the sacrifice He made and the work He wrought. We who expect to take part in the ascription of praise and thanksgiving to Him there will not withhold from Him praise and thanksgiving here and now for what is, as well as for what is to be. Thank Him that He emptied heaven of its richest Gift to make you a happy subject of His realm; that He dwelt in temptable flesh so He might the more keenly sympathize with you in your temptations. He endured the pangs of hunger, that He might sympathize with the hungry as well as to conquer where man fell. He suffered poverty, to sympathize with the poor. He became poor voluntarily that you might share in the riches of heaven and the earth made new. Is it not worthy of thanksgiving that He has promised to take you into this wonderful and everlasting partnership? He has done His part to bring it about. Thank Him that He has, and then go and do yours. But what of the temporal things? He has promised seedtime and harvest, and they have never failed. Year by year you planted seed and He has given rain and sunshine to bring it to the harvest. You sowed one and God made it thirty; you planted one, and God made it fifty. You labored in sun and rain and cold to provide food for your children; but God alone could make any good come out of all you did. He crowned your efforts with success, filled your plowed land with waving grain, and your fruit trees with their bounty. Is there nothing in all this to cause you to render thanksgiving to God? Thank God that He has set before us the hope of an eternal inheritance in an everlasting kingdom. We were full of the deadly virus of sin; He has promised to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all iniquity. We had thrown ourselves open to the surest weapons of the enemy; He has promised to take us under the wings of His protection and shield us from everything that could do us harm. And when you have truly thanked Him for all His precious gifts, you will only then have begun to realize how much there is to thank Him for—how more than worthy He is of all the thanksgiving and honor it is in your power to give. S.