by Dr. Louis T. Talbot
A s w e a p p r o a c h Thanksgiving, it is well that Christians should recognize the distinction between blessings and mercies in order that they may give thanks to God intelligently. Many of God’s people are like an old woman who had been singing, “ Count your many blessings,” and then proceeded to count them. She wrote on a sheet of paper what she considered blessings. Among those enumerated were the following: a cottage free of debt, a good pair of eyes, good health, a paid-up insurance policy, and the like. That afternoon her pastor called, and she told him that she had been counting her blessings and had listed them on a sheet of paper. The pastor asked for the privilege of seeing the list, and after he read it through, he said, “ Auntie, you have not recorded one blessing.” “ Then, what are these?” the perplexed woman asked. “Why,” said the preacher, “ these are mercies, and God bestows them upon the unjust as well as upon the just, even as He causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon all classes. Mercies we shall leave behind when we pass out of this world, but blessings shall endure throughout all the eternal ages. “ Let us now,” he suggested, “ turn to our Bibles and count our blessings.”
How many of God’s people are like the old wom an of the story! How many measure God’s goodness to them according to the amount of material things the Lord in His providence has bestowed upon them! I have come in contact with some of God’s people who feel that the Lord has been anything but good to them because they do not possess labor-saving devices and other conveniences of modem life. Paul says, in Ephesians 1:3, “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Spiritual blessings are blessings for the spirit, and the declaration of the verse is that God “ hath” bestowed upon each child of God all spiritual bless ings. Let me give you a few. First is the forgiveness of sins. “And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
C O U N T Y O U R B L E S S IN G S
hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). This is blessing number one, and please note as you read that verse that we are not to maintain this attitude in order that God might forgive us. Rather, we are exhorted to be kind because He has al ready forgiven our sins. Blessing number two is God’s choice of you. “ But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). You may have thought that you chose God, but no, He chose you, and He did it when He knew all about you. He knew how sinful you were. He and He alone knew the depth of the deceitfulness of your heart; and yet, knowing it all, He hath chosen you to salvation. Colossians 1:12 and 13 give to us a cluster of “ haths.” “ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” What a glorious grouping of God s doings we have here! First, He “hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” That means that we are ready right now for glory, for even the light that emanates from God’s holy person could not reveal one spot on the soul of a believer now that the blood of Christ has been applied. Still another rich blessing is found in Galatians 4:6: “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” This verse tells me that I have been given the spirit of sonship, and therefore I do not feel strange when I enter God’s presence now, nor will I feel strange when I find myself in the glory, either at death or when He comes. At this Thanksgiving season let every Christian understand that he has been blessed with all spiritual blessings and that these enumerated are only a few of those included in that word “ all.” What comfort it would bring to our hearts if we meditated more frequently upon the wealth of our riches in Christ! For our own souls’ sake, let us engage in this blessed exercise, for it will fill our hearts with joy.
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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