Jeremiah's Declaration
of Thanksgiving
It
is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail
not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lam. 3:22, 23
The faithful prophet was daily
strengthened to endure. "The Lord is with me as a mighty terrible
one," he declared in faith; "therefore my persecutors shall stumble,
and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not
prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." "Sing
unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for He hath delivered the soul of the poor
from the hand of the evildoers." The experiences through which Jeremiah
passed in the days of his youth and also in the later years of his ministry taught
him the lesson that "the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man
that walketh to direct his steps." He learned to pray, "O Lord,
correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to
nothing."
When called to drink of the cup of
tribulation and sorrow, and when tempted in his misery to say, "My
strength and my hope is perished from the Lord," he recalled the
providences of God in his behalf, and triumphantly exclaimed, "It is of
the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."
Many professed Christians dwell too much
on the dark side of life, when they might rejoice in the sunshine; they repine
when they should be glad; they talk of trials when they should offer praise for
the rich blessings they enjoy. They look at the unpleasant things, hoard up the
disappointments, and sigh over the griefs, and, as a consequence, grow
heavyhearted and sad, when, should they count up their blessings, they would
find them so numerous that they would forget to mention their annoyances. If
they would every day take note of the favors that are done them; if they would
store their minds with the precious memory of kindnesses received, how much
occasion they would find to render thanks and praise to the Giver of all good.
From My Life Today - Page 327
