×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 14

Thankful for God's Nearness

That God is near us no child of God will deny. Paul, standing on Mars Hill, said, "For in him we live and move, and have our being." One just cannot go where God is not. If we disagree with Paul, we deny His existence. He is the everywhere-present God.

When Asaph then writes in Psalm 75:1 , "Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare", the awesome truth is that God is everywhere, and that we therefore have the serious calling to thank Him for all that which He does in the whole wide creation.

When grief and pain, suffering and bereavement, come, we are inclined to forget God's goodness and to refrain from thanking Him. Yet, no matter what happens, our calling is to thank Him for the wondrous works He is doing to prepare us and this world for the coming of Christ. Never may we accuse Him of forgetting us, or of turning against us in unfaithfulness to His promises. With the psalmist we must give Him thanks for wondrous works.

Had He not given His only begotten Son the torments of hell for our good? Did not His Son cry out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" But that was for our good, was it not? That awful suffering of God's Son was for our escape from the hellish suffering which we deserve. Had He not done that to His own Son, we would have no salvation and there would be no reason to give Him thanks.

Looking at what He did to His own Son for our salvation, we have undeniable evidence that we owe Him thanks for all that He does to us. And when we arrive in that house of many mansions we will see how that all things worked together for our good.

He is very, very near us in His love. We who deserve to be driven from Him will be brought to live with Him, and we owe Him thanks for all that which He does to us and for us. He makes no mistakes.

Read: Psalm 75

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:

2 Samuel 22 
2 Samuel 23:1-23 
Acts 2:1-47 
Psalm 122:1-9 
Proverbs 16:19-20

****
Quote for Reflection:

Charles Bridges: "The Christian is the only enviable person in the world. The seeming blessings of evil men are God’s heavy curses; and the smart of the stripes is a favour too good for them to enjoy. To judge wisely of our condition, it is to be considered, not so much how we fare, as upon what terms. If we stand right with heaven, every cross is a blessing; and every blessing a pledge of future happiness. If we be in God’s disfavour, every one of his benefits is a judgment; and every judgment makes way for perdition. Instead of envying sinners in their successful wickedness, dread their character more than their end, and rejoice that your Father never counted the poor vanities of this world a worthy portion for you."

Last modified on 03 June 2019

Additional Info

  • Date: 4-June

Leave a comment

back to top

Contact Details

Denomination

  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Reading Sermon Library
  • Taped Sermon Library

Synodical Officers

  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Interim)
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Synodical Committees

  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Contact/Missions

  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Classical Officers

Classis East
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Classis West
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.