"O"
"O GIVE thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." I Chron. 16:34.
This is what king David said after the ark of God had been brought to the city of David. Many years before that, the Philistines had fought with the Israelites and won the battle. The Philistines captured the Ark of God and carried it away to Ashdod, one of their cities.
But it was there only seven months because they were afraid of it. Then they sent it back to the Israelites, and after a good many years it finally got back to the city of Zion, where David put it in the tabernacle.
David was so happy to have the Ark back where it belonged that he sang a beautiful psalm of praise. You will find this in the 16th chapter of 1 Chron., beginning with the 8th verse.
These words of David, "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good," ought to be often on our lips. And we should be singing them in our hearts continually.
We have so many things for which to thank the Lord,—little things, and big things.
Do you stop to think that it is God who gives you all the good things you have to eat, all the comfortable clothes you have to wear, and the homes that shelter you from heat, cold, and storms?
Beside these blessings that you have all the time, each day has its happenings that should fill your hearts with thanksgiving.
If you drop a dish and it does not break you should thank the Lord for that. If you slip and fall and are not hurt, it is the Lord's care over you. Thank Him. If you lose something and find it again, give God the praise.
Nothing is too small or unimportant to call forth a thought or word of thankfulness.
All day long as you study, work, and play, you are doing things that you could not do without the Lord's help.
And all day long He is preserving you from little accidents and big accidents and other unpleasant things that would befall you if this loving Father did not prevent.
Thank Him often, dear children, for your prayers of thanks delight His listening ear.
Messages of God’s Love 8/19/1928