“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

—Ephesians 5:20

At all times of life, we should give thanks. We should give God thanks when our wealth increases, and also when it melts away; when it flows in and when it ebbs out. We must bless Him in success, and also in disaster. We must give Him thanks when health departs and thanks in those expiring moments when the sigh of Earth is hushed by the song of Heaven.

“For all things”—whatever may happen to us. For the things that are of greatest importance, we should always be grateful: for the new birth, for pardon of sin, for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, for all covenant mercies, for all the blessings of the cross and of the crown. 

Dear friends, a Christian has infinite cause for gratitude. When I first looked to Christ, I thought that if I never received another mercy except that one of being delivered from my load of guilt, I would praise God, if He would but let me, forever and ever. To have the feet taken out of the miry clay and to feel them set on the Rock of Ages is a subject for eternal gratitude. 

But you have not received one spiritual mercy only, nor two, nor 20. You have had them strewn along your path in richest profusion; the stars above are not more numerous, nor the sands beneath more innumerable. Every hour, yea, every moment, has brought a favor upon its wings. 

Look downward and give thanks, for you are saved from hell. Look on the right hand and give thanks, for you are enriched with gracious gifts. Look on the left hand and give thanks, for you are shielded from deadly ills. Look above you and give thanks, for Heaven awaits you.

Nor is it for great and eternal benefits alone, but even for minor and temporary benefits, that we ought to give thanks. There ought not to be a loaf of bread brought into the house without thanksgiving; nor should we cast a coal upon the fire without gratitude. Each breath of air should inspire us with thanks, and the blood in our veins should circulate gratitude throughout our system. Oh, how sacred would our temporal mercies be to us if we were always thanking God for them!  

The Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

Adapted from a sermon preached Feb. 12, 1873. Work is in the Public Domain.

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