[Songs in the Night - December 30]
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:17
SPIRITUALLY, we have feasted on the bounties
of divine favor; while in things temporal, under whatsoever
circumstances we have been placed, having the
assurance that all things work together for good to
them that love God, we have realized that godliness
with contentment is great gain, having promise of the
life that now is (so long as God wills to have us remain
here), and also of that which is to come.
Wherefore,
we can and do most heartily "offer unto God thanksgiving."
And shall we not render unto him, not only
the praise of our lips, but also the incense of truly
consecrated lives, throughout the year upon which we
are just entering?
Dearly beloved, consecrate yourselves
anew to the Lord today—not in the sense of invalidating
the consecration made once for all, possibly
many years ago, but rather in the sense of reaffirming
and emphasizing that covenant.
Tell the dear Lord
that you consider yourselves entirely his, and that it
is still your purpose to keep your all upon the altar of
sacrifice during this new year and until it is wholly
consumed in his service.
Then let us proceed with
studious care from day to day to pay these, our vows
of full consecration, unto the most High. Z'06-3 R3695:3 (Hymn 34)