Done for thee these great and terrible things.
The great doings of God
I. In what the great deeds of God consist.
1. In Salvation. God, who delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, has wrought a great work of deliverance on behalf of the human race. Greater than any deed of vengeance is the Divine interposition by which mankind is saved from the penalty and the curse of sin.
2. In the supply of all wants. The Lord, who gave Israel bread from heaven and water from the flint rock, has made, in the dispensation of His grace, a sufficient supply for the spiritual needs of all mankind.
3. In protection and deliverance from all dangers, and from the assaults of every foe.
II. By what the great deeds of God are prompted.
1. By the spectacle of the need, the misery, the helplessness of men.
2. By the pity and loving kindness of the Infinite Heart.
III. To what the great deeds of God should lead those who profit by them.
1. To gratitude and praise. “The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”
2. To cheerful obedience. The memory of Divine favours should not only awaken gladness; it should remind us of God’s claims upon us, upon our love, our life, our all. (Family Churchman.)
Praise and obedience
He who would serve God must begin by praising God, for a grateful heart is the mainspring of obedience. We must offer the salt of gratitude with the sacrifice of obedience; our lives should be anointed with the precious oil of thankfulness. As soldiers march to music, so while we walk in the paths of righteousness we should keep step to the notes of thanksgiving. Larks sing as they mount, so should we magnify the Lord for His mercies, while we are winging our way to heaven. Our thanksgiving is not a swallow which is gone with the summer. The birds within our bosom sing all the year round, and on such a day as this their song is doubly welcome. The fire of gratitude will help to warm us--heap on the big logs of loving memories. No cold shall freeze the genial current of our soul; our praise shall flow on when brooks and rivers are bound in ice. Let us see who among us can best rejoice in the Lord in all weathers.