Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness.
Thanksgiving for a good harvest
The importance of the harvest season is universally known. The labour and produce of the whole year depend finally on it. A good harvest is not a particular, but a general benefit. Bread is the staff of life; and as all mankind are maintained by the fruits of the ground, so they are all interested, either directly or indirectly, in the season of harvest. Now, the benefits we enjoy in common with our fellow-creatures are the most proper grounds of gratitude and praise to the universal Benefactor; and it is incumbent on us all on this occasion to unite in thanksgiving to Him who gives us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with joy and gladness. To awaken a still more lively sense of our obligation to God, let us consider the time at which it was bestowed. If we turn our attention from God to ourselves, from the Author to the object of this blessing, we shall see still fresh ground for religious gratitude, in estimating the kindness of a benefactor, the character of the beneficiary is a circumstance which is always to be taken into account. The unworthiness of those who receive a favour, enhances the kindness of him who bestows it, and should more strongly recommend him to their affection. If this consideration recommends the goodness of men, how much more does it enhance the Divine beneficence! Let our souls rise, then, in gratitude to that gracious Being, who is ever mindful of us, though we be forgetful of Him; who daily loads us with His benefits, though we perversely abuse them. To complete a sense of our obligation to God, let us consider our security for the enjoyment of this blessing which providence has bestowed upon us. He has not only blessed us with plenty; he has also given us peace to enjoy it. (A. Donnan.)
The Divine goodness illustrated
I. Some illustrations of the Divine goodness.
1. The Divine goodness is self-evident in the creation of the world. How beautiful, how glorious, are all the works of His hand!
2. The high dominion to which man was appointed by the Divine fiat further proves the goodness of his beneficent Creator. He was not to be a vassal, not to be placed on terms of equality, but was to have “dominion over the fish of the sea,” etc.
3. The Divine goodness is further evident in the provision of the Gospel. How comprehensive is the scheme of wisdom; bow glorious the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God!
II. God’s legitimate claim. “Forget not all His benefits.” The Divine goodness claims the praise of our tongues.
III. The earnest desire of the psalmist. He would not only give praise himself, but he would be the means of leading others to see and feel that it is an important duty. (G. Hall.)
The wonderful works of God’s goodness
The earnestness with which the psalmist repeats again and again this benevolent wish--as devout as it is benevolent, and expressive of the gratitude that it invokes--implies that men are remiss in paying their thanks to the Supreme Benefactor, and that they have need to be urged to the performance of that cheering duty. Not that the human heart is naturally disinclined to acknowledge God in His benefits, but because it is so easily led to forget Him altogether in the multitude of its cares and pleasures; and because it knows that it can never estimate fully the number and extent of His mercies; and because it is so apt to misunderstand the truest occasions of thankfulness, and so not pay its tribute aright. The sacred poet describes under four distinct figures the lovingkindness, of which He would impress the memory upon the minds of His people. They are fitted to represent all those examples of deliverance which are often vouchsafed, and which challenge in a peculiar manner the admiring gratitude of those who are permitted to witness them. But we perceive that they are all of one class. They all look to some extraordinary exhibition of the saving might of the Most High. If we await such as these, we shall soon be capable of appreciating none. Cases of visible and imminent peril are always rare. A long life will often stand in no need of rescue from such. But few have found themselves in the situation of the fainting traveller in search of his way. Few have been compelled or have chosen to expose themselves to such a risk. As for the second example, the preacher might address many a crowded assembly without finding one person who had felt chains upon his wrists, and sat in undeserved captivity, abandoned of all companionship, and trembling for his life. Sickness, on the other hand, we must admit, is a common visitant, and sickness of the most alarming and fatal character no unfrequent one. And yet it is almost a singularity, compared with comfortable health, and the answer, “I am well,” to friendly inquiries. Then, as to the last succour named--that amidst the horrors of shipwreck--what a small proportion of people have ever undergone any personal hazard of this kind ,--have ever been likely to be swallowed up in that treacherous highway, whose dust is the salt spray and its pavement thousands of fathoms down! We should have to make similar abatements and allowances as to any other of those uncommon demands on our thanksgiving, which are the most striking to the most common minds. And when we have made all these, there is another set of exceptions that claims equal consideration. They remind us, and how truly, that such occasions as have been alluded to are not only seldom experienced, but are in the highest degree doubtful as to their result; the issue being for the most part deadly, and not gracious. The bones of the poor traveller are found in some unknown spot, or never found. The loaded captive is left to his fate. The diseased man sinks away from a bad state to a worse, till the grave is friendly enough to open its last refuge from weariness and distress. The shattered vessel goes down in the gale, and the sailor’s cry of entreaty or despair is drowned in the hollow gust, as if none regarded it. What, then, is the inference? It is, that we should not found our praises of the Lord on things that are precarious in their event, and far apart in their occurrence. It is, that we should look for His “wonderful works” in those that are most constant. We should think more of our continual preservation than of a fortunate escape,--more of the benefits that millions partake of with us, than of those by which we may be for a moment distinguished,--more of the merciful laws of our being, than of its transient incidents,--more of the great truth that a parental Providence reigns, than of any fact that may seem to illustrate its singular interferences. The spirit, then, of the contemplative man should be filled with the love of the Being that fills all in all. The succession of our years should be one thanksgiving day. (N. L. Frothingham.)