Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-01-19
The Unspeakable Gift.
Z. p. WHALLoN.
Christian Index.

The Unspeakable Gift.
Christian Index.
All that we have is given to us.
This beautiful world with the splen-
did sky above it, with the glorious
orbs that roll therein, is a gift. The
atmosphere in whose soft bosom the
world reposes is a gift. The light and
the shade, the day and the night; the
varying seasons with their health
bringing changes, all, all the phe-
nomena of nature are gifts, gifts to
the race, unworthy as it is. A pulse
beat is a gift; each one is a seperate
forth-putting of the divine goodness,
and we have had three score and
more of these gifts every minute since
we were born. We are blest of the
Almighty not by one act of whole
sale beneficence which includes all
our life as a unit, but rather by sue
cession of acts, rapidly following each
other, and never ceasing, and if one
hair Of our head should fall, it is
known that there is one hair less, and
the change is marked and noted.
Gods mercies are innumerable; they
are like the sands of the sea nor is
there any valuable thing, great or
small, that is not from HIM, the great
and only giver of every good and
perfect gift.
We are not competent to draw COM
parsons between Gods great bene-
factions to his creatures. But it does
seem that there is one gift to the hui
man race, so great that all the Others
become small by comparison. Per
haps our expression will not bear
scrutiny. Nothing that can be said
can meet the demands of the case,
The greatness of the gift, the unde'
servedness of it, the needfulness of it.
the appropriateness oft, its richness
its sweetness, its grandeur, its glory
the ineXhaustible wealth of blessed
ness wrapped up in it, cannot be eX
pressed in words, and human Ian
guage breaks down in the attempt tC
utter it
"God so loved the world that hi
gaUe his only begotten Son, that who
soever believeth in him should no
perish, but have everlasting life"
What can we say? Nothing. The
Apostle eXhausts the possibilities o
the case, when he says, "Thanks bC
to God for his unspeakable gift
2 Cor. tx. Is. We cannot fully express
even our thanks; how much less Cal
we describe that gift for which thes'
thanks are due! In view of this gif
the sense of Gods goodness in beStow
ing it is oppressive. We can scarcel,
bear it. 1t is like looking in God
face, which no man can do and live
1t is a relief to our feelings to ute
words of praise; and even here n,
words of our own can satisfy us. w
borrow the words of the sweet SINCE
of Israel:
Praise we the Lord. Praise Coz
in his sanctuary; praise him in tn
; armament of his power. Praise hin
according to his excellent greatness
!, Let everything that hath breatl
praise the Lord. Praise We the Lord.
The Psalmist said all this, thOugI
,, he had a very dim view of Christ, IAN,
consequently his estimate Of God
goodness fell UNNECESSARILY short
What would he have said if he ha,
seen Jesus as IRE see him! Som
things are unutterable, and he coul
! only have said with the Apostle an,
with us, "Thanks be unto God for hi
uuspeakable gift"
0Let us thank God every day ant
T every hour for all his mercies, but e,
pecially for this gift Of infinite good
ness, the gift of Jesus Christ, his Son
Let gratitude be kindled afresh, le
l love be infamcd with glowing ardol
let every heart burn like a scraph's
Is this too much to return for the IN
speakable gift! Oh, nothing is to
: much; nothing is enough.
: Let prayer give way to praise; q