succeed, and make one something like
it, but it is only clay, and a poor imitation. So our imitation
of God's giving is only as clay compared to marble, but we must
try to improve with every trial.
How does God give? In many ways, and to none exactly alike. To
some He gives enlarged information; to others great powers of
memory, or strength and power to work, to keep plodding on, or,
as General Grant termed, "to keep pegging away;" to
some money; to others the power of getting it. Some He puts into
a good social position, and others He surrounds with kind parents
and an affectionate circle of friends. Then He gives health-the
best of blessings-and some rejoice in their strength. Then have
pity on the weak.
Have you bright and sunny homes? God gave them to you. Think of
those dark and cloudy. Are you sharp at learning? Never call another
a dunce who cannot learn so fast as you do. God gave you the power
of intellect. What a wreck is a man or woman without an intellect!
Think of the madhouses with their many intellects thus deranged,
and praise God for intellect.
And God has given us all something
we never did anything to get. Our forefathers fought, suffered,
bled, and died, to procure the liberties we now enjoy. They were
imprisoned and died in dungeons, turned out of their homes, becoming
fugitives and wanderers, and many died under the privations and
sufferings they endured; others were burned at the stake, - all
to procure us our Bible and our religion, as well as our civil
liberties. Let us receive them as a precious inheritance. Take
care of our Bibles - read them, love them; for it is a revelation
of God's greatest gift by the greatest of all givers.
What does God give to all? Rain and sunshine, light and warmth,
day and night, summer and winter. His mercies are like the dew
- copious, yet so gently bestowed as scarcely to be felt. Do you
go to bed with an aching head? Yes; but you rise quite refreshed.
"He giveth His beloved sleep." How often ought we to
sing " Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow"! He
has given the sun, moon, and stars, the mighty ocean, the flowing
river, the lofty mountain, the fertile valley, delicious fruit
and glorious flowers, charming the eye, and delicious in perfume.
He has given enjoyments to all creation, from the elephant and
hippopotamus, down to the ephemera or May-fly, whose brief existence
is one hour on an evening in May.
How does He give? Freely. We often give to get something in return.
That's not giving freely. There is an old saying, "There
is no grace in the gift that sticks to the finger." And many
give for a name, for if it is published in the paper they give.
