"O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy en dures for ever." (Psalm 107:1)
Notice well the reason for giving thanks to God. It is because He is good. Most people who give thanks unto the Lord, or who think that they give thanks to Him, do so because:
• they have received some special thing that they longed for;
• they feel well and happy;
• they feel in just the right mood for giving thanks; o they are in comfortable and favorable circumstances.
But none of these things are the true reason for thanksgiving; there is just one ground, and that is, because: "He is good: for His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 107:1)
Thus we have a constant cause of rejoicing; for God is always good. Everything else fluctuates; but the goodness of God is continuous.
The times may be hard; we may have trouble and affliction; the way may be dark before us, and everything may seem to be against us; but none of these things need diminish our thanksgiving; for God is good, and His mercy endures for ever.
God is equally good at all times, and He is always as good as it is possible for Him to be. He is just as good and just as near, in the darkness and the storm, as in the sunshine and the calm and it is His goodness alone, that is the reason for giving thanks. "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:8; also vs. 15,21,31)--Present Truth, August 22, 1901--Psalm 107:1,8.