Chapter 2—Our Bountiful Benefactor
The power of God is manifested in the beating of the heart, in the
action of the lungs, and in the living currents that circulate through
the thousand different channels of the body. We are indebted to Him
for every moment of existence, and for all the comforts of life. The
powers and abilities that elevate man above the lower creation, are the
endowment of the Creator.
He loads us with His benefits. We are indebted to Him for the food
we eat, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe.
Without His special providence, the air would be filled with pestilence
and poison. He is a bountiful benefactor and preserver.
The sun which shines upon the earth, and glorifies all nature, the
weird, solemn radiance of the moon, the glories of the firmament,
spangled with brilliant stars, the showers that refresh the land, and
cause vegetation to flourish, the precious things of nature in all their
varied richness, the lofty trees, the shrubs and plants, the waving
grain, the blue sky, the green earth, the changes of day and night, the
renewing seasons, all speak to man of his Creator’s love.
He has linked us to Himself by all these tokens in heaven and in
earth. He watches over us with more tenderness than does a mother
over an afflicted child. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the
Lord pitieth them that fear Him.”—
Review and Herald, September 18,
1888
.
Continual Recipients to Give Continually
As we are continually receiving the blessings of God, so are we to
be continually giving. When the heavenly Benefactor ceases to give
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to us, then we may be excused; for we shall have nothing to bestow.
God has never left us without evidence of His love, in that He did us
good....
We are sustained every moment by God’s care, and upheld by His
power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and
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