Fount of Every Blessing – Sunday, February 24, 1980
Centuries ago Augustine described the simple blessings of his world. He wrote, “How (pleasant) is the alternation of day and night. How abundant the supply of clothing furnished us by trees and animals. Who can enumerate all the blessings we enjoy?”1 Who indeed but you know.
Our world has grown more complicated since his time—increased knowledge, medicines to cure our ills, machines to help our work, and other products of man’s ingenuity and industry. But one thing has not changed. Our blessings still come from the Lord. He is still the source, the “fount of every blessing.” The food we eat, the air we breathe and other necessities are blessings of His earth without which we would not survive for long. And there are other blessings equally as vital to our souls; like love and work and peace of mind and making progress toward some worthy goal. These are also gifts from God.
The blessings of the Lord have sometimes been described as life giving water. Isaiah wrote, “The Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought. . . and thou shalt be like a watered garden.”2
Jesus referred to the words of God as living waters which if a man drank he would never thirst again.
If then the Lord is the source of every blessing, and if He is so willing to pour forth blessings as a freely flowing fountain, why-why-then do so many of us go thirsty? Perhaps because we’re not prepared to drink. Perhaps we are like hard and crusted soil where the water doesn’t penetrate.
The first settlers to these valleys found a parched and largely barren desert. There was water, but it coursed in creeks and streams from the mountains to the Great Salt Lake and there evaporated. It did not benefit the land. Not until these pioneers built a vast network of canals, ditches and finally furrows to lead the moisture to each thirsty seed, not until then did this blessing of water begin to make the desert bloom.
And so it is with us. We must prepare our hearts and minds to feel and recognize the blessings of the Lord. Then we can drink in the moisture of life. Then every sunrise will become a special gift and every new idea an inspiration.
When He “leads (us) beside the still waters”3 we will know how to drink. And having then refreshed our throats, lift up our voice in thanks and praise and hallelujah unto Him.
1 The City of God, Saint Augustine, Marcus Dods D.D Trans., The Modern Library, New York, 1950, p. 854.
2 Old Testament, Isaiah 58:11.
3 Old Testament, Psalm 23:2.
“The Spoken Word” heard over KSL and CBS from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 24, 1980, 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Eastern Time Copyright 1980 Bonneville Productions
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February 24, 1980
Broadcast Number 2,636