Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1840-12-03
con6MUMYcATIoNs.
For the Herald Of tho Times.
The New England Thanksgiving

Of their Legislatures, Thursday last
the 26ih'Nnv. was observed by the pco-
Pile ot this and some of the nei ehborine
States, as II day OF public Thanksgiving
and praise to God: invited by their ru-
'ers to lay aside their secular avoca-
tions for that day, and assemble them
selves in their several places of public
worship, unitcdly to offer thanks to the
God Of Sabbaoth, for the many morcies
which have been so bountilully shower
cd down upon the people Of our land
during tho year that is past, and to sup
plicaie the almighty Ruler Of The uni
|, verse, to vouchsafc to continue unto
them his watchiul care and protection
IL is pleasant and profitable for us a.
individuals, often to pause in the Jour
ney Of life, and recall to mind the many
mercies which we are daily receiving
ut the hands Of our creator, bencfactor
and prcservcr, and while reviewing his
dealings with us, should we, with the
unnumbored blessings we can recount
be reminded, that his Christening hand
has been laid upon US; yet le, us con-
slider, that all things shall work together
for good. TO those that love and obey
him. The homage of an individual thus
exercised, is pleasant to behold, but
how grand, aud how sublime, to see a
whole people, at one and the same time,
together bowing, with reverence and
alteration to Him, who rules in Heaven
and in the earth. Happy is that people
whose God is tho Lord. The New
England Thanksgiving was established
\ by our Pilgrim fathers, those fearless
and godly men, who landed on the rock
at Plymouth, amid tho wintry blasts and
chilling SHOWS of December, and thus
far, it has been yearly observed by their
desc cndants, after the ingatherings OF
the produce Of their land, and with
swelling hearts at the goodness Of God,
they havo annually assembled in his
courts, with Thanksgiving and praise
How great is the cont asst, when we
compare the present situation of our
beloved New England, with the times
Of our fathers, and how careful should
We be, that our prosperity should not
lead US to forget our dependent state:
we their children, can now quietly as
Se,nble, and there is none to modest or
NIKE us afraid, and the produce of our
fields is safe from the devastation Of
man, from seed time to harvest; but il
was not so with fhcm, situated as they
were, in lone wilderness, and sur
rounded by man in a savage state, when
they committed the seed TO the earth,
how uncertain it was, that they would
ever reap tho labor of their hands, aud
after anXiously watching its progress to
maturity, when at last, they were per-
mi,ted TO gather tho harvest in safety
from the field, with what grateful hearts
did they return thanks to God, to whose
fathcrly care, thus far, they folt them
selves so entirely indebted for its pre-
Iservaiion, and how fcrvent must have
been their petitions to Him, who had
thus cared for them, to continue to look
down uoon them with tho same pa,crGEl
care, without which, they well knew
that they, their wives, and little ones,
would SO severely suffer for want of that
food, so necessary to preserve their ex-
istence in thi. then inhospitablc land
How deeply didthey realize the need Of
such protection, and as it was Il general
blessing to the whole community, SO
they with one heart, assembled together
in one place, TO offer the gratitude OF
united prayer and praise; and it over
tho season was relgiousIy observed,
the men Of those days must surely have
kept it in sincerity and in truth, and TO
them, it was truly day Of Thanksgiv-
ing and praise. And while in the pious
Joy of their hearts, they drew around
the festive board, surrounded by their
friends and neighbors, and enjoying for
a season the society Of those of their
family, who in pursuing the journey of
life, had Withdrawn their residence from
the habiiaton Of their fathers. aud who
had on this day, once moro met in the
home Of their childhood, how greatly
must tho scene have tended to open
their hearts TO relieve the necessities OF
those Of their less fortunate brethren,
who in this trnnsitory world, were not
so nbundaniIy Supplied with the boun-
ties If ProvidencC. Let us their dcscen-