The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-12-19

HE SERMON OF THE Rev. Dr. W. 7. LEA
COCK, OF CHRIST (Ep1scopAL) CHURCH.
: In Yesterday afternoons Delta, we briefly
liuded 70 our reporters having visited the
Tarious Churcnes OF the city open for the ser
noes Oh thanksgiving, under the call OF the
Governor At the State. We took this occa-
'ion, 1t being not precisely or strictly cler-
cal one, TO make the addresses or sermons
The SUBJECTS oil local reports, since. too, they
are oil much Importance at this moment. les
tertiay, thanksgiving day, in New orleans was
one OF an impressive and significant charac-
ter.
The order Of the Governor was observed
with an unusual degree of respect and adher-
ance, and business was suspended and public |
offices closed at an early hour after noon.
We visited Christ Church, and made the
following report Of Dr. Leacocks sermon, and |
trust we have Gdone justice to the reverend |
gentleman's remarks in our hasty notes.
REV. DIR. LEAcocK's SERMON.
A day Of thanksgiving-one day of every
thanks to the God and father Of our spirits
grows out of the nature of Gods blessings to
men. Some Of his blessings are individual
thankful every day. Others are national
blessings, and for them the nation should, at
one and the same time, lift up its heart and
voice to God in praise. That time is this
we of this state are, on this day, called upon to
bless God for all his benefits.
But even our individual blessings require
fixed period of time for praise, because they
are not understood or felt to be blessings at
A. a. m
are not always selfevident mercies. We
know they are mercies For God has nothing
now but mercies for his creatures-his very
chastisements are nercies-mercies in dis
cuise-but they are not understood by our
hearts at first, and therefore they seem hard
and seeming hard, the language Of our hearts
ss the language Of rebellion, not of praise
But time ENVELOPES the mercy in the dispen-
sation. What once appeared hard is now seen
to be mercful in the good in WHICH it issues,
and then our hearts, penetrated by deep,
sense of repentance for our rebellion, over
flow with gratitude to God, and praise is
extorted from our lips.
not seen in the dispensation as soon as it oc-
ours, is a reason for one day in the course of
the year to be set apart for the purpose Of
thanksgiving.
Every day should be a day of thanksgiving
and praise, because every day is itself a bless
ing and brings blessings with it but the
events of every day are not understood; they
REQUIRE time to be developed the DISPENSE
ton which seems hard to-day, may, in the
process of few months, be felt to be great
mercy Every touch of the artist has its val
ue, but the value of the touch cannot well be
discovered till the picture is. completed; and
every event of Gods providence has its mer-
| cy-but the mercy may not be discovered till
the event is developed-and this develope-
| ment requires time.
| Now, the Christian, and the Christian heart
alone knows every event of Gods providence
| to be mercy, and he is willing to praise God
in advance for the mercy, knowing that if he
does not see it then, he will see it sooE but
every heart is not Christian heart-every
heart, though believing heart, does not pos
sess this falkland therefore, in the course of
each year day is wisely set apart for review
| ing the dispensations Of God in our being, that
we may see the benefits they are calculated to
bring and assure our weak hearts that we are
not in fatherless world, but in world in
which nothing can occur without its use, and
that use, our good. FIJI
The child thinks his fathers discipline hard,
and the lessons which he is required to learn
useless; but when that child becomes a man,
he then sees the the discipline and lessons
were both strong evidences OF love in his
parent. "a
And thus it is with our hearts and God.
Dispensations which seem hard in 4J anuary,
may prove themselves in December to be no.
thing hut merces TO our souls mercies, too,
which deserved lifetime of praise.
We have met, then, to-day, to open the
Book ii Providence, and read there the events
which have occurred, and in which we have
had a share, during the period which has
elapsed since our last similar meeting, that in
solemn assembly we might lift up our h.arts
and voices to theii.ord or God in thanksgiving
and pra Sc. Some ofthe events may not yet
have developed themselves, but others have
and those that have should teach us that there
| Is mercy in those that have not, only we
know it not yet, and therefore that we should
number them among our blessings. Let US
i then pause, look back and consider.
And we shall soon take up the language OF
the Psalms, aPd say "Bless the Lord, o my
soul and forget not all his benefits who for
giveth all thine inquiries, who healeth all thy
diseases, who redeeneth thy life from de-
struction, who crowneth thee with loving
kindness and. tender mereieS. who satiSfieth
thy mouth with good things"
Let US take these benefits as they are emu
merated. Who has not cause to praise God
Cor the forgiveness of his iniquitIes Take
this forgiveness in its lowest and most
limited sense-in Che sense of simply ayerting
from US the temporal consequences of our err
rors-who has not cause to praise God for
this
Who would not have lowered himself in
the estimation of others-who would not have
married his own prospects and di0liniShed his
own happiness-if the consequences of every
unadvised word and act had been visited upon
him Who has not cause to praise God for
disease escaped, or for sickness healed, during
the past year Who can tell how near he
has been, even in the broad blaze of noon, to
that destruction from which the providence of
God has rescued him ? Which of US, even
among those who have endured the heaviest
sorrows, and shed the bitterest tears; cannot
discover. on comparing what we have expert
enced with what we have deserved, or even
with what we might have expected, large
amount of loving kindness and of tender mer-
cies, for which he is debtor to God? And
if the mouth be not literally satisfied with
good things how can we tell that'the things
which we most desired were yealIu qood z
Who can tell that the love of the creature,
| which he is seeking, and with which he is vet
unsatisfied, may notdeceive him as it has de-
ceiyed others? Who can tell that tile afiu-
| ence which he had accumulated, but " hich
has been snatched fTom his grasp, might not
have DESTROYED his sonl if it had been retained :?
/ Who can tell that tfA object of his secret aim.
whatever it might have been, that was ire.
spectiye of God, andfrom which he now seems
farther off than he vas twelve months ago
that this might not have been the rock upon
which, if he had struck, he might have made
shipwreck, at once and forever, Of faith and of
good conscience All real blessings. all
blessings that will bear to be tested by the re-
suit, are subjects of praise. though some may
approach us under the lowering aspect of sor-
row, and others under the forbidding frown OF
| disappointment for who will not testify
| who, at least, that knows himself, and exam
| ines the past-will not testify that the most
untoward events have often proved most ben
| eficial in the result--thus adding another tes-
| timony to this glorious truth, that all things,
at all times, are working together for good to
| them that love God.
But this is a national day, and we must
speak of national as well as individual mer-
cies; and VIZ have them, blessed be God, we
have them to lift up our hearts to God in
praise for.
We have been gre,tly blessed as people
We know nothing of those evils which COM
monty fall to the lot Of nations. and, therefore,
we feel not, as we should, the blessings which
surround us. War pestilencs and famine
have been removed from our borders; abun,i-
anee has crowned our fields; prosperity has
attended our commece; and peace has uni
ted us with the nations abroad. And should
we not be thankful But there is a rising
cloud in our hemisPhere-a cloud as on
summers eve--of which we cannst tell, un-
til it bursts, whether i will bring the dessoia-
ting tempest, or the cool, refreshing shower.
But there is hand that directs the storm
and there is hand in that very cloud, which
has long forewarned Us of its coming, and pre-
pared US with refuy The agitation of the
slavery question, oncs thought an evil, God
has made blessing us.
You and | remember when the slavery
question was thus Inooted in our national
councils, we dreaded the consequences, and
trembling at the bare mention of the subject,
we stood aghast before our adyersaries; and
n ,,nka .,xfa,. ,..o.lt