The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-12-01

ary year, have been very liberal, up-
wards of two millions of dollars have
been subscribed as a thank offering,
and God has accepted the offering by
adding to our number upwards of one
hundred andtwo thousand converted
men and women.
For all these reasons we ought with
thanksgiving to come into the presence
of our God. We may safely trust Him
with the future of our country, If we do
right, always remembering that right
eousness eXalteth nation, and sinis a
reproach to any people. May God ena-
pie us to do right, "to: do justly, and to
love mercy and to walk humbly with
thy God" Mic. 6, 8. Amen.
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. John Mottit, Pastor.
TEXT-PSalm l03: ., Bless the Lord, OH my
soul, and forget not all his benefits"
1t is to be hoped, my Christian friends,
that none of us are strangers to a spirit
of thanksgiving to God for daily bless
ings, but it is peculiarly appropriate
that we should come together to thank
God thus publicly for temporal and
spiritual blessings. Days of thanks
giving were first appointed and OBJ
served by the "Pilgrim Fathers" King
David, the author of this Psalm, was
remarkable for spirit of thankfulneSs
10 God for his mercies, and therefore, in
the language of the text, said, ssBless
the Lord, oh my soul" Let us now very
briefly notice some of the benefits God
has bestowed upon us during the last
year, for which we now bless His holy
name.
I. "Bless the Lord, o my soulr forlife.
Satan spoke the truth when he said,
"All that man hath will he give for
his life" 1t is a great blessing to be
permitted to live in this world notwith-
standing the storms we have to encoun-
ter in our journey through it. "a liv-
ing dog is better than dead lion, says
Solomon. Life is important when we
consider its relation TO another world.
What a foundation is to building,
what spring is to summer, autumn and
winter, what youth Is to manhood,
this life is to eternal life beyond the
grave. 1t is a great blessing to live,
and how important so to live that when
we die we may enter upon that life of
happiness which will never end.
II. ''Bless the Lord, my SOUP for
health. a..a-
Health is one OF the greatest blessings
of life, yet as health is the rule and af-
Fiction the exception, we are often with
regard to it, as we are with good air
and good water, forgetful of these
| benefits of God, and not sufficiently
grateful. The health of this city has
been good during the last year. The
cholera has not visited us although it
has visited Cincinnati and st. Louis
and other cities, and swept thousands of
all classes of society into the grave.
Let US bless the Lord that we have
hitherto escaped the terrible disease.
But let us rejoice with trembling. 1t
has not yet left our land.
III. "Bless the Lord, mysoul' for
aftliction.
Some of us here to-day have been af-
flicted during the last year. 1--WE have
tasted the bitter cup" We have known
from experience what acute pain and
suffering are. David said sit is good for
me that | have been afflicted. Before
1 was afflicted l went astray, but since,
I have kept thy word" There has
been a necessity for our Affections God
does not willingly aftlict US. 1t is al
ways for our good. we will have rea-
son to bless God through all eternity,
for our trials here below.
". "Bless the Lord, o my soul, "for the
social relations of life; for good friends
and Christian neighbors. o how much
they promote our happiness in this
world. David was thankful to God for
n Jonathan, who was "A true friend and
counselor; brother born for adversely,
and whose love for him was "love
SURPRISING the love OF women" Ma
than, the prophet, was good friend,
although he did remind the King of his
sins. And so was BarZillai. These
were friends that clung to him in the
days of darkness and distress. Let us
praise God for kind Christian friends.
And If any of them have outstripped us
in our journey, and reached their home,
let us bless God for it. When we think
how rocky and uphill is the way, and
how "our loss is their gain," we ought
to praise God for their safe arrival
home.
V. " Bless the Lord, o my soul, for
the good land which God hath given
rs. .FThe lines have fallen unto me
in pleasant places, yea, L have a goodly
| heritage"
1t is n wise arrangement of Divine
Providence, that we all love the land
of our nativity. 1t matters not how
cold and barren it may be, We cling to
it with fond affection. 1t well becomes
American born citizens to love their
great, good and growing country. With
all their love for their native land, why
is it that such vast multitudes come
here every year2 1t is because they
hear that it is a great and good land,
where they can breathe the at
| mOsphere of freedom, get homes
for their families and enjoy all
the privileges of civil. and religious
liberty. We bless God this day that the
| bloody scenes of our late civil war are
all over. The confused noise of war
riors, and garments rolled in blood, are
heard and known among US no more,
and all the disturbing consequences OF
the late strife will soon pass away
DIR. NJ. Gosh from Belfast, Ireland, in
our General Assembly at st. Louis,
said in his speech before that body
"As 1 stood at the falls and looked at
the waters washing over that tremen-
dous preeipice, and then saw them
raRing and foamiug below the falls on
their way to the lake until they spread
out into the beautiful eXpanse of the
lake, 1 thought your nEtion had passed
over a great PTeeipice, and now the ma
| ton is Rgitated like these waters, soon
all will be calm and peaceful again.
vi. "Bless the Lord, o my soul" for
/ the privilege of living in this age of pro-
| gress in acknowledge, and wonderful dis
CoYeEies In. science We are living in
the very age predicted by the prophet
| Daniel. Many shall run to and fro and
knowledge shall be increased. How
4 they come running in among US from
4 the old world; not less than three or four
hundred thousand the present year
have landed on our shores. Some fifty
or sixty thousand Norwegians have
and settled in Maine. And what run
1 ming to and fro there now is among
/ ourselves from the East to the West,
1 and the West to the East. And how is
| knowledge increased? BY the school
master, the lecturer, the preacher, the
| statesman, the lawyer, the DdiIieS, TT-i-
| WeeEEies, WeeElieS, magazines and new
4 books, which are issued by the press.
| How is knowledge increased By the
telescopes, the microscopes the blind
1 mans book, and by the telegraph which
sends abroad the most important mes
saRes on the wings OF the lightning.
el,. T1f1t ~