The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-12-01

see. Let us praise Him and glrd our
selves for the work which we shall be
called to perform.
Second Presbyterian Church-Rev.
John Mo6at.
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all
| His benefts.-Psalm lU3, .
1t is to be hoped, my Christian friends,
that none of us are strangers to 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 thanksgiv-
ing were first appointed and observed
by the pilgrim Fathers" but now they
are generally observed by all the States
over the Uuion King David, the au-
thor of this psalm, was remarkable for
a spirit of thankfulness to God for His
mercies, and therefore in the language
of the text said, "bless the Lord, oh my
soul" Let us now very briefly notice
some of the benefits God has bestowed
upon us during the past year, for
which we now bless His holy name.
lst. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for
| life. Satan spoke the truth when he
said "All that n man hath will he give
for his life" 1t is q great blessing to be
permitted to live in this world notwith-
standing the storms we have to encoun-
ter on our journey through it. ga liv-
| ing dog is better than dead lion,' says
Solomon. Life is important when VIC
consider its relation to another world.
What 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 great blessing to live, and how
we4hsy of ehfer tA ApbSH 1tSr that that lie Of happi-
ness which will never end.
I'd. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for
health. Health is one Of the greatest
blessings of life, yet as health is the
rule and affliction the exception, we are
often with regard to it, as we are with
good air and good water, forgettul of
these benefits of God and not sufficient
" grateful. The health of this city has
been good during the last year. The
cholera has not visited us, although it
has visited Cincinnati, 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 this terrible disease, but let US
rejoice with trembling. 1t has not yet
left our land.
3. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for afllict-
ion. Some here to-day have been affict-
ed during the last year. We have tasted
the bitter cup, we have known from cX-
pcricnce what acute pain and suffering
are. David said it is good for me that |
have been Ssfiictcd. Before was atllct
ed went aStray, bnt since have kept
thy word. There has been n necessity
for our affliction, God does not willingly
atllict us, it is always for our own good,
we will have reason to bless God through
all eternity for our trials here below.
4. Bless the Lord oh my soul, for the
social relations of life, for good friends
and christian neighbors. Oh, how much
they promote our happiness i'll this
world. David was thankful to God for
Jonathan, who was his true friend and
counselor, a brother born for adversely,
and whose love for him was Il "lovc
surprising the love of woman
Nathan the Prophet was Il good friend
although he did remind the King of his
sins, and so was Barzellai; these were
fast 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 outstipped us
in our journey and reached their home
let rs praise God for it; whe II we think
how rocky and up hill is the way, and
how our loss is their gain, we ought to
praise God for their safe arrival home.
5th. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, for
the good land which God has given us.
"The leaves have fallen unto me in
pleasant places. Yea, / have n goodly
heritage" 1t is a wise arrangement of
Divine Providence that we ali love the
land of our nativity. 1t matters not
how cold and barren it may be, we cling
tn it with fond affection. 1t well be-
comesl slAmerican 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 year! 1t is because
they hear that it is a great and good
land, where they can breathe the atmos-
phere 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 warriors and garments
rolled in blood are heard and known
among us no more, and all the disturb
ing consequences of the late strife will
soon pass away. DR.. McCosh, from Bel
fast, Ireland, in our General Assembly
at st. Louis, said in his speech before
that body: GAS stood at the Falls and
looked at the waters rushing over that
tremendous precipice and then saw
them raging and foaming below the
Falls on their way to the lake, until
they spread out into the beautiful ex-
panse of Lake Ontario, thought : eur
nation had passed over a great preci-
pice, and now the nation is agitated like
these waters; soon all will be calm and
peaceful again. a.. e''L'
9th. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, for
the privilege of living in this age of
progress, in knowledge, ,sand wonderful
discoveries in, science. We are living
in the very age predicted by the
Prophet Daniel: MANY shall run to and
fro and knowledge shall be increas-
ed.10 How they come running among
us from the Old World; not
less than three Eor 4, four hun
dred thousand the present year
have landed on our shores. Some fifty
OF sixty thousand Norwegians have
come along the Grand Trunk railroad