Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-12-25
THE CHRONICLE.
THANKSGIVING SERMON.
Preached BY Rev. J. r. Stockton in
the Presbyterian churches OF Brook
field and Vienna, November 2Sth,
Notwithstanding.

to me in pleasant places; yea have agood'
ly heritage"
Thanksgiving ought to be the un-
ceasing service of every human being.
Praise to the great Jehovah ought tC
be the language of every human heart.
There l. no human being anywhere
upon this earthly habitation of men,
who has not reason to be grateful unto
the great Giver of all good. Even in
the darkest corners OF the earth, and
in its gloomiest recesses, there is cause
for thaukfulness, cause for gratitude
to Him who rules the Universe, who
gives His blessings to all His crea-
lures.
Thanksgiving has been rendered
unto God by all good men. in all the
ages, from Abel, who brought the
| firstlings of his flock as thank-offer-
ing, even until now. And there has
not been time iu all the ages that the
nations of men have had so great rea
son for thanksgiving as now. And
there is no one of the nations which
| mas so great reason for thanksgiving
as this nation. For in truth and in
deed are 1.-The lines fallen unto this
people in pleasant places yea tCe have
a gOOdly heritage"
When these words were written by
Israel's Royal Psalmist, he was an
exile from home and from country /;
driven to the land of the Philistines
by the insane jealousy of Saul, who
| feared David looked upon him as q
rival and conscious of his own weak
ness and ,wickedness, dreaded lest Da-
vid should wrest the kingdom from
him. But other thoughts than these
| filled the mind of Israel's future king.
Even in his exile, compelled to fee
! for his life. without having given
cause for such treatment at the hands
of Saul, compelled to seek refuge
amongst a people who were the enc
mics of his nation-a people who were
different in tastes, in habits, in edu-
| cation; who were uncongenial in ev-
cry respect; who were idolators, and
knew not God-yet in view Of all
| these, he raises song of thanksgiv-
| ing to Him who had preserved him
| from the hands of his enemies, and
would yet help him to overcome all
their Vaccinations, and wouli restore
him to his rightful heritage. Not
withstanding all his prosecutions, and
all his sufferings, and dangers, from
enemies and from professed friends,
yet he finds so many things for which
to be thankful, that he has only
praises, and not complaints, to Him
who had preserved him from dangers,
known and unknown, and who was
able, and willing, to bring him off
conqueror over every difficulty, and
every danger; and would save him
au1rloeffncr aulyofipn
The language here used has refer
ence to the manner in which tn, land
of Canaan was divided. The meas
uriRg line being taken for the thing
measured I; and means that hispOr-
tion, or lot, or Inheritance, had fallen
in pleasant places.
That in every thing, great things
and small, the Lord had shown kind
ness, and kindness only, unto His
servant. That everything that be had,
came from the same unfailing source,
from the same bountiful Giver of ev-
cry good gift. And we, my friends,
have greater reason for rendering
thanksgiving and praise to Him who
controls our destiny in as marked a
manner as He controlled the fortunes
of the Hebrew Psalmist-the Shep-
herd King.
And let US think for few moments
ho1O 1.-THE lines are fallen unto us in
pleasant places"
First, The land we live in. 1t is
not my mission to utter fulsome PAN
egyrics upon our country, much as /
love it. There are many, very many,
dark spots upon its history. There
are many foul stains upon its fair es-
eutcheon.. There are many things oc.
curing every day that are causes of
wonder that they do not call down
upon US the just retribution of an Of
tended God.
But you will pardon me if I call
your attention to a few things which
should be causes for thankfulness up
on our part-things which you already
know, as well as can tell you. But
We are prone to forget blessings f; prone
to forget everything but what we re-
gard as misfortunes and our dispo-
sitions are to complain, rather than
20 give thanks. i
Extending the entire distance be-
tween the two great oceans extend
ing from almost the regions Of eternal
winter in the north, to far down to-
ward the regions of eternal summer
in the south; the country in which
we live embraces almost every variety
o. climate, and soil, and productions.
Its hills and its valleys contain gold,
and silver, and copper, and iron, and
coal, in seemingly illimitable quanti-
ties-sufflcient to supply the world for
centuries to come. Its interminable
forests furnish materials, fine enough,
and costly enough, and delicate
enough, for the escFitoire of The finest
dame in the land and strong enough
for floating palaces upon the mighty
deep; and in quantities enough TO
build the bottoms for the commerce
of the world. And its broad, deep
rivers, traversing the length and
breadth of the land and its lakes
great inland seas-f1oat q commerce
that would have made Hiram, king of
Tyre, blush for the smaJlness of his
fleet; while its mountain scenery, its
falls of water, its interminable can
yons and its hidden valleys, with
their M, nster trees and strange, wieTd !
rocks, furnish scenery which far ex-
eel in beauty and grandeur the most |
noted places of story and of song in !
the Old World beyond the seas,
All these things GOD hath done for |
US.
And man, with Gods help, with !
Code blessing upon his efforts, has |
subdued these mighty forests suffi
cient for his purpose; and during the |
bounteous season just closed, fields of |
golden grain, which bowed its head |
to the kiss of the evening breeze,
waved in gladsome plenty, from Maine |
to California and happy homes, filled |
with love and happiness, form one |
continuous street from Canada to Mex
leo; while church and schoOlhouse |
dot every hill, and vale, and broad !
prairie, like beacon lights, telling the |
hosts of darkness, and ignorance, and |
superstition, that vigilant, and pow= !
erful and UictoTioEs foe is upon their |
track, watching with a sleepless eye. |
The broad land, from ocean to ocean, |
is covered with a network of iron, and |
her flowing rivers bear upon their bo-
SONS the products of the husbandman,
the manufacturer and the artist from |
city to city, fIom State to State, and |
out to the nations beyond, to exchange |
for their gold and their luxuries-and |
better still, TO take bread and happi- |
ness to the starving millions beyond /
the seas, without money, and without |
thought of return.
Yet scarce three hundred years have 1
elapsed since band of fugitive Puri-
tans, pitiable in numbers, seeking I