The Portland daily press., 1874-11-28
ST. STEPHENS.

from lst Thess. ", Is. "In every thing give
thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you"
There is no sentiment more nearly univer-
sal amongst men than this, that gratitude
and expressions of gratitude are due to ben
efactor. There is no nation so degraded and
hardly an individual so british, as to have
lost this sense. Ingratitude is crime against
the common social law of the whole human
family, and is justly felt to be unnatural, in
human, devilish. The recognition then of
personal God, who is at once the author of
our being and the source and giver of all
that we enjoy, imposes upon us of its own
force that duty, and should move us to the
act of acknowledging our Indebtedness and
expressing our thankfulness to Him. Fur
thermore this is duty which we are to per-
form not merely in private when we are
acknowledging only individual blessings, but
openly to acknowledge and declare Him to
be the author and bestower of all our enjoy
ments and possessions. And we are called
upon, if we are truly grateful, to incite others
to join us in glad acknowledgements, in joy
full praise of the common Father aud bene-
factor of us all.
Again, although it is incumbent upon us to
continuously give thanks to God for his mer-
cies, at times special acknowledgements are
due for national deliverances, privileges, and
prosperity; for peace and plenty, immunity
from famine, pestilence and the sword For
these reasons the children of Israel observed
solemn feasts, the heather held their festivals
in honor of their divinities, and our civil
magistrates invoke us to express our indebted
ness to God for his bene6cence. Far be the
day when, as a people, we shall fail to re-
spond, and we should rejoice that it is the
chief magistrate of the nation, not the head
of single commonwealth, who calls upon
US. The preacher then. said that he was aware
that a prejudice had existed against Thanks
giving among churchmen because it was
thought to overshadow the greater festivals
of Christmas and Easter. but we should not
neglect the less on account of the greater.
Again Thanksgiving is among the appoint
ments of the charch. 1t has an ecclesiastical
as well as civil origin, and a
time has now come when call
from any high authority, in Church or State,
to openly confess the gift of personal God
in temporal blessings should be regarded by
every Christian observer as imposing special
obligation, for the tendency of the philosophy
OF the day is to make prayers for temporal
blessings seem unnecessary and useless, and
to shut out from our thought of God His di-
rect and active control of the material uni
verse, to leave man without any tokens of the
goodness of God or His care of His crea-
lures.
Thanksgiving is an open protest against
such teaching. 1t is a proclamation to the
world of our steadfast adhesion to the writ
ten word of God, as opposed to the arrogant
dogmas of science, falsely so called, and if
kept as it should be would rebound to the
glory of God.
h1x. fa,,
departed from the standard of Gods require
ments, if 1.-THE of all that is declared of cor
ruption and iniquity actually exists among us
in high and low places, we could not complain
or murmur if he should affiict us with those
scourges with which he visits the nations that
depart from the ways of righteousness.
After speaking of the abundance of our
harvests during the year, the speaker referred
to the horrors that came to us from the west
where famine is reported whose tortures and
its attendant evils he painted with master
hand He pictured the blessings of peace
which our own people could now so readily
appreciate after the civil war. Finally he
urged us all to praise God for all the bless
ings we had received, even though not un-
mingled with chastisements, because He still
and continually, concerns himselff for our well
fare, because He will transmute the thorns
and crosses of earth into heavenly sweetness
and immortal crowns if We abide faithful to
Him.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.
Rev. G. F. Dole delivered an address at the
Plymouth Church taking for his text Mark
iv. 1892.
And he said whereunto shall we liken the
kingdom of God and in what comparison
shall we compare it: 1t is like grain of
mustard seed which when it is sown in the
earth is less than all seeds that be in the
earth. But when it is sown it groweth up and
becometh greater than all herbs and shooteth
out great branches.
Christ gives us here the great rule of his
spiritual kingdom. 1t is silent development.
The subject is a single respect in which this
development is seen. 1t is the relation of
Christianity to citizenship. The idea of
Christian citizenship was only held in the
germ in the minds of the early Christians. 1t
was impossible with their circumstances they
could be patriots. The idea seemed opposed
to our Lords teaching and through history
we find a tendency to separate religion and
politics. Again from the first the church has
thought Christian discipleship and citizenship
might be one. The Romish papacy, English
state church, and Puritan commonwealth in
and o-dav while we are d;scnss;ng the ex1
ned;encv of tax;no church nroner,y WE own
to the same Grand tbonoht and see IN Chris
tianitv the saving mower of the State.
We are GROWING 70 larger view of Chris.
tian;tv. to soc that rel;o;on takes hold of the
life tbot Chr;s+ saros sor1 h., n,oL;rr -
oooa that ,,nlass ,,;th au ~ ~, rs ;.
5etter be is not . Cbr;st;an at oil Inst GO =.
With tho uorld Cbr;st ooross 10 soro tho
world hv mating Il Good ,s hn Jdss ~ t%s I" ;nd to
y;dnal - e0'N 10 ~ >'''' INV '"@'
There are tbree e,on,erts j., C,br;s.;on;,r.
riobteousness love and Inowledao of Cod
law is an essential tbonobt and wberover r, we
find a law Of Cod wbet5er Of beamtx, tea,th
or conduct. and obev tive are So far LIVING as as
Christians Christ came to teach love 90
wbere we fnd Il tbere we And Chr;st;an;tr
Wharever mon ~ reconn;zo 50 nower tho, maLss
for r;ebteonsness o. fa, as p tbe;r inc Imowisdns 1r
ooes thex nossoss The oerm, of Cbr;s,;an;tsy %so
Tins Cby;stf;an;tv f embraees M all condnct aatS
ers nm ali trntbfu,ness md hnds tore,her oil
k;ndS of love
A Christian state 10 No ,orooro . matter of
name Sonoro;ans auno;n.eJ hr 'Au,;e. nr;ostS -
Maid worsb;y i, Prnss;a b;ahor,s s;.tira i';'' :,
parI;ament pnan;na o''r , W,Sp ;.h ,'.s m
or stamnino he name Of Cod on onr @ coinnsoe sga'