Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-06-18
A Thankful Spirit.

One secret of happy life is the habit of
always looking on the bright side of things.
II is fine faculty, or perhaps we should
rather say, it is n high attainment in grace,
to be able to find good in everything, and
to get good out of everything. Outward
circumstances of disquiet unquestionably
have some power to mar the peace even of
the best men. But it would be hard to
make one habitually unhappy who had
accustomed himself to see Gods hand in
every event of life, to live in daily acknowl-
edgment of blessings received from that
divine hand, and thus practically to have
reached the point of finding good in every
thing, and getting good from everything
Now is it not the duty and the privilege of
every child of God thus to live2 Is there
any Christian life so utterly destitute of
good things as TO have nothing to be thank
full for? Are there not in every life and in
every lot, even to the humblest and the hard
est many daily blessings-many exemptions
from evil and many signal interpretations Of
good, in what are called the common mercies
of life, which we ought to recognize as
coming from God, and which we ought to
receive and acknowledge with thankful
spirit? But in the great majority of cases,
how are our lives absolutely filled with bless
ENs
peated from day to day. if we but had eyes
to see them. and hearts to he grateful for
them If we do not see them and feel them,
it is because we will not. We do not think
we do not take time to consider else we
could say with David, Whose is wise and
will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving-kindness of the Lord"
OF course it requires faith, strong faith in
God, to live this life of cheerful acquiesence
in the allotments of Providence, and of
grateful acknowledgment for the blessings
which every day brings to us. But every
Christian ought to have just this kind of
faith. II is the faith which the Bible every
where enjoins, the faith which was so EN-
phatically taught and exemplified by Christ
himself A thousand passages might be
cited from Scripture to show the reality,
the value, the blessedness of such fai h. II
is working faith a living faith, a happy
faith, an overcoming faith. 1t surmounts
all obstacles, smooths away all the little AN
noyances of daily life, spreads perpetual sun
shine over the heart and over the household,
even on the darkest days, because it has
learned to accept everything as coming from
God, and therefore as coming fraught with
blessings from his loving hand. As prac-
tical directory for life, what more does any
child of God need to assure his heart in
peace, and make him happy, than to enter
daily into the spirit of passages like the fol
lowing, which may be cited as specimens of
all Bible teaching on the subject "In all
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths proverbs iii G). "Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in
thee " Qsaiah XVI 3). "Be careful for
nothing; but in everything, by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving, let your re-
quests he made known unto God. And the
peace of God which passeth all understand
ing shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus " philippians iv; go. "Let
your conversation be without coveiousness,
and be content with such things as ye have ;
for he hath said, will never leave thee nor
forsake thee. So that we may boldly say,
the Lord is my keeper, and | will not fear
what man shall do unto me" (llebrews xiii ::
j-6). Can IA Christian man or woman enter
every morning upon the work of the day in
the spirit of passages like these, and carry
that trustful, hopeful, happy spirit iuto
everything, great and small, favorable or un-
favorable without thereby Transforming life
into sunshine and peace and joy 7 Try it,
o sadly dropping and gloomiiy despondent
Christian heart. Try it for day, or week,
or month, or year, and see how it will
work. Try it long enough to see if you
have not discovered great hidden spring
of happiness where there had been none be-
| fore.-InieriOr.