Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-01
THANKSGIVING.
It's Quiet Observance in st. Pau1-Union
Services at Plymouth Church-The En-
t. rtainments Elsewhere.

Yesterday forenoon union Thanksgiv-
| ing service was held at the above named
| church, commencing at II O'Clock. in
which the House of Hope and First Metho-
dist people united with those of Plymouth
church. The order OF services as published
in yesterday mornings GLOBE were fol-
lowed, and that portion of them
that came before the sermon
were not concluded till after
- o'clock, which rendered the whole SER
vice quite e long one. The church was
crowded with an interested audience which
listened with patience as well as satisfac-
| ton. The discourse. was delivered by Rev.
Emory Miller, d. D. of the First NJ. E.
church, on the general subject Of thanks
| giving and prayer. The following is a
synopsis of the sermon.
Text: Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above,and cometh down from the Father
of lights, with whom there is no va.iableness.
neither shadow Of turning. James i, II.
| The exaggeration or fourth of July ora
| tory tempered with the less secular en-
| thusiasm of Christmas times, may be gen
| orally supposed to characterize 4 Thanks
giving sermon, but the brief time left Us
| will not now permit such indulgence. Nor
is it necessary to show ours to be the hap
piest country, affording manhood the grand
est opportunity the world contains, since
this is attested BE- the millions who are
leaving other lands to find a home in the
United States. Nor will I stay to recount
the many blessings of the year for which
| we ought to be glad. There is 10 question
of this, we are glad! Gladness fills the
land. But let Us consider:
What are the conceptions that lead to a
national expression Of this gladness in
thanks to God?
1. The conception Of God. as an uni
versal, personal, force, developing his &C
tivities in the physical. intellectual and
| moral world. The coolest skepticism, ma
terialistic agnosticism, comedies that all
that are called natural laws are but the
manifestation of force; that this force is
behind all phenomena and is immaterial.
universal and indestructible. But it also
admits that it does not appear IN matter
but is mental datum and is discoverable
only in consciousness. Here the Christian
pushes his analysis one step further and
recognizes the supreme will. He does not
pretend to an priofi demonstration of
God, but, only on the assumption of a God
is the universal! force Ineligible.
2. The conception Of providence. Prov
idence is the best God can do for US de-
spite our ignorance and perversity. That
providence is Denignant is evinced by the
fact that the better we conform to
God in natural law the richer are
our harvests, the better is our
health, the more sound our finances.
the truer our culture, the more perfect our
sciences, and the broader, stronger and
purer our characters. So that the more
intelligently and willingly we interact with
God the more benignant we find his PROV
idence and the greater our prosperity.
3. The conception of national existence
and functions. Human life gives rise to
human need, need begets rights, rights
impei to mutual assistance, and organized
mutual assistance is civil government.
The object of nationality is to enable the
citizens TO make the best OF themselves:
and this is attained by national protection
and encouragement of their physical, men
tai and moral resources. Heather nations
have recognized their physical and, to
degree, their mental resources and have
attained to wealth and culture, but that the
| consciences of its citizens is national re-
source. to be protected and developed.
Is distinctively Christian concep-
ton. Under the guidance of quickened
national morality our material wealth may
continue to increase without danger to the
republic. Led by its light our educational
institutions may multiply only to enlarge
the scope and dignity the character of our
citizenship. Guided by conscience we
shall attain to nicer articulation With the
activities Of the Infinite force and rise to
perfect civilization. Croakers may grieve
and intidels boast that our country is grow
ing worse and vice more common but
statistics, and history show them mistaken.
Newspapers increase the knowledge of
crimes and more sensitive public morali-
ty makes their turpitude appear more hor-
rid. Let politicians rave at each other
and at the people. but it is the more sensi-
tive conscience of the nation that has slain
slavery, crushed bossism, demands civil
servlce-reform and protection against the
saloon and gambling house.
4. The conception that theChristian con-
sciOusnesS is the only adequate couses.voto7
Of these ends. The enemies of
human welfare are human passion,
avarice and ambition. These can be
expsessed only in two ways: either
by external force or internal motives. Ex-
ernal force in the form of standing armies
history shows to have proved failure;
and manifestly is unavailable with free
people. Only motives greater than finite
objects can so control the hearts of men
as to make the great fortunes, increased
learning and large liberties of this coun-
try safe in their hands. Therefore only
the Christian consciousness with its
motives of infinite magnitude that lay hold
upon eternal life can conserve the great
work of national harmonization with the
divine. God invariable and without ca
price in physical law, in the necessities of
reason and the imperial protest of con-
science; Christ that hath brought
life and Immortality to light
in the gospel, these are
the great conservators of American bles-
sing and glory.
Looking out over the past, history, like
turbulent ocean, stretches back into the
mists of tradition. Ever and anon, like
gallant ships, nations are launched upon
its waters. Out from the caves of selfish
ness leap believing tempests of passion to
imI'e:ii every voyager. Alas, how many
have f..uuderpd and gone down. The great