The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-30

peritv happiness and health have been vouch-
safed TO us. Let us pray to-day. and continue TO
pray, thar peace and unity may ever reign in
our land.
Dean Bradley at Christ Church.
The congregations of the Christ Episcopal and
the Holy Innoccuts churches Joined in services
at the church of the former, which was beauti-
fully decorated for the occasion. Rev. e. A.
Bradley delivered the discourse, and in his open
ing remarks said:
1--WE praise Thee Godp' Thanksgiving to
the Almighty Father for His countless mercles
Is the thought and duty of the hour. For this we
have assembled here, and sung with heart and
voice uplifting, eve praise Thee, o Gud!" The
American people are, in an especial manner, the
children OF God, If the fifty millions of our peO-
pie had joined i'll this matchless hymn of praise to
God, and rolled forth national Re Deum, the
tones of the mighty chorus would have entered
the walls of The heavenly temple, and God
would have sent back upon the echo multitudes
of the heavenly hosts laden with His choicest
blessings for our land This TIE Deum
is the most majestic and sublime
of all uninspired hymns. For 400 years it has
been the song of thanksgiving for the children OF
God in the historic church. For ! 200 years 1t
was the whole worlds hymn OF praise. The
legend is, that when the great Augustine was
baptized the good Bishop Ambrose exclaimed:
awe praise Thee, o GOd!" and Augustine an
swered, ave acknowledge Thee to be the Lord"
The whole church was present, and Ambrose con-
tinued, "All the earth dOth worship Thee, the
Father everlasting" Augustine continued, "To
Thee all angels cry aloud" Thus they continued
to respond in holy fervur of gratitude to God till
the whole TIE Deum was miraculousy composed.
This canticle has always been in the service OF
the church. " has been fioared upon the grand
est melodies as especial service of thanksgiving,
after storms, victories ana coronatiOns, all over
the world. All the earth and all the angels are
united in the act Of alteration, for heaven and
earth are full of the glory of God. Well, Their, is
il for The glorious company of the apostles, the
goodly fellowship OF tho prophets, the nooe
army of the martyrs, and the holy church
throughout the world to acknowledge the Father
of infinite majesty, the true and only Son, and
! the Holy Ghost, the comforter. The personal
form or the last verse is touching reminder that
each one of us is nterested in the worship of the
whole body OF Christ on earth.
The reasons for a national 1--WE Praise Thee.
o Cod" Mr.. Bradley said, could only he given in
| full by rewriting the history OF our country and
tabulating the crop statistics since the first
sod was turned of this virgin SOIL God was with
the fathers of this country and has been with us
as with no other nation on earth except the
Jews. In the discovery of the continent, in the
planting anu shaping OF the republic, aud IN
its preservation through all the dangers, | see
the hand of God as plainly as the Jews saw 1t In
the pillar of cloud In the harvest that Is now
closed, giving abundance of food and no more,
for the millions of the people, see monu-
men5 of Gods goodness for which the nation
ought to sing, awe praise Thee, o God" Disas-
tiers and death by dreadful casastropnies have
not SCARED eur homes. Gods hand has guided
all and brought us to this glad day. We go TO
our feasts from the temple because this lie the
festival of joy. trust your happiness at your
bountiful tables will be true and right, and
sweetened by the secret thought of some poor
family helped to sing with you I'VE praise Thee,
o God" If you have never said grace at the
table, begin to-day aud complete your own Joy.
Out of the oOmmOnes5 gratitude that you Eek
pect from your child, yes from your dog, look up
before you eat and say, "We praise Thee,O God"
Thus come back TO each souls duty from
the thought of a national TIE Denim. That hymn
begins, I'VE, all the earth, praise Thee" and
ends ''In Thee have trusted, let me never be
confounded" This nation praisiug God with
one heart in some such hymn means c1vil-service
reform perfected, and every citizen evangelized.
The individual must be reached and do his whole
duty to God and man before the character of the
nation can be elevated ana the heart of this peo-
pie lifted up in Thanksgiving to God. Because
the individuals all about rs have failed in their
personal dnty, the day has dtgeHerated even
among those who claim to have Invented it, and
TOO. generally into day of excess in pleasures:
and too, many pulpits have been degraded into
political rostrums. Therefore, call to every
soul that hears me, thank God and show mercy
that some day We may have a national 1--WE
praise Thee, o God" When St. Paul would en-
noble Greece he worked down in the market
place among the palm trees of the Agora daily;
with the people So the Master worked for the
whole worlds reformation. This Is not only be-
cause Christianity is for the masses, democratic
and not RTistOoratic, but because the ennOble-
ment of the market place and the lives OF the
people, one by one is the only way to the re-
demptiOn of humanity. Plato had caught this
Thought and taught that we must have men
wise and blameless over us as well as good laws,
and that corruption and tavOr1tism must go, and
then the country VIII thrive. Our national re-
torn movements mean much. God prosper
them! But they will not prosper until the lndl-
vidual American begins to say: 'sIu Thee have l
trusted, o God" The man must learn to pray
and praise God, and the nation win sing grand
anthem of thanksgiving. Learning and science
point to their WORK of civilization for the state
Yet is il not true that with the increase of khOw
edge and wealth has come an increase of pow
erty and crime2 In Paris and New York there
is the perfection of luxury and civilization, and
the perfection of suffering and devil:ry. Take
Christianity aud its institutions out OF our
nation, and the country would have heen
cleaner aud better in the hands OF the
slvages. The ideal government OF Plato, adj
ministered with the impartiality of Aristides,
will not alone bring a national millennium, and
fit us for the TIE Deum. Spring-whter will not
wash ont cancer. Each sin-struck human
heart mnst become conscious of its debt to God
and repent and try to live so as 10 express It's
gratitude to heaven and do mercy to men,
l restate the old fundamental law Of the
life to quicken you to the charity of
the hour, and to show you your responsibility to
the country. We must each one turn TO God
aud praise Him if We are ever TO have a nation
al TIE Deum. The uplifting of the heart of the
country must begin in your own heart. Fellow
countrymen, as we'll as brethren, to-day l be-
seeeh you by the mereles of GOD that You pre-
sent yourselves as living sacrifices unto Cod
for it is your reasonable service. Our souls
must he saved. Our country must be saved.
Americas people must all bless God, for only
shall God give us his blessing, and then shall
the earth bring forth her increase. Only so
shall we have a national TIE Deum, and America
be one of the nations when the last harvest of
the world is gathered in, at the consnmmation
of the Masters Work in this vineyard, with all
peoples and all tongues. TO pour at The feet of
the Savior of US all, i'll endless hallelujah.