Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-12-03
THANKSGIVING SERVICES.
AZ ST. sTEPHEN, S.

thanks from first to last. 1t begins Will
tbe opening sentence, "Honor the LORD
with thy substance, and with the hrs'
fruits of all thine increase etc. And
as if with that text in mind, the members
of the congregation had brought to the
church generous supply of the increase
of their fields, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes
tnrnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, celery
souashes, pumpkins, apples, grapes ETC.
atc. These had all been tastefully ar
ranged by hands skilled in decorative art
so rs to present picture pleasing to the
eve and in measure at least sympolical
for a towering pyramid was made, haYlng
wheat and grapes near the apex, signify
inc the elements used in the highest act
of Christian worship. One OF the hymns
sInr began with the words:
Gonna We thankful people, come,
Raise the song of Harvest-home;
All is safely gathered IN,
Ere the winter storms DeSln'
God our Maker, doth provide
For orr wants to be supplied;
Come to Gods own temple, come,
Raise the song of Harvesthome'
The text of the sermon was l'eut. Will.
D. And thou shalt remember all the
way which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble thee, and to prove thee, to know
what was in thine heart, whether thou
woudest keep his commandments, or no.
The children of Israel, said the preacher,
,vare called upon to remember their past
history. They could remember now "od
had opened a way for them through the
Red sea: how He had overthrown their
enemy. Pharaoh. in the depths OF the
sea They could remember the wilder
ness of lin which was in their pathway
They could remember Elm and its re-
freshing shade of palm trees; they could
remember how with miraculous power
Moses had brought water for them out of
the fintv rock. They could remember
the revelation given them from Mount
Sinai amid thunderings and lightnlhyS.
They could remember how they bowed
down to gold and worshipped the golden
calf which their own hands had made.
They could remember the pestilence that
came among them. They could remem-
Der how God gave them victory over Am
alex and his host. They could remember,
later on in their history, how they had
victory over Sehon, king of the Amorltes'
and Og, the king of Bashan. Still later
in their history they could look back up
L.
on the prosperity of their united king
dom. and later still they could remember
the civil dissensions that rent III sunuer
their national union, and later still they
could remember how they were carried
into captivity for seventy long weary
years. The purpose OF all me TRIALS
through which that wonderful people
went was to humble them and to prove
them and to know what was i'll their
heart, whether they would serve the LORD
their God. In like manner we as ma
ton may look back upon our history ard
see all the way which the Lord our God
has led us. We may look back to the
time of the first permanent EngHsh SET
Element at the mouth of the James river
in maarial district. We may look back
upon the landing of the Pilgrim fathers
on that bleak December with bitter
climate to contend with, wilderness IN
their pathway and savage foes on every
hand. and we may trace all the way the
Lord our God has led this nation, giving
victory over climate, wilderness and saw
age: enabling Us, when the mother
country put her iron hand of oppression
upon the young colonies, to gain the vic
tory and establish united nation of
5000, 900 of people. We may remember
how the Lord has led the 3,0O0,0OO of a
hundred years ago to nearly 6O,OOO,O of
people, growth unprecedented i'll the
worlds history. Wemay remember how
al Il cost of million of men and $4,000
600, 600 of money we were able at last to
overthrow that blot upon our history, hui
man slavery; we may remember all the
way the Lord God has led us. The pur-
pose of it is to prove Us. The history of
all the past shows Us that those nations
that have forsaken the Lord their God
and not kept his commandments have
been overthrown. But if we as nation
are true to the Lord our God. we need
have no fear of socialist or anarchist or
any other foe. If it be true, as is some
times intmated, that religion is decaying
in our hill towns and in our cities, then
We may trembe; but while this nation
and the individuals which make up this
nation are true aud faithful to the Lord
their God we need not fear for the con-
tinued advance of our wOnd erfully, in
creasingly great nation.
THE UNION SERVICE.
a union Thanksgiving service was held
in the Methodist church. Rev. Messrs.
Speare and Noe conducted the opening
services. The sermon was by Rev. A.
Def Palmer, pastor of the Baptist
church. His theme was ''The Christian
in Politics.: text-Matt xii 81 He