The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-11-27


and the purpose manifesting itself
only in that which is alike the true
basis of national prosperity and its
highest glory-the righteousness
which exalteth the nation through
its complete fulfilment of the divine
| purpose.
Thanksgiving Service at st.
Andrews.
The special Thanksgiving service of
Second congregation of st. Andrews
Cathedral was largely attended.
There was no attempt in the way of
floral decoration. Her Majesty the
Queen and His Excellency Governor
Cleghorn occupied the royal pew.
Major James w. Robertson, II. MS
Chamberlain, and Mrs. Charles B.
| Wilson, were in attendance. The
service was fully choral throughout.
The music was exceptionally fine, as
it always is at the services of this
congregation. The anthem, "Let
every soul be subject" by Stainer, is
an effective composition, and the
choir of ladies and gentlemen did full
justice to it. The organ was presided
at by Mr.. Wray Taylor. AS Her
Majesty left the Cathedral at the
conclusion of the service, the Hawai-
ian National Anthem was played on
the organ.
The sermon was preached by the
Rev. Alex. Macintosh, who chose
for his text the 18th verse of the 9th
chapter of Ecclesiastes, "Go thy way,
eat thy bread with joy and drink thy
wine with merry heart, for God
now accepteth thy works." The rev.
| speaker said that if there was one day
more than another when the human
he~rt was full of joy, and therefore
| free from sadness, it was day of
general thanksgiving for mercies and
blessings already received. In some
ample given them by those of old
God the fruits of the earth,
so that while their praises and
thanksgiving to God for His
benefits are being poured out, they
may gaze upon the first fruits, and
| these serve to remind them of their
| duty, the sacrifice they must make in
order to show their love and gratitude
to the Giver of all these good things.
Let us who dwell in this smiling land
endeavor to lift up our hearts in ador-
alton and thanksgiving to the throne
of grace, without the aid of things be-
| fore our eyes, but let our offerings be
none the less sincere and our gifts
none the less bountiful. A grateful
heart is an inestimable possession. 1t
can only belong to those who have
the highest thoughts of pleasure and
| the greatest will to please. 1t can
only belong to those who are pos
sessed and governed by Christian love,
whose every thought, word and deed
is return for marks of love received.
Gratitude is the habit of pleasing.
Without grateful heart, it is impos
sible to obey the advice of the
preacher in the text. Up to the pres
| ent time there are very few whose lot
has been cast in this pleasant land,
who can fail to be cogniZant of the
many advantages they have reaped
and the extraordinary exemption
they have experienced from the ills
which affect we'll nigh all other parts
of the earth. If we have been wise,
we shall have laid aside such a
store of gratitude as will enable us
to withstand the inconvenience, and
even the troubles, of the deprivation
of many of the blessings and favors
we have come to look upon as our in
alienable right, should that ever take
place. When we look back and COM
pare our lives of to-day in these ISL
ands, especially we of Honolulu; with
what they were over twenty years
ago, we cannot resist the feelings of
gratitude which swell up within us.
With the very latest improvements
which science and art have discovered
to tighten the burden of life, we can
hold our own with the most civilized
nations of the earth. With strong
and daily increasing sense of justice
and truth, we are able to live in peace
and quietness almost unparalleled in
the world. We have great cause for
gratitude when we compare our con-
dition with the States in South
America, with their revolutions and
disasters, or with even some of the
older countries of Europe, with their
strikes and riots and pitiless persecu-
lions. 1t will require much Christian
fortitude to enable many in those
countries to "go their way, eat their
bread with joy and drink their wine
with a merry heart" The speaker
referred to the griefs of the past year
as follows: eve have seen a king
whom many of us loved early car
ried to his tomb, and then the Queen
who succeeded him bereft of her hus-
band and left to govern in greater
loneliness than many can conceive.
More recently, we have heard OF
the death of a statesman whose loss
will be deeply felt in Hawaii. Fami-
lies have been visited by calamities
which have produced lasting sor-
row." The Society for the Propaga-
ton of the Gospel which has assisted
the Anglican Mission for the past
Twenty-Five years was also referred
to by the reverend speaker. He con-
cluded an able discourse with the
words "we come to another Thanks
giving day with grateful hearts,
buoyed up with the hope that a
greater harvest will yet be reaped
that the increase in true religion and
virtue will be from such good ground
as will produce it a hundred fold
Therefore let us praise the Lord for il
is good thing to sing praises unto
our God, yea, a joyful and pleasant
thing it is to be thankful"