The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-09-09
blessings YOU viii never think 81 81 mentioning

piessings You Will never tnink OF mentioning
before God.
We must see blind man led along by his
dog before We learn what a grand thing il is
10 have ones eyesight. We must see n man
with So. Vitus's dance before we learn what \
grand thing II II to have the use OF our physi.
cal energies. We must see some soldier
crippled, limpiny along on his crutch or his
empty coatsleeve pinned up. before we learn
what a grand thing il is TO have the use OF
all our physical faculties. In other words,
we are so stupid that nothing but the misfor.
tunes OF Others can wake US up 10 an appre-
citation OF our common blessings.
We get on board a train and start for Bos-
ton and come 10 Norwalk bridge. and the
draw" is OF and crash goes the train.
Fifty lives dashed out. We escape. We
come home in great excitement and call our
friends around Us, and they congratulate us,
and we all Snell down and thank God for our
escape while so many perished. But to-
morrow morning you get on a train of cars
for Boston. You cross that bridge at Nor
walk you cross all the other bridges; YOU
get 70 Boston in safety. Then YOU return
home. Not an accident, not an alarm. No
thanks.
In other words. you seem 10 be more crate
ful when so people lose their lives and YOU
get of than you are grateful 10 God when
you all get of and you have no alarm at all.
Now, you ought 10 be thankful when you es-
cape from accident. but more thankful when
they all escape. In the one ease your graft
tude Is somewhat selfish in the other IL is
more like what il ought to be.
Oh, these common mercies. these common
blessings, how little we appreciate them and
how soon we forget them Like the OK
grazing, with the clover up 10 its eyes, like
the bird picking the worm out OF the fnrrow
never thinking 10 thank God, who makes
the grass grow and who gives life 10 every
living thing from the animalcul@ in the sod
eN fhaa n,
on the 9th OF November, in the autumn Of
the year, but blessings hour by hour and day
by day and no thanks at all.
compared our indifference TO the brute,
but perhaps / wronged the brute. do not
know but that among its other instincts il
may have an instinct by which il recognizes
the divine hand that feeds il. / do not know
but that God is through it holding cominu-
nication with what we call Irrational crea-
tion." The COW that stands under the will
low by the water course chewing its cud
looks very thankful, and who can tell how
much bird means by its song? The aroma
of the flowers smell like incense, and tho
mist arising from the river looks like the
smoke OF n morning sacrifice. on, that we
were as responsive.
III you were thirsty and asked me for "a
drink and L gave you this glass OF water, your
common instinct would reply. "Thank you. ="
And yet, how many chalices OF mercy we get
Father and our King, and we do not even
think to say, "Thank you" More just 10
meE than we are just 10 God.
Who thinks OF thanking God for the water
gushing up in the well, ioaming in the cas-
cade, laughing over the rocks, pattering in
the shower. clapping its hands in tho sea?
Who thinks TO thank God for that? Who
thinks to thank God for the air, the fountain
OF life, the bridge OF sunbeams, tho path of
sound, the great fan. on hot summer day2
Who thinks TO thank God for this wonderful
physical organism, this sweep OF vision, this
chime of harmony struck into the ear,
this crimson tide rolling through arteries and
veins, this drumming OF the heart on The
march OF Immortality?
convict myself and / convict everyons
Of you while L say these things, that We
are unappreciative OF the common mercieA
of life. And yet IL they were withdrawn, the
heavens would withhold their rain and tho
earth would crack open under our feet, and
de ISOLATION and sickness and woe would stalk
across the earth, and the whole earth would
become place OF skullA~S
Oh, my friends, let us wake up to an ap-
probation of the common mercies of life Let
every day be Sabbath, every meal "a sacra-
ment, every room holy OF holies. We all
have burdens TO bear let us cheerfully bear
them. We all have battles TO fight let us
courageousy fight them.
III we want TO die right we must 1.-Two right.
You go home and attepd to your little sphere
OF duties. will go home and attend TO my
little sphere of duties. You cannot do my
work L cannot do your work. Negligence
and Incidence will win the hiss OF everlast-
ing scorn, while faithfulness will gather its
garlands and wave its sceptre and sit upon
its throne long after the world has put on
ashes and eternal ages have begun their
march.