Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-09-04

heavens bend down 4, sneh insignificant
ministry ~ that, tell you God Is willing
10 bend down TO your case, since he IL just
As careful about the construction Of a spi-
der's eve as be Is In the conformation OF
flaming galaxies.
ATABLE TEoM PLATO.
Plato had fable which have now near
" forgotten, but 1t ran something like this
He said spirits OF the other world came
back to this world 70 find a body and find
. sphere OF work. One spirit came and
took the body Of king and did bis work.
Another spirit came and took the body Of
poet and did his work. After awhile
Ulysses came, and he said; why, all the
nne bodies are taken, and all the grand
work is taken There IL nothing left for
me-" And some one replied, "Ahl the best
one has been left for you.n Ulysses said,
whats thRtw And the reply was, The
body OF common man, doing II common
work and for common reward" A good
fable for the world and Just "a good fable
for the church
But, remark again, we ought 10 bring
the religion Of Jesus Christ Into our or
binary blessings Every autumn the presi-
dent OF the United States aud the governors
make proclamation, and we are called To-
gethcr in our churches to give thanks to
God for his goodness But every day ought
to be Thanksgiving day. We take most
OF the blessings Of life asa matter OF course.
We have had ten thousand blessings this
morning for which we have not thanked
God Before the night comes, we will have
thousand more blessings you will never
think ~ tuauftrpfUe~ Irfora God
We must SEQ blind man led along by
his dog before We learn what a grand thing
II is to have ones eyesight. We must see q
man with St. Vitus' dance before we
learn what grand thing it is to have the
use OF our physical energies. We must sec
some soldier crippled, limping along on his
cruteh, or his empty coatsleeye pinned up,
before we learn what grand thing it Is to
have the use OF all our physical faculties.
In other words, we are so stupid that moth.
ing but the misfortunes Of others can wake
us up TO AN appreciation OF our common
blessings.
We get on board train and start for
Boston and come to Norwalk bridge, and
the draw is OF. and crash goes the train.
Fifty lives dashed out. wo escape. We
come home in great excitement and call
late US, and we all knetl down and thank
God for our escape while no many porished
But tomorrow morning you get on train
Of cars for Boston. You cross that bridge
NJ Norwalk. You cross all the other
bridges. You get to Boston in safety
Then you return home. Not an accident,
not an alarm. No thanks.
In other words, you seem 10 be moro
aftI Union loco FIrf
you got oil, than you are grateful to God
when you all get of, and you have no
alarm at all. Now you ought to be thank
full when you escape from accident, but
more thankful when they all escape. In
the one case your gratitude is somewhat
selfish, In the other 1t is more like what IL
ought to be-
Oh these common mefcleR, these COM
mon blessings, how little we appreciate
them and how soon 40 forget theml Like
the OK grazing, with the clover up to It's
eyes, like the bird picking the worm out OF
the furrow-never thinking to thank God,
who max es the grass grow aud who gives lie
TO every living thing, from the animalculn
in the sod 10 the seraph on the throne.
Thanksgiving on the eth Of Noven Der, ia
the autumn Of the year but blessings hour
IA
all.
compared our Indifference to the brute,
but perhaps wrouged the brute do not
know but that among its other instincts It
may have an instinct by which il recoi.
Mics the Divine hand that feeds it. do
not know but that God Is through IL bold.
ing communication with what We call "ir.
rational creation The COW that stands
under tho willow by the water course chew
ing her cud looks very thankful, and who
can tell how much bird means by it,
songf Tie aroma OF the flowers smells like
incense, and the mist arising from the river
looks like the smoke OF morning saori
flee. Oh, that We were Rs respunslyol
II you were thirsty aud asked me for n
drlnl, and gave you this glass OF water
your common Instinct would reply, THANK
YOU Aud yet how many chnlices Of mcr
q we get hour by hour from the hand OF
the Lord, our Father and our King, and We
do not even think to say Thank YOU
More just TO men than we are Just to God,
Who thinks OF thanking God for the
water gushing up In the we'll, fouming in
the cascade, laughing over the rocks. pat-
tcring in the shower, clappiug its hands
in the seas Who thinks to thank Cod for
thati Who thinks TO thank God for the
air, the fountain OF life, the bridge Of san.
beams, the path Of souud, the great fan on
hot summer day. 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 roll.
ing through arteries and veins, this drum.
ming Of the heart on the march Of lmmor
talityi
convict myself ard convict every one
CT you while | say these things-thAt we are
unappreoiatiye Of the common mercies OF
life, And yet il they were withdrawn the
heavens would withhold their rain, and ths
earth would crack open under our feet, and
famine and desolation aud sickness and
Woe would STALK across the earth, and thR
whole earth would become u place of
skulls.
Oh, my friends, let us wnke IN to an M,
probation OF the common meruies OF liie
Lot every day be a Sabbath. every meal a
sacrament every room holy OF HOLES.
We all have burdens to bear. Let us cheer
fully bear them. We all have battles to
fight. Let US courageously lght them.
IL we want 10 do right, we must live
right You 90 homo and attend TO your
littlc sphere OF duties. will 10 home and
attend TO my little sphere Of duties. Yon
cannot do my work; cannot DO your work
Negligence and Incidence will win the hiss
OF everlasting scorn, while faithfnlness
will gather us garlands and wave its seen
Ter and sit upon It's throne long after earth
has put on ashes and eternal ages have be-
gun their march.