The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-11-29
RELIGIOUS READING.
TIE HEAVENLY GUEST.

In many German homes it is the custom for
the youngest child at table to ask the bless-
ing on the food. And the words which the
little child is taught to soy are such as the
youngest child can understand, and yet such
as the most experienced Christian may gladly
make his own: "Come, Lord Jesus, and be
our guest, and bless the food thou hast pro-
vided for u.s."
If this is a beautiful prayer of blessing for
every day, it Is especially appropriate for
Thanksgiving Day. It is by no means low
view of the Festival of Thanks that makes the
dinner-table its central feature and crowning
interest The bountifully spread table is a
type Of Gods bountiful provision for all his
creatures; the gathering Of all members Of
the family, from near and far, around the
board is a beautiful prophecy of the reunion
of loved ones in the heavenly mansions the
father of the family at the head of the table
dispensing the food to his children Is q re-
hinder that all We have Of pleasure and COM
fort comes from the Heavenly Fathers hands;
and the stranger at the board-surely 1t Is for
this that lonely ones are permitted to be
among us, that every household festival may
enlarge the circle of love to embrace one such
is representative of Him who identified
Himself with strangers; Him who had no
home of His own on earth; Him whom we
would gladly welcome as our Guest were He
in the flesh on earth to-day.
That Thanksgiving feast is blessed indeed
at which the presence Of the Heavenly Guest
is earnestly desired and realized. 1t causes
no diminution of innocent mirth to realize
the benign presence of Him who blessed little
children, and hallowed a marriage feast by
helpfulness Of his own, and found congenial
rest in the home Of two sisters and their
brother. The thought of Him as close at
hand knlts closer the bond that binds long
separated sisters and brothers to one another
and to the home and parents from whom they
have gone out only to return at times like
this. Family fellowship becomes the more
dear and close as 1t is realized that all are
one in him,
And if the presence of the Lord Jesus as
Guest, no less realized though unseen, is a
blessing in happy united households at
Thanksgiving tide, what is it to those for
whom no such gathering is ever to be until
the final gathering in the Fathers house?
What is it for bereaved parents and lonely
women, and missionaries far away on the
frontier, and those whom poverty or the de-
mands Of duty have cut Off from family ties
All, they who In their loneliness can say,
"Come, Lord Jesus, and be our guest" have
solace in the midst Of tears, a blessed COM
panionship in most rigid isolation, a Joy that
no bereavement can take away from them.
There are times when in the midst Of
friends, with the signs of Joy and gladness
all about one, the heart is unutterably lonely;
there are sad memories that will intrude,
there are longings for those who are gone,
there are heartaches for those not gone but
wayward and estranged. Ah, for such there
is no Thanksgiving joy except as the Savior
comes into the empty room and sheds his
peace upon the aching heart. Then his
preciousness becomes q hundred-fold more
real, the Joy of his presence atones for the
bitter sadness felt even in the midst Of Joy.
SO let all, the happy, the hght-hearted, the
thankful, the anxious, the mourning the
distressed. make this their Thanksgiving
prayer, "Come Lord Jesus and be our
guest"'-American Message.