The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-09-06

grateful when City people lose their
lives and you get off, than you are
grateful to God when you all get of
and you have no alarm at all. Now
you ought to be thankful when you es-
cape from accident, but more thankful
when they all escape. In one case your
gratitude is somewhat selfish; in the
other, 1t is more like what 1t ought to
be.
0hl these common mercies, these
common blessings, how little we ap-
preciate them and how soon we forget
them! Like the OK grazing, with the
clover up to its eyes, like the bird
picking the worm out Of the furrow--
never thinking to thank God who
makes the grass grow, and who gives
life to every living thing, from the ami
malcul@ in the sod to the seraph on
the throne. Thanksgiving on the 27th
of November, in the autumn Of the
year; but blessing, 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 in
stincts, it may have an instinct by
which It recognizes the divine hand
that feeds it. do not know but that
God is, through 1t, holding communica-
tion with what we call Irrational
creation" The COW that stands under
the willow 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 smells
like incense, and the mist arising from
the river looks like the smoke Of q
morning sacrifice. o, that we were re-
sponsivel
O If you were thirsty and asked me for
drink, and gave you this glass OF
water, your common instinct would
reply, "Thank you" And yet, how
many chalices of mercy 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 well, foaming
in the cascade, laughing over the
rocks, pattering in the shower, clap
ping its hands in the sea? Who thinks
to thank God for that? Who thinks to
thank God for the air, the fountain OF
life, the bridge of sunbeams, the path
of sound, the great fan on hot sum
mer day? Who thinks to thank God
for this wonderful physical organism,
this sweep of vision, this chime OF
harmony struck into the ear, this Grim
son tide rolling through arteries and
veins, this drumming Of the heart on
tho march Of Immortality?
convict myself, and convict every
one of you while l say these things,
that we are unappreciative OF the COM
mon mercies of life. And yet If they
were withdrawn, the heavens would
withhold their rain, and the earth
would crack open under our feet, and
famine and desolation and sickness,
and woe would stalk across the earth,
and the whole earth would become a
place of skulls.
o, my friends! let us wake up to an
appreciation of the common mercies OF
life. Let every day be Sabbath, every
meal sacrament, every room a holy OF
holies. We all have burdens to bear;
let us cheerfully bear them. We all
have battles to fight; let us cheerfully
fight them.
II we want to die right, we must live
right. You go home and attend to
your little sphere of duties. will go
home and attend to my little sphere OF
duties You cannot do my work; !
cannot do your work. Negligence and
Incidence will win the hiss Of everlast-
ing scorn, while faithfulness will gather
its garlapds, and wave its scepter, and
sit upon its throne long after the world
has put on ashes and eternal ages have
begun their march.