The Newtown bee., 1895-12-13

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 Around the Preside.
 PRAISE TIE THE LORD.
 THE THANKSGIVING SERMON PREACHED
 AT THE HEwTOWH CONGREGATIONAL
 CHUROH BY THE PASTOR, REV OTIS VI.
 BARKER.
 PRAISE IS THE THEME OF THE GREAT
 PSALM ORATORIO.-FILL THE BASKET
 OF THE ANGEL OF FTHANKsGIvING.-T
 HEAVENS DECLARE GODS GLORY, AND
 WHY NOT MAN?-UTTER LACK OF
 PRAISE IS AN INSULT TO A LOVING
 FATHER.-PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GOOD-
 NEss.-PRAIsE, NOT FOR MORE GOOD,
 BUT FOR MORE GOD.
 Text, Psalms l5o:1: Praise ye the Lord"
 I-scarcely know where to locate this text. say 150th Psalm and lst verse, but that is only for convenience 80 that you may be able to find it when you reach home. These same words are found in scores of other places all through the psalms, and the same thought all through the Bible. In fact, praise is the theme that runs through the psalm OratoriO. The Book of Psalms is hymn-book, and it makes better hymn-book than those we write to-day for it vastly excels our hymn-boOks in this point of gIadness. Our hymn-books are too much filled with songs of sorrow and mourning-a few of these are all right, but not enough with songs of ju- bilant praise and gladness.
 speak of these same words as b ing found in many places elsewhere, but that is where the Bible suffers in it's translation. The original language had g beauty which has been lost in being brought over into our tongue-thing ; seldom appear 30 we'll when they put on an unnatural dress. In the Hebrew my text was not four. words, but one. It was one clear, ringing word, in which were heard the clash of cymbals, the beating of drums, the sweeping of harps, the shout of glad voices, the echoes of the Heavenly choir-the one word, Hal- lelujah. ssHallelujah!" sing the choirs on earth ''hallelujah !'' is the autipho nal response from the chOirs of Heaven. Praise ye the Lord.' wish that on this day which we take for the celebra- tion of the Thanksgiving season in Gods house we might see this one word before our eyes, feel it beating in our hearts, inhale it as it comes up into our nostrils through the fragrance of these flowers, remember it as the theme of this ser mon, take it home with us to put it into the blessing with which we preface the dinner on Thanksgiving Day, and, as we go out from church, zee it written in in large letters even across this dull and leaden sky-the one word, Halleluiah.
 From the number of times this exhor. tation to praise the Lord is repeated should judge one thing, that it was some- thing men needed urging to do. Yes, il is fact;
 MEN NEED TO BE URGED
 to praise the Lord. Do you hear the cry of the Psalmist q can almost diatin guish in it the pathOs of his soul) ssOh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Oh, that men would-but they don't. Notice, the ex- hortation is not, Oh, that men would go to the Lord when they feel their need of Him. In the sermon of last Sunday tried to show that all men do that, not Christians alone, not devout souls alone who seem ever to be living near the throne, but unbelievers, scoffers and in fidels go to God when they want Him. We speak in our worship much about prayer. That is right.
 "Prayer is the Christians vital breath,
 The Christians native air;r
 and it is right that the Christian should cake in that breath and live in that air. It is right that the Christian should sur round himself with prayer as he is sur rounded with the atmosphere; it is right that the Christian should walk with God and abide in Christ: in fact, we can hardly emphasize prayer too much or state thesneed of it too strongly.
 But, do you know that far more is said in.the Bible about praise than about pray CT? The Psalmisr does not exhort that men would pray to God-there are very few who do not at some time do that, but that they would praise. God. Exam inc our prayers, the best of them, and see if you do not find that we are con. stantly going to God and pressing our cares upon Him, our weights and bur dens. Most of us, am afraid, look up- on God as a banker who will honor our drafts upon His resources, as One who has charge of great treasure-box upon whose contents we can draw at will. Yes, we ought to go to God in trouble He is strong and we are so weak, He is abundantly able to give, His riches are overfiowing. God wants us to ask that G may find, to knock that it may be opened unto us; but He also wants us to praise Him,-praise Him for His love, His goodness, Ills wisdom, His greatness. His ways past finding out, His uncounted mercies that drop upon us like the dew from day to day.
 THERE IS A LEGEND
 that two angels once set out from the gate of Heaven, and the name of the one was srhe Angel of Requests,'' and the name of the other 1.-The Angel of Thanksgiving" The mission of these two angels was to collect the prayers of men, and for that purpose they each carried large basket. The Angel of Requests soon came back to Heavens gate with his basket running over; the Angel of Thanksgiving came back with his basket quite empty. God wants us to fill the basket of this latter angel to the rim.
 Why is it that the Psalmist calls upon dragons and all deepa, fire and hail, snow and vap0r, the stormy wind, the mOuntafns and the hills, the fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, the kings of the earth and all people, why upon everything that hath breath to praise the Lord? Why? Is it not be- cause it ia so natural for everything to give praise to it's Maker? Have you ever thought much upon Nature and wondered why there was so much ex pressive sound connected with created things other than man? Why does the brook murmur g lullaby as 1t runs over it's pebbly bedp It might have been made so that its running would have been still. Why do the wings of insects Whfrr ae they rustla thrOuOh the air 2 God might have 60 arranged it that their flight would have been noiseless. Why is It that
 And drOwsy tinklings lull the distant folds?. Why fs fs that there is so much stir fn Nature that when everything is pro- quiet It startlee usP Whv dn