Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1897-11-26

The Thanksgiving sermon delivered
by Rev. J. 7. Gose, pastor of the NJ
E church, South, in the spaciou.
auditorium of the Christian church ii
Keytesville Thursday morning, was 4
departure from lines usually pursued
by ministers on such occasions.
The speaker began by saying thai
ordinarily Thanksgiving duties were
performed In a perfunctory way with
out any thought or appreciation Of the
real cause of our gratitude to Him,
the giver of every good and perfect
giff.
Then after briefly referring to the
origin of this honored custom, the
preacher continued by saying that the
world had moved on apace since the
Inauguration Of this national service OF
gratitude. and that the long. sad and
sosrowful faces formerly assumed by
Christian people At these services had
given place to a more advanced and
intelligent view of mans duty to his
God. The minister argued that man
should be appreciahve and grateful
as . pensioner on the bounty of his
Creator, and at the same time MAN.
tain his individuality and assert his
superiority in the economy Of nature.
At this point the speaker deplored the
fact that the observance Of this day
had dwindled into n mere form with
out any real, genuine. heartfelt grati-
tude to Him who had exalted us rs
people among the nations of the earth.
He said that the history of the past
was a striking evidence that the people
or nation that iorgets God shall lose
their or its identity as people or na-
ton. In this connection the gentle
man asserted that there might be
some people in this country who
acted as though the7 had nothing to be
grateful for. The mistake of such
people consisted IN their failure to
recpgnixe the providence Of God how
~ IEvIyn dlS ks6dnesses may have
been. The idea was advanced that
rs a general proposition all of our
grievances were imaginary and not
real aud that we accentuated our
failures or misfortunes by comparing
our condition with that of our more
fortunate neighbors. overlooking the
important fact that we are responsible
for our own shortcomings IN life.
1t was contended that mans ingrat-
itude to his Creator was the result of
overestimating the weight of his own |
efforts in maintaining his sfafE qnO in
the struggle for recognition or exis-
tence among his iellowmen, and that
he seemed to be unmindful OF that
everlasting arm that upholds and
guides the efforts of the children OF
men when exerted in the right 5irec-
tioo.
The speaker held that it WAS
q grave mistake to undertake to ac-
count for the vicissitudes Of terrestrial
affairs by ascribing them to the opera
rion of natural laws, for the laws OF
nature were but the expression of an
infinite power upholding and directing
all the phenomena
In this connection n man Of God
was contrasted with 4 man of the
world in which it was shown that the
recognition of n divine providence
may be regarded As a weakness in
human nature by those who scof at
"the divinity that shapes the destinies
OF men and nat ms" but the success
OF thnse meu oI God who have revo-
e,npres, and who by dis
p.lri,ism have ameliorated
the conditioa of the human race,
stand out rs enduring monuments Of
the wisdom and goodness of an all
wise providence.
Pursuing this same hne of though,
the speaker coniended that this was
especially true of the founders of this
great nation, who consecrated their
very lives to the service of God and