The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-27
THANKSGIVING DAY. 1893
A TIMELY DISCOURSE BY REV. GEO.
r.. VAN DE WATER, ID. D.,
Captain and Chaplain list Regiment,
copaI Church, New York City.

Praise the Lord, o my soul. and forget not
/ all His benefits.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving.
/ and into his courts with praise; be thank
/ full unto Him and bless His name.-Psalms.
| Praise comely at all times. is especially
the dominant note of the day appointed by
both civil and ecclesiastical authority. and
known throughout the land as 'Thanksgiv-
| ing day."
| For more than one hundred years our
country has thus annually recognized the
existence and the providence of God by Of
| fetal proclamation; and the church makes
its day Of praise for seed time and har-
vest conform to that of the civil authority.
| It has become SO much a national holiday,
| however. by many so exclusively devoted to
recreation and pleasure that it sometimes
| seems if the major part of the people
| have entirely forgotten the purpose of its
| appointment, and are wholly unmindful
| that their President asks them "to come
| together in their several places of worship
| for a service Of praise and thanks to AL
mighty God for all the blessings of the
year" So much of obligation arises from
consideration of the civil command, religious
duty aside. and it would seem as if the re-
| cipients Of Gods bounty ought to be willing
at least once a year to pause long enough
| to publicly say thank you" for their bless
| ings.
| A grateful heart cannot be wholly bad
| and among the small, but important, helps
to greatness I know of few more valuable
| than the need OF praise. One whose dispo-
sition is never to praise becomes narrow
dwarfed, selfish, mean; as often as we in
dulge in praise, show appreciation, express
gratitude, we occupy a higher plane. The
best men this world has known have be-
come such by persistenly pursuing the
profitable exercise Of referring all blessings
to the Giver of good and associating all the
pleasures of life with reverent thanksgiving
to God.
However willing a parent may be to
grant a favor. the expression Of gratitude
for it gives greater pleasure than the abil-
ity to bestow it, while a child's ingratitude
is the sorrow of all others that pierces
through the human heart. Even so does the
Heavenly Father crave the tribute Of CRATE
full hearts. 1 know Of few sadder refrains in
Scripture than that one of the Savior when.
having healed ten men of their awful lep-
rosy. he asked of the one who returned to
give thanks: Were there not ten cleansed?
But where are the nine?" Let us determine
to-day that we shall not be guilty of that
base and unreasonable wrong of gross in
gratitude. Even the common blessings of
everyday life by reason of their regular
bestowal, are too often taken as a matter
of course or of our own providing, without
thought of the giver, without, apparently,
recognizing that every good and perfect
gift is from above"
REASONS FOR PRAISE
There is never a time in any mans life
when he has not good reason to praise God.
Doubtless the themes are not always so
abundant as they have been, or as they
again will be, but there is no human ex-
tremity so wholly despairing that in it
there cannot be found any opportunity for
thanksgiving. We would be ashamed if
ever, during the last few years of unusual
business depression, we had hesitated to
make grateful acknowledgment for mani
fold mercies. The goodness of God is a con-
slant factor in human experience.
While, therefore abundant ground for
thanksgiving is never wanting, there are
times in the experience of an indlv dual,
and in the collective experience of many
individuals, composing a nation, when I'M
usual benefactionS call for extraordinary
praise. To-day is one of these times, and
as the Presidents proclamation Gays, Few
years in our history have afforded such
cause for thanksgiving as this" If ever
citizens of the United States had reason to
be grateful to God it is at this very time,
when all over our vast domain peace reigns,
when our 'harvestS have been abundant,
when health and happiness are in our bor-
derS, when business prospects are improv-
ing and ''our trade and commerce has been
wonderfully increased, our public credit has
been improved and strengthened, all Sec
tons OF our common country have been
brought closer together and knitted into
closer bonds of national purpose and unity
to quote once more from the proclama-
ton.
1t would be difficult correctly to tabulate
the increase and the efficiency of all things
that go to make a great, populous nation
comfortable and secure in the possession of
its countless privileges, but it will be no
exaggeration to say that never have such
signal blessings been bestowed upon any
land or people as God has laViShly bestowed
upon these United States and its inhabi-
tantS since first their independence and au-
tonomy were declared. Surely those who
had to do with making this Nation never
in their widest dreams or most feTvent
prayers conceived of such developments in
greatness and goodness as we may modest
ly, yet confidently claim for our country
to-day. How happy are the people in such
caser' How sure we are that the coming
years are to be better brighter, fuller of
opportunities for being and doing good
than any that are gone!
A HOPEFUL SIGN
1t is a most hopeful sign and token Of our
permanent improvement that more and
more are politics becoming associated with
the science of good government. There is a
growing tendency throughout our country
to demand for our rulers men eminently
good as well as eminently great. We may
be miles yet from this goal, but we keep
this goal in sight. Children are being edu-
| Gated to entertain high ideals of govern
ment and to require that those in power
| shall personally embody these ideals. The
standard of personal purity is also higher
to-day in our public officials than it has
ever been. Our fathers too much winked
at moral obliquity in men intellectually
strong or politically powerful. We are
grateful for these and many other marked
! indications of Improvement, especially that
unbelievers in God and His eternal goodness
are rarer than ever and that there is in
| creaSing reverence for goodness wherever
| 1T is found and q more generous support of
| all that makes for the right.
| But uppermost, perhaps, in our thoughts
| to-day because uncommon and momentous,
| is another cause for praise. Since last
| Thanksgiving day many important things
nave happened In a very short time great
| and decisive battles have been fought and
! gloriously won, both On land and sea, by the
nation so beloved so proudly called our
own. The full significance of this the future
/ alone can reveal but some of the blessings
| already seen we can gratefully recount to-
| day.
The best of our young men, from every
walk and station in life, made great sacri-
| fees in the recent contest. This cannot be
without great good TO the body polite. A
nation becomes great, not so much by its
commercial enterprise or its territorial ex-
pansion, as by the sacrifices it's people make
rie~I,%o ife aor1I0 flat