The Portland daily press., 1898-11-24

The Islands of the Sea May Not Have
Entered Paradise When Our Flag Was
F1oated Over Them-Things OF Which
We, As a Nation, should Be Ashamed.
| Had the good people Of Portland known
what was in store for them had they at
tended the Thanksgiving service at the
Second Parish church last evening there
4 would not have been vacant seat to be
had at the opening OF the exercises.
AS it was the audience was large and
what they lacked in numbers they made
up in their appreciation of the eloquent
and at timely address of the Rev. w. S.
Ayres, who was the speaker of the even
ing.
i The service was most simple in every
way but was very enjoyable. The music
was especially fine though not elaborate.
| Rev. Rollin I. Hack. pastor of the
church conducted the service and after
the opening prayer said that the idea of
the service was to give strength to the
custom of holding Thanksgiving services
as in the old days and next year he hoped
that these services would be more largely
attended. He then read the Governors
Thanksgiving proclamation. after which
the Rev. Mr.. Ayers spoke.
His text was taken from the 2sth chap
ter of the First Chronicles, seventh and
ninth verses: "And 1 will establish his
kingdom forever if he be constant to my
commandments and my judgments as at
this day. Now therefore in the sight Of
all Israel, the congregation of the Lord.
and in the audience of our God, observed
and seek out all the commandments of the
Lord your God, that ye may possess this
good land and leave 1t for an inheritance
to your children after you and forever.
But if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee
off forever
..EMr. Ayres said in part:
eThis passage of Jewish history is one
which we cannot afford to forget. You
will remember that when God set this
shepherd boy on the throne He told him
that If he would be faithful his kingdom
| would be established forever, and when
he proved himself to be untrue He tore
| it down SO literally that not one stone
was left upon another. When in the
height Of prosperity Israel forgets
Jehovah. prophet appears to him and
says, %, Israel thou hast destroyed thy
SELF
The future of our nation is in the hands
| of God. When the nation forsakes Him,
| God will cast it off forever.
"When Israel gained a great victory
God gave new covenant. Every victory
| brings with it Increased opportunity and
responsibility. A victory is not always
blessing in itself. 1t opens the door to
larger life and gives opportunities for
a larger sphere of action.
Thanksgiving, which does not coDse-
crate the future, is mockery. There is
such thing as too much giving Of
| thanks. Thanks are meaningless because
we do not rise to the recognition OF the
larger opportunities which are opened
throu gh the blessings of God.
ssOur business tonight is not to clap our
hands at the great things which have
been accomplished during the past year ;
we will leave that to the meaningless and
thoughtless, but it is our business TO
solemnize larger national life viii h
God has made possible and say to our
selves, we will strive to do the wilt of
Him who gave us the victory
"This has been one of the most event.
| full years of our history. Great changes
have come so swiftly events have crowded
SO upon one another that we have scarcely
had time to adjust ourselves to the new
conditions This year has brought to us
an illustration of the great unity of our
country and in this we should indeed re.
joice. But this unity of country has long
been fact 1t is no more real now than
| it was years ago. The North has long
imputed disloyalty to the South, disloyal-
| ty which is foreign to the Southern peo-
pie. Politics were largely responsible for
this mistaken idea on the part of the
Northern people. The younger generation
OF Southerners have long recognized that
the abolition of slavery was the greatest
| blessing of the half century ana today
there are no people in the land prouder
of the fact that the Stars and Stripes
people. The picture of a Rebel general
leading Union army on to victory has
appealed to our imagination and at last
we are compelled to recognize the fact
that the South is and has been for years
as loyal as is the North. The seemingly
lack of unity which existed before the
war arises not from the rebellion, but
from the fact that our country represents
a wide diversity of interests. Laws
which benefit the North may prove ruin
GUS to the South.
ssThis should be a time when we
should be talking, not of more territory,
but for more unselfish craftsmanship.
Great problems remain to be solved, some
of them the greatest we have ever ap-
preached, problems on which the national
destiny hangs. These problems have
grown largely out of the wonderfully
rapid expansion of our nation. If the
result of this war should be to turn our
attention from these problems, if in
fatuafed by the idea OF a world -empire