The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-04

growing the old idea of divine favor
ltlsm. These ancient scriptures Of the
jews are full of the idea that God Is
looking out especially for them. The
heathens are left to get along as best
they can, but Israel is Gods elect.
The Christian nations have adopted
the idea, only changing the favoritisms
from the Jews to themselves. o, what
prayers I've heard, thanking God for
dressings bestowed on US, which had
been denied to some one else.
religion almost hinges upon that
false idea, that God was to be counted
good and trusted and thanked accord
ing to the favors he bestowed upon you
1t was more like the relation of a sub
Ject to an eastern king than anything
else. Man was nothing, helpless
worm, an undeserving wretch! Let
him down upon his knees and thank
the mercy that permitted him to live
and even gave him food and shelter!
No wonder there grew up a relig-
ious vocabulary of fullsome gratitude,
that prayers, as I have said, came to
pc haIf thanksgiving and half begging
Tor more. 1t developed into a kind of
bargain. God was to shower down his
blessings, man was to pay for them in
praises and thanks. And you notice
now Thanksgiving proclamations and
thanksgiving sermons and prayers la
Dor 10 catalogue the good things to be
credited to God during the past year.
1t isn't the right way; it creates a
raise relationship between men and the
GOOD Father of them all. And the graf
ltude 1t quickens leads more to selfish
ness and unbelief than to faith and
sympathy. We are outgrowing the very
ideas that underlie the old ways Of
Thanksgiving. In the first place and
very briefly, we no longer measure the
goodness Of God with the foot rule of
our material prosperity. We believe
the loving kindness and the saving wis
dom of God are as much in our grief
and adversities as in our joys and COM
forts. We want to trust that provi-
dence, not which lets us escape what
we call calamities, but that includes
all pain and sorrow in its wise and wide
beneficence.
Again, we seek a God to trust and
love that is above favoritism. We want
no heaven hereafter, If there is to be
hell of endless suffering for sin
gle one of our fellowmen, and we want
no heaven as Gods favorites, here,
while any Of our fellow creatures suffer
wrong or grievous loss. We prefer to
have our happiness diminished and
overshadowed by the knowledge of
what others lack, until we can all be
completely happy together. We do not
ask our God to give US peace, to give
us prosperity; we ask him to give us
Christlike hearts on which the bur
den of the worlds woe shall press until
together we can lift the burden off
do you not see that the old Thanks
giving has become impossible; the old
prayers die for very shame upon our
lips? The very services strike us as
unreal and pore or less ignoble. And
yet another and still more vital inffu-
ence has affected US. Just as In our
families and in human society, so in
our relationship to the creative and
sustaining power of our universe we
have changed the old dependent, sup
plant, servile attitude for the nobler
one of fellowship. Just as parents and
children today as never before, are COM
radeS and co-workers, so we and our
Father in heaven are comrades and CO.
workers.
I'VE get up out of the dust; we cease
describing ourselves as worms; we hush
our baby cry of helplessness, and we
take hold together with our God, of the
great and glorious work that he and we
have here to do. And that is the right
relationship. We are parts of the A.
mite being, sharers in the infinite life
and strength, lovers and burden-b bear
ers and sufferers with all who suffer
IN the very love and graciousness and
sympathy of God. Sons and daughters,
| that describes 1t; not slaves and sub
| jects of an oriental king, but sons and
daughters Of a Heavenly Father
And as we grow out of our child
hood, we grow as sons and daughters
should. into a sense of fellowship and
community with our Father, that may
largely end our going to him with child
ish cries for favor, but it leads to the
UNNECESSARILY higher and better eager
ness to learn his will and make 1t ours,
| to be as one with him in all our ways,
to think and live in godlike man and
womanhood.
THE old gratitude will sink to silence
very largely in this new relationship,
but the thankfulness expressed In trust
and love and eagerness to be at work
with such Father, will more than take
its place. To make that thankfulness
a conscious part of our lives to let 1t
| be great saving, sweetening influence
upon us, and to impart, by the corita-
I glon Of It's strength in u.s. to our fellow
Christians who stand at the turning of
the ways, all puzzled and discouraged,
| that is our blessed privilege and holy
duty. Let US be faithful to it,