Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-02-08


attention to causes of thanksgiving
that are seldom recognized and shows
how to cultivate a cheerful spirit; text,
Psalms xxxiii. ., Sing unto him with
psaltery and an instrument of ten
strings
y musician rs we'll as poet and con
queror and king was David, the author
Of my text. He first composed the sa-
cred rhythm aud then played it upon a
harp striking and pucking the strings
with his fingers and thumbs. The harp
is the oldest OF musical Instruments.
jnbal invented il, and he was the sew
enth descendant from Adam. lis music
WAS suggested by the twang of the bow
string. Homer refers To the harp in the
Had 1t is the most conSccrated of
all Instruments. The flute is more mel
low. the bugle more martial. the cornet
more iucisiye, the trumpet more reSo-
nant the organ more mighty, but the
harp has a tenderness and sweetness he
longing Ia no other instrument tina;
know of. 1t enters into the richest sym
boiism of the Holy Scriptures. The cap
lives in their sadness hung their harps
upon the willows" The raptures of
heaven are represented under the figure
OF 'harpcrs harping on their harpS." W.
learn from coins and medals that in the
Maccabean age the harp had only three
strings. In other ages it had eight
strings. David's harp had ten strings,
and when his great soul was atire with
the theme his sympathetic yoce, accom-
panied by exquisite vibration OF the
chords, must have been oyerpowering.
In my text David calls upon the people
to praise the Lord with an instrument
of ten strings. like that which he was
accustomed to finger The simple fact
Is that the most of us, If we praise the
Lord at all, play upon ONE string or two
strings or three strings when we ought
to take a harp fully chordcd and with
glad fingers sweep q the strings. In
stead of being grateful for here and there
blessing we happen to think of, we
ought to rehearse all our blessings so far
as we can recall them and obey the in
junction of my text to sing unto him with
an instrument of ten strings.
Remember Daily Blessings.
Have You ever thanked God for de
lightsome foodi What vast multtudes
are a-hungered from day 70 day or are
obliged to take food not t0othsome or
pleasant to the tastef What millions
are in struggle for bread A Confederate
soldier went to the front, and his family
were ON the verge of starvation, but they
were kept up by the faith of child of
that household, who, noticing that some
supply was sure to come, exclaimed,
Mother. | think God hears when We
scrape the bottom of the barrel"
Have you appreciated the fact that on
most OF your tables are luxuries that do
not come TO all? Have you realized what
varieties of favor often touch your tongue
and how the saccharn and the acid have
been afforded your palate? What fruits.
what nuts. what meats regale your appe-
tite, while many would be glad to get
the crusts and rinds and Feelings that
fall from your table. For the fine fIayors
and the luxurious viauds you have enjoy
ed for a lifetime perhaps you have never
expressed to God a word Of thanksgiv~
ing. That is one OF the ten strings that
you ought to have thrummed in praise
TO God. but you have never Yet put it in
vibration.
Have you thanked God for eyesight
as originally given to you or, after il was
dimmed by age, for the glass that brought
the page Of the book within the compass
of the vision? Have you realized the
privati0n those suffer to whom the day
is as black as the night and who never
see the face of father or mother or wife
or child or friend: Through what pain
full surgery many have gone 10 get one
glimpse OF the light. The eyes go deli
cate and beautiful and useful that one
of them is invaluable, And most az
have two of these wonders Of d.ril.
mechanism. The man of millions Of dol
lars who recently went blind from afro
ply Of optic nerve wonId have been will
ing to give NIL his millions and become
day laborcr II he could have kept off the
blindness that gradually crept over his
vision.
You may have noticed how Christs
sympathies were stirred for the blind
Ophthalmia has always been prevalent in
Palestine, the custom Of sleeping on thu
housetops, exposed 10 the dew and the
flying dust Of the dry season inviting
this dreadful disorder A large percent.
age of the inhabitants could not tell the
difference between - O'Clock ut noon aud
u O'Clock at night. We are told Of
six of Chrsts miracles for the euro If
these sightlcss ones. but | suppose they
were only specimens Of hundreds Of re
stored visions. What d pitifuI spccta-
Gle Saul OF Tarsus, the mighty man.
three days led about in physical as well
as spiritual darkness. he who afterward
made Felix tremble by his eloqucnce aud
Hwed the Athcniau philosophers on Mars
hill and was the only cool headed man
In the Alexandria cornship that went TO
pieces on the rocks OF Milctus, once The
mighty prosecutor Of Saul, afterward the
glorious evangelist Paul, for three days
not able to take safe step without guild
ance!
Two Strings of Gratitude.
Have you ever given thanks for two
eyes media between the soul inside and
the world outside, media that no one but
the infinite God could create? The eye,
the window OF our immortal nature, the
gate through which all colors march, the
picture gallery of the SOUL Without the
eye this world is big dungeon fear
that many Of us have never given one
hearty expression Of gratitude for treas
ure Of sight, the loss Of which is the |