Milford chronicle., 1902-08-29

clothing they wear. They cannot
thank him for their opportunities of
usefulness and for health and life.
They are always thinking of something
they might have had; Of something
that might be taken away. They have
no gratitude in their hearts to God for
anything. Every kiss has in it for
them the sting Of a scorpion. Every
sunbeam is eclipsed by a dark cloud.
Every song has in it the echo of
requiem and u death rattle. Every
moment is for them a pallbearer
clothed in black walking by the casket
Of a stenchful corpse.
The sin Of worrying.
Hogarth, the great caricaturist, once
declared that she never saw a beauti-
full face without instantly thinking
how he could distort it and make it
look ridiculous. So people who are al
ways worrying about the future are q
species of sinful, morbid caricaturists,
rendering hideous and repulsive even
the sweetest and the tenderest bless
ings Of the present day. They are like
some Of those self absorbed and alb
sentminded people you meet and speak
to upon the street. You may bow to
them and talk to them, but they see
not and hear not. They are in their
imaginatiOns Il thousand miles away.
Those people who are anticipating trou-
bles can never pluck the flowers God
has planted at their feet; they can new
or hear the birds, whose wings God
has fashioned, singing over their heads;
they can never look into the unfath-
omed sea of affection which God has
rolled into the deep blue of a child's
eye, because they are always living in
the dark caverns, the reptile inhabited
dungeons which their own evil imagi-
nations have created.
In order to overcome this sin of wor-
rying | want you to try an experiment.
Every hour of every day try to think
of the blessings God has given to you
instead of trying to remember all your
troubles If you have poor memory,
l want you to take long sheet Of pa
per and write those blessings down as
! you think of them, and then every lit
tie while take up this pape; and read
over the list. You will need a very
long sheet Of paper when you once be-
gin the LIST. You are going to be sur
| prisod, Overwhelmingly surprised. at
the great number Of blessings you can
! put down.
well remember, many years ago,
| when my father once gathered all his
children together about his chair and
gave to each one of us a long sheet of
| paper and told us to write down our
blessings. At first | could not think Of
a thing to write, but after awhile the
blessings, the many blessings, which
had began to crowd into my brain. /
wrote and wrote until after awhile l
had to get another sheet of paper.
Then I wrote and wrote until after
awhile those blessings seemed to pile
themselves up into great mountain
And then, do you know, after l had
been cataloguing my many blessings
was ashamed to think about any Of my
troublesl They seemed to be so small
and insignificant in comparison with
the mercies with which God had sur
rounded me. My brother, as you begin
today to think of all your blessings
tell you bluntly and plainly it is Q
shame a sinful shame, for you to have
postponed Sc long learning a prayer Of
thanksgiving 1t is a shame, sinful
shame, that you have postponed SC
long the day when you are willing t.
get down upon your knees and thanh
God for what he has done for you anC
for the blessings that have enriched
your life.
A Hymn That Helps.
There are many different hymn,
sung in church, in prayer meeting ant
at the family altar. but there is n,
hymn that breathes in it sweete
gospel, no hymn which helps more t,
make truer, happier, purer and holie
Christian life than that hymn with tn
chorus:
Count your blessings; name them one b.
one;
Count your blessings; see what God Ia
done.
This is n hmm that nnOh+ IN ho SIM