The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1903-12-04

much He Is giving to man year by year!
Surely, God does crown the year VIII
goodness and His paths do drop ia'-
ness. "Oh, that men would praise inc
Lord for His goodness, and for fAis won
derful works to the children OF men,
THE gifts of God to men are Oh wv
| kinds--tempora and spiritual
And If God is Bountifui Gou IL ne
provision for the temporal neeus - ~
world. what musttwe say for what Cog
has bestowed upon man in the way "
! spiritual gifts? The latter 1ar QUIZ
weigh the former in value and I'M
portance. 1t is low order OF nie
which can feel gratitude to Goa only
when the stomach is full and the pooy
rests in ease and comfort. Burns iines'
Some hae meat and Gamma eat
| And some would eat that want -
| But we haze meat, and we can ea''
l. Sac let the Lord be thankit,
| is about as far as great many peopie
get in the realization of the bount1es OF
God and their gratitude to Him for his
| gifts. Others are thankful for what
circumstances have made them, as was
| Thales, one CT the seven wise men Oh
Greece, who used to express thanks for
three things: That he was born rea-
sonable creature, and not peast; .
man, and not woman; a Greek, ana
not barbarian. But Gods richest
bounties are found in realm above
that which involves the material lie
and the conditions and needs OF the
body. Man may well thank God that ne
has been born a reasonable creature,
and not beast, but that he has been en-
dowed with an undying soul and that
Gods inexhaustible riches of grace are
offered full and free to his soul are
worthy of eternal thanksgiving. we
who are born in this country may well
be glad that a heather land was not our
home, but the refined and cultured soul
in the civilized land without CHRIST is
as miserably lost as the most benighted
heather. and with "a greater weight OF
responsibility resting upon it. A great
er thing to be thankful for is for spirit
ual birth into the kingdom of Jesus
Vii lcL ny lullA III Him. NhN SAAeSS 49,
in civilized land with all its enlighten-
ment and privileges has called you and
equipped you for service to the heather
world in Its greatest need, which is
Christ The ,"good and the perfect
gifts" which God has bestowed upon
the world are not chiefly temporal, but
are spiritual. The Bountiful God has
looked beyond the span of the natural
life and made provision for the eternal
welfare and needs of the soul. Christ
and salvation, the indwelling Spirit and
the fruits Of His presence Of Glove, joy.
peace, long suffering, geEtleness, good
ness, faith. meekness, temperance"
these are the greater gifts which the
Bountiful God has bestowed upon man
kind. Surely man ought to render unto
God thanks because Gods supreme
thought through the ages has been the
salvation and sanctifcation of mankind.
tt\\UHAT. then" says the Psalmist,
w shall | render unto the Lord
for all His benefits toward me?"
Thanksgiving, which shall find its ex-
preston in Thanksgiving A thankful
heart is not dependent upon the album
dance of the possessions of this world.
Henry Dorsey Cough, wealthy Mary
land planter of the slavery days, and q
Cody man, tells this incident: While
riding one day to one of his planta-
tons, he heard the voice of prayer and
praise in cabin and, listening, dis
covered that negro from neighbor-
ing estate was leading the devotions Of
his own slaves, and offering fervent
thanksgiving for the blessings of his
depressed lot. His heart was deeply
touched and with emotion he ex-
claimed: ALAS, o Lord! | have my
thousands, and tens of thousands, and
yet, ungrateful wretch that am. I
never thank Thee, as this poor slave
does, who has scarcely clothes to put
on. or food to satisfy his hunger!"
He never forgot the lesson. He real
lied then as never before that the
riches of the presence of Christ in the
heart brought greater joy and blessing
than could all the material comforts
and possessions of the world. We
must remember all of Gods benefits,
but above all the spiritual blessings.
And the Thanksgiving is true gauge
to the depth and genuineness of the
thanksgiving. Thanksgiving which is
no longer than the church service and
no deeper than the stomach is a brand
which may be popular in the world, but
it is not acceptable to God. Thanks