Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-11-23
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,,
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church. Chicago

propriate 20 the season. the preacher \
points out the manifold reasons we /
have as a nation for joyful acknowl- |
edgmcnt Of Gods goodness to us on /
every hand The text is Proverbs XIV, |
II. "He that Is OF a merry heart hath |
continual feast
Thanksgiving day! What does this |
American queen of festivals mean TO
the average hungry boy-for the aver
axe American boy is always hungry! y
feast. a great big dinner! a feast
which is famous for two characters
tics-hrst. quuntity-that is the great
essential: second. quality - this sec
ond characteristic must tread closely
upon the heels OF the former. Not only
should there be plenty OF food and not
only should the soups and the fish. the
turkeys and the ducks and the vege-
tables and the salads and the pies and
the puddings and the ice cream be mar
shaded I'm courses. but these courses
must all be of good quality. Then the
gardens should contribute their finest
pumpkins. the vineyards their most
luscious fruits and the orchards their
richest juices. Then the cooks must
try 10 outdo themselves by testing the
scored recipes for the mince pies-these
recipes which the cooks guard as jeal-
ously as the patent medicine men do
the formulas Of their "cure alls" or as
that famous Delaware family does the
secrets by which it is able to hold as
monopoly the making of gunpowder for
the nation. A Thanksgiving day for a
hungry boy and no banquet! 1t would
be n farce, an absurdity; a wedding
without a bride, Hamlet without the
Dane. a spring carnival of flowers with
no May queen. an orchestra without
music. n comedy. merrymaking with
empty dishes, a Barmecide feast!
We have never fully outgrown our
early respect for the culinary master
pieces OF the Thanksgiving kitchen.
We hope that we never shall But to-
day we would interpret our text from
n higher standpoint than the hungry
boys stomach. We would apply it, in
the fgurative sense, to the banquet of
gratitude, the banquet of love. the ban
Quet of divine mercy-the banquet
which King Solomon described when
merry heart hath a continual feast"
1t is in order to recount some of the
many mercies. both national and do
nestle. that preach this sermon. May
our hearts, one and all, be joyful on
the coming Thanksgiving day!
Gods Goodness and Mercy.
My purpose extends beyond the day
itself. Next Thursday. by presidential
and gubernatorial appointment, we call
to mind our national mercies and as q
nation render thanks to him who has
crowned the year with his goodness,
but his blessings to us as individuals
are so many and so great that they de-
mand what Solomon in my text calls a
continual feast Not alone on the COM
ing Thanksgiving day. but every day
from year To year as we receive daily
bounties from his hand. should our
hearts beat with love and gratitude to
him whose goodness and mercy follow
US all our days. Thanking him for past
mercies, trusting him for future bless
ings, let us rejoice that we have God
so good and kind. and thus let oul
thanksgiving become perpetual and oul
gladness u continual feast.
Let us rejoice over our national pos
sessions geographical We have a coun
try. not a little island like England; no
a reclaimed sea bottom like Holland
nor a collection of mountain tops lik,
Switzerland. nor a harborless territory
like Austria, nor national CHECKER
coop like Portugal. nor a menaced gov
eminent like France, with the frown
ing guns of Metz trained upon her cap
ital. but Va have a land stretching
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
the great lakes to the gulf stream. Gu
wheat fields are the Red river valley
OF the Dakotas, our coal mines the mex
haustible veins OF Pennsylvania an,
Ohio. our cotton fields the snowlik
treasures Of Louisiana and Alabama
our fragrant gardens the Floridas. o
the LAND of flowers" our vineyard
and orchards the Michigans and tn
CALIFORNIA;. our pools OF Bethesda tn
health springs of the Virginas and th
SaratOgas and the Arkansas. Our ri'
ers are the mighty Hudson. the Mi
sissippi and the Missouri. Nature ha
given us as affairs ut which to worshi
the storm riven rocks of Mounts Wasl
ington and Shasta and Pixies peal
which are old enough to have hear
God thunder from Mount Sinai an
whose hearts may have been shattere
at the tragedy of Calvary. Fertile ar
beautiful our landl Yes. 1t is situate
In the temperate zone. the best of q
climates. The intense fires of the tro
ics cannot burn IL. nor the refrigera
ing blast OF the far north freeze
Truly IL Is with us as with the pc
pie who inherited the promised Ian
THE Lord thy God bringeth tn
into good land: a land of brooks
water. OF fountains and depths tn
spring out OF valleys and hills; a laI
OF wheat and barley and vines al