Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1903-11-28
TALMAGE
SERNfON
By Rov.
FRANK DE WITT TALMhGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Pre,by-
terinn chGrch. Chicago

Chicago, Nov. OH this sermon, ap-
propriate to the season, the preacher
points out the manifold reasons we
have as nation for Il joyful acknowl-
edgment of Gods goodness to us on
every hand. The text is Proverbs XIV,
15, "He that is Of merry heart hath
continual feast"
Thanksgiving day! What does this
American queen of festivals mean to
the average hungry b0y-for the aver
age American boy is always hungry! y
feast, great big dinner! feast
which is famous for two characteris-
tics-irst, quanti.y-that is the great
essential; second. quality - tbs 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 vcGe-
tables and the salads and the pies AMI
the puddings and the ice cream be mar
shaled in courses. but these courses
must all be Of good quality. Then ih'
gardens should contribute their hneSt
pumpkins. the vineyards their most
luscious fruits and the orchards their
richest juices. Then the cooks must
try to outdo themselves by testing the
scored recipes for the mincP pies-these
recipes which the cooks guard aSsSeai
ously as the patent medicine mn do
the formulas of their "cure ais or as
that famous Delaware family does the
secrets by which ii is able 70 hold aS Il
monopoly the making of gunpowd'r for
the nation. A Thanksgiving day for a
hungry boy and no banquet 1t wou.d
be a farce, an absurdity; wcdd NJ
without a bride. Hamlet" without the
Dane, a spring carnival of flowers with
no May queen, an orchestra without
music, a comedy. merrymaEiHE with
empty dishes. Barmecide feast!
We have never fully outgrown our
early respect for the culinary master
pieces Of the Thanksgiving Kitchen
We hopA that we never shall. But to-
day we would interpret our text from
a higher standpoint than the hungry
bows stomach. We would apply it, in
the fieurative sense, to the banquet or
gratitude. the banquet of love. the ban
ouet of divine mercy-the banquet
which King Solomon described when
he wrote these words: HE that is OF
merry heart hath a continual feast"
II 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.
NV purpose extends beyond the day
itself. Next Thursday, by presidential
and gubernatoral appointment, we call
to mind our national mercies and as a
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 a God
so good and kind, and thus let our
thanksgiving become perpetual and our
gladness a continual feast.
Let us rejoice over our national pos
sessions geographical. We have coun-
try, not little island like England; not
a reclaimed sea bottom like Holland
nor q collection of mountain tops like
Switzerland, nor a harborless territory
like Austria. nor a national chicken
coop like Portugal, nor menaced gov
ernment like France, with the frown
ing guns of Metz trained upon her cap
ital. but we have a land stretching
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
the great lakes to the gulf stream. OuI
wheat fields are the Red river valleys
of the Dakotas. our coal mines the mex
haustible veins of Pennsylvania and
Ohio. our cotton fields the snowlike
treasures of Louisiana and Alabama
our fragrant gardens the Floridas. ol
the "land Of flowers" our vineyards
and orchards the Mlchigans and the
CALIFORNIA; our pools of Bethesda thu
health springs Of the Virginias and the
Saratogas and the Arkansas. Our riv
ers are the mighty Hudson. the Mis-
sissippi and the Missouri Nature has
| given us as affairs at which to worship
| the storm rlvon rocks Of Mounts WASH
| lngton and Shasta and Pixies peak
which are old enough to have heard
| God thunder from Mount Sinai ant
whose hearts may have been shattered
at the tragedy of Calvary. Fertile an(
beautiful our landi Yes. 1t Is situated
! in the temperate zone. the best OF al
climates. TIE intense fires Of the trop
les cannot burn it. nor the refrigerat
ing blast OF the far north freeze 1t
Truly it is with us as with the peo
pie who inherited the promised land
1.-The Lord thy God bringeth the
into a good land; land Of brooks o
water, Of fountains and depths tina
spring out of valleys and hills; lan'
I of wheat and barley and vines ant
fig trees and pomegranates; a lan'
Of oil, olives and honey; land where
in thou shalt eat bread without scarce
ness - thou shalt not lack anything
in 1t; a land whose stones are iron
and out of whose hills thou mayes
dig brass. When thou hast eaten an
art full then thou shalt bless the Lor
thy God for the good land which b
hath given thee"
Our National Possessfons.
Good not only in reference to It's rel
tility. but also In size. The Unite
States, exclusive OF the immense goI
6oldc oP Alaska Ia estimated to hdv