St. Tammany farmer., 1904-12-17

of life, the manifold things which have
crowded in to I'LL mind and heart,
have made you forget to turn back to
meet your God in thankful praise, but
now comes the call Of the annual
Thanksgiving day, bidding you pause to
consider and to render unto God recog-
milton and praise for all His benefits to.
wards you. Now comes the opportunity
of doing that which you have failed to do
wholly or in part during the year Shall
the angel of the legend as he comes to
earth on that day meet disappointment
and failure, and go back to God with q
basket as empty of thanksgiving as on
other days? Will he pause before the
door Of your heart, and, instead Of
hearing the prayer Of thanksgiving and
the song of praise, hear the chatter and
commotion that concerns only the things
of self? Will he receive from you just
the merest bit of hasty word Of thanks.
giving, and then see you rush of to the
joys and activities of the day, with not
another thought Of God or of being
thankful to Him? Will he 60 to the
meeting house, where the president and
the governors have urged the people to
assemble to give thanks to God, and find
the doors closed, or, If open for union
services. will he find the pews half
filed, while the hurrying multitudes, the
nine out Of the ten, pass the door on
their way to the football match, or the
social function, or the days sport of one
nature or another? Say, will he? Will
he go back laden with your offering Of
praise and Thanksgiving, or will the day
come and 60 without one thought, one
word of thanksgiving? Will its mo-
ments fee away without one single
precious one being filed with God and
what God has done for YOU? God for
bid!
TESUS Is asking to-day: Where are
J the nine?" Recipients of Gods favor,
they are rushing of to their own de-
vices, forgetful and Indifferent. They
lost the blessing that always comes to
the grateful heart. They failed to hear
Jesus words of cheer: "Arise, go thy
way: thy faith hath made thee
whole" Jesus misses the nine, but He
does not forget to give added blessing
to the one out of the ten who turns
back to Him. I want you to note the
deep spiritual meaning implied in
Jesus words. The pathway Of thanks
giving led that healed leper back to
Jesus for new experience. for a
greater blessing than mere physical
cleansing. And thus gratitude, real
and sincere, will open up the way to
new experiences, it will begin new
with God. There was a
link binding the returned leper to
Jesus which was entirely absent in The
cases of the other nine, and he heard
Jesus say: "Arise, 60 thy way; thy
faith hath made thee whole" Down
at Jesus feet In the dust OF repentance
and submission is the real starting
point for every soul. Down at Jesus
feet is the place where we may hear
the encouraging: "Arise." Jesus alone
can set the, needy soul upon its feet.
The consciousness of dependence upon
God, Of His goodness and mercy, brings
the heart low before Him, but it is al
ways that He may lift it up to higher
and better plane of living than ever
before. And when on his feet, he re-
ceives his commission: Go thy way"
But what different way than ever De-
fore. Back to home and frienda as Of
yore! Yes. Back into the old scenes
of activity as before the scourge had
fastened itself upon him! ST. Yes. And
yet it was different way, for he was
a different man. He had met Jesus.
Jesus had become q vital factor and
motive in his life, and whittier he
went the influence Of the Divine life
went too, SO that it was different
way.
A ND as he went. he heard the reas-
~ suring words: "Thy faith hath
made thee whole" And did he have
more than the other nine! All were
cleansed. All had perfect physical
manhood restored, but only to one did
Jesus say: "Thy faith hath made thee
whole" Whole! Whole in body and
soul. Just as God has made man and
intended him to be. All. is man
whole, though he be a perfect Apollo
in physical vigor and strength and
beauty, If the eternal soul within is
diseased and dwarfed and dying? All,
no! Ere many years after this incident
of healing those ten men were lying
cold and dead within the tomb. The
bodies which Jesus restored to health
that day were laid aside and the sonls
that had sheltered within them had
sped on into the presence Of God. But
one to whom Jesus spoke Of saving
faith that had gone deep into the soul
and healed it of its leprosy of sin De-
gan then only to fully realize what
Jesus had meant, while the other nine
never could know, for they never felt
any need beyond the physical. The
one out of the ten trod the way OF
blessing because with a grateful heart
he took time to turn back and give
thanks to the One from Whom he hsd
received. The ungrateful heart :an
never know such experience. For this
reason Scripture urges us over and
over again to be thankful, to mingle
with every experience OF
life. Shall we not be among those who
turn back to give thanks to God? AS
we bow before Him We will hear Him
calling us to highee and newer life;
We win find our way in life glad with
His presence: we will begin to know
what the blessed words, "thy faith
hath made thee whole" meas! Let
m he the one out Of the tenl