Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-19
CHRISTIAN ENDEAv0R HOUR
Conducted By Grace Livinuton Hnl.
Foe Sundav. Noyemhey % fnok.

IL will praise Thee with my whole
heart: before the gods will sing praise
unto thee
2L win worship toward Thy holy temple.
and praise Thy name for Thy loving kind
ness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast mag
ntied Thy word above all Thy name.
SIN the day when cried Thou answer
edst me. and strengthenedst me with
strength In my soul.
ALI the kings Of the earth shall praise
Thee. Lord. when they hear the words
of Thy mouth.
5-Yea. they shall sing in the ways of the
Lord: for great Is the glory of the Lord.
6-Though the Lord be high. yet hath he
respect unto the lowly: but the proud He
knoweth afar of.
Though walk in the midst of trouble,
Thou wilt revive me; Thou shalt stretch
forth Thine hand against the wrath OF
mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall
save me.
S-The Lord will perfect that which con-
cerneth me: Thy mercy. Lord, endureth
forever: forsake not the works of Thine
own hands.
There are some people who accept gift
with so Indifferent a manner that the donor
feels almost sorry he has not bestowed the
gift elsewhere. They say. indeed. Il thank
you In words. but their manner says:
This gift is nothing. I have made far bet
ter myself. You should have given some
grace In you to give at ALL
- Such may be glad in their secret souls to
be the recipient of your gift, but they are
little and like to-get as much again from
the same source, because of their outward
ingratitude. They are too proud to show
you their pleasure In the gift or too indAf-
ferent-- To such we find no pleasure in CIV
ing. 80
The majority of us treat Gods gifts in
just that way. We are no. out and out
scoffers at Gods goodness; incredulous OF
loving, constant care over us, but we
speak our thanks in listless prayers In
which but poor remnant of our thoughts
has ever mingled. and we take Gods boun-
ty as matter OF course. AS If We should
sayi. We'll, God put us here on this earth;
Is He not SO bound to maintain u.s.?
And look how Unattended are the Thanks
giving services in our churches. We would
rather stay at home and cook turkey and
don the fine garments that our God-given
prosperity has made possible than to go to
the. church and join with heartfelt praise
In the Thanksgiving hymns. We are like
children who snatch for the box of candy
that father brings home and run off to eat
1t without so much as lifting lips for the
kiss he asks. We think not either of the
pestifence averted, the lives guarded. the
dangers safely passed. that might have
made the day other than 1t is but for the
mercy of God.
And il perchance We do join in the general
praise with our lips, and remember to
thank God in private devotions for bene-
fits received, do we do 1t with our whole
hearts?
a., Our psalm speaks of that as The first
step in perfect thanksgiving that it must
be done with the whole heart Now every
one knows that the whole heart Is not In
the thanksgiving when we are critically ex
amining our neighbours bonnet, or thinking
how long the sermon Is and wishing the
minister would say something new. 1t
takes the heart that knows most fully the
depth to which it might have fallen, that
realizes from what the Lord has saved.
that treasures and remembers the special
providences, to be truly thankful One must
know the greatness of the way in which
God has "magnified His word in order to
be able to give praise with the whole
heart. For instance, of what use toward
the real thanksgiving incense Of praisefui
prayer that is to float up before God this
week, would 1t be for you to go to church
and bow with the rest, and move your lips
with the rest to say: I'VE thank Thee. 0
Lord, for all Thy benefits. to us poor miser-
able creatures. for the goodly year, the
freedom from pain, the safety from de-
struction and DEATH and the shadowing of
Thy loving care" when all the time your
heart was beating out the thought: Il am
just as good as my neighbor. Mr.. Brown. l
have worked hard for years and obeyed
Gods commands pretty well. Why is 1t
have to walk to church today when Mr..
Brown comes in his automobile?5 OF course
I am glad that nothing very bad has hap
pened to me. but it does seem as if God
might have given me little more out Of
His great store"
You would not voice that thought for
worlds, and In your heart you assent to
the general fact that God has been good
10 you and you ought to acknowledge Ii,
but is that giving thanks with the whole
heart" For to offer your thanksgiving
with the whole heart you should think with
keen appreciation of the sudden. almost I'M
expected answer to your call for help when
your wife was i'll, and dying you
thought. and there came that mysterious
Co. khn hot xryhn
spared. Your heart should thrOb anew as
1t did when 1t happened over the time
when the house almost burned down and
The babys life was In danger and yet was
saved You should remember gratefully the
time when you ran for the train and almost
slipped under the wheels and were rescued
from a horrible death as by miracle. and
even those foolish fears you had about that
business matter and how when you prayed
God made the way straight before you.
And your only fear should be lest you
should forget some little one of all the bene-
fits your Lord has showered upon you. Yes.
and you should reel IKE singing IN the
ways of the Lord"
Then there is an element of trust and de-
pendence in perfect praise; an assurance
that though I walk through the midst OF
trouble Thou wilt revive me-" Nothing can
shake the joy of the heart that praises God
with the perfect trust that He will per-
feet that which concerneth me- Well may
the soul that feels such trust go singing
W
ing that the God who has set it on this
earth has q plan and will perfect 1t, no
matter what troubles may seem to
threaten.
Applied Truth.
There is legend that says that once two
angels were sent out from heaven, each
bearing a basket In which they were to
carry back to heaven. the one the petit
lions Of men for new blessings. and the
other the thanksgivngs which they gave
for mercIes already received. The legend
states that they wandered UP and down
the earth seeking to fill their baskets. and
very soon the basket of petition was filled
to overlooking, while the basket Of thanks
giving was almost empty.
A minister in seaport town says that
while he has been asked many. many times
to pray In the pulpit for friends setting sail
on q voyage. he has never yet been re-
quested to so publicly return thanks for
the answers to such prayers.
how to Help the Leader.
Tell In the meeting of some way in which
God has been gracious to you or answered
some one of your prayers.
Parallel Passages.-Psalms. 103:2.4,5;
Corinthians. 1857; II Corinthians, 9:15;
Psalms. 85:2; Philippians. 40; Ephesians.
$40.
Hints to the Decentralization Endeavor
HYMNS RI 10 81 1O4 1O6 ITO lS5 The