Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1908-11-26

@6M N Scriptures more COM
SN9&g mands and calls to praise
HS than to prayer. Yet few
duties are more frequent
~ neglected than this. There are
many people who are always coming
to God with requests but who do not
come to him with thanksgiving after
their requests have been granted Ten
lepers once cried to Jesus for cleans
Ing, as he was passing them at dis
lance. He graciously heard them and
granted their plea. When they had
been healed, one of the ten returned
to thank the healer, but the other nine
came not again with any word of rec
ognition of the great favor they had
received. So it is continually-many
are blessed and helped, but few show
gratitude. Our Lord felt keenly the
ingratitude of the lepers who re-
turned not Where are the nine?" was
his panied question. God pours out
his gifts and blessings every day upon
his children; and whenever no voice
Of thanksgiving is heard in return he
misses it. If one bird of the forest
is silent In the glad spring day, he
misses it's song. If one human heart
fails to utter its praise amid life's
countless blessings, h. is disap-
pointed.
Many there are who think that if
certain definite days are set apart for
praise it is enough For example,
they will be grateful for a whole day
once in year, touching then every
chord of praise in their being, think
Ing that this is the way God wants
them to show their gratitude. But the
annual Thanksgiving day is not in
tended to gather into itself the thanks
giving for whole year; rather it is
intended to give the keynote for all
the years life. Lies true concert
pitch is praise. If we find that we
are below the right pitch, we should
take advantage of the particular
thanksgiving seasons to get keyed
up. When the strings of life begin to
grow descendant thanksgiving will nut
us in tune.
The ideal life is one of gladness
Unthankfulness and fretfulnesS are
discords in the song. We have no
right to live gloomily or sadly. Go
where we may, we hear the music of
Joy, unless our ears have become tone
deaf The world is full of beauty and
full of music Yet it is strange how
many people seem neither to see the
loneliness nor hear the music. 1t
were we'll N many of us would train
ourselves to see the glory and good
ness of God, as revealed in nature 1t
will be sad to leave this world, after
staying in it three-score or four-score
years without having seen any of the
ten thousand beauties with which God
had adorned it. Consider the lilies"
said Jesus. Every sweet flower has a
message of joy to him who can read
the writing One who loves Gods
flowers and birds and trees and noun
tains and rivers and seas, and has
learned to heed the voices which every
where whisper their secrets to him
who understands, can never be sad or
lonely. The power to hear what
natures voices have to say is in our
hearts, not merely in the ear. We
must have the beauty in our souls be
fore we can see beauty anywhere
Hence there are many who are really
blind to the loneliness which God has
strewn everywhere, with most lavish
hand, in his works. So we must have
the music in our heart before we can
hear the music which sings every.
where for him who has ears to hear
If we have thanksgiving within US, we
will have no trouble In finding glad
ness wherever we go. 1t Is q sad and
cheerless heart that makes the world
seem dreary to certain people; If only
they will let joy enter to dwell within.