The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-22

- .,s Justnhs unto the Lord, tos
Ho is good; for His mercy endureth
forever The psalmist says we Ought
to give thanks and OF course we ought'
The president OF the Cnited 9'aSes S,nrsa STsa
we ought to give thanks, and OF course
we ought. The governor of the state
says we ought to give thanks, ard OF
course we ought. But why should tn5
psalmist speak for us2 Why shou!d
the president speak for us7 Why should
the governor speak for us! me psalm
ist had Just about everything that
heart could wish and of course he could
be thankful for his lot. The president
has money and fine house furnished
him, with plenty OF servants ana Ihe
highest honors that nation can pc
stow, and OF course he ought 10 be
thankful for his lot, The governor has
The most Identified and honorable posi-
tion IN the state, with good salary
and a good home and everything to
make him comfortable, why shouldn 7
he be thankful for his lot. OF course
these ought TO be thankful. But why
should they be thankful to the Lord!
And how have they come to know that
they ought to be thankful to Hlm3 1T
would seem that these men OF All 9th
s-s were in a position to be independ.
cnt OF God, if. indeed, any men could
he thus independent With all these
comforts about them, how have they
been led TO see their dependence upon
the Lord for the blessings they enjoy!
These men, enjoying wealth and posi-
tion and the esteem of their fellows, are
certainly in position to ignore all the
asserted claims OF the Almighty If men
anywhere could ignore them,
Is it possible, after all, that we are
indebted to God for what we have,
whether it be much OF little' Is it true
that "every good gift and every per
feet gift cometh down from the Father
of Lightsq" If the rich and the hon
ored owe their riches and honor to the
goodness and mercy of God, II may be
we, who are poor. are indebted to God
for the little which we have, We live,
but some Of us hardly know how we
do live. Poverty grinds US down. Tho
struggles we have with the odds against
us it would seem ought to have crushed
lis out long since. The sorrows and the
afflictions we have been called to
overwhelmed the strongest and the
bravest But we live. Maybe God g
hand is in our life 10 preserve 1t. II
God has preserved it, it must be worth
something. And il our life is worth
anything we ought then TO thank God
FOR it, and for his goodness and mercy
for preserving 1T.
But how can we in the best way
attest our thankfalness TO the Lord
for His goodness and mercy TO uss
Tie doesn't care for gifts. He dosen t
need any of our substance for 1.-The
cattle or thousand hills are His, - and
the gold and the silver in the noun.
tains are His. If He had need OF
anything he would not tell us nor come
10 us. Then how may we express our
hanks TO Him. He doesn't want mere
lip service 1t must 90 deeper than
that. It must touch the life. He
doesn Z want us simply to bow our
faces to the ground in humble recogni-
tion of cur dependence upon Him, al
though he is pleased with our humble
acknowl ledgement of His right to our
gratitude. But II we cannot bestow
upon Him directly our goods and our
benefactions. we can indirectly bestow
them upon Him by bestowing them
upon those that are His He tells us
that if we care for the stranger In His
name il is the same as if we were car
ing for Him. If we clothc the naked
in His name; if we feed the hungry in
His name. if we give drink to the
thirsty in His name: if we care for the
sick in His name; If we visit those who
are in prison in His name, we arc min
jsteIing unto Him If Israel was re-
quired TO bring 10 the Lord n thank
Offering how much more ought we Of
this Christian dispensation to be under
obligation TO bring thank Offering,
something Of that which God has
blessed us, and bestow it upon those
who are in need of it and who for some
reason which we may not know are un-
able 10 obtain!
Charity is a most commendable trait,
and it would seem that there were no
more fitting time for its bestowal than
when our own hearts are .mellowed with
the remembrance that we too have been