Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-12-01
THANKSGIVING DAY SERVICES

entranced reminded of the glorious
God, his power, His wisdom and His
purity. 1t needs the seeing eye and
the hearing ear Then will come the
praise and the thanksgiving.
But there is always in life some
thing we do not wish. And something
we think we do not need. In the
quaint words of the ancient preacher:
fly in the pot of ointment. The
gaunt figures of Pain and Loss and
Death have boldly stepped into many
life. We cannot be thankful for pain
or loss or death, in themselves, but we
may be thankful for what they do
sometimes bring, and for what they
may always bring. 1t is permitted to
man to play the part of Althemists,
and transmute the base and undesir-
able details of their common lot into
refined gold that may purchase for
them a higher experience.
We shrink from pain. But rightly
regarded is it not one of the higher
ministries of God? Thou hast beset
me behind and before, said David,
and laid Thine hand upon me. Pain
is the besetting, God physically con-
straining His people for moral and
spiritual good. Turning them fore
IDLY into the narrow path. True, the
end is rarely if, ever, fully realized.
But does the student ever mentally
fully measure up to the care and
thought and ability expended upon
him? We measure the work of pain
in human life by the refinement, the
tenderness, the sweet reasonableness
which we often recognize as its un-
doubted result. And for this we may
we'll praise the name of God with
song, and magnify Him with Thanks
giving.
We may have suffered the loss OF
goods that by toilsome care we had
gathered But the compensation for
loss, and the thing to be thankful for,
is that that is the way by which we
become aware of the inexhaustible
riches OF God. He sends His iullness
into our emptiness. The harvests OF
heaven for the famine of earth He
will satisfy the hungry soul with
good. Anything that could so reveal
4 God to us is worthy of praise and
I thanksgiving
/ And if lifc's darkest shadow has
fallen upon some home-the light o,
life is not thereby entirely eNtin-
guished Into the home OF Jairus,
and that Of Mary and Martha, death
! brought the Son Of Man. The Angel
of Death often takes the Savior Of
the World by the hand and leads
Him into the company of the be-
reaved. And out of the very grave
there springs the light of life eter-
nal Surely for such knowledge and
such experience there should be
praise and thanksgiving.
But there is something positive in
life. 1t is impossible for any to say:
have lived year unblessed by the
Almighty Into every living mans
/ life God sends something that may
be reckoned as a definite good. Every
man is the best judge of what God
| has sent to him. But every man
should set himself earnestly and sin
cerely to make that gift clear and
plain to himself Then he ought not to
( be slow to return thanks for it. An
unthankful heart is terrible misfor-
tune to its possessor. How, sharper
than serpent's tooth, il is TO have a
thankless child said Kink Leer in 4ls
sorrow God complains Of the un-
thankful. Thou hast bought me no
sweet cane with money. The OK
knoweth his owner. and the ass his
masters crib, but Israel doth not
know, my people doth not consider
Unthankfulness hangs about us like a
swamp fever, lowering the moral tone
and dissipating the spiritual energy.
But thankfulness lifts men to God and
brings God down to men.
/ will praise the name of God with
song. 1t is a good thing TO give
thanks unto the Lord and to sing
praises unto Thy name, O most High.
How much of the devotional spirit of
the Psalms is really David's feeling
that it was a good thing to praise
God for is blessings to the children
Of men. oh that men would praise
the Lord for his goodness and for his
wonderful works to the children of
men. We are all better when we are
liberal with our praise to God.
And magnify him with thanksgiving.
Can anything done by man magnify,
that is, make God greater 1t can in
deed. God is glorihed by the life of
his people and magnifed by their
thanksgiving We set God on high
before ourselves when by constant ex-
ercise, we keep alive the thankful
spirit.
1t should therefore be our strong
desire, as it is our duty. to praise the
name of God with song and magnify
Him with Thanksgiving.