The Raymer enterprise., 1910-09-15
LIFT UP YOUR
EYES AND LOOK
By BISHOP WILLIAM A. QuAYlE
Measzsal, canada

Text: In everything give thanks: for
this is the will Of God In Jesus Christ
concerning you.-Thess. 5:1S
Have we not yet the song Of the
Christian life to much to the tune
of difficulty. danger and sorrow? I'm
everything give thanks" am pretty
certain, will. In the multitude Of In.
stances, be translated as meaning
that whatever difficulty or distress
enters your life, be Of grateful mood.
Do not murmur. Be glad through
whatever roughness the water wear
as we voyage across their uncertain
billows.
l am certain Of two things in this
matter. First, that this is how this
Scripture is pretty generally viewed,
and second. this is not what It
does actually mean. 1t does mean
that, but 1t means indefinitely more.
A farm is on a landscape; and he who
confounds farm and landscape is not
seeing things as they are. Difficulties
are to be encountered and sorrows
are to be met and they are to be met
with the mood Of manly and womanly
resignation to the wide.working will
Of God. But that we are to be CRATE
full for the clouds rather than the
sunrise and the noon and the blessed
open sky Is to me absurd and list
less Interpretation Of the good God
our Heavenly Father. To be glad on a
holiday is as devout as to be sad on
funeral day. We shall not need to
reset our estimates OF God and his will
concerning us before we are In har-
mony with his mood. He is the glad
God Of out-of-doors and the happy
singing things whether they be birds
or children or women or strong men.
This anaemic notion Of religion Is un-
wholesome because 1t e untrue. God
gives no assent. y
A good man and great %said this:
"In everything give thanks. -, Nobody
but a good and great man could have
said 1t. The sentiment is like Mount
Lycabettus from whose top all Of
distorted Greece lies under the eyes
without straining an eyeball. All life
lies at the base of mount Of vision
and Of praise like this: "In everything
give thanks" The fact which Is
meant to be lifted into light at this
moment is that there is devotional
element In all things whatsoever. We
say grace before meals. except we be
heather. We often say grace before
labors and battles without or within
and reading Of books and taking Of
Journeys and husking corn or going
to picnics or stroll through sun.
burnt fields for the sheer love Of the
crisp grass under foot and the hot
sky overhead.
We do narrow beyond the permis.
sion Of God this thought 81 devotion
or We. must be at church or prayer
meeting OF at family prayer to be de.
votional. Those places and occupa.
tions are greatly good, but they do
not monopolize the moods Of devotion.
The devotional frame Is the deep con.
sideration. Are we open to devotion
for all things as Paul was? 1t is meet
to give thanks for the bird voices,
and a good way to give such thanks
is by listening to tho voices.
That is worth weighing. To love
things enough to give things heed is
a mood of gratitude, whereas not to
care enough for things to notice them
is a first-class specimen Of ingratitude
toward God and his doings. The
cricket's chirp is a species Of poetry
which may well set the heart singing
after its fashion. too. Such a little
warmth makes the cricket set his
heart to song. Were we as good at
the voicing Of our gratitude as the
cricket of the hearth. what a shout OF
chorusing would the great God hear
from men.
The religious nature is wiser and
wider than many religious folk are
given to supposing. Christianity Is
generosity. Thank Cod" How
often have ] found my own given to
that gust Of gratItude-"thank God!"
And am not slow to believe God
hears such prayer and smiles with
gladness to hear 1t. Why should we
not give thanks for the finding Of a
wild flower or the striking graceful.
ness Of child at play, or the toss.oe|
apple branches lit with bloom, or -
blue jays note with its musical
No. secularities are Just theme
praise and prayer. We have no q
to ask for things for which we ha
not call to answer to God In sp(
taneous words Of thanks. "I thai
you" is phrase which the deboni
use frequently. Courtesy is n gol
habit for a body's own sake. To
genteel is a soul.instlnct Of fnenea
and II q man or woman lived alof
and broke bread with himself, q
though such a way Of living Is nd
necessary or to be desired. II one
alone end has no relatives, thel
should such one borrow some child
Or, better. some homeless body, some
body human. not feline nor canine, ID
keep alive the humaneness In one'l
own soul). he would do well to say:
IT thanh vouD xuho,, ha naoso, t...