The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-12-01


IS leads therefds ST. Paul draws our
attention TO the fact that much Of the
degradation OF the heathen should be
directly traced TO unthankfulness. he,
declares that the Headship OF the All.
mighty over all creation, and His nm;
limited power. are clearly; manifested
I'm the things OF nature.
He declares that the heather fare
without excuse. because they. when
they, knew God. giorifed Him not as
God, neither were thankful, but be-
came vain In their 'imaginatiens. and
their foolish heart was darkened. Pro-
Tossing themselves 10 be wise they be-
came foolish and Sidolaters. stwhere-
fore God also gave them up to unclean-
ness. through the lusts ..of their own
hearts, TO dishonor. their own bodies
between themselves (1tomans 4, 2i.)
Unthankfulness to God was not pun
hhed directly nor threatened w,thta
future punishment. Acting nutomat-
tcally It separated the unthankful ones
from their Creator. and their course
became downward. degenerate. E&s
The spirit Of unthankfulness as a,
malady threatens our present clviliza-
ton with death. Year by year the
sentiment is growing. and discomfort.
when fully Matched out, will be the
viper Of anarchy. for whose virus
there Is no human remedy.
We thank God that although this
awful anarchy foretold Is near at
hand, md Is beyond human ability to
cope with, yet Divine Love has prom.
ised to intervene to save the unthnnk-
ful world by the establishment Of the
Messianic Kingdom In power and
great glory, for the blessing Of all the
families Of the earth; for the making
straight Of all the crooked paths: for
the opening Of the eyes OF understand
ing, that all may see the Truth.
1 The Thanksgiving Of Christians.
= st. Paul, addressing Christians, says:
eWhat manner Of persons ought zoe to
beY" Similarly, we might say. How
earnest should be the thanksgiving Of
Christians! But alas! thanksgiving
Day with us has lost much of the re.
ligions import known to- our forefa.
theirs. Notwithstanding false doc
trines inculcated by man.made creeds.
our forefnthcrs believed the Bible rec
ord Of mans original perfection. his
fall into sin and condemnation, the re-
demption accomplished through Jesus.
and a restoration to Divine favor thus
made possible. These truths consti-
tutcd the foundation for living faith
in God and led them to give thanks
for the harvest Of the year. accounting
that II every good and perfect gift
comes directly or indirectly from the
hnnd Of God 1t should he received ac-
cordlngly and acknowledged.
Today, however. We have the form
of godllness without the power. be-
cause the precious faith has been well
nigh destroyed by the Higher Critics
and Eyolutionists. who for the past
fifty years have been laboring con.
stantly to this end, and with wonder
full success. Well does God ask, Who
believes the Divine Record or Mes
sage, and who sees the Arm Of Jeho.
yah connected with the worlds af-,
fairs? 80. I. q ~
Anyone having lost faith in the
Bible and Its God has therefore lit
tie left except the form Of godliness,
without its power. Nevertheless, here
and there In all nations and allEsects
Of Christendom are to be found loyal
souls, bewlldered by the present trend
Of affairs. md crying out 10 God for
further light. and approaching and CIV
Ing thanks for every blessing. even
though they do not understand the
philosophy Of their own experience.
Tho Morning Star Dawn. =
St. Peter declares that the sun.burst
Of the New Dlspensation Of Messiali's
Kingdom will be preceded by the
morning star. which will shine into the
henrts Of Gods faithful people In the
early dawn, TO herald Its approach.
The Sun Of righteousness has not yet
arisen, but many of Gods people are
noting the clear light now shining upon
the Divine Word. and are realizing
that 1t comes froneNIm, and that He
Is preparing them, through better
understanding Of the Bible, to appre-
ciate the glorious sunlight Of Divine
mercy which will soon overspread the
world and scatter the darkness Of
earth's superstition, sin and death.
And so. rs we get the matter rightly
divided before our minds. We get the
true understanding. the special ell
lIghtenment needed in our day. and we
are enabled to rightly divide the Word
better than did our fathers; SO that to.
day we can see, as our fathers did not
see, the teaching Of Gods Word re,
spectlng the "blgh calling" aud "resti-
tutlon"-the spiritual portion Of bless
Ing for the Church. and the human
portion of blessing for the world. We
also see something about the times and
seasons-tchich apply to the Church