The Penn's Grove record., 1914-01-30
ALL GIFTS OF GOD
Man Is But a Steward Of His
Possessions Lent to Him
by the Lord.

FL
A PHRASE we often use. The mu-
"A sic of the spheres" We owe to
an ancient belief that the heavenly
bodies, as they revoIve about the
earth. made a wonderful harmony de-
ightful to the ears Of God. Present
day knowledge Of the stellar world
has. according to some. banished this
pretty fantasy, but it has revealed to
us something more wonderful. We
know that the whole physical uni
verse is In constant and infinitely va
ried movement, and that this move
ment is rhythmic.
Among the multitudinous rhythms
IN the midst Of which human life Is
set Is the rhythm Of the seasons The
neid Is black In winter. green In
spring, golden in summer and brown
In autumn. The wonderful a1tera-
lions OF sowing and tending and reap
ing and blowing are repeated over
ana over again from generation to
generation Changes Of civilization
are continuous. Mans habits as he
goes about his work vary indefinitely.
but natures rhythm is the same from
age to age The spade gives place to
the horse pillow and the horse pIow to
the steam plow; man Is nomadic, ag-
r~icultural, Industrial; but the
swing on as before he came to his in
ner1tance. For, indeed, this success
sion OF the seasons underIies all hu-
man wei1-being and progress II it
should suddenly be changed. civilIza-
uon In all its ~ramiications would be
a. once shattered. II the earth ceas-
ed In its present mode OF movement
aed instead swung round the sun so
that there should be eternal summer
on y side OF the planet and eternal
winter on the other. mankind would
swiftly wither and die. So complete
are we dependent on God for all that
we have and are.
All the Gifts Of God.
All our well-being, then. Is depen-
dent upon the regular succession Of
the seasons. eliminating in the har-
vest. What is the harvest? We usu-
ally think of it as corn and fruit. and
other vegetables. But the harvest IL
much more than all these. The har-
vest is in all our warehouses and
shops. Boots and overcoats, books and
bicycles, theaters and hospitals, sweet
meats and battleships-all these are
the harvest Just as really as loaves
and mutton chops. For they are
things made for human use By means
OF the primitive elemental gifts OF
God in sea and soil and seasons.
Harvest is Gods gift. But he does
not determine how that gift is to be
used-we do. He gives rs the raw
materials-we make the civilization.
He gives us iron and electricity and
cctton-we make battleships and ex-
plosives. He gives us the wherewfth-
al. and we make pernicious books.
sweating dens. and liquor shops. The
marvel is the God permits us, that he
allows US 30 to sqnander his riches.
But it Is not all sQuandering. There
is another side to the picture. God Is
always present by his spirit to direct
and aid mankind In the use Of the
harvest That is how good is done
and progress is maintained.
Thanksgiving and Dedication.
Harvest, then. is a proper occasion
for two Observation-Disclosures and ded-
ication. The thanksgiving Is obvious.
From him come all good gifta. But
dedication should be as obvious. We
must never lose sight of the fact that
all we have is from God. and must be
used in a fashion wen pleasing to him
He does not give US the harvest that
we may be gluttons. spendthrffts. self
ish. luxurious, carried away by waste
fnl fashions and guilty Of foolish and
costly hobbies. Each Is a steward Of
his possessions. be they great or
small. Many people set aside a 1.-THE
or other fraction OF their harvest"
for the purposes OF God. And this il
good. But more important and more
Christian is the constant use Of all
our possessions as lent as by the
Lord. Said John Woolman, "As he
who first founded the earth was then
the true proprietor Of it, so he stfll re-
mains; and, though he hath given it
to the children of men, yet he
hath never alienated It, but his right
is as good as at first; nor can any APP
ply the increase of their possessions
contrary to universal love. nor dis
pose of laws In a way which tends to
exalt some by depressing others. with
out being justly chargeable with US
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES II. Marshall