The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1915-11-25
Should Thank God That
Wilson IS Preside lent, Says
Rev. Hanscom In Sermon

tf-aEt,z5sk
,On1 In Sermon
can find some cause for gratitude to
God however deep the shadows may
have been.
In one Of the scenes described in
Uncle Toms Cabin. = where the
troubled hearts Of the humble slaves
are bemoaning their harrased condi-
ton, Uncle Tom arouses them with
the exortation, Think 81 the mercies
collaborating on the mercies. That
is the idea, think on the mercies.
Quit counting our grave stones and
count your blessings. Why we have
only to attempt to enumerate our
blessings to find that they are enum-
cradle: we have only to try and fix
the value thereof, to find that they
are above price.
Thankful For Prosperity.
In ancient times men were main
~ thankful for prosperity, and be-
lieved in the gods who gave it. The
measure of their prosperity was the
measure of their appreciation to the
god they worshiped. But the He
brew profits penetrated deeper. They
knew God who could be appreciated
for what He is as we'll as what he
does; and one of them boldly de-
clared:
Although the fig tree. shall not
blossom,
Neither shall fruit be in the {
The labor of the olive shall fall,
And the fields shall yield no
food;
The flocks shall be cut off from the
II fold, IL
And there shall be no herd in
~. the stalls: r. !
Yet Will rejoice in the LOrd,
will joy in the God of my
salvation" r
This, OF course, is the only true
and abiding ground of thanksgiving
Did it ever occur to you, beloved,
that affliction is often times bless
ing in disguise. It surely is. And
I doubt not that when. the hidden
things of darkness shall be revealed
and Gods wonderous ways shall all
be made known, then shall we learn
that we owe greater debt of graft
tude to our Father in Heaven for the
trials we have endured than for the
blessings we have enjoyed. For
after all, what are these Affections
patiently endured but the raw ma
terials out of which we weave the
royal robe that we shall deserve to
wear at the banquet of the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords?
Fruit Of Joy on Tree.
May God help us Que and all to
realize His goodness that we may Of
fer unto Him the sacrifice of praise
continually. And may the words of
Thanksgiving that fall from our lips
be something more than sounding
brass or changing symbals.'' May
they be the fruit of joy upon the
tree Of gratitude that strikes it's roots
into the depth of truly grateful
soul. t. = ..s>
And let lis not forget that the tru-
ly thankful here is also a generous
heart. IL we are really grateful to
the bountiful Oliver for all His bene-
fits, his gifts so precious and 50
abundant, our hearts will be filled
with the grace Of liberality. The
service Of the Master will be come a
burning passion in our souls and we
will seek out the needy and the af-
f1icted, the poor and the lowly, the
discouraged and the sorrowful that
we may bring a ray of sunlight into
their lives and put song of gladness
upon their -"even praises unto
God" e.
A Natural Thanksgiving.
Yes we have much to be thankful
for today, then let us be thankful.
But while it is fitting that as indi-
viduals and as families that we
should on this thanksgiving day be
mindful Of the blessings bestowed
upon us by the Heavenly Father, it
should not be forgotten that this is
dfstinctively and mainly a day of
National Thanksgiving; a day when
we should look beyond the walls of
our individual, or local interests and
consider, together, the causes for
gratitude that are ours as a people.
And they are many. God has won
derfully blessed America. To no 9th
er people hath He given so rich an
Inheritance. This is no idle boast.
I know that patriotism is universal
instinct, and that folks are almost
ant RI Half HnIdinr-