Norwich bulletin., 1916-12-01

was leaving the building and was
 standing for g. moment outside. sine was accosted by an tnlle.te from a second story window with this start- iingiy sensible inquiry: Madam, have you ever thanked God for your req son?" l. IA only when some incident like that brings 1t to our attention that I we stop to appreciate what 1t really
 means to be in fuh possession and use of the power te think. If we use that
 thank because think and thank are from the same root, To think is to thank. Thanking Is ust eoHamon de-
 cency, and it isn't so common after
 all. Contemplation comes from two | words, con and tenplum, which to- l gether mean that we are ushered into
 a great temple where worship becomes l an instinct and delight.
 1 Again, I think if Paul were here he
 would help us to recall some unusual
 events in our experience that would strongly illustrate the need of being grateful. Do you remember that night | of anguish when you bowed your breaking heart over the little child whose life was ebbing oat. they all thought. Only you did not think so. 1 ana you could not bear the thought. So l you prayed, aud Go1 heard aud an- swered, and when the morning came, after the long vigil, the doctor said the 1 child would recover. Q how you thank ed God then. Have you thanked Him l since?
 Are You Grateful Yet?
 Then some of you will remember your own fecevery from the very | shadow of death. You were grateful
 then; are you grateful yet: Some of you have met with losses, with fail | ures of one sort or another, with dis | appointments, with broken plans and l unfnlfilled hDx1aS Ruf VGI1 look | back you can see through all these ex- perienees the gracious care, the helping l hand and the loving heart of God. Are l you grateful? A mar: told me only the
 other day how years ago when his little girl was only two and a half years old l she fell from window and was killed | He said it seemed to him then as | though his heart would break; but God ] helped him to bear his sorrow and he | lifted then the prayer of Job: "Lcrd, 1 though Thou shouldst slay Tie, yet will l I trust Thee" Telling me the story | recently, the man could not restrain 1 the tears, but he said that through all l that dreadful experience God was very | near and very precious.
 It was simply the repetition in our l modern life of the old cry Of HabbSk- | luk: For though the fig tree shall not | flourish, neither snaE fruit be in the ! vines; the labor of the olive shall fail,
 and the fields shall yield no food; the l and there shall be To herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I
 will joy n the God of my salvation And so by the little things and the l great things; by the ordinary things and the extraordinary things our life
 is in every way bound by gold chains 1 about the feet of C;od. I like to say | rather, about the heart of God. For l it was the heart of God that conceived | and executed the magnificent gift oi tl, e.. .N- l the world. i1e-Jesus--is the greatest
 of all blessings No wonder Paul con- 1 templating Him exclaimed: Thanks be unto God for His unso oeaka ble gift
 Still the Worlds Hope.
 In these days when so many things that men trusted in nave broken down 1 it is good to have one great landmark
 which like Gibraltar or the North Cape l resists the angry sea. Jesus is still the ] worlds hope. Our confidence is in l Him. Jenny Lind when asked the se- l cret of rer marvellous power in song replied: T sing to God"
 It is said that for years after his death there were men who could not | hear the name of Dr. Arnold of Rugby spoken without tears They felt they | owed hlm everything. 1 wonder if
 there are not a good many people here ] tonight who feel that they owe Christ | everything.
 This is the close of Thanlssgiving l day, but may it be the beginning of a
 more responsive spirit in all of us in | return for the mercies Of God. It is
 not too carly to begin to prepare for ] next Thanksgiving. It has been sug- gested that it is difficult to pump up any real thankfulness from a heart on | Thanksgiving day when that same heart has been unresponsive to God
 for fifty-one weeks prior to Thanks giving.
 It was Joseph Parker who said: | Never go back for blessings new un- | til you have given Sod a receipt for 1 the old ones.''
 We Are Debtors to God.
 We are debtors to God and we are permitted to show our gratitude in | terms of service 70 our fellow men. | Jesus cured ten 1eperS and only one of them turned back to express gratitude to his benefactor. Has the proportion greatly increased, and out of every
 ten to whom Gods bounty has come is
 there one to turn eacls with praise and
 thanksgiving? Out of the several thou sands of begging letters received last I November and December at the dead
 letter office in Washington addressed l to Santa Claus, only one thank you letter came during the month follow ing. Tt is good thing to praise the 1 Lord" % that men would praise the
 Lord for His goodness and for His
 wonderful works to the children of | men,