Open wide thy doors to the sunlight,
Bid the doubts and the shadows flee.
The skies are blue and the world is fair,
The Father keeps thee still in his care:
What is it that troubleth thee?
The hand that guides the stars and the sun
Is the hand that holdeth thy trembling one.
Thanksgiving is one of the cardinal virtues. One of the finest marks in a noble life is perennial praise. Yet this spirit is rare. It is the exception to find among people one who sees something to thank God for in all life’s circumstances. The great majority of people are grumblers. They seem to be looking always for unpleasant things. For example, there appears to be a very common disposition to see the dark and discouraging side of Christian life and Christian work. There appears to be just now a chronic tendency in the religious press and among Christian ministers to think and talk dishearteningly of the condition of things in the churches. Almost continuously one reads announcements of sermons on such topics as why men do not go to church. Or the question is asked and discussed in the religious weekly papers, or even in secular newspapers and magazines. Many reasons are formulated and the matter is considered just as seriously as if it were true that men do not go to church any more.
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