Daniel L. Marsh President of Boston University in an address printed in Bostonia

There are some who say that they will give thanks by and by. They seem not to know that By-and-By is a hill on the other side of which is the Ravine of Never. And when they pass over the hill of By-and-By, they find themselves lost in the labyrinthian gullies and caves of Never.... Behold, now is the acceptable time to give thanks.

It is a good thing to give thanks because the power to endure affliction and to be great in adversity is due largely to a thankful spirit. Gratitude is the grace that overcomes adversity. The grateful spirit is the practical spirit. It possesses the practical ability to transform all things into its own service. It knows the truthfulness of Paul's great words: "All things work together for good to them that love God."

The Rev. C. Moore Preston Guardian, Lancashire, England

If we are sincere and genuine in our thanksgiving for the great blessings vouchsafed to us, then it will be productive of much good.

This is one of the Christian graces we deeply need today. In many directions there is an evident lack of it, as is seen in the social and industrial unrest about us. This is most lamentable. "Un-thankfulness," says a recent writer," is like a poison in the breast" How we need to emulate the Psalmist who exclaimed, "O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people."

The ministry of thankfulness always enlarges the heart, deepens our sympathies, and creates a spirit of charity and good will. It has a cheerful, elevating effect upon us. It is conducive to hopefulness and faith. It prevents selfishness, and is a vital aid to service. It is the open sesame to a great and good life.

"C. E. S." Adult Student, Nashville, Tennessee

Thanksgiving is more than an annual event. It is more than a passing impulse of a moment, when the tide of emotion rises to a flood that wells up and overflows into ecstatic praises. It is more than an institution wrought into the established pattern of the conventions of society. It is all this, but it is move.

Thanksgiving is a spirit that comes to characterize all our living. We are so accustomed to associate praying with asking that it is something like a discovery to note how universal is the note of gratitude and appreciation in the prayers of Scripture, even prayers of petition. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

All this is a matter of habit. Whether we fit our whole outlook upon life into a frame of discontent and querulous complaint, or whether we fill every day with the lilt of songs of praise and thanksgiving, depends on the habits of thinking which we cultivate. We enlist a good deal more co-operation from our neighbors if we form the habit of appreciation rather than that of captious criticism or querulous complaint.

The practice of gratitude to God and appreciation of our neighbors gives to everyday living a tone and quality of grace and loveliness.

News-Herald Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thanksgiving implies more than the mere giving of thanks. It is more than an emotion of joy or an impulse of gratitude, though certainly it is these. But thanksgiving implies, if it does not demand, something more. It asks that we re-examine our hearts and look into the ripening harvest of our lives. It includes a sober recognition of our privileges and a steady acceptance of the responsibilities attendant on those privileges.... We hold our riches not merely for ourselves but in trust for the less fortunate.

Surely in proportion as we fulfill that trust, we not unworthily render thanks to God.

"E. T. E." The American Friend, Richmond, Indiana

In the midst of evil we can always be thankful that God is good. When men are impatient and vengeful, we can always thank God that His mercy endureth forever. Our faith furnishes the deeper insight. We must look through the stormy surface of life and see the calm depths forty fathoms below. Our diagnosis must go beneath the fevers of hatred and discern the healing life of God.

Always in the depths of our woe is the goodness of God. We are therefore not in a dead end. There is still an open road of opportunity.... "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

The Rev. L. V. Freeman as quoted in the Globe, Dodge City, Kansas

Of the ten lepers Jesus cured, one returned to give thanks.... "That was a small thanksgiving percentage," said the Rev. Freeman. "I wonder if it is any better today.

"Thanksgiving ought to be a time of joy and happiness, but true joy and true happiness cannot be present without deep gratitude and appreciation. In all our Thanksgiving feasting we might profit most if soberly we pause to ask, 'Is my lack of thankfulness and appreciation of God's gifts bringing me to the time when I will miss the greatest blessings that God is trying to give me? Am I getting to the place where the great Master of the feast includes me in that group of which he say: "I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper"?'

"A Thanksgiving prayer can well include the petition for God's help to make out of us such thankful, appreciative, grown-up Christians that we are among those who are lifting ever higher the thanksgiving percentage."

The War Cry Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In these postwar days, when the engines of war are quiet in most lands, a new sense of gratitude to God is needed everywhere. Men need to be "blessing-conscious" —ever mindful of the benefits which God daily loads upon them; a grateful people, beyond all controversy; a contented and peace-loving people. Selfishness and gratefulness are as far apart as the poles; the one breeds highmindedness and strife, and the other begets humility and godly desire.

There is need everywhere today to repeat the Psalmist's wistful exclamation, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"

It is customary, and rightly so, to render thanks to the Lord of harvest at this season of the year. But has it not become a public habit to connect Thanksgiving only with ingathering of wheat and vegetables, and the like? Are there not other harvests—and greater ones, at that—to bear in mind? We do well in this connection to remember that man does not live by bread alone. There are other and higher sources of sustenance and vitality.

It is a gracious exercise to take oneself aside, count the harvests in one's life, and note the progress made.

There are many ways of expressing gratitude for favors shown.... But the lasting way is to cultivate the habit of gratitude, which may prove to be the most productive of all seeds, not only well-pleasing to God but beneficial to man.

During the present harvest season, despite the character of the times, we will have abundant opportunity to demonstrate our thanks for material blessing. But let us not be satisfied with this alone. Let us pour out gratitude to God from full hearts, pledging to maintain the spirit of Thanksgiving and service the whole year through.