22 THANKSGIVING SERMON. character, claims, and prerogatives, and justly requires that a fitting regard be paid to them by all the nations of the earth. He can not be indifferent to their treatment of him any more than he can deny himself If the dispensations of his providence are often dark and mysterious, and often contravene the designs, arrangements, and expectations of men, it is that they “ may know that he is the Lord in the midst of the earth.” He would wake up their attention to the reality of his being, and bring his character and government distinctly before their minds. Many are the periods in the history of the world when these great realities have forced themselves upon the consideration of the unthinking nations. Many is the epoch in our own national history when rulers and subjects have been constrained to go beyond their ordinary convictions, and been made to feel, and feel deeply, that there is a Power above us. We may well give this truth an abiding lodgment in our hearts. With all our wisdom, all our prowess, and all our wealth, there is One who “increaseth the nations and destroyeth them, and who enlargeth the nations and straiten- eth them again;” who controls the material
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