The New York Herald Newspaper, October 17, 1870, Page 4

RELIGIOUS. FALLING LEAVES AND. RISING HOPES. Services and Sermons in the Churches. A Pulpit Blast’ at Political Pretenders, TELLING THE TRUTH WITH CHARITY. Emancipation ‘Through the Death of Christ. What to Read and How to Read ft. ‘The watering place cottages have for some time veen deserted for more comfortabie city homes, and the few who lingered m the mountains and by the northern Iskes, charmed by the changing foli. age which autumn peints with such gorgeous colors, awoke from their romantic , dreams in time to witness the Jerome Park races. The natu- rat’ sequence was that all the churches were filled by fashionable audiences yesterday and presented the weual attractive features which attend Sabbath services. in this city during the season.. Below will be found reports of sermons in the nattonal capital, the metropolis and suburban cities. NEW ENGLAND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. ‘The New Beecher of New York from New Eugland~Christinnity Made Easy—Short and Simple Method ef Kinding God's ‘Trath, ‘The New York Beecher, the Rev. Merri!! Richard- son, pastor-eleci of the New England Congregutional Chareh, 4s, it must be conceded, nothing short of a tremendous success, The soctety of whose spiritual welfare Mf. Merrill bas just taken charge have been hokling their meetings temporarily in Rutger’s chapel, Fifth avenue; but they are now about to move to the elegunt and aiore commodious church situated on the corner of Forty-seventh street and Madison avenue, where the congregation will as- semble for spiritual devotion and instruction on next Suuday. It was mi time to provide @ more spacious edifice for the new preacher. The litte chapel on Fifth avenue was inconventently crowded yesterday, and the congregation was composed of what appeared to be the mother-of-pearl chips of upper-crustean soclety—the initial Ngures and substantial units of fashionable upper-tendom. THE NEW PREACHER has just been imported from New England, His fame a8 an eloquent expounder of the Gospel at first. appeared like a far-oif ripple ou the waters of Yankee Christianity; but the circlins wave gradually expanded until it reached the arid shores of Gotha- mite piely and moisiened ihe devotional sands of Murray Aili, whereupon the godly of that brown. ston e region thirsted for the perfumed waters ot life and formed 4 religious “ring”? for the purpose of se- curing the exclusive mintstratious of a clergyman whose eloquence genius aud scholarly attain- menis give promise wmt Piymouth church will, 20 longer possess @ monopoly of pulpit distinetion. And the society are fully just fied im, aud deserve to be complimented tor their choiee of \ minister. Mr. Richardson is a min of stout build, about five feet stx unches nigh, a bright, intelligent face, a Keen eye, a clear artics tion and a sweet find ringing voice. His heavy mass of iron gray hairs combed straight back trom a broad, well developed forehead, and his close shaven features aré intid and benevolent looking and give him a sort of modest presence that is pleasant to greet. His religions opinions appear to be founded on # broad spirit of liberal Christianity, and in proaching he keeps as far away from the cant of riah-Heepish Ii ax from the practice of avot disagreeable truths of real religion which LTA common among the fashionable soul-savers of the period.’ His sermon yesterday, of whi rinits Us but a bald out- Tne, wes i ‘mre like an at Christian con- solation and eficouragement for th r, the lowiy and the unfortunafe than an attempt to make his well-to-do hearers (eel com(ortable. under an im- pression that the road to heaven was strewn with flowers and covered all the way with @ soft Brussels carpet; but there was a charm of eloquence in HIS STXLB AND DELIVERY, and a sublime grandeur ‘in his unmistakable earn- estness and reas feeling, that made the undi- lnted‘truths of C artily welcome even to these who must tremble to think that the needie through whose eyé that well Known camel could scarcely ‘8 a modern stitching implement tn- stead of oe of the wicket gates in the walls of Jeru- salen, Where the city taxes were collected from country merchants. Aitet announcing that the services would take lace im the new church on next Sunday, that ednesday evening next would be devoted to the formal metallation of the new clergyman, and that on the following evening a sociable meeting of “society ‘would take piace at the fesi- dence oh Mr.” aged 107 ‘i frst street, ‘preacher sermon, taking for nis text, Jobn vil, 17. He said that when Christ had ALA) Jerusalem to the feast, there was a greal ly of Jews from all the provinces, who went there to see Jesus. Some believed He was God and e Dhvine truths; but many refused to believe, and asked how can this man, who never stadied in wny ef the at schools of learnivg, presume to teach us? Where conid He have learned any tht How cao Navatine teach us the truth? As for His miracies, when the real Christ comes he Will perform mightier works than these. ‘The leading men of Jerusalem undertook to settle the quesnon by the record, whether eer. under- stood the record or not. How were they to know? Well, Christ gave them tho rule—‘If spy man shall do My will be shall know whether | am God or not.” bie f do great men-—men of profound icarain; and resenrch—differ about the pure trath Christ gives ail men tfiberty of thought and search, ‘as well as of action, and learned scholars can search for and may possibly dnd the tratt; but how are we, poor, common peo- pie to know what ta the will of God? He must #0 speak as to adapt his words to the humblest ca- pacity as weil as the highest. ‘Phere is ne need for ‘us to be learned, for the truths ef the gospel are not an abstruse nee. Christ did not profess to teach astronomy, and We cannot learn His truths a3 we would learn botany or geometry. The book method of learning the gospel is not at all the safest one. Suppose a young wan starts out to learn the truth by searching libraries, poring over valuable books and deciphering rare manuscripts. it takes some time to do this, and the young man, no longer 8 nas diseavered at least some of the truth; but at seventy years old he mecis another man who gfarted on the same route at the He. do the wilt of le CoInmences habs tecr§ whatl boyd tiges meekness ip- would find that Christ’s Peers Se souls ag well fs the aur dte i 8 A Ligut " ‘The strongest of all pr is the ce of con- aclousness aud of experience, Chriss trates bear that evidence upon them. youpg man ‘who started to learn the ag 1 method had begun immediat the pre- Fie en’ ‘the bpd he w hat his ‘orse than a have the advantage of Ww: ‘thi life in ‘and vivid consciousness of the trath, “He must R ing the absolute trut on could ascertain the truth what woul @ Wajority of mankind who have not of becoming learned? Ninety-nine-hun- Adam's bow could they ‘ne Bible aT Dap eee but Christ which even the poor way- Nts. trains, Pn Jearned Py ny i That waa the act ol s t; and could woo do. ching as that? laws are plate to all ao in reach ofthe lowliest inteliect that has the Mower te try Chrisi’s simple method of under- 8 ed + Otherwise He would bee hard D . trying to reap where Ho had not doing your own duty inakes clear the truth 9! Itia method. God demands of every know hiscommands. Christ sald, + foveth Will kee) OEHARAEROD ES, 7 and ki loveth me «4 \ “he, that ‘keeps commaiarien 4 loveth me.’? ie masses of the Jewish ple and even the a were far irom being y and they kpew very littie of the ¢ruth until ee, cept ion. God ¢ hisown angels with failings, Ho knows and He wiil hold us responsible ‘bt He bay given us. ‘That ts GOD'S UNIVERSAL RULE, tmortal bemg in that nice that shall come into His Sera won teereed oe ereeet now aud comproiout bee teat ote fs adeue Mo think ‘that only the learnea know ‘the truth. tm the very world without kn whether stepped the water ne Petar antiga et and , from man’s rat hut have come this fo Sk Powers: Man learke hor into 4 Ay pre he BULA into practice, aud ail sb6 rest. ts ‘cleat to ws to ml 3 a woman trom what he cousidered her sions; bus he had to confess that his arguments fell off from her like WATER OFF A DUCK’B BACK. “You may think,” satd sh yourmelf right by what your books tell opinions have been acquired by practical expe- rience, ' I reel the truth, and have ft proved to me every hour of my life, ‘My: heart tells me I am Night,, and that is more chan. yours does.” Geagaree| Christ be an. with t poor, le adapted His truths to the humblest capacity. His srucn was a fount of liviug waters, bubping direct and perennial rom the throne of God. it 1s Christianity, It is not @ mere creed nor a catechism. Some creeds teach us one portion of Christ's trath and some another. One telis us are all compre- heuded tn a certain “Thirty-nine Artioles,” stretched out before us, one article after another, like pre- positions in Euclid. Does God ever teach us any thing in that selentific way’ IC He had, we never should have heard of it, HOW DOKS GOD TEACH BOTANY? Go into the Central Park and see, Every tning in nature comes according to & beautiful law. He ‘scaiters His truths i every direction, in order that we may have the pleasure of finding them. ‘I was once handed a@ tract,” said the preacher, “which (che writer said) contained thirteen truths, and unless I believed they were all the truths of Christ, Lcould noi be saved, Well, 1 risked my salvation 80 Tar Chat I did not belteve a word of the tract. If I were brought thirteen buckets of water here, all the way from the Ntagara river, I would just as soon believe that those thirteen buckets were the Niagara Falls themselves,” CHURtH OF THE MESSIAH, A Bloat at Politicians—CUrimoe in Bich Places— Semmon by the Rev. George H. Hepworth. Notwithstanding the fact that the religious market fs just now weli supplied with preachers who have gained eminence tn thetr profession, the Rev, Mr. Hepworth is not only eloquent and learned, bat very original, holds the position he at once obtained when he took possession of the Messiah pulpit as ‘one of the foremost of our metropolitan pulpit rhe- toricians. Incontradistinction to the sleeping shep- herd of flocks who wake up once a week to yawn out the purport of their weak bat plous dreams, Mr. Hepworth ts @ live preacher. Me knows and under- stands the Bible, but is careful to distinguish between the force and value of letters, in the form of epistics, addressed by St. Paul t the Romans, and the gen- eral direction given tn the Testament, which apply to the citizens of New York and all tne modern civilized. world. in other words, his mina ts’ un- clouded by bigotry and untrammelled by conven- tiovality. He places himself fp the van of this ad- Vancing age, firmly treads upon the rising thorns of superstition, and, regardless of the assailants of ‘the claims of Ohrist and the mghts of man, presses Torward. Any religion or system which is antago- fn Stic to the spirit of this enlightened age gets no mercy from him. {t is not, therefore, extraordinary that he shouid, in the discharge of what he believes to be tus duty, PoUR PIOUS HOT SHOT into the ranks of our corrupt poiliiciang. His church yesterday was crowded to excess by a attentive and perhaps very devout congrega- lion, Wany Of Whom Were not members of the Mock, but who were uitracted by the advertisement that Mr. Hepworth would tellall he Knew about “Con- science.” Their sensactonal expectations were not disappointed, a8, the following abstract of the ser- mon will show, AFTER THE USUAL SERVICES the reverend gentleman took his text from John vill, &, “Being convicted by their own conscience,” He began by saying that God has put into every soul @ mysterious laculty whose function is to make us happy or wretched, as our lives are virtuous or vicious. No man can get wholly beyond the reach of his conscience. He may cover it up beneato a plie .of excuses tor st di ; he ma even set about to prove cally; for that matter he may succeed ator a fashion in doing #03; that & man’s conscience 18 only @ myth; still be cannot chase away his desire to have its approval or his fear of 13 condemnation. Men of bad lives have almost stified their consciences, but not quite suc- ceeded in ridding themselves of the troublesome visitor, for sach then are always warassed by the fewer that the world has found them out. They have uO peace, they enjoy no rest, they live in astate of chronic fear, and even ia their dreams the ghostly and grim face of the sheriff 1s always peering about to find them. This conscience is at once our beat friend and our worst Sg Do right, struggle for self-vietory, conform to God’s laws a8 you iuterpret them aud as thev are revealed to you, and 1 sense of rest steals into your life, the whole world seeins brighter to you, and everything tends to make you, contented and happy. Conscience ts thus the rdler of your life, Itis the PRESIDENT OF THE SOUL'S REPUBLIC, it is the emperor of all spiritual dominion. it will be obeyed implicitly, or its penalty ts as sure as fate. God sent Christ into the world to tell us that the first duty of all our faculties, of our ambition, our love of money or fame, 1s to elect Conscience to tie supreme place. Sometimes our avarice, or our desire for Teveng®, or our selfishness, usurps the power, and then how poor and. wretched de our lives become, AS when an adventurer by some bold coup d’étad dethrones the rightful lord, and putting the tmpertal robes on his own shoulders wears them as A BRAGGARI AND A TYRANT, 80 when conscience 1s uuthroned the whole life runs to waste. But there is # public conscience that needs cultivation and care as well.as an individual conscience, | Frauds of the most démonac character are every day perpetrated by public officers, and yet ® Christian community takes no note of the fact whatever. ‘he good man reads his paper at break- fast table, and as his eye runs over the horrid recital of crime in high places he merely shrugs his shoulder, as if to suy, I told you so, and that is ail, Do the men, the strong-minded Christian men of thus city appreciate the fact that the power to re- deem New York from the hands of, politicat and ja- dicial Philtstines 1s really in their keeping? Do they understand that ft is jast as truly their duty to sce to it that honest men are put into high places as At is to seo that their own clerks aud salesmen are men of character? I take it that THE PUBLIC CONSCIENCE p ja very clastic. if { teil you, Ohristian friend: ty You who sit here aud listen to my words are partly Fesponsible jor this state of things, you will shake Your heads in doubt. But my words are true. It 18 the fault of the strong men of this city that New York ts plundered every year. Tne best men in the community are responsible for the actions of the worst men, You could turn the stream of the public indignation and cleanse these Augean stables of city politics 1f you had.the mind to Waen the conscience of the individual is properiy cultivated the public conscience will prick us to @ sense of onr obligation in these matters, LYRIC BALL SERVICES. The Cross and the River Nile—Life Reonle of Death—Maw’s Selfkoed and Its Advan- tagoe=Sormen by the Rov. 0. B. Frothing- =. ie game faces are to be seen at Lyric Rall every Sunday, and although the same sermon is not always preached there, litte diference can be de- tected in the subjects discussedlove, harmonious intercourse among mankind and self-sacrifice being more or less the topics usually dilated upon, There was a fair ettenaance yesterday, and the services were listened to and participated in witn af amount of Ustleasness which probably accounts for the society ‘being a radical one, for it is very radical in that re- spect, Yesterday, however, may have been the,ex- ception to the general ruje. The sermon was unu- suaily long and fatiguing, and 1t may have beenenly casual VISITORS WHO DOZEN SOUNDLY at the end of the hall. After the usual prayers and singing of psalms had been gone through the Rev. 0. B. Frothingham rose from his seat like a spectre, stood still a moment, and advanced to his ‘desk, looking as if he were goiag to pronounce sentence of death on cach individual tn ‘the concregation. The reverend geptieman is unfortunate in the way of articulation, for his vocal o1 seom.to wi the wrong way, and the sound appears to go in peponite, direction to that originally intended. How- Delt, a chronic cold eviden' ves it a hoskiness Saran pa ante craven ae o were ta light, the visitor would jue he heard - > THE GHOST OF HAMLEIS FATHER when the re q@eutieman gives ntterance to his derful ideas about “mankeeind,”) the azure kee-y,”? **bee-entitnl mee-uaic,” as he prenounces the words, tugether with a variety of which Can all be learned trom books on an 5 3 seoy, or “easy pleces fer little fingers” on the piano fort Mr. Frothingham advanced to his desk, as alread commencing i it mer For a loa; rt of the year, e4 Bidmnies ane, apri i dime, the waters 990 wogrlen crosses seem were black with the lo) eee and’ the water. | They stood for ni death, ‘end @ mysterious source | of wer came down in the the rit ing the tide and filled the ramet mcenres deeper, the inhabitants watched rr) life or death, As the wi pote thebe poatiens rose “with it, and as the current of the ri touched the transverse beams joy spread through the land, ‘Tneic ba tmbrels were twauged and sounded, the rocession of the priests 2 fouched the trane. Verse beams it'was the SIGN OF FRRTILITY, and people fea from their homes, only to return, an 5 hows ‘ build them anew and culti ine = cross meant, incidentally, d Life was the result of the dei and down, for as the great river touched wag joyiul, |The water ‘aooged the land ” wh he swollen ri ea, when it owe iver aul struction, ath, It from ‘was curious that Christianity dated tts birth the death of the Redeemer. The cross, however, Was no tiinitation, but an expansion; no death, but the revival from death. The cross meant no narrow going down into the ground, bat a wide of power, The cross meant the exuberances of life. it was thé sign of life. ‘The reverend gentleman then alluded at considerable iength te the SBLYHOOD OF MANKIND, drawing a distinction between selfishness pursued for the good of mankind and the selfishness as it is generally understood. He showed that man should not live for himself alone, and argued that his eel- ‘Hainess should be directed towards the con- centration of all his powers within himself, in order that mankind should be benefitted by their Judicious dispensation. He discountenanced the se!dstncss Of men in hoarding money, in giving full vent to their passions and wasting their resources for thelr own individual gratification. Example in this way was (ruitful. The man was not poorer be- cause he denied himself amusements, nor did he make any sacrifice by 30 doing, since he was gain- ing all the time. If one man died bravely his death nurtured bravery; if one man died cowardly his death encouraged cowardice. Life kept widening its circie, aud what was called sacrifice was but the» passing tnio a larger sphere, and that whioh sceméd narrow at the outset was all the while becoming more generous. Seif meant justice and nobility of purpose, and it should be every man’s business to see that there was less crime, less poverty, less bloodshed, leas sin. After exhorting the congregation to love mankind and advance the cause of religion generally. the rever- end gentleman concluded a very long discourse, and the concluding portion of the services was pro- ceeded with, AMERICAN FREE CHUACH, MASONIC HALL, Emancipation Throagh the Death of Christ— The Ancient Mresbyterian Mode of Sitting at a Table~Sermon by the Kev. Charles B, Smyth, % Yesterday being communion Sabbath at the American Free Church, Masonic Hall, Thirteenth street, the attendance was upusually large, and the preliminary observations made by the Rev. C. B. Smyth were listened to with marked attention. A lust was read, before the sermon, announcing the addition of seven new members to the congregation, most of whom were from the pastor's late charge in, Eleventh street. The services were conducted according to the ancient order of the Pres- byicrian Church, a table being placed along the transept aisle, covered with a whte cloth. The revereud ,entieman selected his text from L Peter, iL, 2—“Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead unto sin, should live unto righteons- ness.” This texi, he sald, intreduced a subject which was the most appropriate for the occasion. ‘the preacher, alter an tutroduction based princi- pally upon the context, dwelt wpon the two potuts contained da the text, viz.:—First, the work which Christ 1s said Lo Lave performed, that or BEARING OUR SiNS, and, secondly, the object sought, “that we, being dead UNO: sin, should live unto righteousness. ? Unaer the frst head he combatted the aucient Gnos- uc doctrine, that Christ sutfered only apparently, and argued thatthe word “own,” as , showed that his sufferings were real :and proper; he also sustained Lhe evangelical view of the atonement, arguing tnat the Saviour’s afflictions were not merely mtended to exhibit an example to us to fol- low, bat also to make vicarious atonement for all our sinus, Under the second head be earnestly urged. the duty of CONSIDERING THE ATONEMENT 48 not designed to excuse us from obedience, but to lead us therete, inasmuch as Christ came not to save His people iv, but, from, their sins, Iu ex: ating upon these ideas he illustrated by retereuc the subject matter of the sixteenth chapter of Ley chs, where the atonement appointed to be made under tue law 1s mentioned and the priest is. repre- sented as laying both his hands upom the head of the scapegoat and contessing over it the sins of the people. ‘this, the preacher said, was typicai of Christ, on whom “the Lord hath laid the iniquiues of ‘us ali”? and to whom Jolin the Buptist referred when he pointed out Jesus and said, “isehoid the Lamb of God, that taketh” (literally beareth) “away ‘THE SINS OF THE WORLD” the bearing of our sins meaning not oaly the endur- ing of the punishment of them, but the carrying of them away from us, so as to free us from the existence and donunion of sin. In this connection he introduced an appro- priate simile drawn trom mercantile lile—a mer: chant’s ledger with a debit and credit account. He conipared to & generous creditor and the sin- ner tgan insolvent debtor. In the account there ‘were no entries to the debtor's credit showing any payments made by him ‘The evtnes were ail debits, But on the credit side there was entry o! a Tull payment wade by Carist for ae debtor, and the Father, in view of Uist, haddrawn over the other entries his pen, DIPPED IN ‘THE BLOOD Of his son, and this blotted them out forever, so that they should not appear in judgment against the penitent believer, The sermon veing ended, he explained the nature, use end of the Lord's Supper, warned the im- penitent against uoworthily partaking of it, and ip- vited ail’ trae believers to “join in the celebration, after whieh and the singing of a psalm ie de- svendéd to the aisle and commenced the distribu- on of the elements by reading the words of the in- stitution and _— The commanicants sat at the tables and when the first set had partaken@ psalin was sung, and during the singing the next set moved forward and took vieir seats. Ateach table ad- dresses Were delivered on some practical theme, and at the conclusion of all another address, based on the fourtu chapter of the Hebrews. A communion service conducted ufter that fashion fs something of interest in these times, as 1 1s not often witnessed, “Mr. Smyth considers the ancient Presbyterian mode of sitting at a table more in ac- cordance with the origipal institution, ATTORNEY STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. “The Falling Leaves”—Sermon by the Rev, J. P. Swift. The congregation yesterday at the Attorney street Methodist Episcopal church was rather smaller than usual, notwithstanding the fact that the Rev.’ Ji 'P, Swift, pastor of the church, was to preach an inte- resting sermon on the subject of “The Falling Leaves’’—a most appropriate ove for the season when one meets everywhere strewn upon the grouna reminiscences of the decay of the foliage. Alter the usaal services of the Sunday had been gone through tne reverend gentleman began his als- course by giving a brief description of the fali of the leaf, of the departure of the summer and of the initiation of autumn. He said the summer is gone, the sweet songsters are about to take their departure apa stern winter will soon hold usin its icy grasp, Every thing looks as if tt were deci dying out. But this season of he fall is quite as -beautifal as any other. jug certainly cheers each one with its brightness, tne PSone g reen of the felds and the budding of the trees and flowers are sights sufficient to send a thrill of pleasure to every heart. But the autumn also has its beauty, for with the FALLING LEAVES ‘ it also brings the golden fruit with which we fill our cellars. \d what mere spletidid view can nature boast of than that of # forest with iis many tinted leaves, Whose Varicolored tints art. has tried to imt- tate in vain, Thus it will be seen that God's hand has not failed %o render the season of decay pleasant as that of resuscitation. . When we see this falling of the leaf a feeling of sadness creeps over us; we say to ouselves We, £00, must fall; and when the spring comes again to clothe the trees with their verdant garments, we ask, shall we be here toenjoy it? Then do we ex- amine ourselves and question our hearts aa to mil ~NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, OCTOBER::17, \.1870,—TRIPLE Mhother we, lke ¢he eaves, have fulflted our mis- THE LBAVES(BAVE DONS THEIR WORK. protect the weary’ tra io tows the ‘faye of toe hoonday sun and. Agord "eo the beasts of the formed the duties Our sation? Have We Te e a Mg ae we we followed’ His “sross ch fiona we Sallis, Seek, ani riers et aMrmative, the ing of the'lenr will be to as & joy, for it will,teil of the happy time, when our into the bosom of our Redeemer, only to hear ‘His faving voice # Ye biensod. of | M: Father; come i of the kingd you, even ‘the ‘be; of world,” ‘Thus aeath glorious; for it is only reap! Gas "Tons itis ahappy tougne that as fhe leaves y ves on the ground We meet sine fall om the throne of God. To attain thia end we mast, however, act well our Por and must follow rales laid down in.the Book of Life. Pal and Festat—Sermen by the Rev. Dr. Deems, As usual the Church of the Strangers was crowded to its untmost capacity yesterasy morning. Or. Deems preached upon Paul's Tamous reply to 1es- tus:—“Pam not mad, most noble Festis,” found in Acts xxvi., 25. Ho first gave s history of the cir- | cumstanices whtch led Paul into this predicament, showing that the’ early Church was not any purer than the modern. The ‘audience and the preacher | were then painted. Festus; ‘frivoldus and worldly; |’ Agrippa, a royal voluptuary; Bernice, an incestuous beauty, and Paul, a clear headed, great nearted apostle. The speech of Paul was so moving that Festus cried out, “You are besiae yourself{” But bemg & gentieman, and seeing that it would be ‘base to insult ® prisoner, he politely added, '**Much'learn- ing has made you mad,” Somebody is crazy. If Festus ig sane ? ‘AUL 18 MAD. Festus saw this. So did Paul, but turned tac charge with retort courteous by emphasis and ges- ture, and as if he had “Truly one of us 19. mad; butit ts not 1.” The question of the sanity of cording tothe aooepied, analyas at man's tne cord! anti of e ld constiition if there be derangement it must be in departments of the intellect, or in that of the emo- tions, or in that of the will. Where is it in the case of the Christian? . Does he fail to observe as accu- rately, to compare as thoroughly, to reason as - cally a3 Other men? Or does fail to have che emotions which healthfully follow anv correct course of % Or docs bis will capriciously and arbitrarily break the connection between right reasoning, right feeling and right action? Where 1s the madness? First, he belteves there is a God who made and governs the universe, lie took that from intuition or reached if by logical processes. Now, what you must prove is not that he has made a mis- or ieee Srarrys for all the greatest minds do that, but that his beilef in this proposition, or the mode i ag he establishes it proves a dis- eased mind. He ¥BELS TOWARD GOD AS. MAN SHOULD ‘ towards his Maker and governor. Is that men- tal disease? Tlie question is not whether there is a God, but Whether 4 man who believes there {3 & God 1s diseased for feeling as a Uhristian does feel. He strives to conform himself to uestion 18 not does this relation e; but is a man weased because he is striving to adjust his i1fe toa relationship which he himself believes does exist? pomeovon f he believes that the Heavenly Father has revealed himself in the Bible. The question is not whether the Bible be inspt bat whether a man is necessarily deranged who wes that it is —— bie God would make some revelation of q and probable that the Bible 1s that revelation. If so, then ali the greatest masters of sclence and’ leaders of civilization for the last thousand years have been a8 mad a8 Paul. Then, the Christian feels as 8 man ought to feel who belleves the Bible to be from and strives to insanity. Thirdly, the Christian’ the teachings of, the. Bib! intense hatred of sin must follow. was painted of two men, ‘TLSD) TOA CORPSE; one caressing and embracing the horrid thing and refusing to be separated; the other struggling to be freed, pleading with man and fate, aud God. to free or kill him, Which is the madman? The former is Festus, the latter Paul. The Christian seeks to have his ianer nature renewed. Does he not proceed scientifically? You purge matter with matter. You would not try to relieve an obstructed biliary duct by reciting a beautiful poem, to the pa- tient. Matter to matter, spirit to spint; that’s Gou’s obvious law. ane Christian at ,to, eubmis nig. 8] the it and holiest spirit. Is that any Ansanity? il not any candid atheist say that, with bis view of the case, the Christian 1s acting with-the greatest sense, In 8 Method justified by all science? The sermon was concluded by an appeal 0 Christians. It fs madness Lo profess the high beliefs of Paul and lead the life of Festus, In any event tt is better to be a consis- tent, happy, earth-conquering, human-winning mad- man than a weak, miserable, cowardly philosopher, % whom life ts all puzzle and death all terror. Here a picture SWEPENBORGIAY CHURCH. The Seven Years of Kamine—Sermon by Rev. Mr, Ager. The church at the corner of Clarke street and Mon- foe place, formerly occupied by a Universalist so- ciety, 1s now used for the proclamation of the Gospel according to Swedenborg. It was partially filled yesterday moraing with an intelligent looking gudience, who listened to an instructive sermon by ‘the Rey. Mr. Ager. The preacher chose for his sub- Ject the account of the seven years of tamine and the seven years of plenty during the rule of Joseph ‘under Pharoah in the land of Egypt. He said this Is a part of che dream of Pharaoh in- terpreted by Joseph. During the seven years of plenty Joseph gathered corn like the sands of the sea, and toe years of famine consumed it so that the plenty was forgotten. This history, like the rest of the Word has {ts spiritual signification. In a general sense the years of plenty represent child- hood, the time when spiritual food ts stored up; the ears of famine represent the alter life, when ‘trial pocey these stores into use, 1 will quote briefly rom THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW CHURCH. Infants are first of altin a state of good, of inno- cence and charity, This good flows in from. we Lord in infancy. As we advance in years this good is drawn inward and kept in the interior, so that without ood. of infancy man would be:worse than the wild beasts. Hereditary laws are inflexi- bie. Like produces like. ‘The current of human Ife as it ows beara the accumulated evils of centu- ries, but this evil is in @ quiescent state in childhood and the good lias sway. The Lord fills tne child with innocence to be garnered up for the years of famine. | This 1s A TIME OF GREAT RESPONSIBILITY to parents and teachers, The season of innocence 2 terminated by the gradual awakening of the hereditary tendencies to evil. This season is longer or shorter as these vendencics are kept back or en- couraged. This period is the one when influence and example are sostrong. Teaching must be prac- tical, personal. What we are affects our children more than the truths that we instil. Children can- not Jearn abstract truths abont God and duty, bat they can be taught much by companionsiiip, of love, duty, heaven and angel iife. ‘They can be taught what they ought to do, how to treat ther companions. As memory 18 goed at this time, it 19 the best period for teaching them the literal word. We are notto fall into the error that they may re- ceive instruction or not asthey fancy, alinough we must make instruction as pleasant to them as pos- sible, But 1618 in religious teaching as in secular; children must be impressed with its future usetul- ness, They are not expected to see all the uses of truth. And there arose ter TUE YEARS OF PLENTY seven years of famine. This period begins when the nereditary tendencies gavoplly awake in the child. ‘The state of childhood 1s not a regenerated state; is a quiescent state. Regeneration comes ‘from meeting evil, recognizing it and overcoming it. It is necessary that the stores of childhood be tested by temptation before they can become a part of the life. During the years of plenty the abunaance 1s stored up io the interiors of tue mind, and though the good disappears from memory it 18 not Jost; it ta the means by which angels keep sight of | ark which the mind is kept opem that spiritual life may flow in. Our experience confirms this truti. One of the best known men in New York, who ts not considered re- ligtous at all, told a friend that ne avoided transact- ug any business on the Sabbath, even receiving his mall, He had been TRAINED IN NEW ENGLAND, and it seemed almost @ necessity to cling to this training of his boyhood. Children seem suddeniy to vere from good to bad; but they were not so good as they seemed before the and are not so bad after. As the years of famine obliged the peepe to yield everything to Joseph, so the years of = that follow chijdhood obiuge us to give up everything t0 God. ps FRENCH CATHOLIC CHURCH, TWINTY-THIRD STREET. Sermon by the Right Reverend the Bishop of New Orleans. ‘The services at the French Roman Catholic church were rendered more than usually interesting on yes- terday by the presence of a church dignitary robed in purple. During the period that elapsed between the commencement of mass and the gospel curiosity ‘was on the alert, figuring to itself who the impor. tant personage might be. Notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion there were those even among the fair ones who surreptitiously glanced over their prayer books, appearing more intent on atudring the features of the bishop, as sugh he aut OY Want : = MY qoueyeestl Her wevanet ont le 2» Coan fs ye ‘was the a y the 4 Ay “Bel said 4 this opparsiall ress g foven the ple I feel in rea » which is Goybly od Pal; Pew- by Rev, ie ane. the truly ment. He very i loup, the celebrated ” jeans, France. Hes ceed Rome by one | ST. JAMES) LUTREMAN ctmen. TOT e TaN ‘Tho First Church Syned=Misslenary Eforts A very fair congregation ‘m this church yesterday morning and lstened to an interesting report. of the proceedings of theit Synod, which nad ‘been dm session last week and the week previous in the town of Ghent, N. ¥., snd: trom which their pastor, Rev. a. C. Wedekind, bad just returned. A brief ritual, condensed from the Anglican Church Prayer Book, preceded the sermon. The hymus used, too, are mostly from English collections, and very much of the old country spirit seems to be preserved in the services throughout. One of the first objects that strikes the eye of a stranger enter- ing the church is the sounding board above the Pulpit, on which ts beautifully, and artistically painted an open Bible, with a dove hovering over tt, and above all the phrase ‘‘We preach Onrist.” And, the sermon and tne exposition of: the Scripture lessons gave practical evidence that Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of the preaching in St. James’. CHURCH DISCIPLINE. The gospel lesson read was from Matthew xvitt., 15-20, In which the Saviour lays down rules of church discipline in regard wW an offending brother, and uses in the same connection ‘that remarkable passage which the Doctor said had been so oft and 80 greatly erted by Romanists, namely—What- soever ye shall bind ou earth snall be bound in hea- ven, and whatsoever ye snail loose on earth shail be loosed in Ly Her lP wes Pr Femara of apd assage, As dec! y reacher, ab, in en- Foren he discipline of ihe, Churen, any offend brother who shall be restored to feltowsntp by hi be ratified in heaven, may be expelled such decision shall be heaven, becauke wherever two or ‘three gath name He is with them, uiding their deliberauens and onsen: Soins 80 that their decisions may be according the Divine Mind. THE. FIRST BYNODICAL COUNCIL. » Theseri was f review of the actsof the. Orst chiroh synod ever eld in Jerusalem, and over which the Apostle James presided. Tt was com- Posed, as we (Acts Xv., 4, 22), of the clergy and Jatty of o Church, one was merge Mecesniona As ‘pass upon dcftrinal points that had entered in mission churches of Gallicia ana Asia Minor as dis- turbing elements. ‘It took place about seventeen years after S& Paul's) conversion, and ‘as he and Peter and others haa travelled over these prot founding churches ane ge Dg im converts, questions arose in Tega! i am cision,. some contending that the converts to-Onris- tian: ould be circuincised poaord nada the law. ot In the synod there was muc! nsion and @isputation on ‘tie matter unt! Pant Peter stood up and made their misstonary reports, and declared how God was no ROTA, but had poured out his spirit upon the up- circumcised Gentile converts as well as mpon thie circumcised Jews, Then James gave the nm of the council, which declared that faith and not ritualism, the grace of God and not the good works of men, was the only foundation of salvation. The constitution of the synod ever neid in the Chris- tian Church, Somposed, of ministers ond laymen, the desi ‘of ‘that ly—to harmonize differences amongtheir members—and the spirit of love which pre were made special subjects of detailed remarks, and the Doctor regretted that modern. Church councils do not meet in the same spirit and with the same purpose. He charged much of the sectarian dissensions of the Charch of Christ to the: male? bat he wds ge) that now there is no great body. of Christians the world whose supreme councils have not both orders represented execpt the Church of LUTHERAN MISSION WORK. Dr. Wedekind then gave a briet detail of the pro- ceedings and plans adopted by the Lutheran Synod, which adjourned last Week. . Jt wes organized tour years ago, with eignt churches and thirteen pastors, Ithas now tweuty-two of cach, and ti afew years more, with @ Perey te: increase, It will be'the’ largest synod in tue United States, Six young men are being educated for its ministry and at its ex- pense, and the'synod is determined to make greater’ efforts than ever,t0 save the Germans and Scandina-! vians in and around this city, of Whom there aro not.leas than 40,000 within o radius of thirty miles of New Yerk, all tu sympathy-with their Church, but for lack of missionary eifort. to them in are not connected with any church. 13, therefore, de- signed to emptoy one or more itinerant missionaries to altend to this work. Six hew missions have been established in this city and vicinity, A system of Tegular monthly subscriptions is to be established. throughout the denomination, and atso a system of box contributions in ‘the fainily audin the Sunday school. Such @ plan has been in opé DS James’ church for some time, and by it $3,000 were collected for benevolent purposes, together with 0,000 contributed for church and local purposes. Increased subscriptions are demanded this year in view of the enlatged enterprises of the Church. UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Expounding the Scriptures—Sermon by Kev. G. D. Mathews. The Rey. G. D, Mathews officiated at half-past three P. M. in the United Presbyterian chareu, Jane street, between Hudson street and Eighth avenues, The congregation consisted principally of trades people, and the’ Service was conducted in a style. that would gladden the heart of an opponent of the ritualistic movement. There was neither organ nor harmonium, and the congregation were the choir. The hymn sung before the sermon was a metrical version of the nineteenth Psalm, from a colicetion “allowed by the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland,” and. guaranteed to be. “more agreeable vo the original” than any yet published. The sing- ing commenced With the seventh verse, wich ran thus: God's law is perfect, and converts ‘The soul m ain that lies; God's testimony 1s most sure, And makes the simple wise. BXPLAINING THE SCRIPTURES. The preacher, having read the first verse of the First Hpistie of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, said he was commencing a series of tectures from that Eplstie. In the first place tt was necessary to cou- sider the mstances under Which 1t was written. ‘Thessalonica was a city of Macedonia, the nortpern province of Greeve, and recelved its’ mame from a sister of Alexander the Great, three hundred years before the Christian cra. It was most tavorably situated fo" wade and commerce and rapidly rose to wealth, and shared the traific of the Southern Seas with Ephesus and (ort, ana before the boriaing of Qonstan-mople it was the chief ¢ity ou either Side of the Hellespont, UNDER THE ROMANS it became rich and populeus, and received from tts then masters many peculiar ‘privileges for its .citt- zens. Under the slightly altered name of Salouica it is now the second city of turopean Turkey, and contains seventy thousand to eighty thousand inhab. itante, Probably on account of its,tr advan- tages great numbers of Jews iresorted tere in the ume of St. Paul, and to this day Jews are found there in large numbers and exercise consideraple ‘Im ce. When St, Paul went to Thessalunica he visited the synagogue, as he was accustomed to ad in ‘strange piaces, and nov having to enter upon 4 discussion in natural theology, he spoke to them of the chiaracteriatics of the Mes- siah, Whose advent looked for, and, vie yeault of his preaching, was that of tne Jews some believed, while there were many prosely tes among the Greeks, and of the chief women not u few. “His Visit 'Was a first all pleasant, unlike that whieh, he made to Philippi, where he was so BARBAROVSLY TREATED; but the enmity of the unbelieving Jews at Thessa- Jonica was soon aroured, There was a great tumult, ‘nd the brethren sent away Paul and his com- anions secretly and by night, Paul sent back to them Timothy to learn ‘their condition and teach them those things they required to knew, and Timo- thy, returt to the apostle, overtook him at Co- ninth and told him of their st faith and attach- ment and their anxiety that* he siould revisit them. Paul then wrote them this epistle, in which he does not enter into doctrinal discussions, as in the Epis- tie tothe Hebrews and Romans; bat, on the basis of trath already received through his preaching, he Seeks to Incite them to the holigess of life and uae- | A large and highly respectable church, officiated, and. eiongg sac oe sermon from the Epistie of St. Pan De roe’ : fifteenth chapter and twénty-ninti to verses, in which the spost teristics of the gospel ‘he ‘ the Christians such meaningless words as the Pagan. ‘and the prices used in thelr rites, but as who preached what he had and believed; he ‘Was no mere ecc\ A with ‘ w BANCTI 8 0 to perform his duties, but God’s minister—a some. thing between God the sinner. The words of the text treated, of tne gubjegt of his Disney, ing, or the minister's ward. it word was . pel of Christ; the “good news,’’ the song whose rst notes were sung when angels prociatmed glory to in the Tghoes for God is gloritied in inan’s salvation. twas the gospel of the grace of vel noi one of those invented by mea and ee waya-end im inextricable confu- sion and babbling. How should he define grace? Jt meant all that God has to give ‘and. mm can re- ceive—that would answer the purpose. St. Paul speaks Of “the fulness of the blessing of the goa- pel’’—ciustering together the most expressive words, ua if they were DIAMONDS OF GLORY. It was the gospel of reconciliation and Joys for, ‘Separation from God ts tho remote cause of all mis- fortunes; the conscionsness of reconciliation the true remedy for all our {lls. They fall away like withered lenves when tne hew sap begins to flow, a retresned spirit feela the beauty of the ‘words, 4 “AS ONK WHOM HIS MOTHER COMVORTETS.” At this season tae flowers decay and everything “around us isdying—for everything lives to die; but God gives ta us a rious immortality, and We shati five ‘where iife all bo the falness of joy and pleasure forevermore. The next branch of the Saewarnanaeeed te pean Mh fee “in the fulness of ospel. God's of saving Y mini ched nat own but God's, to People anid nd vetted ‘apon the’ words, “Lo, I ai ‘with you always” —no matter wh erc—it don’t make any Odds; no matter whether the preacher bea sinner ora sains.\ Tae third branch was THR RELATION OF THE MINISTER TO THE CONGRE- : GATION, of the pulj the pew,, St. Paul asked the Chrus- tans for Row prayere, It wae veel ARS the peo- for their mintster—they do no less The pproecher then alluded to ® recent occasion: on which it giaddened is heart to hear that that, congi ion were pray- ing for him and his; 1¢ was consoling to know that they were striving for him, iu prayer and that he had their sympathy. He concluded by earnestly askit the people, that the prayers of ‘they might be mute ally refreshea, ; METHODIST HPISCOPAL’ 3 CHURCH. ‘ An Old Disclple—Sermon by, Hvv. A. Ks Sanford, _ Tho’ Greene ‘street Methodist Episcopal church tab peaterday filloa' by aoongregation céniposed ot-' both young and old Christians. It was understood that the pastor, Rey. A. K. Sanford, would preach a sermon particularly suited to aged Christians; con- sequently the o14 members of ‘the'church were pre- Sent in fult force with witling ears; ready to drink ta the worda of wisdom wich would fail from the ‘preacher's lips. A large numberof young people, Were also present, knowing that what was addressed to the‘old- would do them'no‘harm to hear. ‘Agrée- ‘ably 0 his’ promise, Mr. Sanford’s discourse re- ferrea principally to the state.of mind and to the re- ligious status of those Christian warriors who have , grown old in the service of theif Master. =~ ‘His text, was:—“There went with us, also, certain ‘of the disciples of Cesarea, and brought with them one Mnason, of Oyprus, an old disciple, with whom Wwe should lod Acts, xxi, 10.) old disciple, said he, 1s'one who has grown old in the service of Christ; one Whose long life has made him eitiotent in the ‘ “ KNOWLEDGE OF, #7 one whose mind has been erased: Whose expe- rience has been enriched ani whose: ent been matured, The fatth of an old. disciple is rooted in the gospel of Christ, and,” Ike the oak which breasts the stormand sinks its roots deeper 1m the earth, go the aged Christian, having fought the good figlit-and battled against thesnares of the devil, has bis faith more firmly fixed in the Rock of Age We see in an old disciple gréat simplicity in his dependence, for salvation on Christ, ic ', A your Cnristian is distressed oy the manys varieties of Jeeling which his nature ts afflicted with; put the aged Christian has leurned the fallacy of fixing his. spiritual hopes on feelings alone and therefore piace’ is dependence more on Chriat., Ag he advances ia years he ‘learns to draw consolation {rom sources’ outside of himself,, While i __ THE SUN OF CONSOLATION, to a young ‘Onnstian, 18 closed by the infirmities of human nature, the aged. Christian has learned to: distinguish between depravity and the involuntary Weakuesses of his nature. He 19 not dismayed ’so: easily, though his feelings vary at times, nor is his heart depressed at masters’of ‘amall inverest, and’ he’ can say Wilh Paul, “I know in whom I have believed , and that He is abie to keep what I have committed unto him againsi that day,” Chrisiian, a¢ he increases in a, will Y is world interest lig affaira. Ac be weaned: the things: of and his decline in He has examined) iv thoroughty ‘and has seen the fallacy ol placiag -his hopes on temporal: matters. He has bécome, as it were, cracified to the Wworld,yand can no longer foltow its pursutts or take any iuterest in the outside world. Those on whom he. bail placed his affections are now in the grave, and itis no Wonder that bis.own hopes and aspirations should be in the same direction, In an old digoiple we see greater candor injudging others, aud ‘though he has precuesngos and ‘his attach- Menta. tovearly connections, stil he loves all who Jove Christ Jesus in sincerity, no, matter what creed: or. denomination they may follow. Tn conclusion he spoke warmly.of his affection for aged Christians and how he liked to see them in his church and to converse with ‘them, for in them he saw God's chosen disciples, VEGLISE DU Telling the Truth with Charity=Sermon by Rev. A. Verrea. The attendance at the beautiful French Episcopal church, in Twenty-second street, near Fifth avenue, was rather stim yesterday. The cause of ¢his’may be ascribed to the fact that the members of the church are at present engrossed with the meetings for the relief of the French wounded in thewar. The choir of the church is very good, the voice of the soprano being remarkable for its strength and purity. a After the varied and impressive exercises of the Episcopal service the aged pastor of tne church, the Rey. A. Verren, preached from the text, fourth chap- ter, fifteenth verge of the Epistie of St, Paul to the Epheslans—*Teliing the trath witn’ charity.” To illustrate bjs arguments the reverend gentleman divided the sermon into two parts, Firat, “We must tell the trun. ‘The word “truth,” he said, showla be taken in the» bread sense of the Divine Master. We must tell the trutm because God commands 4 0 rey phon ‘is Pea haat of Goa . ve find another motive for tell the truth in historical fact that.our apoemors wii THE FOUNDERS OF THIS CHUKCH, have suffered ail manner of privations—exile, tor ture and death, lor prociaiming the truth. As the descendants of these martyrs, itis our duty always fo tell the truth with charity and love; with hatred tor sih itself, but piety and compassion for the sin- her, We must not augment his with severity, neither in action, speech or looks. Our Saviour tempered trath with gentieness; He went/from place to place doing good to repentant ainners, and at the sight of Jerusalem His love and compassion for sinners found vent in the following exclamation—“Oh, Jerusalem, Je: salem, how often woutd I have gathered you und my wit even a3 & hen gathers her cliickens; but ye would not.” Unhappliy many of us do not act in the spirit of the Saviour. We do not comprehend that those who have been long estranged from the traths of religion cannot all at once be breught to see the abyss Of their doubts and ‘utility of their ob- Jectious, If Whey, therefore, demur or find teal