The New York Herald Newspaper, July 22, 1872, Page 8

RELIGIOUS nity Expounded Under Cooler Skies and Calmer Influences. PLYHOUTH CHURCH IN UN-DRESS. Spiritualism and Spiritual Kisses Explained by a Burly Profes- sor of the Spiritual Faith. Professor Young on City Life and Savage Life. - A Lady Preacher Expatiates on Per- sonal Holiness at the Seventeenth Street Methodist Church. oes The Old and New Paths Pointed Out by Rufus Clarke. Br. Hodge Talks to the Sailors at the Mari- ners’ Church on the Bride of Heaven and the Brides of Earth, Father McNamee’s Warning to Modern Sinners. Beligious Services at the Sea Side—A Ser- mon from Babylon. ey oD - =e Le 87, PAUL'S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. . — Bermon by Rev. Morgan Diz—Who Shall Be Our True Teachers? n ‘The Sabbath services at St. Paul's Protestant Bpiscopal church yesterday were attended by an ‘enusually scanty, though by all means a pious and attentive, congregation. In the quaint historica edifice itself there is very little reason to complain of the oppressive heat, it being satisfactorily ac- commodating and thoroughly ventilated. The rea- gon for absence, therefore, must be attributed either toa lack of that spirit of sincerity which prompts @evotion or to that universal mania for rural @hades which seems to sway the desires of the @evotee as wellas the indifferent at this season, and which impels them ‘to take to themselves wings” and fy “where the woodbine twineth.” ‘The congregation at St. Paul's, however, must have | reaped their own pecullar spiritual advantages | from the profitable sermon yesterday of the REV. MORGAN DIX, the subject of which might have been made one of intense interest to any Christian congregation. After the necessary announcements of the day the reverend lecturer chose his text from Isaiah %Xx., 20, reading as follow: “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed | into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers.” Through the undecciving providence of God, the Light of the World, duly appointed teachers have been placed over the children of men, whoin are requested to look upto for the teaching of jose precepts which Jesus Christ Himself wished the; shoud inculcate. Hence it is that the enig- matical words of the prophet which have just been repeated have their attached weight and impor- fance to-day, as on the day cf their divinely | inspired utterance. God has spoken through His prophets and through Isaiah. He bas told us that Hour eyes shall see our teachers.” Oh! the blesaed- meses of the sight which we are assured that we Bhall behold in one clear, unclouded vision! But where? Js it here below, amid the darkuess of error and the gloom of wide-spread Infidelity, or Is Mt In that great world of | voinl the ve, Where the eye is ne y error ? ems to be the critical poiut, and when we | attempt to scan its meaning we only struggle for the solution of an enigma. Systems have arisen from age to age, and one has invariably couty Gicted the other, The true teachers were Hols. , helm, | ALMIGHTY GOD, THR GRRAT TRACER OF MEN, must therefore be He whom our eyes shall behold fp the biessedness of His majesty. Symbolic teach- ings are obscure and worldly symbols are but the toys of childish minds, Some minds rematn perpe- tually in @ childieh state. It takes a deep mind to yead the book of Nature, which bears upon its 8 the impress of the Eternal. Many pretend ay read the designs of Providence in a general way; but when they attempt to teach the precepts of God and to reveal the secrets of the book of Nature they know not how. We see, for instance, the vy best people ‘aMicted while God permits the repro- Bate to flourish. Look back at your lives, ‘The Ristory of them will intelligibly point out your teachers in the good or evil consequences of your actions. How marvellously the rd rules his , apn But still, even in the Church, we may hope see TRACHERS OF TRUTH. fhe Roman Church professes to instruct her children fm her dogmas and her doctrines without a semblance of error, yet do we not see inany evidences of its imperfection, notwithstanding tts alleged un- echangeablenesst Do we not see its dogmas in- ing daily—a fact whicb attests change? We geek the truth and endeavor to make progress to- ‘wards it; but wno or what mortal can profess to feach without fear ofbeing in error? When we bape our lives and conduct in unison with the eternal decrees; when our destiny is also shaped accordingiy, ‘and when we see our true teacher in that world of happiness beyond which there is hoping, then only shall we be certain of having Joowed the direct course. Meanwhile we are not only free, but advised to select our best teach- ers here, We know that itis wrong to follow, ad- Yocate the devil, the world and the flesh, false geducers and unreliable leaders; and itis recom- Mendable always to beg the ass nee of the Lord, ho is “the way, the life and the truth,” that our tsteps may never be traced upon the path of error. WHO THEN SHAL!. BE OUR TRUE TRACHERS Bave those whose lives have been examples of vir- tue, aud who are disposed by the providential die weations of God to measure out unto all through ie superabundance of Uis grace, justice and equity to the wronged and sympathy and compas- sion to the needy and oppressed? The reverend lec- turer here concluded by egies | with his congrega- tion an appropriate prayer Jor the obtaining of the ht of true faith and the grace of final salvation, pithy and eloquent sermon was listened to with Femarkable attention, and had, no doupt, its true epiritual emect. APOLLO HALL, Professor J. N. H. Toohey Expounds Spire fitualism—He Tells Marvellous Stories, Progressive Spiritualism may be progressive tn iis city, but certainty the slim attendance at Apollo Hall yesterday morning does not indicate a very healthy state of metropoiltan progress. The speaker was Professor J, N, H. Toohey, He is a healthy looking professor, stout and robuet of figure, and ruddy complexion, nothing of the “ in- tellectnal stoop” marking the studious man, and Rothing of the sicklied “pale cast of thought’ sbout lus countenance, Possessing a black- @mith’s physiqne and strength, ho talks with blacksmith’s vigor, and at times with that impassioned vehemence rendering Bis utterances unintelligivie, After a long introductory rigmarole regarding the growth of | Spiritualism, going back to the times of Confucius, Afistotie and other ancient celebrities, he pro- eecded to speak of the prominent features charac: terizing THE SPIRITUALISTIO PATTHT of to-lay. Time had worked wonders; the world has changed; experience was con to all; nearly every man and Woman stood apart. Spiritualism, every one almost had a dine: 49 tell, ‘They had now reached tie age ‘valism, Wart, dlviduylisma anh ude to higher Inveliigenc . Charles Spear, while in the Aceh, went to Philadelphia, friend of his died, Mr. spear cailcd on the widow, and ns ho ap- proadued the Louse he saw her at the window avenviy out fide. he told him that ‘at some one apparently outside. h a Ww kisses at her husband's spirit, orien appear at this time, Ho de- which ared to her dally th of a gentleman in Baltimore fc A ne not on i form of @ deceased Sica, puto rocking ghalt and an inyelid lady ia | a chair was a gift toa young lady tleman with the one see! the hod spectacle long becn engaged, ant om the cruelty of a “stern parient’’ prevented his marrying. He told a marvellous story of the recovery of money thro’ the revelations of a test medium in ti city, A lar feature of the story was the same revelation made by other mediums, The last medium told the name of the thief, though never hearing ‘the name before. PHASE OF SPIRITUALISM was causing them more trouble than anything clse. He told another marvyellou fey 4 how a woman medium, with a pencil fixgd in the bow of a pair of scissors, wrote the namdof a deceased gon of a visitor, whom the latter @upj d to be alive, though the medium knew not the name of the visitor, or that he bad a soa living or dead, From this he digressed into an eathusiastic strain about progressive intelligence and a growing manhood, which brought ont tumuituous cheers from those present, He then went o@ to say that they had reached a point that they did mot fear death or God, There was A GLORIOTS G00: There would then be fell men, They would all be o: iam 18 being moulded to closed with a glowingly @nintelligible exordium, and as he took his seat was rapturously cheered, A queer piece of music, with queer words and bead eung by qneer vVotcea, follows After a quiet benediction the then quietiy sep- arated, to meet again to & discourse in the evening from the same 8; Yoon “ Spiritualisin as a Civilizer.”” 8T, FATRIOK’S (OATHEDRAL, The Destruction of lem a Werntng to Modern Sinner: by the Rev. Father McNamee. The services at tie Cathedral yesterday were of the usual imposing character, The mass was cele- brated by the Rey. Father Kearney and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Father McNamee, who took his text from the gospel of the day, the nine- teenth chapter of St. Luke, from the forty-firat to forty-seventh verses—“When Jesus drew near Joru- salem, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round, and straighten theo on every side, and beat thee fat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon astone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.” In this gospel, the reverend gen- tleman sald, was placed before us the affecting narrative of THE SON OP GOD WEEPING .'°:* - over the sing of His people. ‘The timé of His mis- sion on earth was drawing to a close; the period of three years, during which He had performed so many miracles, raised the dead to life, restored Of aT madman “tt turned ‘out fant, the “rocking to whom the +4 ‘TIME COMING, wsiip of men and wo- one accord. Spiritaal- scientific formula. He sight to the blind, and given comfort and consolation to the afflicted, was near its termination, and the Lord Was soon to return to His Father. When He looked back to that life, and forward to the trials and suf- ferings he was afew days afterwards to undergo for the same object—man’s redemption—His heart filled with grief because so many had failed to apply to themselves the fruits of that life, He beheld the city of Jerusalem in the distance and He wept for the blindness and ingratitude of its inbabitangs, who had not only refused to RECRIVE THE MESSIAT, their Redeemer, but were actually at that moment preparing to inflict upon Him sufferings and tor- ture Him even to death. With His heart full of sor- row for the people, He deplored the blindness ot { the inhabitants, They were a portion of the chosen people. For ages God had shown them special forms of His divine grace, and angels had | administered to their wants. He had pronlned | them a Redeemer, and tn fulfilment of that promise | He had given His only Son, who was born among them. To them He had given every opportunity even a God of mercy could suzgest. FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE, on the mountain top and in the valle in the streets | and in the Temple the Saylour had ‘preached the | truths of eternal life and Himself reduced them to ractice, He had shown them that in Him all that ad been foretold by the panne in regard | ; to the Messian had been fulfilled, and that His mission was really one from on high. And i,at the very time when the hand of Divine ‘Y Was extended to them they were plotting his death. The day of mercy had passed and tne day of vengeance was come atlast. The destruction of the city was progmesied, and what God saya he | willdo He does. What He promises He fulfils, for He ia not like man, who deceives and 1s decetved. And the city was destroyed. old and Between the Jews of THE SINNERS OF MODERN TIMES | it was easy to trace a parallel. As they had re- ceived special favors from God; as they had been singled out from among all other nations to be the chosen people of God; as they had been givena | definite and distinct Iw, so all those favors had been granted to Christians, but {na much more exalted and nobler degree. To us was given the nony law of the Gospel of Jesus | | Christ imself, and the reward for its | foithfal observance was not @ mere temporary | one, but —: of happiness for eternity. Jews were left to themselves to fullil thelt’ laws, | but we were aided in the observance of ours by | God himself by means of the sacraments. Tn Dap. | usm we were cleansed from the stain of original | sin, and when WE FRLI. INTO TEMPTATION and ylelded to evil, if truly repentant, we were re- stored to God's favor by the sacrament of penance. But supposing that we, too, like the Jews, reject Christ and refuse to observe His law. Gdéd pun- ished the violation of His laws in proportion to the extent of the sinner's guilt, and, that being so, how much greater must be the punishment of a so- | called Christian for the violation of the Jaw when it | Js considered how much greater are the boons con- | : upon him than were conferred upon the The reverend gentleman then concluded by ex- horting all those who had rejected God's word to return to a sense of their duty, to hasten back to God while He yet extended the hand of mercy, and not to wait until THE DAY OF VENGEANCE, when It would be too late for repentance, and their destruction would be inevitable. ‘rhe musical part of the service, as it always ts at | the Cathedral, was all that could be desired by the | most exacting lover of true sacred music, The singing by the choir, It is safe to say, is unsur- | passed, not to say unegualied, by any Catholic church choir in the city. The voices are all good, the whole choir seems to be under the most perfect training, and the organist shows by his excellent playing and the character of the music he selects that good church music, which makes the devout worshipper feel during the services that he really is in a church and not at the opera, is by no means | dependent upon Offenbach’s airs for success. THE MARINERS! BAPTIST CHURCH, Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Hodge=The Church the Bride of Christ, The Rev. Dr. Hodge preached an cloquent and instructive sermon at the Mariners’ Baptist church, in Catherine street, yesterday morning. The learned divine took his text from Revelations, xxi. 9—‘‘Come hither, Iwill shew tnee the bride, the Lamp's wife’—and commenced by drawing the attention of the congregation to the fact that this portion of God's word relates to the coming again ofthe Lord Jesus. At that epoch the people will The be gathered together from all the ends of the carth and the sea will give up its dead, Christ will then celebrate His nuptials with His well-beloved bride, the Church, ‘This marriage day i# not far distant, and that knowledge that tho day of supreme happiness is near at hand ought to encourage and STIMULATE OUR HEARTS, Jesus Christ looks on His people even now as His espoused, It is His gospel that brings them to Tis fect. They do not know themselves now, but they will in the future, the grace of the Holy Spirit being infused into thei, and He will lead torth His biushing bride, beantified and adorned, shining re- splendently in the robes of purity and love, The Chureh, continued the preacher, embraces | all ages—goes back to the martyr Abel. Ho was | of God's Church and believed in the teach- ngs of his divine Creator, The great mystery of hereafter is too profound, too subtle for ordinary min to fathom; aleormal cannot sound its mighty Yet, by faith, we know that the Church | depths, | wall be * , OVED IN HEAVEN ag the bride of Christ. The bride is human now— She is not perfected as se will be by and by, The | is too much vain imag in the bride, as she ts | at present; but she wi cleansed and beautitied | In the future, and will be a fitting spouse for our Lord and Saviour, My We can sear Him we shou) whoso of man’s ne God When we think of love ou a Wwomin he does so b cause he her to be the * inca nation of all luman virtues aud perfections; but God, in love for sin nothing has beautiful, everything le loves then that He may make them y purifying them, When aman marries a woman he becomes respo sible for her debts, and, in ike manner, Je | Obrist takes bis bride, the Choreh, with all her | DEBTS OF SIN; He anawers for all her liabilities, she takes his name and the twain are merged tuto one, band, all her wants are cared for by Him, A man cherishes his wife’s name and faye, gad ig te Same Way, our Saviour aeons Jot tee ae to Hig bride, the Church. e Church is sometimes, like any other bride, sick, faint and weary, and when #0 #he requires consolation aud sympathy, There are divisions apd us | it, for As the tins. | for she has not fection which future and Sot recog- by upraise, ne of P iphold and welcome her vo'the glorious welcome her jorious realms of Its etornal kingdom. be Dr. He concluded by urging upon his hearers ity of every one’s going to Christ to be united to Him. This could only be done through the ald of the Church—the bride of our Saviour— who, purified und perfect, will live in heaven when all worlds have passed away, SEVENTEENTH STREET METHODIST EPISOO- PAL ORUROE, | Discourse by Mra. Hi. ah W. Smith, of Philadelphia—On the Gospels=The Dif- ferent Characteristics of Christ, the Burdon-Bearer, The worshippers In the Seventeenth street Meth- odist Episcopal church yesterday experienced the novelty of listening to the demonstrations of a lady preacher. The church was densely thronged, and the discourse of the fair expounder of the Gospels, Mrs. Hannah Whital Smith, of Philadelphia, was listened to wlth marked attention, although the delivery occupied more than an hour. The preacher, who was dressed in black alpaca, with white stomacher, lead-colored Quaker bonnet and gloves of the same color, is a Jady about fifty years of age. Her personal appear- ance is well calculated to favorably impress an audience, while her delivery was excellent aud her Manner earnest. Her opening prayer was simple, yet devout. She took no special passage as a text, but spoke more directly upon the UNION OF THE FOUR GOSPELS, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in portraying the character and works of the Saviour of mankind. She spoke of the practice of authors to tersely de- scribe in the opening chapter of their books the subject they propose to treat of, and, after discuss- ing it from all points, close in the application of the subject, So it is with the Bible. In Genesis we have a description of the creation, the expulsion ofman and woman from Eden; in Reve- lations we find all nations welcomed back to God. In tie beginning we have sorrows, in the end God wipes away the tears from our eyes, The Gospels describe the wonderful devel opment of Christ and His Church, They describe the regular progress of truth from difforent standpoints. Matthew des- orlbes the bullding of 3 THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE, Mark the work of the Saviour, Luke the life He had here, andin John we have the revelation of the orious consummation of light and life. In the lospela we have four different accounts of the building of the Temple—Jesus Christ, Each one of | the writers describes Him from a different stand- ps Matthew repress Him asa King, Mark as he Servant of Man, Luke as the Son of Man, and John as the Son of God. All give different points in the genealogy of Christ. The minister dwelt at length upon the different characteristics of Christ as described in the Apostles, and declared that JESUS CHRIST IS NOT ASTIAMED : to call us His brethren, Jesus Christ, who can see us through and through, and knows all our acts, 1s | not ashamed of us, Christ does not give up His | divinity, but He takes, in addition, our humanity. Ask yourselves if you ever come to Christ as your God; if you have ever got into His kingdom, or are you On the outside of it * The way to get into His kingdom is to come with a meek heart; step OUT OF THE KINGDOM OF SATAN; step into the hingdom of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I will enlist under His banner.” God says, “Who- soever believeth shall have eternal Jife.’ If you believe, then, God says you are one with Him, Dear friends, just begin to believe in this Word of God. The Lord tells us to CAST OUR BURDEN UPON HIM, kes the sting out of our burdens. The Lord, as revealed in Mark, is our burden-bearer, In every case af trouble make your burden known. Lay it upon this burden-bearer and you will be re- lieved of itat once. Lremember an anecdote of a man Walking along a road, with a bundle, meeting a man riding in a wagon. The waylarer was | invited to ride; but, in getting in, he held the | bundie before him, On being Invited to lay it down, he remarked, “It 18 as much as I can expect for you to carry me, without the burden of the bundle.” My friends, Christ will carry your burden as wellas you. JESUS TO-DAY 18 WALKING beside each one of you, and says, ‘Roll that burden upon me." He gr.eves when you refuse. You may think you love God and have expertenced the In- | dwelling of light, but unless you cast your cares upon the Lord you will not experience what John describes, Christ wil emancipate you from the slavery of sin if you believe in Him, This is illus- trated in the experience of # lady friend of mine who, three years after the war, was travelling in the South, SHE PUT UP AT A LITTLE INN looked as if it lad been deserted for years; was shown into @ room, covered with dusi, by an old colored woman, who seemed to be devoid of any energy. On _ leaving refreshments, she said to the woman, “Can you not dust up the room and make li look tidy? We Northern people freed you, and we are not accustomed to this kind of rooms.” On returning to the room 4 great change was appar. | ent, aud, standing crect, the old servant asked, “MISSIS, IS I FREEY? “Of course you are,”’ was the response. She then explained the proclamation of emancipation to the slave, who stood and listened with a look of joy, and exclaimed— “Thank de Lord fo’ what you told me, I heerd we's free; I speaks to ole massa "bout It, an’ he say tan’t 80; anudder white man tells me I's free, but 1 dunno de trof till ye tell me, missis. J's free, and 1 won't work fo’ ole massa any longer.” THAT WOMAN HAD FAITH inthe power of the emancipation SS Rae, and she would no longer remain @ slave; so it is with the seeker after salvation, Mave faith and you will secure eternal life. Christ has issued THIS GLORIOUS PROCLAMATION, the Bible, and declares you are free from the sin and slavery of your past lives. Believe in Him; He is able to lift you out of the service of Satan, in whose bondage you are, and make you free through the blood He shed for your redemption. the aMan OF that THE MADISON SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. Rev. Rufus W. Clark on the Old Paths and the Way That Leadeth to Peace. Rey. Rufus W. Clark preached at the Madison square Presbyterian church yesterday to an audi- ence very respectable in numbers for a summer congregation, taking his text from the sixteenth verse of the sixth chapter of Jeremiah—“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye on the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they sald, We will not walk therein.” The old paths, sald the reverend gentieman, where js the good way, are not smootii, easy paths, They ave rugged. There are none of THE MODERN CONVENIENCES applied to these old paths. No swift-moving rail- road train dashes along the level surface, bringing the traveller who would go thereon quickly to the city of his destination. There are no time tables telling him just when he will arrive, They are the old rugged paths, just as they were in the days of Moses ond Enoch and Joseph. No modern inven- tion has been secured to save the spiritual labor necessary to win grace and be saved, The prayer | of nearly three thonsand years ago for help from above is the only thing available now as then, : THE WAYFARER AT SEA learns to know the heavens ere he can see the city of his destination. le looks above for help, as ail of us must do, Even through the woods of the | Routh, where the roads are sometimes so narrow | that the carriage wheels touch the brush at both sides, the drivers, Who cannot see the road and can | searcely see their horses for the darkness, learn to know their course by studying the narrow streak of twilight that shines through TUB OPENING IN THE Woops above the road. These old paths run high above | the ordinary course of worldly men, Enoch, who | walked with God, was on a& plane ele- | vated far above the darker road, where | men stumbled in superstition and darkness, and | feli over preciplees and agatust roc nd although | he lacked human mpanionship he had the glori- ous company of the everlasting God himself, THE VALLEY OF THE StrADOW | of death waa far below him and he walked this road | right into Heaven, over the bridge that faith had | constructed, The preacher then went on to discuss the relative claims of faith aud plilosoph bases of religious belief. Philose he said, claims | selence and reason as its bases for religious belief, | and its religion consequently diverges into sceptt- cism, pantheism and positivism, REASOD should be the basis of religion, but it show” he | capped by faith, for when reason has raised 1a structure as high as it can reach faith is needed to | | carry the dome of the structure high enough to re- colve the tinge of light that beams from the brow of Heaven, Scelence merely destroys itself. ence Ia simply a diseoverer, and its discoveries consist mainly in discovering that past scientife theories | are false. It la not upon s' ever-shifting fou | tons as these that the Christian religion 1s } | Moses revealed the word of God, the Prophets con- firmed what Moses had revealed, and what the | | Prophets uttered Jesus Christ fulfiied, THE SYSTEM OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF | that God gave to Moses has never been changed or improved, The ten commandments are as fresh, | as strong and as Important now as they were when | Moses received them on the Mount. The preacher couciuded an interesting and very able sermon by wi his hearers to walk in the old paths where ithe ‘good way, and the congregation dispersed. OHUROH OF THE MESSIAH, A City and a Country Life Compared— Both are Alike Made Up of Good and lA City One Presents More Advan- tages and More Temptations=God in Each—Sermon by Professor Young. ‘The services at the Church of the Messiah, corner ot Park avenue and Thirty-fourth street, were yes- terday mornmg conducted for the last time pre- vious to the summer vacation, which will extend until October 8. Professor E. J. Young, of Cam- bridge, occupied the pulpit, and chose for his text Matthew, xxi., 17:—‘He left them and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.” Our characters, he began, are aifected by the cireum- stances of gur condition, THE INDIVIDUAL may be regarded as a representative of the society in which he moves, It ts an old rivalry which exists between the city and the country. Weneed not exaggerate or undervalue the blessings, nor deny the evils attendant on both, Man was made to live in the world. A savage life 1s. not his normal condition, The city is the necessary product of civilization, This is the brain of the social organ- ism; the heart, which receives and sends out the life blood of the people. Here wealth secures the best of everything; here are the museums, the gal- leries of art, the librarics, the theatres and the churches; here inieliectual power is best appreei- ated and rewarded; heve are the ublest men of all enna and professions, By this social contact man Polished and refined, and the larger the Place the more catholle is the spirit, THE GREAT METROPOLIS represents the nation. Lut while in great cities there ts much to gratify, there ia also much to sad- den us. Their evil is inacparatad from the popula- tion, thelr activity and their wealth, In the ex- cessive competition and taxation of brain men Wear out sooner, both physically and mentally. Success is the measure of the man. All are car- ried along by the multitude. Fastiion and custom rule; the Individual must conform to the majority. Here, also, the extremes of human society meet, and there is . A FEARFUL CATALOGUE of crimes and temptations. Thess are increased by the laxity of customs, the unattractiveness of homes, the excitement and glitter of the club room and the street. God 1s easily forgotten in the crowded mart. Everywhere man's works—his ships, his fabrics, his art, his books—engross the thoughts, In the country the fresh air, the simplicity of liv- ing and the moderation in labor must tend to pro- jong existence. A love of nature is a source of the pues pleasure. She meets our varying moods ud responds to the different feelings which agitate our breast, We never feel alone among the works of God. Openness and SIMPLICITY of character are produced in all who yield to these ntle influences, Here were reared the prophets Hhjah and Amos; here Moses, David and Isaiah drew inspiration, and here remained Jesus until ready to do His work. Nature teaches the lesson of dependence. i We must not exaggerate nor idealize the advan- tages of the country any more than those of the city. Each has its bright as well as its dark side. Human jnature is everywhere the same. There are purity, and self-sacrifice, and piety, and the laboring for the underclasses in the city; and there are forms of wickedness and crimes which make their home in tne country, Yet in the latter there are fewer criminals in proportion to the population. The country has LESS BAD AND LESS GOOD than the city. There should be no undervaluings of either, With our present facilities of trave! we can enjoy the benefits of both. We should see good in both, we should see God in both. 8T, STEPHEN'S CHURCH. The pleasant state of the weather yesterday morning had the effect of allowing all persons piously inclined to go to church, and deprived those callons individuals, ever on the look out for some excuse whereby they may postpone thelr prayers, the réquire- of every chance to cavil about ments of the church in the middie of a heated term, These bad people had no chance yesterday morning to plead exhaustion of mind and body as a reason why thelr Sunday devotions should not be performed, and the result was that the churches were well filled with as- pirants for heavenly pabulum. In the Catholic churches the half-past ten o’clock service was well attended, though in most of these the sermon was omitted, the pastors wisely remembering that in such a season as this there could be no knowing What sort of a turn the weather might take. At St. Stephen’s church, in Twenty-eiguth street, there was a noticeable increase in the numbers attending the high mass as compared with Sun- days recently, when even in this large and splendid temple the effect of the heat was most disagreea- bly felt. The high mass was celebrated yesterday by the Rey. Father Lynch, the choir parts being ail sung as fully as usual. The music was very at- tractive, and if lighter compositions could in any way reconcile people for the loss of the sermon, the offertory piece yesterday was suiticiently lack. ing the Gregorian spirit to please the most ardent admirer of brilliant and sparkling phrasing. In the | other parts of the mass more fanililar end, perhaps, more devotional music was sung, some of which was rendered with all the perfection that true artistic efort always commands, Should the weather con- tinne to abate in solar pressure the sermons, doubtless, will be soon resumed at this church. ASSOCIATION HALL, Service of Song and Address by the Rev. W. Martin, of Brooklyn. Association Hall was well filled last evening at the usual weekly service of song. The mectings have been instituted forthe purpose of providing those who are attached to no regular church with a place of devotion in which they can meet on Sunday night. The services on last evening consisted of the singing of choice selections of hymns by the congregation, accompanied by cornopean and orgau playing. The music was of the most a and attractive kind, and the familiar tunes were heartily joined in by all present. After the pinging an address was delivered by the Rev, William Martin, of Brook- lyn, on the importance of salvation, and the ne- ceasity of immediately fleecing from the wrath to come. The address, which was a very telling and convincing one, was illustrated with the tales of individual conversions which came under the personal observation of the lecturer in the course of his ministerial career. At the close of the regular service a prayer meeting was held in the east parlor, a large namber remaining for the | supplementary devotion, despite the heat of the night and the secular attractions of the city streets. BROOKLYN CHURCHES. ——+-———— PLYMOUTH CHURCH, Plymouth Church with the Gilt OMA Simple Service Under Difficultics and Without the Glittering Accessories=A | Sermon on the “Higher Life” by Dr, Edward Beecher. Yesterday this chureh presented the appeas- ance of a theatre en a day rehearsal. eau dience room, or ‘sanctuary,’ was carpetiess; the cushions from the seats of the pews were piled in mountainous heaps; there wel he silent organ and the empty chairs of the choir, The house was inthe hands of the renoyators, the painters and the kalsominers; there was everywhere an empty, vacant, tenantless, deserted look that contrasted strongly with the memory of a sea of up turned faces and all the accessories that usually accompany the performance of the drama of devotion in this well-known temple, There were services, however, yes room, a room erdinartiy used for the Friday even- ing prayer meeting, This also was carpetiess, Even the platform had no ornament, except “The day, in the lecture | | by one of its representatives, the hotels and all the | | | the hour for the commencement of the devotions | the room was not more than two-thirds flied, Theae were not the Cite of the ordinary congrega- tion, There were few ladies in rustling silks or glittering jewelry, no portly matrons, with a long line of marriageable daughters, or pompous fathers, | sleek and purse-proud, who brought up the rear of their households and occupied the end seats of their pews. No carriages drove up to the chureh, depositing a pow-full of regular attendants on the Beecher ministry who had found godliness profitable unto all things, and who at any rate seemed to be making the best of this world. easy to see the social status of those who ma stoall congregation in the lecture room, They were for the most part work girls, clerks and store. keepers, with or without their wives; mechanics, artisans, afew strangers and severa people who cannot get away. There were other incidents that showed the tem- porariness and udressedness of the service. grand plano iu the centre of the room that is to lead the singing at the praver tings wa available, When the organist, Mr. Zundell, went to open it it refused to yield. was tried, but with no other result than that of striking a note on the La that the knife touched, The side parlor that overlooks the lectu froma balcony, was open, and there Ix a telodeon Tt was | upthe | professional | | kingdom of evil « ihe blade of aknife | prayed, “Fathe Ire room, as | | the Garden of F Mount of Olives" stand, filled with Mowers, At | HO Banden & | things, His will was lost in the will of God, | When He foresaw the terrible agony approaching | there used for social parties. This was carried to the front, and after a short prayer a common metre mn was announced. There was no choir, for it was on its vacation. Mr. Zundell played a familiar tune and the egation ; the time Was not well kept; the effect of the sustaining power of forty trained voices was conspicuous by its ab- sence; several of the notes were blurred, and 60 fea was the preacher of a breakdown that in the prayer that followed Divinity itself was notified of the absence of the choir, and was implored not only to mer. the audience in the spirit on the Lora’s day, but to keep their voices in tune also, Judging from the improved character of the etnging that followed, that part of the prayer must have been answered, Dr. Edward Beecher preached in the absence of the pastor, and the subject was the highest form of Christian experience. He chose as the foundation of his subject the First Epistle of John, iv., 7, 10:—‘Beloved, let us love one another, tor love is of God; and ever one that liveth is born of God. He that lovet! not knoweth not God; for God fs love.” God is the electricity of the spiritual universe. It 1s thus that it was understood that God was a consuming fire; God was thus represented asan emotional being, able to burn up the foundations of the earth, an also the mountains, An analysis of emotion as mani- fested in the character of man was heve in order, and was dilated upon from a philosophical point of view at some length. “One of the uncommon forms of Christian experience,” said Mr. Beecher, “was a volgen ae natural beauty, after regene: tion, and an entering into a sympathy with God, One of the more common manifestations was a greater susceptibility to moral beauty. The emo- tions of God were love, justice, truth and right; but it was equally true that He was keenly sensi- tive to all those quaijites that oppose these. It was so with man; and he instanced the treatment of Haynau, the Hungarian butcher, by the London brewers; the Southern atrocities in the civil war; the harlot of the Revelations, and the indignation of the people at the corruption of the Tammany thieves. Notwithstanding all this God had emotions of grief and sorrow. Christ wept over Jerusalem. The final joy of God would be in the full attain- ment of His great plans. This explained What was meant by eternal life. Man is rooted in @ life of selfisiness, but’ what was eternal life? It Was when man was taken out of the soil of selfish- ness and rooted and grounded in faith and love. There were, however, multitudes of seitish men who had no ties to God. They were selfish, proud, garthly, and they were not in sympath; with God. Now the principal question came to this: There was to be a world in which God was to be tie centre, Then, were those whom he was address. ing living in sympathy with God? Were they Rents 1M selfishness or love? Could they enter into the sympathies of God, and had they ever learned to do it A few practical remarks 1o this direction closed the sermon, NEW JERSEY CHURCHES. (OA os ST. PETERS CHURCH, JERSEY OITY. The “Peter's Pence” Collection—Sermon by Father McQuade, 8. J. In St. Peter's church, Jersey City, a col- lection for the Pope was taken up, and the sum of five hundred dollars was realized. Father McQuade ascended the pulpit, and after ex- Plaining the object of the coliection and the necessity of giving the Holy Father a generous support in his present tribu- lations preached from the Gospel of the day which described Christ’s lamentations over Jeru- salem. Christ wept over the doomed city, not on account of the misfortunes of the people, but on account of the impending ruin of that city, He told them that it was because they did not know the day of their visitation. They rejected all those graces which had been offered them; they mocked at the prophets, and even when Christ showed them by His miracles that He was the promised Redeemer they rejected Him with scorn and crucified Him on Mount Calvary. On account of the crime of deicide many of them were subjected to terrible tortures and the city was given up to devastation. Let us reflect on the lesson conveyed in the Gospel, and remember that if we have gone on sinning with impunity the time may come when we shall be precluded from God's grace. Although God’s mercy is above all his works, yet the day will come when we will be shut out from His mercy if we repeatedly reject His graces. We find numerous examples in the Holy Scripture which show that God ¢isited even one sin with great pun- ishment. And although there are exceptions they are sufficient to convince us that we must not rely too much on impunity in sin, Let no man presume to say that becuse God has been 80 merciful as to allow him to go on for years in sin that he will be suffered to continue in crime. One more sin, in addition to those recorded against him, may seal his doom. What has happened to others may happen to us. Can we expect to find mercy at tie hands of God if we go on abusing His patience from year to year? Saint Paul warns us against this by tell- ing us tnat we treasure up for ourselves wrath against the Non of wrath, When our Saviour tells us in the Gospel that the peo- ple of Jerusalem did not know the day of their deliverance; we are called upon to remember that we stand in danger; that the time of our visitation may come upon us and that we will not understand it. In other words the day may come when the mercy of God will be at an end for us, THE BABYLON CHURCHES. SRS aE Sas the Will of God—Sermon by the Rev. J. Wesley Horne. Bawy1on, L. I, July 21, 1872, As was truthfully stated in last Monday's HERALD Do! private residences thrown open for the reception of guests in this attractive region are filled to reple- tion, The roads 1n and about Babylon are thronged every day with the equipages of well-known New Yorkers, some of which are elegant turnouts, and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons the village pre- sents as animated and brilliant a spectacle as can be seen at Newport or any of the leading fashiona- ble resorts. It is to be regretted, however, that here, as else- where, most of the regular attendants at city churches forsake the humble village sanctuary and spend the early hours of the Sabbath in listless in- digerence to the claims of the moral nature, whereas they should respect the place of holy convocation, not only by their presence, but by thelr peenniary oferings, so as to properly sustain divine worship at these summer resorts. Perhaps the main reason why country churches are almost deserted by city people is found in the fact that ‘the dominie,” who is expected by hs parish oners to perform the miracle of suppé¥ting a family upon a mere pittance, cannot measure up to the calibre of a Beecher, a Tyng, a Hall or a Pun- | shon. And yet many of these rural clergymen, too often despised by the devotees of fashion, are equal | in logical power and genuine eloquence to popular | metropolitan divines who dispense the gospel in | palatable doses every Sabbath at handsome sala- ries, Babylon is fortunate in haying its pulpits ably filled. Presbyterian church has for its pastor a talen young man, till recently an occu- pant of a Brook pint while the Methodist con- ‘ ‘ored with the ministrations of the Horne, a frequent contributor to the | relixious press, an able preacher and a genial and cultivated Christian gentleman, Rev, Mr, Horne ysed this morning from Matthe vi, 10— “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” The text, he said, is the second part of the first petition of the Lord's Prayer; and the first and second parts are essentially and intimately connected. For wherever the will of the Lord is done, and in proportion as it is done, there is the kingdom of God com esay the kingdom of God ts come in | the will of God is done | | | world moves, every bird grows, every Mower 1 we rding tothe will of G A great deal is sald in onr day abont the laws and forees and capabili- ties of Nature; but how long shall it take us to learn that the: ut the exp yns of God's | modes of their operation? We | at tn heaven tie kingdom of God ts come, | Recanse therein Js the will of God per- | od jnhdbitants ‘cease not day sings ying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the the whole earth {§ full And ce on earth, we | are told, ngdom of was come; in | len, where everything was “good | for food and pleasant to the eyes,” and God waiked | and talked with man, who was holy and happy in | his Maker's image and likeness, But the kingdom of God—which is that of good—has gone, and the | { of the devil has come and spread itself abroad, because the will of the Lord has been violated and ts violated every day contin. nally, Three principal clements operate to prevent the coming of God's kingdom—the freedom of the will, the varions temptations to which awe are sub- ject, aud the b of confidence in the good will and leasure of C Those points were strikingly illus rated from the history of the race, In praying, therefore, “Thy will be done in earth, as it isin heaven," we must entirely submit our wills to the will of God; we must earnestly ask and avail our | selves of the helpful induence of the Holy Spirit; we should heartily cry, “Lord, Ebelieve: help Thott | my unbelief.’ Tu this, as in other respects, | the Lord Jegus Christ is our great examplar we | $ Ills advent was according to the will of , Lcome » Thy will, 0 God. In His | i He said 1is pagents, sorrowln, “Wist | ye not that T must be about my father’s bi Fathe Laila ines?” ather, save Me feom this hour!’ butcon- | et for this cause came Lunto this hour; ', Mlority Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee!’ and th ihe garden of Gethsemane, He thrice If it be possible, let this’ cup pass My will, bat Thine be done!" n the prayer of the Christian Church shall e been answered, and the “will of God ts done in earth, asit is in Heaven,” then shall Heaven Heerted, |, Boacy Deror, Indian Territory, July 7, 1872, | I started out on foot this Morning for a church two miles from here, at a place called Old Bogey. where the Rey, Allen Wright, a full blood Choctaw, and formerly Governor of the Nation, was to con- duet the services, and to preach in both the English and Choctaw tongues. On nearing the church, however, I heard a sound as of religious services in a neighboring grove, and directed my steps, in that direction, supposing that on account of tha heat the services were being conducted in the ope! alr, Guided by the voice, now rising and now fall- | ing, I made my way toa little grove on the top of a hill, where a sort of shed, open on all sides ang roofed with the branches of trees, had been constructed, Here I found a negro preacher, tall and lusty, holding forth with violent declamatory actions to an audience of some twenty or thirty colored men and youths, who were sitting or lounging on rude planks on one side of the leafy temple, and to a somewhat more numer- ous collection of colored women and children on the other side, who showed more respect for the Place and the occasion in their solemn counte- nances and attedtive attitude. The pulpit con- sisted of an empty dry goods box turned up om end, and innocent of any cover or ornament. The preacher had taken for his text the parable of thé certain rich man who had invited his friends and neighbors to a marriage feast, and who when they, declined coming for various reasons sent out anothet, servant with directions to go to the highways and by-ways and to compel those whom he found there! to come to the feast. The way in which the rever- énd Pompey made the application of Ms text was: certainly entertaining, if not instructive. 1 re gretted that I had not a note book ei pencil with’ me to photograph some of sentences: for presentation in the Monday morning" sermon Lapis of the HeRALp. I remembe: a few only of his good sayings, which were set ot by his peculiarity of dialect and his utter contem for grammar or sense, Read your Bile, he sai from Matroo and de udder apoxtolics all de way Remelations, and you'll find dat all of dem tell yo ‘bout de remsurrection, which am de merri feast spoken of in my text; and when de servante— me and the udders whom de ter has sent out to invite de Y Syed to enter by the twelve olden gates of heaven—Baptist, Meth ‘ampbellite and de rest; and when de Masi asks dem where de guests is, and whe dese handmaids ob de Lord gib in de excusions dat dis one is looking about de deed of # Biss. ob ane Ried he has as puying, ri dat ode: een 8, 1 and gettin’ marrid, and dat all have some Staves attend sre | cannot attend yet awhile to de pasiness of religion, d’yer suppose dat He will send ou! agin to compel them to come in in order dat house may be full? Nutting o’ de kind. He will le them all go to the lake of fire and brimstun. Ans de one guest who has not on de merridge armen who do you suppose he is ? He is one 0’ dese ye! People who say dat if dey lead a Christian life dey, willbe saved; who set upa religion of dare ory and don’t make a profession of religion. But what Says Paul de Apostle to de Philippians? He says,: “God's Ways are not as your ways, nor are ways as God's ways.” And so dis gust widout de meiridge garment will hear de command—“Take him out and bind him hand and foot and frow him! into orter darkness.” But de gust who comes to e feast a wearin’ of the merridge garment will have de Son of Man embracing him and falling on bi neck like de Potticle on his son's neck. And wha' does Mathe say furder on in de chapter I've been readin’ to you? Oh, my bredrem what a blessed book is de Bible! Take de Bible away from Boggy Depot and before a day passes you'll find de power of de Devil growing greater. and greater. We must then strive to get religion, and we never can get ’nufof it, Here the preacher looked at his watch, and said he had not expected to talk so long, as he was not’ in a good condition for talking, but he thought he would just go at it and rough it out. j 1 left when he had concluded, and as I sauntered. down the hill 1 heard the tones of the whole congre~ gation mingling together in the singing of a good) old Methodist hymn, and I thought that whatever, nonsense, in a logical or a theological point of view? the simple-minded preacher might have iIndul ¥ in, his hearers felt the better of his sermon, and were doubtless as much edified and aroused tn their religious sentiment as if they had been Istening to the eloquence of the most famous divine. and wit- nessing the ceremonial performances in any of thé grandest cathedrals in the land. * § SUNDAY IN THE PARK. Our, Manhattan Ont For an Afternoon Airing—The Lakes, the Fountain, the Menagerie and - the People who Patronise Them. “Ride, sir? take ye round the Park for three dole lars, sir.” “This way, sir, Want a nice barouche, sir? Only five dollars, sir, for the party. Show you every- thing in the Park.” And the small salutatory and importuning drove of hack drivers at the Eighth avenue entrance to the Central Park finding their offer ignored swang careless! \{f to seek patronage of another of the continually inpouring groups of pedestrians through the circle at the gates, Speaking of the famous “circle,” which really promises to make the approach to the Park exceedingly attractive, if not imposing, it may be asked whether, after all, Tammany was not magnificent in its treatment of the public—magnificent m= its scale and style of Improvements as well asin the magnitude and effrontery of its robberies? The only trouble with Tammany was that if it undertook to do any- thing for the people it made them pay too dearly for it, and spun out the work to an infamous extent so as tomake it cost. And that is Just why the Filty-nintn street circle at the Eighth avenue entrance has not yet been graced by its fountain and sculptured stone curbings, its shade trees and the other elements of beautification which were wrought in the “mind's eye” of its projectors, A vast concourse of pleasure seekers swept throngh the circle yesterday into the Park, and it seems that the Eighth avenue entrance is in fact the best patronized ofall the approaches to the great Sunday resort, the use of which coats the people so little and yet has cost them so much. At the Fifth avenue gate the visitors—tat is, the larger pro- portion of them—roll into the Park in all the gio; of glossy steeds, of glistening carriage wheels ani luxurious cushions. No vulgar street railroad ae [a out its tribute of visitors in the neighbor- hood of Fifth avenue, and as a consequence this en- trance is the great point of embouchwre for those Who ride in chaises, while the Sixth and Eighth avenues are easiest ap- proached by the class that walks where it picases— | except on the grass. ‘The day was oue of singularly doubt! aspect at the Park yesterday. In the moruing the tempera. ture almost promised areturn to the heated at- mosphere of the carly part of the month. Later, however, a refreshing breeze sprung up and ban- ished the threatened discomfort. But while dis- ling one menace that same southeasterly wind prought up the most direful threat that can posst- bly_impend over a party of open air pleasure- seekers, Great banks of rain-charged clouds swept across Manhattan, casting deep shadows into the foliage of the Park shrubbery, flecking the lakes with foamy ripples, and again changing the sheen of the water to a cold leaden hne, The wind whisked through the trees and clashed their green banners and pines together until the fraying leaflets roared like the surf-voice of a dirtant sea, But still the tide of pleasure seekers rose and poured along the pathways, dotted the Mall, Jounged in reat eddies around the fteriace and fountain, and then whirled itself away again through other channels in quest of the Kaleidoseopic les of hill aud hollow, of woodlaad and waterscape, of roadway and ramble, with which the beautif pleasure ground abounds, At three o'clock the: Terrace and Grand Fountain Plaza was a scene of the rarest animation, The mediwval ba "3 at the boat stairs on the lake flung out their tasselled wings to the breeze, the groups of voy rgeure plunged into and staggered out of the boars, eins ters of children climbed up to the founta! brim to watch the shoals of gold fish playing in the sun, or shrieked with mimic terror as the wind — swept fountain spray into their youthful sun-gilt faeces, Men and women promenaled, and looked and wondered trayed that un: ain the nnd be. SAYS as , “Which place shall we go eo next? On the beach the ever yorman- dising swans chasd the child for dainty morsels of cake, and parents, giving thelr prog the first lessons ip the inculcation conrage, urged their toddling youngsters forwart to feed the indolent water fowl Down the s ¥ road aud under the arch which leads to the holiow where the old Arsenal sits, with embattled towere and stony, gray Visage, great lines of rambiers trooped to “see the animals,” and fairly jammed each other at the doors, both in their eagerness to ot out as well 48 to get into the abode of the ions, the tigers and the wolves, Now « womau faintly shrieks and starts back as the African mon- CONTINUED ON NINTH PAGE.