The New York Herald Newspaper, September 30, 1872, Page 4

‘paver of souls, preached yesterday in the Bedford 4 RELIGIOUS. Another Campaign Sunday for Christian- ity---Return of the Shepherds to Their Flocks. a YHE FEAST OF ST. MICHAEL. Fathers Doucet on the Relations of Man and Angels, MeQuirk on the Certainty of Death and Kane on the “Wed- ding Garment” of the Soul. Madame Pauline Lucca at St. Stephen’s Church. The Plymouth Flock to Their Shepherd Greeting—A Good Send Of for the Winter Campaign. ARCHBISHOP BAILEY’S FAREWELL Dr. Newman on the Blessedness of a Pure Heart and Gavazzi on the Spirit- ual Life in Christ. BEDFORD STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUROH, Sermon by Rev. John P. Newmen, Chap= lain to the United States Scnate—No Politics Introduced. Tho Rey. John P. Newman, the Presidential Street Methodist Episcopal church. So rare an oc- jeasion drew out a multitude of people. The church Palace (which is quite a spacious one) was crowded in every part—fioor, galleries and choir. The repu. fation of the clergyman had drawn together the ‘matin part of this large concourse, and it seemed to be expected that he would speak or at least ftouch upon the momentous issucs of the canvass, ‘as in the last sermon he preached in New York he had made bold to pray to the Almighty that He would grant success to the administration ticket in Ahe coming election. Mr, Newman, however, ab- Atained from all reference to politics in any shape ‘and dwelt solely on eternal issues, He seemed for | ‘the occasion to have forgotten both Grant and Greeley and devoted his energies solely towards the more profitable flelds of everlasting life. Mr. pNewman 1s a very eloquent man, one of the most eloquent indeed among the Methodists. He bears Bomewhat of a likeness to Mr. Beecher—has the jBame manner and the same address, indeed almost the same voice. His gestures have evidently been NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1872.—-TRIPLE SHEET. “now we are united-to our blessed Saviour.” | from side to aide, breaking into billows through the tractive. The sermon was brief and rather peculiar in {ta character, Tho reverend gentleman who delivered it took his text from the Gospel of St. John, in which mention is made of the ladder on which angels were seen descending from heaven toearth and ascending again to heaven, After a Jong and general allasion to the Feast of Michael the Archangel and the creation of the angela the | reverend preacher went on to desoribe how | elevated was their dignity in heaven, how \ close their communteation with the Most MHigt how pure, how vely in covery attribute, | and how powert"t divine agents of heaven | among men doing good, There were those, tad aoc | me who affected to believe that there was ni thing as a personal angel—that the term angel » a rather indefinite one, simply indicative of a spir- itual essence that was not material, Yet the Testament showed that angels were really PERSONAL BEINGS, They were spoken of in the Good Book tu 6 places. For iustance, was it not reco: ded was an angel sent from heaven who slay hand of Abraham when he was about to slay tits only son to please God? In the New tament learn that tt was an angel who gnuounced to Virgin Mary the = gi: tidings of the in nation; that it was an angel who warned Ste be iig of the danger that threatened the Child Saviour, and {bade him fy trom | the wrath of Herod, and was it not, too, an angel | who adminiatered unto tho Saviour when His cla. { lice was at its full, and He was in @ bloody sweat, before the crucifixion? The reverend gentle then continued at some length to describe how attributes of the angela were, each tn itself, reftec- tions of some one of God's .qualitiee—His be ‘lory, His justice, His mercy. In comparison | to them we were, it is true, but very small things | oo earth; yet tt could be truly said that we be- longed to a brotherhood of which the angels were apart. They represented in themseives, in thotr ranks, in their eee the majesty und grent- nessa of God, as did the myriads of stars wo see in the heavens. Their numbers were countless, aud | they surpassed men in their perfection ag greatly as they did io numbers, And yet, he repeate), | they were { fighting tn the eame oauso, strugaling to accom. | htin, iy @ same Cause, struggiing accom. plish he aamie lory for God good men struggiing for, itghting under the same banner—the | banner of the Saviour, There was a time-whon the idea ot the Saviour becoming to them a leader, crea- ted a rebellion in heaven, and, through pride, many angels fell. It wasin like manner in this life that Christians were fighting against the bad angels that encompass ug On all sides bo give the victory to | re SUASE OF GOD, Fach one of us had his own particular guardian | sage, and he communicated to us good thoughts, | ant whleneree to us good resolves; in fact, the angels did ali they could for man to accomplish the end for which he was created. Consequently they were brothers of the same family as men were soldiers of the same army. With every boing of intelligence they held communion, and what peo- ple often attributed to mere “chance” in the mat- ter of narrow escapes, and the regularity of the laws of nature, could be traced to the influence and love of the angels in fulfilling the will of God. What | more than all made MEN AND ANGELS BROTHERS in common, companions in arms, was that all the good they possessed came from Cod, and that alt the good men possessed came also from God, The great love they drow from the Centre of all good they diffused among men, and made them sharera of their happiness. Their silent promptings, their teachings suggested to our minds the smailuess of all things of earth compared with the possessions of heaven, and thus taught us to detach our hearts | from the exclusive LOVE OF THE WORLD and to centre our best affections upon Htm who is the Giver of all good, the Life of all life, the posse: sor of all riches that are everlasting. The reve: end Father then closed by earnestly exhorting the congregation to so live that their lives might not be hateiul to the angela, and thus to obtain a life of eternal beautitude beyond the grave, §T STEPHEN'S CHUROH. Sermon bythe Rev. Father McQuirk— The Certainty of Death and the Prepa- ration Needed for It—Madame Pauline Lucea in Church, Madame Pauline Lucca attended the high mass ptudied in the same school of vehemence, and his most remarkable points seem to have been taken from that celebrated divine. His periods are drawn up suddenly in the same way, though his riginality of thought, of course, is not so striking, ot so intense. Still Mr. Newman is one of the | most remarkable clergymen of the country, and is certainly worth hearing. He spoke from the text im the Sermon on the Mount—‘Blessed | are the pure in heart, for they shall see | God.” He opened with a terse description of the difference between devotion and piety, and portrayed his voyage from Suez to the Holy Laud, here the Mohammedan guide daily performed its ablutions and prostrated himseif with his Yace towards the East, and constantly described | the beauties of the Heaven he was about to see, and yet the next day he would as soon cut a throat fs roba caravan. “It was the same with the Cath- olic,” said Mi “who would enter his church, prostrate himself, go to confession, pray to | the Blessed Virgin, and show the utmost contrition Jor his sins; and yet the moment of leaving the | church he would ‘forget all about his previous sanctity and rush into some brawl. Tiis was devo. tion without plety.” The preacher dwelt on the necessity of being everywhere pious. To | use the words of the ipture, Vhat- | spoever & man doeth, eat and == drink. | eth, let it be to the glory of God.” A man should de a walking embodiment of the millennium. He should not certainly be a mau whose purity sits in judgment on other men, There were many re- ligious people who went about censorious in spirit, Shouting the loudest, making the most profession, | and then go to work to run down their neighbors, This was spurious purity. It was a monopoly of | sanctity and was false, inasinuch as it measured | men by its standard. Every one had not the same manner of showing piety, and it was wrong to set a standard for every one to keep up to. There was a great difference between justification | and sanctification. Many imagined themselves | sanctified, whereas others more wise only cared | to be justified by their works. The reverend gentle- man then went on to say he thauked God he was a Methodist. There was a glorious present and a glorious iuture for Methodists. He told the anecdote of two Jews who stopped in front of a Methodist church, and one asked, “What is a Methodist?’ and the other | answered, “It's a man who believes he is going to heaven alive.” And 80 we do, said the preacher. The Old Testament says:—‘“Sanctify thyself and obey Lord thy God.” The New Testament says:—“Without holiness no man shail see God.” | The impartiality of God is shown in history. He spared not the first angel who fell from heaven to hell. He spared not the first woman. He spared | not David, the man after His own heart. He spared not Judas, the arch betrayer. Jt isa fearful thing to measure the requisitions of the jivine law, When he, the preacher, stood at heaven's gate and | wanted to go in he would call Christ out and ask Him to let him in, and He woula do it, because without Christ there is no salvation, There is a { manifest fitness in all things, ‘There is a fitness in a soldier being brave, there is a fitness in a triend being trac, and there is a iitness in a man being pure. The eye of the ow! was for the night, | the eye of the fish was for the water, the eye of the | eagle was for the mountain. So man was made for | God—not for one another, not for this world, but for ge! ana infinite companionship with God, “I love them that love me,” said Christ, “I call you not my servants, put i call you friends.” We Were d-stined for a complete unify aud companton- ship and similarity of purpose with God, His resence is everywhere—in heaven and earth and hell, and everywuere He is happy. God is at present invisible to us, but His invisibility is the result of sin. There is nothing more clearly de- | monstrated in the Testaments, in the days of man’s infancy he had a divine presence. “He walked in the Garden of Eden in the coo) of the day.” But we need not despair, for “Bicssed are the pure in heart, for they shall sce God,"’ 8T, FRAWCIS XAVIER'S CHURCH, Return of the Fashtonables from | ‘wh the Country—Sermon by the Rev, Father Doucet—The Administerings of the Angels and Their Relations with Mankina. The cool weather yesterdayshad the effect of filling St. Francis Xavier's church with a large ma- jority of the regular congregation, whose faces have been missed during the Summer months, In- deed nearly all the old and of course pious habitués (isthe term sacriligious in this connec tion ?) were on hand, the gentlemen iooking brown as berries from their out-of-(own tramp in the | country, and the ladies, if not a shade or two darker than their wont, raddier and heartier, and, of course, prettier than ever. How long be‘ore the excessive signs of + A PIOUS WINTER LIVE will change the bright complexions of the pious Ones to the color of the saintly monk, whose chicf staple of subsistence is hard bread and cold water, and that not three times a day, is a question which can only be answered properly some time next | June. At ali events, It may now be safely said that the fashionwbies of $1, Francis Xavier, having had a summer sutfeit of sea side and mountain breezes, areallagain “at home,’ churchwise speaking as | Well as domestical\y speaking, and that the religious fervor of the congregation will not be lacking fn its | old time spirit of that rarity called Christian charity whén the cries of the poor and the needy make themselves heard during the dreary days of the approaching months of winter, THE SERVICES were of the usually tinpressive character yesterday, Jt is only necessary to say that Professor Berge presided at the organ to indicate that the musical ; \ partol tie services was by uo means the least at- | | and gentlemen made up their minds that Madame ; Madame Lucca and her waiting maid. | middle aisle, who at once recognized her and con- | When, not feeling very well, or perhaps fearing that | would understand, and would provide for their last | asword hanging over us, suspended by a hatr, it | moment to be less heeded than one that will not come until the lapse | of a certain number of years? Because we | ashes.” Be | shadow, a8 a mere time of probation. | we be attached to this world? at this church yesterday morning. The great cantatrice came very modestly ané seemed not to desire to attract any attention. It was known to many of the musical members of the congrega- tion of St. Stephen’s that she was to come, put as THE GIFTED LITTLE LADY did not arrive promptly at half-psst ten o’clock, the hour for the beginning of the service, these ladies Lucca was afraid to brave the threatening rain storm, and, being considerably chagrined, they went to their own devotions. While the “Gloria” was being sung, however, a carriage, with liveried servants, drove up to the church door in Twenty- eighth street, and out of the vehicle stepped The charm- ing cantatrice very quietly and modestly then presented herself to the courteous usher of the ducted her to a pew he had reserved for her. She then devoted herself to her prayers with seeming great devotion, until the “Credo” had been sung, astorm might overtake her, she left the church as quietly as she had entered it, She expressed her- self as delighted with the gorgeous altars and paint- ings of St. Stephen's and with the manner in | which the service was conducted.» The mass sung by the choir, under the direction of the organist, Mr. Dantorth, was Generaii’s in C, all the singers acquitting themselves well, though there has been better singing here at times, when, perhaps, the singers themselves cared less for a good display. The contralto solo, “Qui Sedes,"' of the “Credo” was sung by Mile. Munier, the “Benedictus,” at the offertory being given by Miss Howson, the soprano. Signor Coletti and Signor Bernhardt were in their places as usual, but neither was in an enthusiastic vein. igh mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father Lynch. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Father McQuirk, who took his text from Deuteron- omy, Xxxil., 20—* Oh, that they would be wise. and nd!) When Adam fell histsoul was deprived, not, indeed, of immortality, but of an immortality of bliss, Adam, immortal while he stood in the grace and favor of God, became mortal when he sinned. Thus, as the Apostle says, “It was by sin that death entered into the world.” Nor was the sentence of death pronounced against Adam alone, for “ death hath passed upon all men in whom all have sinned.” Nothing is more certain than that itis appointed for all men once to die, and yet nothing is more uncertain than that appointed time. Why, then, do we not reflect oftener on death; and when we do reflect wh ‘e We not tilled with alarm at THE APPALLING FACT that some day, cooner or later, we must all dic, and after death be judged—that upon the judgment then pronounced depends eternal happiness or eternal misery? wria dealt hould this thought fill us with consternation, as our death is attended with circumstances most calculated to excite ap- prehension and dread. We know not the day nor the hour when death may come, and what could be more calculated to make us think often of death than this alarming uncertainty tn which we live of the hour at which it may visit us? What coult more efficaciously detach us from this life and keep us always mindful of the life to come than the consideration that we may at any moment summoned before the tribunal of God, there to answer for all oar thoughts, words and actions? If we could only thor- oughly possess ourselves of the appalling truth that we may at any moment die—that death is like be Almighty would incessantly occupy our thoughts, free’ us from all attachments here below, and be the best | ntive against sin and the surest stay of our | Yet, strange to say, this very UNCERTAINTY OF THE BER OF OUR DAYS which is so well suited to render us vigilant is that | which renders us thoughtless, The very uncer- tainty lulls us to sleep. What imprudence can be greater than this? Was it prudent in the servant mentioned in the Gospel, upon the pretence that | the time of his Master's coming was uncertain, to waste his substance as if he would have no account to render? Is @ death which may occur at any | die at any moment, shail we live as if we were y insecurity in whicl ‘ard to death be made the vi and indifference ¢ Nor rh by saying that rie chan The experience of h Death is not nt. No human power can prevent it, inst it as the world mayyit is the victor in the end—it m “dust todust and ashes to pd that there is not a single moment which may your last, even that THIS PR MOMENT we justity our unc of living are in our favor, of us forbids such a foolish thought. Revorend At | is not passing without the death of some one. Ww is the surety of our not dying at any ent? Isit to be found in youth, in strength, edom from discaser We have ail seen the fallacy of such & supposition at some time in our | lives, But if the uncertainty of the time of death | should induce us frequently to consider this sub- | ject, the certainty ot death at some thine ought also be @ more powerful motive for constant meditation | on it. What is more suited to keep death vividiy before the mind than the solemn truth that we must all one day die? This consideration of the | certainty of death separated tie saints (rom all inordinate attachment to this world and fixed their minds on the world to come, Its frequent consideration would affect similar results in us, Soon our hearts would sigh for other than this , world’s pleasures, and we would soon learn to esil- mate the world at its true vaine—as a fleeting Why should What is but a dream? Is it reason, is dt prudence, to at | tach ourselves to things which must #0 sudn per- ish, and&nus | SACRIFION THE GOOD WHICH ENDURETH FOREVER It 18 strange to think how thick a darkness | obscures the soul of man concerning his death—of man 80 reasonable, so prudent, so far-see- ing in that ‘concerns hig temporal good, It is diMcult to understand how men, who are so intensely affected because of some calamity, should never even for @ moment think of that which ought to be as far above all other thoughts as eternity su LJ time, a8 heaven is above earth. How insensible it ta that we should waste all the strength of our body, | exhaust all the resources of our mind, to avert some temporal loss, and oe Make no preparation for death, nor even think of the necessity of dying in the grace of God! [tis only the grace of Goa tha’ this obduracy and enlighten this blind- Lot us, then, beseech of God to iumine us light of the Holy Spirtt, that we may think of death now a8 we shoil think of it at the moment wheu He may be p d to send it, SL PATRIOK'S OATHEDRAL, Sermon by Rov. John Kene—Exposition of the Sanday’s Gospel—Sanetifying GraceThe “Wedding Garment” of the SouteWhen It Is Kestowed, How It Is Lost aad How Regaincu=¥ts Neceusity, Precionsness and Bikect, The cathedral was, as usual, exceedingly woll dlted in every avatlabie part, clebrant of the ag was Roy. Father McNamee, The usual num- bor of acolytes assisted in the sanctuary, Themasa reuvered by the organist and choir was altogether new and recently brought from Rome by the Most libishop. It ts composed by Pedro lie beat parts were the “Laudamus Te!’ ria,” adnette for soprano and alto, aung . Ohome and Mrs. Unger; the “Cum Sancto by Mm, Spiritn,” in ful chorea, and the “Ave Maria’ at the offertory. ~ Aller the singing of the epistie and gospel by the celebrant . THE Way, HER KANB ascended the pulpit, made the requisite announce- ments and read the gospel of the day from St. Maithow, xxiL., 2-14, from which he selected the oleventh verse as his text:—“And the King went in to seo the guests, and saw there @ man who had not on a wedding garment.” The gospel referred to the p }ie which Christ had spoken to the bes and Pharisees, Me ttkened the kingdom od fo & king who had prepared a marriage st (or his eon, and those who were mvited to the 3t were not present at the appointed hour, The King pronounced them unworthy, and ordered them to be cast into exterior darkness, where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He whom the King found at the wedding feast without the wedding garment underwent the same judgment and punishment, because he went to the marriage feast, but went unprepared, The importance of this Gospel narra- tive is manifest. It presents to the minds of all the striking truth that all, without exception, are invited to a place at the celestial banquet, and that this call, prompted by the charity of the sacred heart of Jesus Christ, should be neither treated with neglect, disrespect nor contumely, but should be harkened to with immediate attention. Christ founded His Church, and authorized His Apostles to invite all to participate in the banquet prepared for them in the sacrament of His ive. But, alas! although all are favored with this special invitation, how few avail themselves of the prof: fered opportunity, and out of those who do come how few appear with the wedding garment, for “many are called but few are chosen.” Men now- adays are too anxious about their money, their farms and their merchandise to attend to the great question of their eternal salvation. Nay, renve- senting those who destroyed the servants of the Lord who went to invite the Scribes and Pharisees to the wedding feast, they treasure up a con- tinual hate for those who would fain instruct them. On the other hand, although many do come to this feast of love, who among them can be found with this onde rany mysterious, but glorious weddin; garment, which is mentioned in the Gospel? It is there also we can picture to ourselves the King going around inquiring, ‘Friend, where is thy wed ing. garment?’ and saying to him who is silent, “Let him be cast into exterior darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Oh! how many there are of all the human race on whom this terrible punishment is inflicted and who are destined through their own neglect to endure in a similar way HELL'S INTERMINABLE WOR, one My the King of Kings shall visit us all and ut us the same dreadful question, “Friend, where is thy wedding garment ?” and when His omnipo- tent glance lights upon us at the evening of life how shall we be prepared to answer, and shall the judgment of a just God be for our everlasting bene- fit or our final condemnation ¢ This we know not. It rests entirely with God to foresee the destinies of so terrible a mom@nt; but when the day shall come when We are to stand before the gaze of that scrutinizing King it would be well that all should have on the wedding garment. WHAT IS THIS WEDDING GARMPNT mentioned in beg te hie ed a to whixh there is so much importance attached? 1t is something which renders the soul so pure, bright and refulgent, that God Himself 1s 1orced to love it. It is nothing else than the beauteous, significant mark of sanctifying grace; that which makes all children and friends of God and which draws an_ obvious line of dis- tinction between the saint and the sinner. We re- ceived this lovely garment in baptism when our souls were rendered pure and chaste in the eyes of God ana His saints. But the effects of sin soon sul- lied its white robes, and we were deprived of it again. It was then lost; but the priests of the Church, through that power which the Divine com- mission had given them, placed that wedding gar- ment again upon usin the sacrament of Penance, It_was that germent that ornamented the soul ‘ofthe Blessed Virgin and made her so pure and im- maculate. It was it also which gave to the saints the glorious character and beatitude to which they aspired, for it was the sole aim of their lives to or- nament it with good works and charitable deeds, HOW PRECIOUS, THIS GARMENT OF LOVE | Without it we can do nothing, We hang on in con- nection with the Church, but only like dead branches to an evergreen tree. We have no share in its growth, its development or its fruits. We are its dead members, and only serve to weaken its strength. But by striving, by clinging to the pro- tection which it still affords us, and by praying ler- vently for renewed life and vigor, God may ut last open our eyes to a knowledge of our own weakness and lead u8 to that point where we may see the ne- cessity of putting on our wedding garment. This wedding garment, by which grace is, as It were, personified, 13 a free gift of God given to us even before we could merit it. It stamps the sou with one glorious mark of recognition, Have we ever had it on? Yes, in baptism we received It. Have we it on now! Let each one answer for himseif. If we had it on once, how long did Wé keep it ? Perhaps not even to the termination of childhoog, But are ow few can sneer that the: now p sles free from sin} and oh how happ; that few must feel! You, too, have been invited, and sue have not put on the wedding garment, But if it be precious, how grevious the sin of those who by scandal have led others to lose it, Let those parents answer who give bad example to their chil- dren, Let seducers answer who have led othersinto the way of ruin and the occasions of sin. How care- ful then ought we be to preserve those “little ones of Christ” jrom ever losing this beautiful wedding garment. Mark the agony of the little child when the first tear of repentance steals down its cheeks, after the devil has obtained his first victory over ts soul. Ah, yes, itis a pure, precious gift Which gives Lg dab soo tranquility and peace, Once Jost, how are we to ae on this precious arment of grace? You well know it is only b: aving recourse to the sacrament of penance. If this be known to you, you must certain) have recourse to it, or be subject to the con- demnation mentioned in the gospel. But is it sufficient to ea it? No; we must ornament it with the precious stones of alms-deeds and good works; And here we trace the distinction between the saints and us. ‘The saints developed and ornamented the talents they received, but we wonld fain go into heayen With one talent unornamented. ‘The lesson to be deduced, therefore, from this day's gospel is this:— ‘That if we do not possess this wedding garment, if we are not in the state of grace, we should seek it as soon as possible by having recourse to the sacrament of penance, and when we are asked in the evening of our lives, “Have you on the wedding garment ’” and are able to answer in the afirma- tive, God will look upon us with pleasure and in- vite us to sit beside him at the celestial banquet for all eternity. SEVENTEENTH STREET METHODIST EPIs- COPAL CHURCH, Father Gavazzi On the Spiritual Lite Imparted By Christ-Parting Words of the Great Ex-Priest—Collection for His Italian Free Church, Seventeenth Street Methodist Eplacopal church, near First avenue, was well filled yesterday by a congregation many of Whom were brought thither by the announcement that the great Italian ex- priest, Father Gavazzl, was to preach there. The Father read part of the eleventh chapter of St. John, from the twenty-fifth verse of which he preached an able and in his own peculiar style an eloquent sermon on the spiritual life which Jesus Christ gives to all believers. God, he said, created the sun to be the ight of the material universe,but He ed the firmament and the light first «nd when Heaven and light were created then He created the sun to give life and light to the world, Jesus Christ, too, is the Way and the life and the light and the truth of mankind, He fs the truth of life and the life of truth and he (the preacher) was giad to stand there on this, his last Sunday morning to America, to stand by Jesus Christ. He ts the life of the worid because He made the life and gave the life and He sustains the life, “You see,’ said he There are two ways of making life, namely—by creation and by restoration, We are alive in Christ Jesus, for He says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and Paul says to my Romans we are all sinners in Adam; but not im Adam’s actual transgression, but in his spiritual sin. We are all dead in Adam because the wages of sin is death. But God does not punish me because Adam sinned, No, no. He is not moved by passion as we are, but we speak of Him a3 only we can do so humanly as we know of Him, He has no hatred tn His heart toward us, But we are, nevertheless, CHILDREN OF WKATE EVEN AS OTHERS. God does not hate man, whom He has created, but he hates sin, which Ho has not created. Father Gavazzi illustrated this point by a mother picking up her child out of & mud pool into which it had falien even aftor she had warned it of its danger. The mother does not hate her child, though she may have an intense dislike to the mud and defllement that covers it, Kven 80 God does not hate us, but Mo does hate the corruption and sin which covers us, And that God might wash us and restore us to purity again He sent His Son into the world, that whosoever believeth in Him might be saved, Hence you see that God gives us that new life, and Christ is that lile. God could not atone for ua, for that would be contrary to all the logic of. the case that the ofended should make reconcillati with himself for the sins of others; and man could not atone, for he is the offender, But Jesus Christ united the two natures—the human and the divine—aad with one hand on God and the other on man He could and did atone for us, Hence you see God was in Christ reconciling the world unto. Himself, And hence, said the Father, Jesus is my platform, m; uipit, iny croed, my hymn book, my all in all. hat did Christ como into the world for? He says Himself He came to-do the will of His Father in Heaven, And what ts that will, This ts the will of Gon, even our gatvation, But to accomplish our salvation Christ must have had a will of His own also. And this He tells ushe had, What then? If God wills our salvation must every one be saved as tho Univeraalists beliove? No, no. But Christ giveth to every man that cometh into the world race to belicve and to be aaved if he will, Hence Ho says whoaoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die, and he that belleveth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall ho tive. BELIRVEST TROU THIS? The man that comes to Christ ts a dead man until quickened by the Spirit into a new life, But in Christ he receives, not only ife, but immortality also, True he may have peace in the world, but tt is a worldly peace, which cannot satisfy the soul and without God he is dead in sins, But Christ says to such a one, ‘Though he were dead yet shall he live, if he believes inme.’? We receive that new life oe faith in Christ. We ure justitied by believin, in Him; and He not only gives us that new an spiritual lite but he keeps it in us, and hence Paul says in him we live, and move, and have our being. And while a man nas life in him you can’t say heisa dead man, But he has a free will, and is never impeccable, If he sins and loves his sins he is no longer a child of God, for John says that the child of God will not sin because the spiritual seed re- maineth {a him, Butifa man fails into tempta- tlon that is diferent from being an obdurate si ner, And yet if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. What, then, shall we sin again and repent and sin and repent again? God forbid. In this spiritual life not to go forward is to go backward, Motion is caused by heat, and heat is the source of life, If we want to move we must have a mover, and itis God who worketh in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, So that we have God the mover and the life of the soul. And the life is in the blood. But there Is a difference in the blood of achild and that ofa man. The former is thin and clear, the latter thick and dark. When we are first born into the kingdom of God we are spiritual babies, and as Paul says, we speak and think as children, but when we become men we put away childish things. The Father then exhorted the congregation to take care of the faith that was delivered to the saints, He had tound, in his tour through the United States, a strong tendency to ritualism—not in one church alone, but in several, and be bade them beware of the beginnings, RITUALISM MEANS ROMANISM and Romanism means the putting away of Christ and bringing forward saints and angels and virgins and popes and pictures. You know, sald he,-thuse planets that are farthest away from tle sun have, and have need of a great many satellites to reflect the light of the sun. But ey and Venus have no satellites. They bathe in the pure sunlight. Theretore, my friends, said he, keep close to Jesus and you wont need alt those saints and martyrs and Virgins, &c., which the Church of Rome pre- sents to its votaries. A collection was taken uj ater the sermon for Father Gavazzi's Free Churcl of Italy. The eloquent Father will start for his home on Wednesday next, and yesterday was bis last Sabbath in America, ORDINATION OF REV. A. M. WYLIE AS AS8SO- OIATE MINISTER OF THE FIRST REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN OHURCH. The First Reformed Presbyterian church, West Twelfth street, near Sixth avenud, was filled with a large audience, to witness the ordination of Rev. A. M. Wylie as assistant minister to the Rev. Dr. J. N. McLeod. A commission of the North- ern Presbytery were present. The Rev. Mr. Woodside, of Brooklyn, opened the services and delivered the sermon, Rev, Dr. McLeod presided, The text upon which the sermon was a dissertation was taken from Jonah, fil, a embodying the command of the Almighty for Jonah to go on his mission to Ningveh, and the preacher drew from it that the command was in force at the present day, and that the Lord still calls for his servants to go out into the Nineveh of the world and preach the Gospel. The charge to the congregation was delivered by Rey. Dr. McLeod, The charge was given to the candidate for ordination by Dr. Mofiit, of Brooklyn, and the constitutional questions and ordination prayer were given by Rey. Dr. McLeod. After benediction the large congregation slowly adjourned, BROOKLYN CHURCHES. PLYMOUTH CHURCH. Welcome of the Returned Pastor=The Crowded Congregation=Sermon on Hu= man Character and Its Development, by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher=The Destiny of Man and the Road to Salva- tion—The Doctrine of Perfection Re- futed=—The Silver Wedding of the Church. Like a humble stream of the vale a small, thin tide of church-goers began to fill the cars yester- day morming before the earliest chimes of the pre- monitor¥ bells had ceased their melody, but which, as it rolled, swelled and swelled until the vehicles were closely packed with patient humanity, and until the poor beasts which dragged them tugged with almost despairing struggles, and asif ani- mated by a heroic purpose, It was strange, now- ever, that there seemed but one direction of the current, What portion of it was dropped by the wayside and diverged to some dif- ferent object was succeeded by a larger addition, which more than filied the vacated space and sweiled still more the main tide, Pleasant but not selfish expressions of joy beamed upon all the faces that one met, and the chit-chat was soft in tone and vivant in accent. You might have been riding down Fulton avenue jammed amid a throng of people, who were them- selves in ag helpless and uncoinfortable a predica- ment, but that there was any disgust or displeasure felt was an idea so foreign to the scene that it could never occur, “What! are you going, too?’ sald a silvery voice, Look around and you see a bdlonde-haired and beautiful girl speaking to a tall, erect old gen- tleman, with white locks, and features whose physiognomy is noble and atu&ctive. “Yes; tobe sure, It’s the first since bis return,” “We thought we should see everybody we knew,” sald a dark, vivacious creature, whe seemed to be his daughter. Yes; Beecher's opening sermon; that was the magnet of anticipation that prompted the heart and fotellect of the strong streant of human kind, dressed in Sunday attire and indulging in the cheering repose of Sunday thoughts. Through the modest portals of the great and famed temple the strong stream was sweeping, but softly, as its type of the meadows bedded with moss would re- turn through a fissure of the rocks {nto a chamber of crystals mingling with purer water. The wide interior became a@ rippling sea, human individu. ality condensed, compressed into an immense entity of intelligence, hope, expectation, perhaps faith. First, THE LEVEL EXPANSR OF FACES forming the audieuce, which filled the main floor with youth and age, contrasting weaith and in- diferent circumstances, elegance and plainness, beanty and lack of it; ® vast blending of colors and forms which made a spectacle that was grand if not esthetic and moving If not beautiful. Above is the ampitheatre, which, with its crowded shades | of dark and light, looked ke the verge of a | Precwirg, VID ite cd Pere dherme It, while stil) higher uy Ts a smaner ledge Wnere | the same tremulous ripple {s hanging, but is not so | light or glistening. inner portals of the vestibules, where the outskirts of the sea are leas calm and content. A sudden reflection as the thousands of faces are lifted like sunlight touching the gentle crests of ripples, ar 4 you turn to look toward the altar, where, behind it and in the pul stands, with his fine gray head bent betore “4 people, Beecher, then greatest orator. The grand, mellow volume of melody from the Organ has subsided, and, rising, the choir and people and their pastor burst into A MAJESTY OF SONG in which the Coan toned, accompaniment 1s only heard at the interludes, and so brief and exquisite are they that they seem like pauses in adream, A Prayer, another hymn, @ cheerful familiar talk from ‘he pastor about the olden times of the church, Whose anniversary of @ quarter of a century—her “liver wedding”—is about to be celebrated, then the text 1s announced and the sermon begun. It is not after all 2 sermon—a homily—but a train of lu- minous thought, distinctly and earnestly impressed upon the hearers, who at times smile at a bril- lant witticism are entranced by agleam ofhistrionic gentes, or are brought to the verge of teara by a nder, searching pathos. The sun draws up the spray of the sea and it then returns again in gentle CELEBRATION OF THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH. Mr. Beecher, before he entered upon his dis- course for the day, remarked that the next week would be devoted to the celebration of the twenty-filth anniversary of the founding of the church and of his settlement in the ministry. It was @ domestic and family service, a household affair, for the reason that at Other times the mem- bers had no seclusion of mutual and confidential intercourse, as nis church had been essentially the public's instead of the temple of a few. It would seom that a week of celebration would be macin, @ great fuss about a small affair, but the number ot members was sO great that all could not get into the church on one day, and go the services were to be performed on different days. Monday and Tucedey would be set apart for the children their sabbath teachers; on Wednes- day would be a social reunion; Thursday would be devoted to the historic features of the occasion, and Friday to prayer and communion services. Prayer. mectings would occur on every morning of the week at eight o'clock, THE SERMON. His text was taken from Ephesians, I., 25, 23:— ay fore, I also after I heard of your faith tn the Lo us, and lore unto all- the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, makin, mention of you In my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being en- Henvense, that ye may know what {s the Hope of calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”’ ie * * > « “ « Paul's selection of the topics of his prayer for the disciples of Christ was eminent in these re- spects—in its exalted view of the work of the divine spirit in this world, and in its large, sublime intimation of what religion means in the heart of man, The word was dim, so to speak, with the un- disclosed glory and power of Christ to effect in men that character which was so noble and exalted. There were two grand ideas unfolded in this state- ment of what he was accustomed to do, THE DESTINY OF MAN was revealed in Christ, and Christ Himsctf was the supreme power and influence by which that destiny was to be accomplished. Great as this promise impossibl A a a ea : of poetry, ly of ansgendental —_ proptiec' of Christ iy? er repr Botatine the theme of embodied Joy in a hap- anticipati will be of consummate: piness in inheritance. A view of the development of human character was most fit now when 80 much was disclosed of the past of men. The anti- thesis, then, the future and its opening, might well deserve consideration, The character of man orig- inally is poor indeed—abject in condition, feeble in emotion, with mutual distrust. Nor will the best of men bear too close Seer Human character is made up of weaknesses. There are clearages made as in the forest; only stumps of trees remain in some places, but all around and about them is the wilderness still, To expect ever to see har- mony and perfection seems a dream—the madness of a poet—and yet this is to be. Whatever dis- crepancy exists between the different positions of the human race, from high to low, THE FUTURE 1S NOT LEFT IN DOUBT with respect to man as a spiritual being. Whether the dream was true or not he did not propose to argue. Supposing it to be true, the most tran- scendental vision the world ever knew. is that opened by Jesus Christ of the destiny of the human race in the ages to come, when they shall be in- cluded in the perfection of Christ, in that far-off scene where re aed will be consummated. All men have hours in which they see and do not think. Men of genius now and then are luminous in this way. From their souls they throw light upon things and know without reasoning. ‘This light burns but as the dull lamp of oil, yet it is to glow brighter than the starry light, than the sunlight of day. We are to be par- takers of the Divine nature. The time will come when all lives will have their golden threads run- ning through them—in the day when this bright side of the human character will be developed to the full. We are to be not only sons of God, but heirs of Christ, equal with him and to walk side by side, all distance swallowed though we shall not partake of the Divine nature in the sense of infinity, yct shall we as companions of God. Christ” is not revealed as a fetish or as a philosophical problem. There ts that in Him which ministers to philosophy and gives to superstition some worth; it ought to bewilder the poct with joy and make prophecy spread its wings like the eagle to the sun. He is 80 related to the glorification and development of the human race as to be all in all—architect, engineer, schoolmaster, father and brother, Saviour—the great Artificer for the development of human souls, until they reach the maximum of heaven and joy. THE ROAD TO SALVATION is that man shall be worth saving. The preacher asked with impassioned eloquence what had been the end and aim of all his ministry but to inspire men to enthusiasm in the longing to be saved? But salvation was to him a transformation, an inspira- tion, a Godlikeneas, a Christlikeness. It was not @ oor, beggarly hiding from storms. It was a pos- itive, energetic strength, becoming like unto God. There was & great want of light, liberty, life, beauty a joyfulness in the experience of average Chris- ang. This world was sucha world that the traits of human excellence were not attained until we got out of it, and not till then would be shown the full power and beauty of human character. ae vest man comes to his death without having all this glor: and goodness that is mentioned in the Bible, an when he is gone it is far better than it would be if he were alive. Children, when they have been a torment to a whole neighborhood, are much better thought of when they are sent to school and kept out of mischief, The kinder feclings preponderate towards fhe eneur ff & person after death. This Adufation Is founded in afi amiabie cause; and, 23 an amusement, I do not know of anything more pleasant than the doctrine of perfection. (Laugh- ter.) The preacher closed by summing up his argu- ment that the full growth of human character came not until after death. SEVENTH AVENUE METHODIST EPISCOPAL OHUROH, Sermon by Dr. Wild on the Strength and Death of Sin, the Victory of Qualifi- cation and Consolation. The services at the Seventh avenue Methodist | Episcopal church yesterday morning were decidedly beautiful and impressive, The choir added their efficient ald to the effect by singing, under the leadership of Mr. Marston (conductor and organist), the beautiful anthem, “Glory be to God on High,’ after which the pastor, Dr. Wild, delivered the fol- lowing sermon, selecting his text from the First | Corinthians xv., 66:—‘The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.’ Man isa respon- sible and accountable agent. Responsibility guards and implies the proper use of all we now have, and accountability takes into consideration what we should have had and been, Our peace and safety are guaranteed when we live in harmony with the established laws of the universe. In law man has the measure of his own obligations and the true limits of the sphere of freedom. By law we have a knowiedge of freedom, its nature and extent. Every good law conserves individual and universal good, and self-interest and right beau- tiously blend to constrain us to keep the same. The social and compact form of society—man’s re- | lation to man—puts it within the reach of a person of pure motive and active be gales to accomplish a good aud great work even in this short life, THIS MUTUAL RELATION furnishes a double motive for the performance of good and abstinence from evil. Truly every man may find in himself a constitutional reason in favor of virtue and piety; a reason that will Increase in weight and ciearness as life shortens and the ability to do good lessens, There are few goods or evils that end their force on the actor or that in- uence usaione in time. Sin kilis beyond the tomb and virtue ennobles there. Sin has entered into the world, and with it the sad sequences of sorrow, suffering and death, But through Christ we have victory over sin and death, THE VICTORY OF QUALIFICATION AND CONSOLATION. Man is a moral agent, and that implies that he is intelligent, and that the intelligence be of a cer- tain kind—a kind distinct from that of the beast of the field, or clrild or an insane person. This tatellt gence must be of a certain quantity a3 well’as quality. ee eer is fot found in bodily size or age, but inthe moral quality and quantity of knowledge. A moral agent must not only be in- telligent, but he must be free, namely, in person and act. The law must not demand of such an agent the performance of that which in itself is impos- sible, nor that which the agent has not ability in himseif to meet and do, Amy person or creature so intelligent and so free wader law answering orm) agent, capable Pratt ea, Rot “SUT. To Keep the jaw'is life and righteousness, and to break It is sin and death, Man was originally placed under law— law that at once declares his freedom and compe- But suddenly, a8 you gaze, the tdea of animate life returns, A movement—a strong wave passes tence to meet tts requirements, But the law was broken, hence sin and death entered the world. Federal relation implies la Adam's descendants WO of geri can enter there, we have life more abundantly al lieving. The law alone would ex- clude a child from heaven, for infan law we be enough to condemn. But the law of grace in Christ all iniants are sav For their corruption of body and evil bias of mind are sequences, not implying responsibility in them, but in some one before them—thus as through nother they are made defective—so shrougp another, even Christ, they are made perfect In our childhood we are uncon con- demned, and unconditionally saved. In man| we are of ourselves, willing lost or willing saved. But even im manhood the law alone wo demn, and excludes us from heaven; for th saved by faith, we yet have corrupt bodies, and are defective in purity of spirit. But in Christ we have the victory of Megson dion, As Paul says to the Phihppians—‘‘And be found in Him, not hat mine own righteousness, which is of the law, bul that which through the faith of Chriat, righteousness which is of God by faith.’ STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW. By this expression the apostie means the force and clearness of ain a seen he ee ieee ie carpenter applies Ci — a pl boora to ascertain if it be planed level, 40 the law is err to man, and as the straight edge reveals an [ae the inequalities and crookedness of said board, so the law reveals our weakness an@ folly. The straight edge does not make the board crooked, neither does the law make sin, but re- it, Divine laws are not arbitrary but reason- ; they are founded in the just relations of Shing and are exponents. The law to love our neighbor was given to men after men stood in rela- tion thus one to snother. The law did nok make the relation; but the relation gave needed rise to the law. Sin implies more than Lyi law—it implies @ violation, a wound to spme of established relations. Oh! happy thought that faith in Jesus will free us from the power an@ curse of sin and take away tle sting of deatnl fe'bauty are, my slortous dress, v beauty are, my loi i Midst ‘farsi "worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall Iiltt up my head. Bold shail 1 stand in Thy great day, oy abated thro tee tm 9?” ‘ully absolve: hi au From sin and fvar, from guilt and shame, I like to see an old man, well surrounded with basket and storefu!, healthy and patient, hope. iul and cheerful, glad ia life and not afraid of death, An old person ripe for heaven, Evti is earth, is @ commendable sight. 1 often thin! Moses on gebo’s lonely top, with only one deaire left for eth, namely—to set his weary and earth- worn feet on Canaan's soil. What a victory over earth and death! Ilike to think of Paul, im and imprisoned, waiting calmly the execution the death sentence, balanced between heaven and earth, the Church below and Church above, the friends of time and loved ones of eternity. “I ay | ina strait between two,” he cried. Here indee was the victory of consolation. May heaven ald us to that victory, and may we all find in Christ our victory of qualification. ARCHBISHOP BAYLEY'S FAREWELL Laying « Corner Stone In Jersey City= Impressive Ceremonies and Discourse by the Archbishop—A Practical Hii tothe Rich—“More Stealing Going o Now Than in Former Days.” The laying of the corner stone of St. Michael's Catholic church on the north side of Hamilton square, in Jersey City, was witnessed yesterday by a@ multitude numbering about twelve thousand, The Father Mathew societies, the Ancient Order of Hinernians, the St. Patrick’s Alliance of Jersey City and Brooklyn and the Mutual Demo- cratic Alliance marched in procession. Even the gallowglasses were brought into requisition on the occasion. The ceremony was performed by Arch- bishop Bayley, attended by the pastor of St. Michael’s, Father De Concilio, Fatha Vanuta, eight of the . Passionists from West Hobo- ken, Father Fox, Father Cannon, Father McNulty, of Paterson; Rev. Dr. McGlynn, of St. Stephen’s, New York; Rev. Dr. Corrigan, of Seton Hall College, and Father Doane, Chancellor of the diocese. In the corner stone were placed a cory ot the New YORK HERALD, a. copy of cach of the local papers, the coins of the United States and a scroll of parchment setting forth the dedication in the usual form, The church will be a large and mass- ive brick structure, trimmed witn stone. At the conclusion of the ceremonies the Arch- bishop stepped to the front of the piatform, and, smiling on the beaming faces of the school girls, who were arrayed in white, spoke as follows:— You have this day, my dear children, knelt and rayed for the stone laid in this church under the fiveeation of St. Michael the Archangel. It Is @ ood Work, @ great work in the language of the Holy Scripture, because you are about to build A HOUSE NOT FOR MAN, but for God. You are about to make a great act of faith not expressed in words, but built up tn brick and stone, which speak more forcibly than words of the love of God which is in your hearts. Ift may judge by the size of these walls you intend to build here - A NODLE CHURCH, which will be, in some sense, worthy of that Divine Majesty whom you love and wish to serve. If you were to build these walls of gold and the roof of precious stones they would in no manner be truly fitting for the great God to whose honor and glory you erected them. You are treading in the steps of your forefathers in the faith. THE GREAT OBJECT for which churches are built is the offering up of the holy sacrifice which, according to the Scriptures, is aclean oblation and is to be offered up “from the rising of the sun to the setting thereof” till the end of time. Here also the sacra- ments will be administered. I intended to speal to you this afternoon on some of the doctrines ol your religion; to repeat for you the words Ree OE Max BUT OF GOD. But the weather is thr: ‘agin? and as the dis course would necessarily be argumentative it would not be very comfortable to have a shower of rain come dow) of an argument. will, however, “we can stop. prominent in church building. in the catacombs in THE EARLY DAYS OF THR CHURCH. Every one in those days was conducted witha ‘There was none of view of greater simplicity, that magnificence which marks the progress of the Church in these later days. If any one of you should go into some of the catacombs and pene- trate the recesses of those immepee excavations you woald find that the children of the Church im thosé days of persecution were not content with four bare walls, Although THE LIGHT OF DAY NEVER SHONE upon them you Will #eé the traces of the frescoes with which they adorned those excavations, A certain satirical poet, who was viewed tn his age in much the same light as Voltgire in another age, spoke of the 4 INCONSISTENCY OF THE CHRISTIANS in this very church building question, ee much that was false he also spoke somethin; hat was true. He spoke of the large number ot churches rising in every direction. In speaking of the Reformation he said that Knox might have de- rived his name from the prominence he attained in pulling down the Catholic churches. It is remark- able, however, that in Scotland and England, a3 wel other pieces where the HCRCHES WERE RUTHLESSLY TORN DOWN, great efforts are being made at the present time to restore them. Many of you no doubt have heard and read of the reasons for building these churches on such a magnificentscale, This isa noble edifice, that reminds me of those great churches which were aptly termed grand poems built up in stone, In those days there was little commerce and fe manufactures. All the money that was ratsed came chiefly from the cultivation of the soil. There was a class of historians who said that these build- ings were THE OFFSPRING OF SUPERSTITION. They charged that the people in those days were very Wicked, both monarcns and subjects, There was a great deal of stealing going on, and the rich made restitution by buiiding up churches as some atonement for their crimes, Well, even granting this may be so, I think I might remark that there is MORE STEALING NOW THAN IN THOSE DAYS Li gee of by the historians, and we are behind those people, for they made resti‘ution and we do not. Some of our rich men may take a lesson from it. But why did those people build up such churches? Becat my wanted to honor God im the Real Presence, that God who deigns to come down and dwell among his creatures. They felt that they could not do enough jor him, and yet WE, WiTH ALL OUR WEALTH, cannot erect anything to equal those structures, we can do no more than imitate them, Here the rain commenced to pour down, and the Archbishop, after pausing a few moments, treated the matter rather humorous Hy “See there; just asI said; you see I have no power to stop the clonds, I have a great many stories in my head. Kueel down and I'll give you m blessing.” The Archbishop then administered the apostolic benediction, after which the ceremonies were con- cluded, He was afterward waited upon by Mayor O'Neill, Judge Randolph, Sherif inhardt and Many other prominent citizens, all of whom wished him a hearty farewell, this being the last time he will officiate in Jersey City, or indeed tn the diocese, save in the celebration of mass, ‘The new Primate, it ts stated, will leave for Baitimore about the close of this week. FOUND DROWNED. At five o'clock yesterday afternoon officer Gor- mon, of the Twelfth precinct, found the body of an unknown man in the water at the foot of 1218 street, Fast River, Deceased was about thirty years of age, five feet eight inches high, dark com- ay aud hair, cut short, no beard and no coat. le had on biue overalls, dark cloth vest, blue woolen shirt, brogan shoe and white cotton socks. His body was sent to the Morgue for identification, @nd the Coroner notified. upon your heads during the course roceed with @ few remarks in that direction, and if the rain comes The Catholic Church was always She commenced it Though he