The New York Herald Newspaper, January 27, 1873, Page 4

4 NEW YORK H#RALD, MONDAY, THR CVTVS CHRISTIANITY. Crowded Churches and Stir- ring Sabbath Sayings. DEDICATION OF A HOUSE OF DIVINITY. Ministers of the Metropolis and Suburbs Teaching the Laws of Life in the Temples of the Lord. ‘ LOVE OF LUCRE. THE Wherein the World Lack- oth in its Labors. THE RIGHT SIDE OF SELFISHNESS. Mrs. Burleigh and Mr. Beecher in Brooklyn. Talmage Calling the Religion of Ralph Waldo Emerson a Philosophie Icicle. The most important and interesting of the ser- mons which were preached yesterday within the scope of our ubiquitous scribblers will be found in these columns briefly and lucidly reported. The weather was mild enough to favor pious inclina- tions wherever they may have existed, and the churches were occupied by crowded congrega- tions. OHUROH OF THE DISCIPLES. Necessity of Perfect Conviction and a Settled Purpose in Life—Sermon by the Rev. George H. Hepworth. Avery large and somewhat varied assemblage was gathered at Steinway Hall. The singing, ren- dered entirely by the congregation, was particularly fine, not, as it generally is, constrained and indis- tinct, but loud and clear, Mr. Hepworth’s subject was, ‘Halting Between Two Opinions,” and was based upon I, Kings, xvill., 21—“How long halt ye between two opinions! If the Lord be God foliow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” ‘The prophet Elijah seems to have lost all patience with the people; and I do not wonder atit. They were just like children. At time® when Jehovab Made special manifestations of Himself the whole nation, with one accord, would worship and obey Him, At other times, when it appeared his pur- pose to try them, they grew despondent and diso- bedient, It is at such A DRAMATIC MOMENT as this last that the Prophet Elijah accuses them of inconstancy. Can they not obey the word of God unless it is constantly heard? The nation has been defeated and weil-nigh destroyed, the re- mainder are verging on unbelief. Elijah meets them face to face, and tells them, “If ye believe in God follow him; ifin Baal, follow him; but have a mind of yonr own. Live for a purpose; fight for an object, good or bad.” It seems to me as if this were typical of our condition, very largely. There are many men and women in this community, in thia very hall, who are living entirely without plan. They live like beygars, uncertain what they will eat or where they will sicep—the very creatures of chance, While they acknowledge ie beauty and = purity of Christianity, an wile they are sighing for ity benign infu. ences, they have not energy enough to svive the problem forever. How many are there in reach of my voice who have passed their lives with their convictions like the sky of to-day, misty and with the sup breakitg Out Occasionally? And how many are there whose sky has always been @ dark blank, always walking on the same dead levely You are anxious about your personal Comforts and your business, and 1 dare say thal there is not a single person here who has not some plan jor to- morrow. Jt may have commenced in a dream; but it is now underneath ail your life. Ne man can tempt you to the right or to the left. You wil wait twenty yeats, bat at last you will put your hand upon it. And do you mean to say that your business is more important than your soulr J am glad that you are earnest in busivess, for earnest- fess in anything develops the faculties, come, Let US BE SENSIBLE, Ifwe are willing to do so much for a worldly fortune, ougit we not lay up heavenly treasures? And if we have a pian do you mean to tell me #hat the soul is left out Now, I have been arguing for @ long time against this indecision and vacilla- tion, Belief and uncertainty are so 1oterwoven Yhat you can scarcely tear them apart. Is there a man who believes that there is a heaven as firmly @s he believes that there isan earth? There is no wisdom in indecision, Suppose a seaman should start trom here to Earope and should sail south when the wind blew south, east when the wind blew east, and so should be governed by the winds, how long would it take him to get to his harbo: His timbers would rot first. A man takes his neigh- bor’s promissory note on his beliefin the soundness ofthat neighbor's plans. | simply ask you todo in spiritual matters asin business. don’t think much of an appie blossom, but I think a great deal of the grown apple. in the second place, no strength van come from indecision, The man who believes with all his might acts. If you show me an unde- cided man will show you @ weak man. He is in constant, danger. He is cross- ing a bridge full of trapdoors. If he gets across itis aspecial providence. So the first thing to do is to foliow the words of the prophet—make up your mind and live according to your convie- tion, No matter for public opinion. Now, there is ROOM FOR VACILLATION where there are two opinions, But are there two opinions about Christianity? Have you not ali read history and seen how this Ubristianit: 3 ever been the comiort of the oppressed a have you not heard the voice of Christ coming iike an echo down the ages, telling you to come higher, higher? You have felt a higher gid! When you have met success; when the abe has been called away, despite your frantic grief. You must confess the power of circum- stances, and gp could only act in harmony with that power all would be weil. If 1 could cail a spirit from either world its testimony would prove the same. The only chance for happiness is obedience to the divine will, When you have a conviction and follow that out you have a master and @ king, and at last you shail sit at Jesus’ right hand, A mau tells me, 1 will follow the Lord; butl want to doitin my own way. 1 lead a good lile, Bnd I am reasonably honest. CHRIST'S WAY 1S BETTER THAN YOURS, and you had better foliow it. Ohrist said, confess me fore men, study me for yourself. Receive our commands from your general. The speaker ere related how he was once a tomed to send his mother presents by messengers ; but his mother said, “George, care more for one embrace than for all your presents.’ And so it is in Christianity. ‘The best plan is personal contact. In the New ‘Testament there is instituted a personal relation. If you are in trouble, go to Christ; if you are poor, go to Christ. You have nothing in this world that Chriat does not give you. religion but its personality. Have @ purpose ali throygh Ile, and that purpose to serve Christ.’ BROADWAY TABERNACLE. The Efficacy of Prayer—Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Gulliver, of Binghamton. ‘The spacious and elegant Broa@way Tabernacle was crowded yesterday by am intelligent and at; tentive congregation. The services were of the most interesting nature, the music quite pleasing and the sermon, in the absence of the pastor, de- livered by Rev. Dr. Gulliver, of Binghamton. His text was Malachi ili, 10,11, 12, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open yon the win- dows of Heaven and pour you ont a bicssing that there shall not be room enough to receive it, And 1 will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shail your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of Hosts, And all na- tions shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a | delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.” The text, the reverend genticman said, had an aliusion to the efficacy of prayer. It Was’ two-fold in ite nature, spiritual as Well as physical. The lan- guage is wholly ethereal in its signiiicance. | ‘the fests suggested are moral as Well aa physical. When Professor Tyndall @ short tme siuce ad- vanced bis idea of it A UPRAYER GAUGE ious bela up their Hands and hinted But, | There is no sweetness in | that such ce was jnat the next thing to insanity, and that it was no prayer at all. Here Dr, Gulliver read an article fom a ojantide earnal referring to and discussing feasor Tynd new idea, and argued in relation to an experiment which might or not i to prove the worth of the Suggestion. Let it be tried in a hogpital from three to five years, where the medical attendance is the same as in another, and compare the result, if prayer is of that nature as te it of such @ test there would be a complete revolu- tion in the mind of all Christians. We should not heel Coaace this idea, Nothing ts gained by agg ‘d words, It is proper to try a Por, tose jor the efcacy of prayer. We shoni if our provers are of any servico,, God never wants us to elleve anything without evidence, ie ae a rane injunction bm all re ‘hristians have always soug! 8, proof of the virtue of er. They have wanted evidence of its eMcac; Investigations by the best scholars of the Church, divested of all prejudice and supersti- tion and made in the moat delicate and thorough manner, have PROVEN THE PEACE-GIVING character of prayer. And the result of such investigations are in accord with all sclentific conclusions, and redound to the constantly increasing power of Christ. Dr. Gulliver then, as an illustration, said that when a new medicine is about vested it required the attendance of a physician, the co-operation 01 tne patient and other matters to ensure its success. So with prayer as a remedial agent; before being tested we must know if God can be used in that way and then, and if it would be a blessing for one sick to thus be restored to health. Prayer cannot be peremptory, but conditional. Is there any efficacy in prayer when God's will is not known? Yes. Isa sick person more likely to re- cover because of supplication in his behalf? Yes! a thousand times yes! Then, in an exceedin, argumentative manner, the preacher proved the worth of prayer. Science, the laws of analogy and ne definite assurances of God tell the story of its efficacy, PRESBYTERIAN MEMORIAL CHURCH, Dedication of the New Edifice—Imposing Ceremonies—Every Man a Preacher— Sermon by the Rev. Theodore L. Cuy- ler, D. D., of Brooklyn. This church, which has been lately compieted, is one of the largest in the city in respect to seat- ing capacity. The pews are nearly all rented, and it is expected that the debt and interest will be paid off before the twelvemonth ia gone by. The church, beth interior and exterior, is elegantly appointed. The kKeygtone in the arch over the Madison avenuc entrance bears the fellowing in- scriptio! ‘To the Triune God.’ The steeple and the capitals are surmounted with golden and blue enamelled ornaments, which throw a reflection painful to the eye when the sun strikes them. The interior of the church, filled with A SUMMER ATMOSPHERE, is magnificently upholstered, The pulpit and com- munion table, on which is carved ‘in Remem- brance of Me,” are made of wood from the Holy Land, and were presented by one of the members of the church. The aisles are richly carpeted and the pulpit floor is covered with red velvet Brus- sels. ‘THE DEDICATION SERMON was preached by the Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D., of Brooklyn, who chose for his text Luke ix, o0—*‘Go thou and preach,” and continued in sub- stance as follows:—We are not told to whom in particular these words were addressed, but they were spoken to all the Apostles, They were told to go and preach the Word; there was no one appointed over them; no archbishop, much less a ope. They were individually instructed to preach shrist crucified, nor were they restrained from presente to any one‘people er in any one country, ut to all mankind—heathen, Jew and Gen- tile. Do not think that these words were addressed alone to the apostles, or that to them was bequeathed the sole right to preach, for such is not the case, Their followers were also to continue the good work which had begun with the apostles. The apostles did not transmit this right to a select jew, but every one to whom théy preached was instructed to preach the Word. It is a grand error to suppose that all the preaching and Godlike work that is done in New York ls done by the exertions of a few ministers, about three hundred, for if such was the case Christianity would become stagnant and the wheels of religion would be clogged and inoperative. A pregnant question for discussion is, How is it that nowadays CONVERSIONS ARE 80 FEW and far between? Some contend that the early Christians were attracted by the novelty of religion ; others that their persecutors forced them to noble deeds and made them stubborn in their desire to promulgate the new doctrine, but neither of these opinions is entirely correct, and J have one which 1 think is nearer the cause. It is that nowa- days we tave very few who lead Godlike lives, It Was more the actions than the services of the | chosen twelve that gained converts; they in every | particular duplicated and copied the life of their divine Master, and in so doing they, like Him, won hearts and golden opinions for themselves and the doctrines they professed. Now people are content with leaving the work of the Lord to the hands of the ministers, who are too few to do the combined work of priest and people. What signi- fies a few words from the pulpit once a week ? Nothing at all. Each and every one of you should preach an examplary sermon every day of your lives, and whether yon do good, whether con- sciously or not, you are the best judges. Now, as you preach a sermon every day, be careful what you choese for your text. Do not many of you choose for your text the quotation of stocks in the | Exchange, and from Ghat text preach @ sermon which im substance is that GOLD ALONE CAN MAKE ONE TWarry? Let your consciences answer. Why, then, when ! such’ is the case, do you not bring your religion into your counting houses, your homes, and into all eee conversation? Lead good and holy lives, and in so doing show men that the spirit of Christi- Snity is not dead, After the sermon Dr. Robinson made a brief re- cital of the history of the projection of the new charch and its progress, and stated that as the church was built by the people he thought it right and meet that they themseives should dedicate it to God, which was then done, according to the cus- tomary ritual. After the dedication an anthem was sung by the choir, and the benediction delivered by Dr. Cuyler ended the services. CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION, Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Flagg—The Christian Church Founded on the Stable Rock of Perfect Faith. The pretty little Church of the Resurrection, Madison avenue and Forty-seventh street, was well filled yesterday morning. The Rev. Dr. Flagg conducted the services, and took the text for his sermon from Matthew UL, 24 and 25—“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon arock, And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat about that house, and it fell not, for It was founded upon a rock.” It was with (this beautiful figure that our Saviour concluded His Sermon on the Mount, and in it is contained the whole system and theory of the Christian faith, Mankind rears edifices in a moral sense. The worldly man erects a lofty and gorgeous palace, heediess of the insecurity of its foundation, and when the storms come it succumbs to their fury; but the Christian rears A CELESTIAL STRUCTURE, severely plain and not pretentious, but it is founded on the rock of faith and stands steadiast through the tempest that beats and breaks in vio- lence against it, Christ says, m the vine; ye are the branches,” By this He means that there 18 @ mystical spiritual interlacing of faith by which comes Co: ption of the sense of being & part and parcel of a wondrous whole—the soul of the Church, whose sheet anchor holds with such ten- acity that nothing can set it adrift. So by unseen laws is the Chriatian held through perils, threats and tortures, to his Master, faith giving him endur- ance. There is n@ other truth but that of God, Idolatry is being swept away, and the whole world is beginning to recognize that there is ONLY ONE WAY TO SALVATION} that there is but one God, and He reigns supreme. ‘The falsity of all other creeds and faiths has been divulged by the light of the Gospel. The Christian edifice cannot fall; being based upon the rock of truth it is immutable and will ultimately prevail. It needs ao prop, for it is sustained by truth alone, Faith in Jesus is no common belief; it does not grovel in the senses, neither is it a Utopia; yet it points the soul to aims above this world, incites to in the great hereafter, Christianity lives not fer itself, Love and sympathy are its cormer stones, It takes the widow and orphan by the hand and has no place for the wicked and seltish, The ser- yante of the Church submit to trials, poverty and privation for love of the Lord, and their motto is, “Others frst; ourselves las Who shall doubt 4 Nea GOD 18 Love? ‘The aweep of the tempest is followed by @ holy calm ; the sting of pain is neutralized by the sense of pleasure on its removal. Having & material foundation In the spirit the Christian knows the edifice of his body cannot be desolated; his trust, his faith, all give him confidence. He is & prisoner of time waiting for the release of eternity. He who lives for the body alone lives for the day | alone—is little higher than dumb animals, and time will show his error. He who lives in the spirit | lives in that shining light which will burn for him in the eternal mansions of the blest, | Man is too much governed by society. With tts simulations and decetts it is like & smiling stream, whose bosom glimmers in the golden sunlight as tt threads its tortuous course towards the sea, but whose bottom is filled with dan. | gerous stones of selfishness, rocks of deceit and tangied sedges of duplicity and evil. ‘the | Catbeotau river dyes got beau sy brygily, aud bbe a perfect manhood beiow and everlasting beatitude « waters are oftimes tossed and whirled by tompestu- ous winds of dissent; but its ped is deep, perils lurk not beneath its waves, and it bears the bark of the trusty voyager safe toa haven of rest and fone and happiness supreme. God covers us with shadow of BIS ALMVOHTY WING, ‘What edifice built in that holy shade shall tall? Countries without the saving loaven o! Christianity ear, in all their barbaric splendor, while (hose in which che pure spirit of truth has eliminated the upas poison of idolatry and unbelief are growing into power and magnificence. Floods may come and winds may blow, but the storms of Satan and the tem Of misfortune cannot sweep away or Gary he true Church editice, for it is founded TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH. ‘The Possession of Wealth Not a Sin— Religion a Base of Success in Business LifeWork # Religious Daty~A Word to the Wives—A Poor Man Better th: @ Liar—Discoarse by the Rev, Dr. Hol The Rev. Dr. Holme, of the Trinity Baptist chureh, preached the seventh sermon of his series to the young on the practical duties of life, as set forth in the Book of Proverbs, last evening, the gnbject being, ‘The Road to Wealth, or the Finan- cial Bearing of Practical Religion.” He took as & text several passages from the Proverbs, among them tho ninth and tenth verses of the third chap- ter, “Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first feuita of all thine increase, So shall thy barn be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst oat with new wine,” and the eighteenth verse of the third chapter, “The wicked worketh a deceitful work, but to him that soweth rightcous- ners shall be ® sure reward.” He said:—I am not of that class of religious teachers who regatd the possession of wealth as intrinsically sinful. Nor would I canonize povery as one of the Christian graces, Icannot fora moment believe that when the Saviour said, “Lay not up for yourself treasure on earth,” that he meant to discourage honest toil, frugality or enterprise; nor that he would in any degree make His followers OBJECTS OF CHARITY. But, on the other nand, | do believe that the Bible teaches us that godliness has the promise of that life which now is—that Is, of all that is really good in this present time, as welt as all that is good in the world to come, I believe that true religion furnishes, a code of practical ethics for the good conduct of men in business as well as social life—a code that, if adhered to, will, other things being equal, secure success in lite, Keligion will not recruit the sick and worn- out constitutions; it will not make up deficiencies in education; it will not take the place of good judgment in business affairs; but, it will so inspire and regulate @ man in his daily duties and business interests as, with the ordinary blessing of God, to ingure success, Were he to announce the general thonght of his discourse at the outset it would be that the practi- cal principles which generally insure SUCCESS IN LIFE are nothing but the graces of religion applied to the regulation of business life, and that the causes of many failures in business are breaches of re- ligious principles. It would be admitted that the first step to fortune is nan Me then pro- ceeded to show that work is a religious duty, Upon this subject the Bible speaks in no uncertain terms. It is a religious duty to work just as much as to pray. It is not only essential to happiness, but to our acceptance with God. It 1s a canon of Christ's Chureh, if any man will not work neither shail he eat. Now, this! understand fo be @ rule of life, and not simply of the first half of life, nor of ten or twenty years, but while @ man has health and strength to work. This making a fortune and re- tiring to enjoy it finds no countenance in religion. It-is attempting to carry @ lazy man’s burden; to do more than we can do safely in order that we may be enabled to do something after awhile. This is the cause of 80 many failures, If, on the other hand, we set to work in early life as if we expected to work right om through our lives we Would not take the FOOLISH VENTURES, which now so often prove disastrous. The next step in the way to wealth is frugality. Fortune lies In the constant industry which makes the most of time and the frugality Which makes the most of money earned. At this point the speaker desired to say a word in relation to partners. Not partners in the ordinary sense, but silent partners—wives. it 1s a sad thing that men’s wives often ruin them in business, Im descanting upon this point he re- ferred to the statement at Cooper Institute, of Emily Faithfull (of whom he spoke in the highest terms), that wives must economize and werk as well as their husbands, If we would be rich we must not be afraid of poverty. Humiilty is the tounda- tion of fortune as well as of religion, He urged the necessity of making haste slowly, as ‘too fast is as tardy as too slow.”” Anether and important step in the way to wealth is UNFLINCHING INTEGRITY. Integrity 18 worth more than insurance; it is itselfam insurance against all misforwune, while the 1oss of integrity is infinitely mere than the loss of money. Solomon, who is my great authority on this subject, says that “a poor man is better than a liar,” and I am free to say that in the business circles ef this city a poor man, that is, & man without capital, is better than a liar—even arich liar, This word, used in the open, plain lan- guage of Scripture, means nothing more than a dishonest man, @ fraudulent man, and, if I judge rightly, Solomon's estimate 1s correct among the business men of the city. If I am wrong, and if business men have not yet learned the lesson, the: are just now, at least, at school at a very higl price. In conclusion the speaker exhorted his earers to & oultivation of the virtues of industry, frugality and integrity, as tending not only to sitagess in tis life but to happiness in that which is to Come. LYRIO HALL Religion the Fruitful Parent of Happi- ness—Rational Belief the Trae Once— Sermon by the Kev. O. B. Frothing- ham. ‘The usual congregation assembled at Lyric Hall, opposite Reservoir square, yesterddy morning. Mr. Frothingham, as he very frequently does, chose no text from the Bible, but took his subject from hu- man experience, it being, “Joy: The Chief Thing in Religion.” Who can be sure that his is the true faith? he began. Those that call themselves true believers are a melancholy people. Their spirits are low and their speech is pensive. The people to whom the cardinal points aré indifferent must be gloomy. A joyless faith is no faith at all. Beliefs that do not exhilarate are not fit to be called such, Joy is innocence, peace, gratitude, trust. As plants fade and die in the shade, so does human nature blacken and perish tn GLOOMY BELIEFS. Religion should be the fruitful parent of happi- ness, Every faith claims for itself to be the joy. The Romanist looks upon what he calls the bald- ness of the Protestant worship; the Evangelist jooks with compassion on the Unitarian, and the Unitarian looks with pity on those who belleve less than he does, naturally taking it for granted that they live in doubt and fear—that “no rainbow spans their cloud.” In the first place joy is mostly matter of temperament, and the relation exist- ing between belief and temperament has never been found, There are sad men in ali religions. ‘The poet Cowper was one of the most melancholy of men, His life was ail bitverness; nothing gave him pleasure, and in his house of gloom life was a4 burden. He took no delight in the greetings of a friend or in the congratulations of a lover. Yet he was & devout believer, He inherited a melancholy temper with a streak of insanity. Ralph Emerson was @ man directly opposite to William Cowper. Emerson would have made day of the blackest night, while Cowper would have made night of the sunniest day. We must take belief when it prescribes do- mestic nurture, at the time when children are born, so that they may take it with their mother’s milk. Fewer aud fewer people find joy in the whole faith, and the joy is not as lasting as it was; yet every faith has had its created periods, and at one time has stood for freedom, and then it repte- sented joy. There is no religion in the world but at some moment has given men such an ecstasy that it seemed to BRING DOWN HBAVEN to them. Take the old Reman religion in the Middle Ages, Look into the heathen heart in its decay. The people were poor, ignorant, tyran- nized over, with no outlet for action—crushed be- neath horrible superstition. Thirk what it must have been seeing a new faith to them like the doors of a great cathedral, gathering them all in. What a place of enchantment must the church have been, with ita broad expanse of marble floor and its massive pillars like giant trees, the colored forms of saint and prophet, the volumes of sound pouring down from the great organ above, the smoke curling from the censor upward, and the priest promising ENDLESS BLISS to those who believed! The people thought not of priestcraft, nor superstition, ner tyranny. A door was opened out of their wilderness, and beyond were waving trees and gurgling fountains. In Luther's time things were Hinorent. Read the words of the early Reformers. The Puritans seerm- ed to them a very austere people. Yet their faith meant peace and joy, What a cause for ecstasy had come when the ‘Christ had come, He was an awful judge, but he judged only after he had oifered to save. They believed that there Was aD everlasting hell in the future, and that those who escaped were fortunate, Im proportion to. the freedom in religion has been the joy. Those | who are the most emancipated are the most happy. The rational belief ts the most happy. It is iree from superstition and is not of one country, age or faith, but of every country, every age and jevery faith, People commonly speak ol “durk JANUARY 27, 187: anperstition.” Every one speaks of his nelehbor's superstition a8 dark but never calls bis own #0, Tnero is no such thing as bright or beautiful super- stition, You might as well speak of ‘A BRIGAT CLOUD. The rational faith would withdraw this thick vetl of superstition. It may be ages and ages yot be- fore every mind is free of it. To feel ab home in the world, to be able to look into all the cern to feel at pared to read all books, taik with people and pite one’s tent under the stars—is there no joy in ti ? The liberal Christian feels it nec- essary for him to believe the truth and that some calamity will evertake him if he does not, Who can say that his faith as the true one or that he pos- aesses the KEY OF PARADISE? The only fear the Romanist allows is the fear of death. The instinct that dreads death is not nat- ural. This fear is seized upon by religion and made the seat of all terrors, and the way to it is epee . All that is awfulin the world thers.on that pivot and turns uponit, Religion- ite believe that thoy have the monopoly of joy. ‘The speaker here referred to a picture which he had seen in @ comic paper when @ boy. There was @ scaffold upon which stood two criminals await- ing execution, Around was gathered the low gal ing creatures that usually witness scenes like his, Suddenly on the outskirts appeared a mad bull. All the crowd were darting hither and thither to escape him, when one of the criminals said to the other, “isn’t it lucky that we are up here?” So it is in religion, No matcer in what peril some stand others are in greater. Those who conform to a pure life, he concluded, share all the blessings in it. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death they will have the crook and staf’ o! Almighty to lean upon, and dying, look into the face o1 their God with a smile. 8ST. PAUL'S BEFORMED CHURCH. The Love of Money—Sermon by the Rev. Alexander R, Thompson. A large congregation listened yesterday morning at St. Paul's Reformed charch, Filth avenue, near Forty-second street, to the Rev. Alexander R, Thompson, who is not only an eloquent, but also a very popular preacher. He took his text from St. Matthew vi., 24—“Ye cannot serve God and mam- mom,”’ You soe, he said, that this admits of no question- ing. On the face of this text there is a great les- son, I am anxious to show you the holy connec- tion of this word with the spirit of true religion. Such @ thing as really to serve two masters at the same time is an absolute impossibility. You see on one side glory, and the other mammon, but God claims your hearts, Take heed of this word of Christ's, He tells you that you cannot serve God and mammom at the same time. Some will say that this text means “Money is the root of all evil”? The book does not say that. Money isa ai- vine entrustment, in that it represents a great power, Every item that carries with it power car- ries with it responsibility, Use that power so that you shall not be ashamed to account for its use, “BUT THE LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil’—that's what the book says. ‘To save money anyhow, that is the cradle of all perilous possibilities. P Look at the birds. How sure they are to find shelter; how sure they are to find food; how well they know the seasons, The great Husbandman, the great Owner, the great Master and Lord pro- vides for all of His creatures, no more to be counted than the stars of the sky. What man can ather in his harvest before God’s creatures have iad their harvest? Are ye not much better than they? Ifthese birds of the airare never suilered to perish is it not safer for you to trust Him? After all, He 1s only maker and master to them; but to you he is Father, your Heavenly Father. Let us pause. Could you drain tothe last drop the cup of water when your little one- is perisking for thirst? Task you who have a little needy child on your lap whether you could leave THAT CHILD TO PERISH? testarve? The one that you did love, that filled once yeur house with sunshine, would it please ‘ou to think that when God took your baby away it would cost youno more? If this is the heart of an earthly father what must be the heart of the Heavenly Father? sino ae ae read this text with a fresh heart anda clear 6yé. hg pivot of this text is that you are children of ti Heavenly Father. He does not mean that you should divest yourself of all care to make provision for yourself and your family; but what He ve is, “Don’t be distracted; don’t let your heart be divided.” He warns you to let no thought take possession of you whic will cut your heart from God. Do not forsake God to serve mam- mon. He say: “You are children of the Father; He at ha that you need these things, food and rai- ment. - WE THOUGHT OF THE BIRDS when the snow came down and when the frost locked everything with its hard hands, Now, did we think ot lifting the window and throw them some crumbs? Did not God put it into our minds? Wesley had the quintessence of the true spirit when he said, “Get all you can, save all you can, e106 al) gh) can.’ But I proveat against the con- duct of 4 man who forgets that, with all his money, he 1s still the servant of God. ‘To many of us wiill the welf at the door, but seeing the peril that is near, He says in these loving words, “Yet you are children of the Heavenly Father, and He will not forsake you.” I have known many people who did not know where they could get their pread next. er But, alter all, they lived on. God helped em. ° He does and will keep your lives in His hands, and when you will look back upon the tortuous, winding path of life you will go singing unto Heeven ana say, “1 am glad that! have been poor.” God will bring yeu through. He has done it until now; He will do it in future. y BROOKLYN CHURCHES. Lieslpaiicapeioy PLYMOUTH CHURCH Mr. Beecher on the Right Side of Selfish- ness; on Getting and Giving Men Who Have a Nebulous Condition of Con- sctence—To Live For Oneself is Wise, if Our Selfishness is Subordinated. Mr. Beecher preached yesterday morning a ser- mon about “The Right Side of Selfishness,” and selected his text from the last clause of the 19th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ The introduction to the sermon was mainly devoted to the correction of popular errors in regard to Selfishness and the outlining of the philosophy of selism, Men had very indistinct notions on this matter; they were taught to abhor selfishness, Although -there have been very wise dis- tinctions in reference to this the thoughts of men remain to a large extent obscured. A wise regard for one’s self is the law of our growth; the strength of our knowledge and of our virtue. Itis partof the divine decrees to take care of ourselves, That was the educa- tion the child received from its mother when she, caring for it and bearing with it, taught it to walk and go alone, It was so*alil the wag along the physical life, until the period when self-care came in. Then men were obliged to regard self as against the antagonisms in the development of man’s life in the consideration for society. In sav- age life each man had to care for himself, but as civilization developed itself men remitted the power to take care of them to the magistrate, to the power that was outside of them. But society could go only a little way. Men had to guard the selves against pare for example, and also against bad cooking, which was certainly one of the curses of the world, Then we must exercise a wise selfishness in the great objects that we seck, and which are legitimate, and whicn underlie the possession ef wealth and influence. It was by @ law of their nature that men arrive at power, wealth and influence; it has involved capacity, skill and a wise considera- tion of themselves. No farmer ever ground a scythe with his eye on the edge, with an eye also to the Narvest, more directly than did the wise man grind his faculties with @ view to his influence and the exercise of his higher faculties. It was by a selfish care that we get the right te this, It wasby A WISE SELFISHNESS that we develop a wise culture for ourselves. God has made man in such & way as to enable him to travel all the rounds about selfishness, so that when he desires a law as to the regulating of his love to his neighbor, the answer, shall come from Christ, “Thou shalt love thy cot aa How much? Well, as much as thou lovest thyelf. Then comes an go aimiculty—how tWo principles, one working in and other working can be eo-incident, How of @ watch work together both wi doth being? concurrent, and keep time Look at the import of this truth in relation to what we had to consider and to do every day. This ‘was illustrated at length ny incidents from a selfish mode of family government, in which the wy rious father demanded that his will should obeyed, and the fruit was sons wno came down to New York determined to see life and were morally ruined, so that the family became like an over- used nest, “addied,”” What was true in this was also true in regard to the use of wealth and of abundance. Wealth was a blessing just in jortion to the mode in which it was admunistered. If wealth were 80 provided ag to cut off all motive of craton why that would cut away all motives that shoul induce application to business. Wealth that stimu- lated the child, that opened the door of oppor. tunity, that creates instruments by which the child may energise and enlarge its nature, does not do any harm, It is @ blind use that is made of wealth when tt 18 80 perverted that it turns to evil. In a larger sphere men were but as children im the commonwealth, aid are but larger growths of families tn human society, No nation could be worth governing that was GOVERNED FROM A THRONE, No nation could be Well governed that was out two wheels nos | wand TRIPLE SHEET. self-governed, ‘There was # sense in which that maxim was @ wholesome one that said that if every man would take care of number one every one would be taken care of. ‘It seemed very hard sometimes not to relieve suffering, then suffer- iRteca caton ound cart rations of unwi promincwoas di ving. ‘The most dangerous thing in fe, next to inbamsntiye was huraasity. The Baxt taking into consideration this we fail by the law of culture we develop wisdom, and in forgetting them we fail to impress ourselves, our beer our neti » our city, the nation er the world; nay, had we not so we could have touched the bounds of tke hor! itself. Men ge! by self-reflection, into nebulous condition o! conscience, and they say, the end of the week, “Pye done nothing but attend to my own afairs.” Well, @ man who has been at the head of a well- organized business has been doi his duty as faithiully a8 though he had stood in the synagogue every day, and more 80, has not been he lable to spiritaal dissipation, One of the most dificult things in the world Was self-examination or analysis. i on you went into @ sick room and God had endowed you with A SWEKT VOICR, and you sang songs that brought joy and smiles to the sick one, and you should home and say re- proachfully, “Well, I think I took a deal of | are ip that singing.” Why should you not? ‘at was your right. God desires not to cheat you out of your right. Then let every man take unto himseif that selfishness that discriminates wisely and intelligently. Let your life not be centripetal, not centrifugal. Let your life and its influences ‘be as the atmosphere that drinks silently and invisibly from the ocean, from out of the I and rivers of the world, and then gathers itself invisibly h im the alr, it grows and breaks and comes down in snow or in rain, so that what- ever it gets it distributes itself over the wide Continent, so that the foundations on which we stand are getting and giving, TALMAGE AT THE ACADEMY. Gospel Archery=What Is Required of the Church—Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Religion a Philosophic Icicle. Mr. Talmage preached yesterday morning on “Gospel Archery,” from the text, ‘He was a mighty hunter before the Lord,” referring to Nim- rod. The Academy was crowded. In the course of his sermon the preacher said:—Oh, how much awkward Christian work there is done in the world! How many good people are driving souls away from Christ instead of bringing them to Him. All their fingers are thambs—religious blunderers, who upset more things than they set right, The gun has @ crooked barrel, and kicks as it goes off; and they are like a clumsy ‘comrade that goes along with skilful hunters—at the very moment he ought to be most quiet cracking the alder or faliing over a log and frightening away the game. How few Christian people have ever learned the lesson of which I read at the beginning of this service—how that the Lord Jesus Christ went from talking about @ cup of water to the most practical religious truths, which captured the woman's soul for God and for heaven! What an art * THIS GOSPEL ARCHERY! The archers of olden time used to study their art; the old books gave especial directions as to how an archer should go and as to what an archer should do. But how clumsy we are about religious work! How little skill and care we exercise; how often our arrows miss the mark! Oh, that there were lay colleges established in all the towns and citics of our land, where men might learn the art of doing good, studying spiritual archery that they might be known as “mighty hunters before the Lord!’ If you want to be effectual in spiritual archery you must be very sure of your weapon. There was something fas- cinating about the archery of the olden time, The chief battles fought pe Lay £0, ish Plantagenets were with the long bow. But we have a mightier pear than that; it is the arrow of the Gospel. 1ei8 a BhArY Afrow, astraight arrow; {tis teathered irom the wing of the dove of God's Spirit; it fies from a bow made out of the wood of a cross. Ag far as 1 can calculate, it has brought down about seventy-five millions of seuls. If it strikes a man in tne head it kills his scepticism; if it strikes him in the heel it turns his step} if it strikes him in the heart he throws up his hands, as did one of old when wounded in the bat- tle, crying, “Oh, Jesus, thon hast conqgered.” There is nothing proposed by men that can do any- thing like the Gospel. . THE RELIGION OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON, that many people Uked, is merely a philosophic {efele; the religion of Theodore Parker was a sirocco of the desert, covering up the soul with dry sand; the religion of the Huxleys and the Spen- cers is merely a pedestal on which human philoso- phy sits shivering in the night, the soul looking ap tothe stars—offering no help to the nations that crouch and groan at the base. Tell me where there is & man who has rejected that Gospel for -another who 1s thoroughly satisfied and helped and contented in his scepticism and I will take a car to-morrow morning and ride 500 miles to see him. But he ts not tu be found. If you want to be skilfulin spiritual archery you must hunt in unfrequented and secluded places. Why does the hunter go for three or four days in tne Pennsylvania forest ? It is the.only way to do. ‘The geod gawe is hidden and secluded. Ihave to tell you that many of the souls that will be of most worth to Jesus are secluded, and you have got to hunt where they are. They are down in that cellar, far away irom the door ofthat church. he Gospel arrow has not been shot at the ‘The trouble is, we are waiting for the game to come to us. What the Church wants to do new 1s to lilt its feet from the damask ottoman aud put them in the stirrups, ‘The Church wants not so much cushions as sadale- bags and arrows. I tell you, in the service of God we have got to COME OUT AND ROUGH IT. I hear to-day, surging up from that lower depth of Brooklyn,’a groan that comes through our Chris- tian assemblages and through our beautiful churches, and it blots out all this seene trom my eyes to-day as by the mists the great Niagara and I sometimes fear that just as God blotted on) the Church of Corinth, because of its selfishness and stolidity, He would biot out American and English Christianity, and then would raise on the ruins a wide-awake missionary Church that could take the full meaning of that command :—*Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shail be saved; but ke that believeth not shall be damned’—a command, you see, punctuated with the throne of heaven and dungeon of hell. PY FIRST UNIVERSALIST CEURCH. Mrs. Celia Burleigh Occupying the Pul- pit—The Latest Sensation in the Time of St. John the Baptist—Wherein the World is Lacking To-day. There wasa larger congregation than usnal at the morning services held yesterday at the First Universalist church, the Rev. Dr. Chadwick's, cor- ner of Clinton and Congress streets. The attrac- tion was found in the announcement that Mrs. Cella Burleiga would preach upon the occasion. ‘The novelty of hearing a sermon from 4 woman, and so gifted as the lady in question, was a suf- ficient inducement to the curious in many in- stances to give their own churches “the go by’ and put in an appearance at this place of worship. The admirabie choir rendered excellent music, and thereby greatly enhanced the beauty of the ceremonies, After several hymns had been sung and the prayer had been recited by the fair preacher Mrs. Burleigh took for her text the words found in Matthew xt, 9, “But what went you out to see’ A prophet? Yea,I teil you, and more than @ prophet.” They went out, she said, from the populous cities to see and hear this man, Who was telling such strange things to the LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRABL. They went forth to see what manner of man this was, who was clothed in a coarse garment of hair- cloth, and who so severely arraigned the people for thelr neglect of divine truth and their selfish- ness, Of the vast multitudes who went to hear John—this man who so bid defiance to the customs the riod—there were many wi, upon Teturaing. their homes and daily avocations, could tell just how the ise ca had delivered his sermons; they could tell the color of nis eves, his hair, the peculiarities ot his delivery— aye, they could even give an almost exact meas- urement of each width in the haircloth garment id the breadth of the girdle which he wore about is waist. But how few could tell of the purport and meaning of the great truths which he had uttered—the teachings of the mysteries of re- demption ? ~~ the Seribes and Pharisees had gone to see and hear Him because He was THR LATEST SENSATION. They cared not to disturb themselves from pur- suing the tenor of their ways, however. The world to-day is as far from seeing the necessity of fulfilling the conditions which are essential to obe- dience to the commandments of God as it was in the days of St. John, Such people are like the snail, which scarcely turns from one side to the other and thinks {it has seen all the world, They have scarcely seen the glories of the universe and have not caught a singie giimpse of the heavens, The snail in this respect is ana- lagous with humanity, Do they not represent the type of inen who never change their course of lie rom youth to age, so bout up are they in their self-complacence, Tellsuch # man that the na- | culture may all aid in hastening the day of His tions of the earth are about to hold a congress to | triumph, Already the indications of His victories consider the humane proposition of abolishing | are heraldedin the reaching out of hands from , ‘War, and he will reply by telling you of some re- China and Japan, who cannot take the etvilization markable peculiarity avout his favorite dog. Call | without feciing ‘the power of the religion which Attention of another person to some question | produced th and, remembering that His expectant jence engaging the attention of the whole | feet are waiti t 03 go up und possess the land. civilized world, and while you are speaking their | To bave doae something to help will be & Joy ior= ring eye und aviation tell you plainly that | ever, -and, looking up, ejaculated, “How they are engaged in making an inventory of your apparel, Such souls have BYRS LIKE UNTO BATS. They have no outlook. If we find life destitute of beauty it is use we have fled heaven to fathom its beauty. e soul wanting in reverence scea but the glutton in the great, miracle of Cnrist im turning water into wine at the wedding feast, or in the feeding ef the multitude upon the few loaves and fishes in the desert, Thetrue searcher aft brict tl in sila Ford sea | be aeeecne ‘nerein pleasure, for cont all things that’ are beautiful in in art. <A manufacturer visited Niagara Falls, and, while gazing upon that» nty work, ex- claimed, “What a magnifice water- that -would. make,” A it the: ‘cat are works of Jenovah!’’ The one had Ameper millin, his mind, the other had revereace for power, the glory and majesty of God. There are people who through this world finding no goodness in men. jut the lack is in THE BARREN SOUL, and not in God or His works. Héve faith and your faith will be verified. ‘Trust and you will find trustworthiness. Only by giving can we receive; only by bestowing can we iu return be endowed. We want wealth and happiness without thinking of the follies of which tuese are the repesitories whenever individual character is lacking. with all His love for us, can give to His children nothing better than the opportunity to do good. Let us not permit, then, our selfish natures to abuse this holy gift. As we grow old, then, let us not pause as we look peck, upon our it life and * riots jie i ey “an Cr $8 oaks, whic! ured ause, and ask yourse! ™ aes “HOW MUCH DIP YOU INVEST?’ * and in what stock? Young people they must have ® Se. They cannot settle down to the quaint ways of more mature years. Let them righ the §) 1 Of life, but :et them be care- < 0 dan; and temptations whieh t the path of tender years Sad inexpe. rience. Let them guard the blossom, that the fruit of Autumn may be gathered. Let them keep God’s laws and be gui arity, intelli iteg- nity and bi Stina; 40. 4tlat ad! th oud ot ito so world may better off because of their having been in it. In the things which are utable alone is happiness to be iound. If we wie to get More out oi life we must put more into it. If we would retain our friendships we must make our selves indispensable te those about us, U: her hearers to be guided by truth, charity and love towards their neighbors, the iair preacher closed her address, SEVENTH AVENUE M. BE. CHUROH. The Rev. Dr. Wild Upon Christianity asan Educating Power, Selective aud Retaining—Explorers, Squatters and Settlers—Professor Tyndal, Froude, Labor and Reward. The Rev. Dr. Wild preached an earnest discourse yesterday morning from I. Thessalonians, v., 21— “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” He held that Christianity implied a broad, liberal and comprehensive system of philosophy of divine origin, which, when reduced to an art, became@ developing and conservative force in the succes- sive cycles of man’s enlarging experience. The Scriptures revealed to us the mind of God as king, . and teaching the creature to recognize the Creator. Christianity accepted man as a scholar and imme- diately placed him under restraint, rule-and in- struction, In its light life had’ an intelligent aim, a noble work and a sublime destiny, Being, duty and Christianity were co-equal, the province Christian relation being co-equal with the duties and bearings of man; and the social, intellectual, civil and religious re- lations of men could beter 4 be developed im the higher and safer forms by the life and force of the Gospel. Christianity was not an abstraction, but positive force—not a national idiosyncrasy, but world-wide remedy for sin and uncleanness; not & ‘igid, unconformable system, but practical, testing, ingufring and adaptive; comprehensive in time and territory, with all our Ja’ conditions, in harmony ‘with man as @ progressive creature. Some good people entertained many fears, but the geologists would find some rock-hidden truth that would belie the Bible. In settling a new country we had explorers, squatters and settlers—the finder, the prover and the user. So the honored and able scientist, Professor Tyndal, said that in science they had these characters, the investigator, the teacher and the applier. In the Church there were definers of doctrine, preachers and practicers. He (Dr. Wild) thought ‘otessor Tyndal had per- formed a fine work in our midst, and though be- rated by some, because they did not understand him, yet he nad honored himself, his country and the science he proclaimed. If other roreigners who had come to lecture America had shown the sameé good dense and done as good a work England would have more to be prond ofand Americans Jess cause for dissatisfaction. The historian Froude camé not to teach, but to put us right. Knowing little of the genius of the country be was soon put to fight. ‘The reverend gentleman concluded his remarka by appealing to his congregation to prove in the laboratory of their experience what was good true, and then keep it. WORSHIP IN WASHINGTON. te Sermon by Dr. Tiffany on Christ’s Kings dom, in the Metropolifin Methodist Episcopal Church, WASHINGTON, Jan, 26, 1873. The Rev. Dr, Tiffany, pastor of this church, after an absence ef two Sundays, reappeared in the pul- pit and preached a remarkable sermon from the eighth verse of the Second Psalm—‘‘Ask of me and Ishall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy pos session.’ Opening his discourse by an exposition of the dramatic structure of the psalm, and notic- ing the fact that certain statements of th New Testament were fulfilled in Christ, he pri ceded to inquire whether the verse of the text was as yet unfulfilled, and, if #0, in what sense we were to interpret it The fact that Christ has asked of the Father the glory that He had before the worlds were, and that Christ’s disciples were authorized to askin His name, imply that Me has demanded proprietory right of the earth He blessed by dwellingiu. The added fact that He said, “ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME,” “[ have overcome the world,” Indicate that is some sense He has already entered upon posses sion of the kingdoms, while the instructions to His disciples to “Go teach and baptize’ show that He will, by use of the co-operative human element, be installed in His possession, His method was to acquire His rights by mediation and have His right conceded by proclamation. By so doing He mag- nifies both the work and His agencies. To have absolved the guiltof the race by an act of sove- reignty would not have added toa glory already achieved; but vacating the throne and becoming flesh He will win by the exhibition of an act of love. , ‘Twas great to speak & world from naught; ‘Twas greater to redeem. This methed, moreover, magnifies His agents. ‘This display of His love is so wonderful that while he communicates it by and through men their telling it induces others to believe and confide in it, and thus the race He redeems becomes co- operative im its own exaltation, This fact gives an insight into perpiexing and dificult questions, If we are asked why has His Gospel been so long witheld trom parts of His dominion the answer cannot be found in their condition as not needing salvation, for all history declares the existence sin and consequent suffering, nor in the absence of a preparation to receive it, for the DELAY IN REALIZING RESULTS has always been clearly seen to arise from the dif- * ficulty in preparing teachers. The answer cannot be in His inability or unwillingness to confer biess- ing, but must be found in the indifference or su- pineness of His agents, who have not taken pos- session of the territory He has subjugated. How, then, can God be justified in snifering this delay? Christ answered this ig pinetpet A in the paral of the talents andin His deciaration of responsi- bility according to privilege, and Paul elaborated it im the epistle to the Romans, showing that “when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, hav- ing not the law, are a law unto themselves.” Why, then, send them a Gospel which increases respon- sibility? Because the service of God in the best is only attained b: use of successful aids, and without the aids of the Gos- | acceptance, te ge not @ moral impossibil- ty, isa more difficult attainment. Besides these considerations the sending to others is necessary to our life, since in Christian discipleship we get by giving, receive by imparting—realizing that thus ‘it ig more blessed to give than to receive.” Five loaves and two fishes, which would not have made @ meal for the Master and His poy if eaten by themselves, fed five thousand wien distribute’ with His blessing, Christ has put upon the Charei the duty of glorifying Him by the occapancy of His | acquired territory. The Church is His ly. We are tie feet by which He moves, the hands b which He blesses, The end shall completely justify Him in the sight of all the nations. He has asked and received, has sent out here one and there another to herald His coming. He, by His provi- dence, has arranged the nations so tat they may be reached, RE 18 REIGNING IN CIVILIZATION, using unanolited agencies to develop his purpose and complete his plan. Literature develops power to interpret Him; science unsanctified furnishes demonstration of Bible verities, As Roman road@ built for national aggrandizement became high- ways for Gospel bearers, so the world’s wealth and