The New York Herald Newspaper, February 24, 1873, Page 8

NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1873.—TRIPLE SHEET. ‘The Rev. John Parker, the paster, preached from | sciousness of the rectitad of hie actions springing required te: remand them and feHow them and grate the massacre in Minnesota some years Rot exhansted. ‘The giortes of His Tingoom are SERMONS AND SERVICES The Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathe- dral Yesterday Morning, JOHN WEISS ON “THE IDEA OF HEREAFTER.” Chapin on the Three Voices of the Gospel— Conviction, Encouragement and Compassion, MISSION WORK IN MANITOBA. Rey. Dr. McLean, of Rupert’s Land, Preaching in Trinity Chapel. HEPWORTH ON GOD. —___+—_——. A Thirty Thousand Dollar Sermon by Dr. Clarke in Brooklyn. TABERNACLE TALMACE. The Grace of God the Great Necessity. SCIENCE AND SANCTITY. Beecher cn Comte’s and Herbert Spencer’s Beliefs. Dr. Marshall on the Relations and Conflict Between Learning and Religion. The weather yesterday was Uke the angry pas- sion of avery bad tempered virago—frigid, bitter and saquallisb, It reminded grayhatred old charch- goers, whose piety led them forth despite their gray hairs and feebleness, of the New England March, from which has grown the tradition that that month is always the season of Old Boreas’ most absolute and unreienuting sway. There were, however, gleams of Sunshine yesterday, which lighted the pathways to placea of prayer * and praise with a little of very grateful cheeriness, and seemed, mayhap, to some, like the smile of the Messiah electrilying the earth. The churches were quite crowded, and the sermons, as they are found reported below, were of a vigorous, thoughtful character, such as rewarded the attention with wiich they were listened to, It may be here notcd that recently the presence of sensationalism in the pulpit has apparently been growing less frequent, no doubt because of the fact that the public have become sated with such a prostitution of religion to the tricks of the novelist’s or the player's art. Alter Washington’s birthday the patriotic sentl- ments which were re-aronsed in almost every breast seemed to have naturally been the prologue to deeper and more solemn, yet kindred devotions to the memory of the great spiritual liberator of the world, the simple carpenter’s son of Nazareth. Nor would the aMnity between religion and pat- riotism need amore striking example than that presented in the sermon of Father Brann on the dJestival day of the chair of St. Peter, in which he spoke of the truest prerogative of the Popes as being the right to stand between the people and | oppression, as did the Father of his Country, Some of the sermons yesterday will be found to have touched on the patriotic theme of the day. 8T. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL, The Music of the Mass—Its Varicd Ex- pression—An Immense Attendance=—The Duties of Catholics to the Church—The Grace of God—The Popes the Almoners of the Blessings of Heaven. Notwithstanding the coldness of the day, St. Pat- rick’s Cathedral was thronged yesterday by the usual devout and attentive worshippers, Every seat was filled and a great number 0! people stood up or kneeled near the doors during the whole of the service. The mass was celebrated with what fecmed to be more than usual impressiveness and solemnity. THE MUSIO rolied out from the organ loft, first in thunder tones and then in softer strains, like those of the shepherd’s pipe in the emer- ald valleys of the Alps; then again like the rhapso- dies of birds chorusing in the woods, the patter music of waterfalls falling into deep plashing pools, the sounds of low, happy laughter, or so exalted as to make one think of the songs of the stars when they first swung into their orbits from the chaos of space, This was the prelude, tie voluntary of Dr. Schmitz, the organist and director of the choir. Then the rich, mellow tones of the Latin chants broke grandiy and with mighty solemnity en the that portion of Genesis that describes the depar- ture of Abram and his kindred from Mesopo- tamia to enter the promised land of Canaan, After referring to the language of the Lord, who called unto Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee,” the pastor sald that this taugnt us the folly of starting in the service of God and HALTING HALF WAY. ‘Terah’s faith in the promises of God was not equal to Abram’s, for when he came to Haran and found there green pastures and a goodly place to look upon, he abandoned the hope oi reaching Canaan and died in Haran; but Abram believed in the promises of God and went on until he reached the promised land, Terah’s course represented the Christian wko only basa half-way piety, whose faith in the promises uf God ia not suMctent for salva- tion, Abram, however, represented the ABIDING FAITH IN ee gout tempt, nd His promises, No green pastul iP him to ht by the way. God called ‘Ierah as wett as Abram. It was a command, aud less than to go all the way was not obedience. In the Scriptures there were many more persons mentioned who were like Terah in that particular, Whose faith in God was not suficient to cause them to overcome tue temptation of the green pastures of Maran— the worldly pleasures that the Christian encounters on bis pilgrimage to that house not made with hands, not some of you, brethren, IN HARAN WITH TERAH? You have made ao profession of religion. ‘ There was a time when you heard God call you, and you Started for Canaan. But a change has come over ou. To you Canaan is less attractive than ef eld. ‘ou hope to make Canaan some time, but Haran is good enough for you now, you think, and there is time enough for you to resume the journey. Terah’s expectations were disappeinted. He had courage enough to start, as you had courage to protess religion, but when the attractions of Maran were presented he weakened in his faith, and died in Haran. So you have weakened, and unless you PRESS ON LIKE ABRAM you will dic in Haran and come far short of the salvation God has promised you. If you halt haif way like Terah it will be too late, and you can never enter Canaan, Jesus tells us that many who get near to the gates of heaven will be shut out atiast. Would you send your children on to Canaan betore you, an ou die like ‘Terah, halt way? Bonny must be shut out, The foolish virgins came out like ‘ferah in search of God, but were shut out and dicd half way. The career of Abram, the pastor id, was a beautiful iNustration of the jaith of the believer in God’s promises, Abram was rich in gold and silver, and could have purchased houses and Jands in Canaan, but he dwelt in tabernacies and tents, looking ier A CITY WHICH HATH FOUNDATION, whose maker is God. He waited for the city of eternal foundations, each one of which wis a precious stone. Canaan was but a shadow of the eternal city that he watched for as the mariner from the masthead looks for land, Abram and ‘Tera were but types of two classes, in the Chureh, The former represented the devout Christian, whose faith in God's promises was sullicicnt to withstand the temptations of THE DEVIL THAT HE MEETS IN TARAN} while the Terah ts but a typeof the Christian who starts out aright, but gets soured, lukewarm, and, stopping at Maran, says, “This is good enough for me. I have grown rich, and do not want to go to an unfashionable church, where Christians get so happy that they shout.” If we would get through to Canaan and the eternal city we must turn our backs of things that are behind and look to things that are be.ore, trusting upon the divine promises of God to guide us at last into His promised kiug- join, CHURCH OF THE DIVINE PATERNITY. The Three Voices of the Gospel, Convic= tion, Encouragement and Compassion— God in the Constitution—Washington Virtnes the Secret of His Greatness— Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Chapin, The Rey. Dr. Chapin’s church, Forty-fi(th street and Fifth avenue, was attereled as usual yesterday morning by & large, intelligent and very much attentive congregation. ‘The morning was not severely cold, being softened somewhat by a faint but pleasant sunshine, which seemed to make everybody lively and cheerful and gave the ladies a slight opportunity of displaying a reasonable show of fancy toilets. THE REV. DR. CHAPIN’S DISCOURSE ‘was rather-in the style of a brilliant essay or com- ment on the Gospel text in its various applications than a soul-stirring sermon of reiigious merit and authoritative instruction, nevertheless possessing | many beautiful and pious suggestions, which must necessarily have had a telling effect upon the minds of his congregation, ‘The Rev. Doctor chose bis text fram St. Mark ¥., 5land 52—‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?’ ‘Ihe blindman said unto him, ‘Lord, that I micht receive my sight?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole,’ and immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”” The preacher bere introduced his discourse by explaining tae parable of which his text wasa part, Jesus, he said, was on his way to Jericho | with his disciples and a great number of peopie, | among whom was one blind beggar, bartimeus, who, upon hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, began to cry out, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on m and although the people charged him to hold his peace, he still cried out, “Thou Son of David, have merey on me!” and casting away | his garment, rose and came to Jesus, who, hear- | ing his cry, cured bim, There were many opinions, he said, upon the direct application of the text, He would only re- | iterate the denial that diversity of opinion rather weakens than strengthens its force. Under every manner of consideration it impresses the soul with arculity. When we read we immediately discover in it tokens of authenticity, and attribute its truth- fulness. at least, to that source of reliability upon | which All bistorig truth is jounded—authority and the agreement of universal opinion, In it there were THREE STRIKING POINTS, namely, the conduct of the muititude, the action of Bartimeus, and the work of Jesus. Jesus was popular, and the multitude was ear; the tapers flickered with’ brilliant, immortal light, the fumes of incense arose in gray, fanciful clouds in which those seated near the altar may have seen, it they iooked, ail sorts of holy forms— the saints and angeis and Jesus the Son in the ecstacies of bliss. It was but the freak of the imagination, but it was in- spired by the appealing and sweet imfluence of the ceremony. here in the chancel is the priest kneeling, with touching humiiity and devotion, in front of the sacred image, and behind him, with one mighty and tender accord, the great multitude of people are kneeling too, with crosses pressed to thelr hearts and holy words on their lips. The or- gan from above bursts forth between the grand sentences of the mass, like the triumphant accord of the angels. Then comes the clear, dulcet, SINGING OF THE ANTHEM, With rich strains of harmony and uplifting sym- phonies. The solemn tones of the priestly chant again are heard. The ceremony rises to its grand- est pitch when organ, celebrants, acolytes, swing- = censer, incense and breathless peeple make living parts of the most wonderful acene between man and God, THE SERMON follows—a plain, graceful, pleasant discourse— from the lips of a bright and handsome priest, whose robes become him and to whose face the earnestness of devotion lend a fresh and touching beauty. He talks to the people of the beauty of their faith, the love of the Master, tueir duties and their faults; points out the way in which the Church desires they should waik, she being the representative of God, how they can best do to ad- vance and strengthen her, and show their love and gratitude to the Saviour, and how they can lead p aon and delicious lives and ale calm and happy jeaths to be welcomed in lieaven, purged trom sin. All had been called te aknowledge of the trath and had learned that THE WISH OF GOD was that all should be saved. The mysterio workings of Divine grace were felt in all portiei of the earth. His voice penetrates and searches the inclinations of every heart like rays of sunshine penetrating the near and distant corners of the universe. ‘To those Within the pale of the Church God's grace could ever be reached. Some there Were, as Father Rodyne had said, whe grasped it because their minds were stamped with the gild- ings of Divine faith, Others waived this grace be- cause they regarded the teachings of the Church with indifference, But all who sought eee could find it, and who valued it weil could keep { It was ey? out from the bosom of Him into that of the Church, and its holy head was the gor aimoner of the spiritual blessings of the ost High. In closing he referred to the approach of Lent in appropriate terms, and spoke of the duties of the season, Alter the sermon the people slowly passed out ning brightly on the altar. ¢ tapers bur Was pouring forth its grandest tones ure air *2 noonday, jull of invig- into the sweer orating life and hestin, SEVENTH STREET METHODIST cuUROH, The Entry of Abram Into Canaan=The HalfWay Christian Who stops at by the Rev. John A large congrogation assembled tn the Seventh street Methodist church yesterday, where a re. | household. Why should tuere be religious limits in feuded because the poor bliud beggar, Bartim interrupted the procession and attracted His a\ tention from its midst. The peopie, no doubt, thought they were honoring Jesus by charging the | Jeper to hold his peace; but theirs was a false honor, which sprung from selfishness and wiilul | disgust for the poor, whom Jesus loved, Jesus was truly honored by the blind mau, who in the firm conviction of his heart cried out, ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!’’ and pereisted still cry- ing out, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on mei” That was a false henoring which tended to remove that poor straggling soul, groping in the dark- ne! and bliuaness of his physical afite- tion, from the love and compassion of the Son of Ged. So, also, is the honoring of religions false when they begim to assume the garment of res; ability and dare to exciude from the portals of Ged’s temples the poor of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is a proclamaties intended to go down to the ears of the lowest grade as well as to the most aristocratic, and the religion of Jesus js that which shelters and instructs the poor of His the Christian community while there is one poor beggar to cry out ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me?’ Whatever be our privileges, our duty is | to gather the poor as well as the rich into the fold. Jesus honered more the expression of faith and | conviction coujag from the beggar’s lips than the regard of the nfiltitude, and he alone out of the whole crowd came into spiritual comtact with Him, | The preacher here referred to the desire of certain religious sects to introduce THE NAME OF GOD INTO THE CONSTITUTION oF | THE UNITED STATES, He was opposed to it from the beginning as a | Needless project. What to put God's name on paper if His spirit were absent from the hearts of | meu, if the design Is to consolidate Church and State? The moment religion is blended with p tics the country will narrow down to the tafiuence | of sectarianism and tract societies. Resuming his | discourse on the text he showed the wavering | tbs oe of the muititude when Bartimeus, after | ing recognized by Jes beeame the object of their sympatay afterwards, and they cried out to him, "Ke of good cheer.” Here was a sudden gieam | of human nature. Evidences of success attract many to our aki, and the sympathy of the hearta that surround us become hke so many veams of sunshine, But sympathy is most valuable tn ne- | cessity. Religion then has the power of consola- | tion and me ration, The iesson which the action ofthe multitude teaches wag that of seitisiness first—encouragement after. | THE ACTION OF BARTIMECS | proceeded frem pure conviction. He knew Jesus of Nazareth could restore his sight. Here was a chance tocry out to Him from the depthot his | heart, It was also the action of need—the need ota | bewgar shrouded in perpetual darkness, with a sad and helpless Prospect before him. His prayer was short, but it was heard—‘Jesus, Son of David, | have mercy on me." The most real prayers are | short, piercing a8 arrows, welling up irom the | heart, and penetrating even to the throne of God. | He cried out unceasingly, He cared not for pepu- | lar sentiment. He toliowed his convictions. So | ought ai) religious (not self-willed) men. The | world has been moved by such men acting from conviction in the calmness aud intensity of tucir feeling. TUE MAN WE HONORED YPSTERDAY was @ grand representative of those moral heroes, I be attributed not to the thnnder Tge upon phe battle fleld, not to Ms akiiful com- Viva} Of religion hag Seen ia yroerces for some tune, Mmanding nor plausible centrivances, but to his calmness, his tent integrity, Ms great con- | plans of the society w from unshaken faith and convic! and above to his inward spirit which entities forever to universal reverence and love, ‘The fanatic acting from conviction often becomes the centre of a recognized truism. How miserabte the condition-of that man always going about watching and warring with the SUBRELEE senti- ments of the world! Had Bartimeus the popu- lar charge his sight might not have been restored. But he cried out anceasingly, “Jesus, Son of David, have merey on me,’ Lastly, consider the spiritual work of Jesns, por- trayed in the miracle or immediate cure of the blind Bartimeus, The preacher here turned the application of the text to the blindness of buman souls to all that should be to them objecta of the dearest interest. There was THE BLINDNESS OF INFIDELITY, which could not see God in the harmony and beant; Of the universe, neither beneath the star-lighte: canopy of night, nor before the foaming cataract, nor on the bounding waves of ocean. kere was the blindness of seusualism when passion was our God, the blindness of selfishness, which could see nothing according to {netics but presumed to judge all, gave no toleration and respected no one’s feelings, Go help him (the preacher) to respect the convictions of all, There was the blindness of sin, which was blindness to good, to Divine love and to our true weliare. But we | re- gain hope even in sin, when we considor the tender compassion of Jesus for the blind Barti- meus. It was His last journey. He would not stop for His own sutferings, but for the sufferings of others. He cured the unclean leper aud demou- strated His sovereignty as well as His compassion. What condescensioa! A recoguition of the crea- ture by the Creator—of the finite by the Iniinite— whese conception is beyond the reach of human intellect. 10 does not hope, let him consider the work of Jesus. As He healsd the blind so can He heal the staner who cries out to Him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Let all, therefore, rush to the arms of Jesus. Heis the w: , the life and the trath, ude will The voice of the mul finally encourage you; your prayers and cries will draw forth mercy from the sacred heart of Jesus, and stretching forth {fs hand He will succor you, open your eyes to the knowledge of the truth an dismiss faith au ‘ou iree from sin and in possession of the the spirit. CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES, God Infinitely Great and Smal!l—His Love and Unceasing Watchfuliness for Us Individually—Scermon by the Kev. George H. Hepworth. Stcinway Hall, where the congregation calling itself the Church of the Disciples still meet for Sun- day worship, was crowded yesterday morning—a pleasing tribute of appreciation of Rev. George H. Hepworth, the popular pastor, and the more marked as he had been absent the previous Sab- bath, His subject was, “The Providence of God,” and bis text Pralms exxi., 3—“He that keepeth thee will not slumper.”’ There is no stronger or more intense expression, he began, to express endurance, Sleep is the last test of physical power. The spirit may be willing but the flesh may become weak, The infant is sick; the mother has watched by its bedside for three days and nights; the crisis is at hand, but the mother falls asleep. The great sleep bas overcome her in spite of her love for her boy—a love that would give its own life for the life of the child. But there is A NEVER-TIRING VIGILANCE. Week after week, month after month, that eye 13 always open, looking into the recesses of your soul and watching for your welfare, And 80 I want to talk to you about the providence of God. It is the marvellous doctrine of the New Testament. Wo can understand the general iaterest, the interest of the architect in his plans; but He has in usa far deeper interest. He is never more marvellous than when viewed through His works. The very imagination refuses to follow Him, If you would get an idea of Him who says, “I will watch over thee,’ leap this space to Mercury, then’ to Venus, then to the carth, alittle speck of sand, a little drop of water in an ocean, Then take another anda bolder tight to Jupiter and Nep- tune and you will be appailed. You will feel as littie as When youstand within the great Cathedral amid the lofty columns and the echoes of the swelling organs. But you have not yet begun your journey. The sun has bot yet risen and you are tired, There are voices that bid you ldap into INFINITE SPACE, A You may go further and further, but you will find no end. 0, God, thy deeds ure greater than my deeds, thy thoughts greater than my thougnts. In what a marvelious world are we living! Look at the stars, and there are thousands more beyond your sight. iow marvellousiy great is God! And this is the God who has said, ‘iy providence shail never slumber.” Such is the being to whom we have been taught to say, ‘(My Father which art in heeven.”” Such is “the general providence of God. Now let us look a littie closer and see what means Mie spocial providence. Put hy your telescope. He is illimitable, and RA can know no more of Him than does the fy on the beltry of St. Peter’s of the vast Cathedral. Now, let us take down the micro- scope. Look at a single drop of water or a leaf. You find in each drop and on cach petal a whole nation, who are not only alive but happy. Look at them, and you can kee they have lungs and hearts, Your eyes take in only a limited view. You can see just what is intended for you to see. is BEING WHOM WE CALL GoD is not only great but minute. He not only governs the huge world, but the animalcule in a stale drop of water. ‘Then religion entails responsibilities upon us, He cares for the world as separate indi- viduals, That is why we are able to say the Lord’s Prayer., What a strange truth sist I cannot believe It. My science, my philosopiy tell me that Tam insignificant. I take the Bible, that says that God marks the sparrow’s fall, @ leaf’s fall, though millions are falling, and if we, who are to live for- ever, and if we would only believe it—we who are in the very focus of that power—if we only grasp the and it will safely lead us through trial and temptation, sickness and the grave. We are ways in God's mind, as a ciild is alwaysin a mother’s mind; she may be apparently busy, but she hears a fall and she rushes to her child. The relation between you and God ts this intensified, Do you beheve this with all your mind’ Do you work on this plan? You have not an aspiration but God notes it and heips you. Do you believe that every word of it is true’ God Atmighty’s own lips have spoken it. Oh, what strength is there iit, Have you ever had this experience ? You must have had it. You have lost your money or your friend or relative, and you have lost all hope, You have thought you were AN ACCIDENT—A WALP, Yes, that 1s the feeling, and what {s its effect? It chills you to the marrow. You cannot sing the “Old Tlundredtb.” On the other hand, have you not sat by the bed of death, eyen theugh tiat life were dearer than your own, and said it is all for the best; not my will, but thine, O God, be done, When you can say that you have religion, None can say that but a Christian. Tired, you can hear in the aira voice of encouragement. Were that Voice to fai you would be lost. But the voice will never die, He who watches over you neither slum- bers nor sleeps. his providence should make us exccedingly grateful, Oh, friends! remember that the eye that looks upon you never siumbers, God's eye. ROSE HILL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUROH. Church Exte: jon Work—Addresses by the Rev, Messrs. Dickinson, Stecle and Bamhart—The Progress of the Work and Its Benefit to the Methodist Charch—Statistics of the Mission, Ameeting was held last evening in aid of the chur h extension work at the Rose Hill Methodist Episcopal church in Twenty-seventh street, The meeting was well attended, every pew being full. The Rev. John Dickinson, after the singing of a couple of hymns, said that he would not take up the time of the congregation by reciting the object of the meeting tifere that evening. He would leave that to others who had come for the purpose. He then gave way to the Rey. J. W. Bamhart, of the Forsyth street Mevhodist Episcopal church, wie, taking the pulpit, immediately went into the subject of the church extension matter, He sald that as far as he knew this mission was one of the most noble and most salutary te Methodism that could have been devised. Fortunately, the ‘e done with, the mere organization of the work had ended, and now the only thing to do was to push the thing aud make it as useful as it could be made in this great city, ‘To be sure it reqitired hard work, and, more than hard work, it required MONEY. This was what the faithiul had been called upon to do, tosubscribe. He had heard with some sur- prise that it was not the intention of the mtnis- ter to gather a collection that evening; but no doubt there were good reasons fer it. At present dj | the mato need of the Methodist Church was not to lose its ground in this city. It certainly would unless something more than mere passive waiting were done. It was very well for the mountain to go to Mahomet, but when it would not then Mahomet should go to the mountain, When the people woulk not of their owm occord go to church then it was the duty of the Church to go to them and take them by the nand and invite themin, Many were quite willing to go to church, and wanted to go, wno did not dare Go. ‘They could not make up their minds to enter inio & strange place among # lot of strange peopie. But When mussionaries were sent out and iavited them in Many accepted the invitation joyfally, Then there was another thing down towa the church had to combat @ great deal. People who were humble and gradually get even rich would leave down town and gradually go up. Riches begot pride Sud pride forgeuniness, When they moved up it itis | to t . the coneeh ir it when mothers fled with children in ‘their were not for such influences the Methodist Church | arms from the pursuit of the murderous Indiana, would lose ground and become weaker and weaker | he illustrated sufferings of the Virgin and her in the city. What was wanted were men who | child fleeing from the bloody mandates of a opel would go out and take people by the nand and in- | king. He depicted the power ana glory of the vite people in, The Forsyth street church had con- | as jua! with the ratier, of whom the Evangel- tributed six missionaries to the cause, and the | ist St. John has said, ‘In the beginning was the eflect was already felt not only in the Sanday | Word and the Word was with God and the Word school, but aiso @ little in the pews. The parents could be reached upward tiough the chil- dren, the children downward through the parents, and such a system of working outsi¢e in this way TO BRING SOULS TO GOD and to the Church was the most elfective way of Reep tie up the influence and dignity of Methodism in the city, Rey. Mr, Dickinson explained that no collection was taken up that evening, because he thought it best to let the work fructify and bear iruit later. He Said this idea that ail people were moving up town was Sgreat mistake ; that the down town wards con- tained an immense population, and the work could in no place be more effective than there, ‘The Rey. W. C. Stecle, of the Beekman Methodist TiRaCOp a chureh, then addressed the congrega- tion. He saia this was a glorious work they were engaged in and that he supported it heartily. He said:—*I find in all parts of the city peaple who want the way to heaven shown them. Such people exist in great multitudes in Harlem as well a8 elsewhere, But we are here to take just such eople tons and help them find the way to God, them come from everywhere; trom the chulk cliffs of the old country, from the heathered bills of Scotland, from that beautiful gem of the sea, THE EMERALD ISLE, from the sunny land of Italy, from everywhere Iet them come, and we will show them that in this Jand there is a Christian spirit breathing which they will feel, There is room for all of them;. let them come, Mr. Cullen said that two million human beings had been lost to Catholiciam by emi- gration to the United States. Thank God for it! Let them come here and we will shake their old ume superstitions out of them. This mission of ours must go down and take them by the hand when they arrive at Castle Garden, and teach them the great truths of that Bible which Martin Luther fought his bloodless battles to make free to all.’? A ia) aker (a member of the Seventeenth street Mcthoaist Episcopal church) said thatthe Chureh Extension Society had eight missions on the east side of the city and seven on the west, and that it had fifteen inissionaries, two o/ whom were women. Sixty-eight thousand dollars had been speut during the past year. LYRIC HALL “The ea of He: fter’=Sermon by the Rev. John Wei of Boston, Mass. The Rev. John Weiss, of Boston, took the place of the Rev. 0. B, Frothingham at Lyric Hall yesterday morning. All the seats were filled, and chairs had to be placed for those who came late. His subject was, “The Idea of Hereafter.” What are the ele- ments of our idea of hereaiter? he began, We de- rive our notion of time from events. The Infinite knows no succession of events. All events exist at once to the Spirit that did not begin and that hasnoend, Mankind could not have got the idea from God, The stomach was the first timepiece, Man labors until the evening, but eternity dis- penses with “until.” The ideas of time, space and place are necessarily human. Your body is not so big aa the whole outside of it, and it may be at but one place at a time. ‘The idea of place becomes joined with that oftime., To one man this earth is a vast hunting ground, while to another it Isa ce- lestial tract, SWARMING WITH SOULS, Not one of these ideas could have been derived from the Infinite. You and I provide places. ‘There was no heaven, no hell, until man began to have a sense of justice, Where did it come from, for we are incapable of creating it? We can make a distinction between elements because they exist. Do you think God set up a heaven when man became good and a hell when he became bad? ‘They are the conditions of your moral state, Itis very plain that these conditions have crystallized into ideas aud accompany the human mind, So far as the idea of hell is involved it 1s alarming. Mow many individuals have become impregnated with this Bavage ideaol hell! But barbarism has yielded to culture, ‘The heretics of science and religion may expect to be under tie bane oi the majority. You must ‘have noticed how this idea of hell has taken possession of the faculties, ‘There can be neither time, place nor space to the Infinite; but we are finite. it is gseless to under- rate the elements which have nourished the lead- ing ideas of our consciousness, The cause of punishment seems to be a natural sense of justice. Asa COLONY OF MONKEYS will grimace and throw down cocoanuts at you, 80 will great crimimals break through the law and override justice. If a deliberate villain trans- gresses we deem it no dishonor to Jet loose upon him some higher power. What is our sense of justice Suppose that you have no moral sense, Inerely @ Consciousness that some things are useful, then you would dread the tuture. When a dog disobeys his muster he dreads the near fature ot his dog life, for he knows punishment is coming with it. How does it happen that man dreads a@ future lile? “Conscience makes cowards Of us all.” 1t is the coming of re- tribution that causes us to dread the future. What a queer notion was the Eastern idea concern- ing metempsychosis—the changes of people into different forms ofanimais! Why should they be so placed if their dcmerits were local? Piato said this idea might have been advanced to account tor the diiferent animals—the want of consciousness without @ check attached to it, one without the dread of being eventually overhauled. I! con- sciousness has a physical origin it is not inguite, and the only consciousness in some people is a sense of being repressed, The people oi a city in Italy are compelied to leave their houses and flee to an open country. The Italian government is hastening to their rescue, while BANDS OF PILLAGERS are overrunning and sacking the houses, Even al dog wiil watch over the plie of deserted goods, ut no animal is intelligent enough to maraud. 16 takes a man to be a beast. Here is auother dilemma for modern theolc Here are these rob- bers. Seppe. that tie 1 of a hell should re- press such peopie, and that they acted as decently asthe average mun and were quite as capable of page ane an epitaph. Remove the fear of hell and the decency would vanish. The other life would be forced to organize a system for keeping the peace. Hell should be a place of retribution. If that be periect justice no man ner woman need be airaid of hereaiter. Throw all these things overboard. Do not fresco our ceilings with imagi- nary clouds or paintings on fiat suriaces, or try to grasp the stars from their silvery paths, he eolors. of the solar spectrum are not tle only ones in existeuce. On_ one end they deepen, on the other they rise, Vibra- tions sink to unfathomable tones, and you cannot gee the extension of the laws of vibration, The highest notes of tiie orchestra that could reach my ear are all could hear. My delight in listening is edged with a PENUMBRA OF DISSATISFACTION, We detest the notion of extinction, It is hor- rible to become a clod, There comes to us the tender and overpowering moment when we are separated from some kind beings. We caunot give them up forever; we must have them again. Dead! The sod is dead, but the soul is not. There is not a tenderness accredited to the human heart but has tried tne ears of people before the Poss David Gray, a Scotch poet, dying in a ondon garret, s&d, “God has love and I have faith.” The idea that we are to be extinguished is wrong. TRINITY CHAPEL The Importance of the Gospel and ita Spread—Lhe Mission in Manitoba, Rapert’s Land—Sermon by the Kev. Dr. John McLean. The venerable John McLean, D, D., D. C. L, Archdeacon of Manitoba, in the diocese of Rupert’s Land, preached to a large and attentive audience in Trinity chape! last evening, Alter the usual services the rector announced that lollowing the sermon an offering would be received, the pro ceeds of which were to be devoted to St. Jonn’s College, Manitoba, of which the audienee would hear something this evening. THE SERMON. The reverend Doctor announced for his text xvi, 48 Numbers—“‘And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was | stayed.’ He said:—My brethren, the nature | of sim and the horrivle consequences which result from it, together with tne way | provided by which to avoid them, are all typl- fled in the narrative of which the text performaa part. Israel was failing oy thousands, and there was no earthly power to save them. Only ina Di- vine interference could they find relief. Aaron, as he went among them, saw these thousands dead and the living terrified at their approaching dvom. He otfers AN ATONEMENT FOR THE PEOPLE. He stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed. Herein the High Priest was a symbol of our blessed Saviour, who stands between the living and the dead, a shield for those who through sin are in danger of ruin, May God, in His infinite mercy, grant that our mercifal Mediator may to-night stand between us and the - doom we so justly merit! In considering the text, he first alluded to ihe earnestness of Aaron, There Was no time to lose; he could not go to the sanc- tuary and offer his atonement there, and so he ran among the peopie, And so it was with Christ, whom Aaron typified, He came down among the peogie aud put on Him our humanity. From infancy Ho was identified with the people and He was @ child Of sorrow /* ‘ore Hic became @ man Os gral Baler- ations Was Gou.” He suowed the vastness of the universe as revealed through the science of astronomy— worlds on worlds, extending beyond the pen of THE MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPE, and which, though we travel with the speed of sunt Would require ages upon ages to visil aud which would everywhere reveal the power ani goodness of God. Of all this Christ was the creator and preserver, and from this height He descended to put on our nature and to lead a life aptly de- scribed by—The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” He described tie agony and bloody ‘sweat in the garden, the sufferings in the judgment hall, the march to Calvary, the crown of thorns and the horrid death upon the cross. Listen to the heartbreaking cry :—‘‘My God! God! Why hast Thou forsaken ine?” It is a soleinn thought, my brethren, that the 1ull signifi- cance of this symbol, of which I have spoken, will never be found until Jesus sets upon the Judgment Seat at the Judgment Day, A trial upon earth in- volving life is a solemn thing, How much more important that trial upon the results of which hangs our eternal destiny. The dead aro sleeping in their graves, the world rolling on in its accus- tomed course; all the avocations of life are bein performed, Jn an hour unknown and unsuspecter the trump shall sound, and all the human race, from Adam to bis latest born offspring, are sum- mouec to the bar of God. ‘The sun shall set to RISE NO MORE and Christ shall appear setting in awful grandeur beiore Him the record of every soul. The multitude before shall be divided; to those upon his right hand He sual say, “Come ye biessed of my Father, inhabit the kingdom prepared for you since tio foundation of the world,” and to the others, “De- part-ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Tne one shall be radiant with joy; the other gloomy with an eternal despair, ‘The speaker then proceeded to urgue from theso views the importance of the Gospel and its spread, “It is,” he said, “because of the value of souls that we are endeavoring to send this Gospel to the ends of the carth, 1 come to ask of you a contribution to assist in the spread of Gospel truth. The lands to which I refer ure north of your States of Minne- sota and Dakota, and consist of millions of acres of the most tertile soil, which has been recently opened up to an emigration which flowing in very iast, and it ig ex- pected that in a few years those vast solitudes will all be peopled. There are thousonds of be- nightea Indians there also, to whom are to pe ex- tended the privilegen of the Gospel. The college spoken of in your hearing has three objects, namely—preparing young men for the ministry, atfording means of a supevior education to tlie youth of the country and so educating young In- dians that they can be employed in carrying the Gospel to their people. Funds have been raised in England for the purchase of land and employment of teachers, but some $10,000 ts needed to complete the buildings. 1n his appeal to the congregation he stated that there was already @ number of In- dian clergymen, and the Indian population had mostly settled down into the habits oj civilized life, in their houses, dress and conduct not unlike the rer classes in Christendom. ‘They were easily instructed and very anxious to have their children baptized. He closed with fervently invoking tue blessing of God. BROOKLYN CHURCHES, PLYMOUTH OHUROZ, Science Against the Bible—Comte’s and Herbert Spencer's Belicts—Questions and = Angswers—Miracies, Works of Power—The Belief in Goi as a Person— The Power of Perfected Faith is In- finite—Sermon by the Rev. Edward Beecher, Notwithstanding the pleasant weather yester- day Plymouth church was not so weil attended as usual. Dr, Edward Beecher delivered a very im- pressive sermon upon ‘‘Faith.” The text selected was Job xiv., 14—‘If a man dic, shall he live again? An answer to this question is found in the First Epistie of John v., 9, 12—“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of Godis greater: for this is the wituess of God which He hath -tese tifled of His Son. ‘He that believeth in the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God bath given to us eternal life, and this life is im His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." ‘This is the record which God has given us of eternal life. There are certain ques- tions natural to may as a thinking and emotional being. I propose to state them and to consider and contrast the answers given to them by science and by the Bible. Much is said of science at the present day, and in some forms it is set against the bible as the suf- ficient guide. Comte and his followers in France do this, Herbert Spencer and his followers in Eng- land in effect do the same, though less openly, It is well, therefore, to inquire what science can do before we put out the LIGHT OF REVELATION. 3 The questions are of fandamental moment. If a man die shail he live? if be lives, where and in what system? Is there asystem of the universe? Does it embrace all worlds and all beings? Are there any conditions for entering it? If so, what are they? In this world there is no apparent system, from beginning toend., It is a world of care and of death, Ali plans are broken up; all ties are sun- dered. What becomes of our loved ones ? Shall we ever sce them agam? Such are the great ques- tions, What, then, is the reply of science? The science of Comte, that denies a God, answers them ali in the negative. If there is no God of course there 1s no system—ano great end of crea- tion, but simply material evolution. But all science docs not deny a God; what does such science answér? It gives no answer, and can give none. Science caunot bridge tue chasm between us and the nearest world, And now, what answer docs the Bibie give? tt gives a clear and deiinite answer, Mau shali live again. There is a@ system of the universe, all-embracing | and eternal. The Bidie answers these questions for two reasons:—l. It has access to God, who knows and on whom all depeuds, and brings Hin in as a witness, 2. It makes the system, though invisible to the senses, real to the mind, On these points the texts quoted insist. Science cannot go beyond the testimony of man, The Bible has ac- | cess to the testimony of God. Besides tiis it gives | communion with Him, sympathy with Him, and participation in His certainty and emotions, This 1s done by miracles. A miracie is a work of power of which none but God can be tac author, and its grand peculiarity is that wien God is appealed to it brings Him in as a witness, This is tie grand peculiarity of the Bible, which bridges tie chasm that no science can cross, Based upon these two great positions, the | Bible answers all questions which we ought to | know. See in what manners the two elements com- | bined make faith, Faith is the link between God and man, and the channel of His power. Faith is the great working power of the system of God. Faith is a fuli belie! of GOD AS A WITNESS, or as offering rewards or threatening punishments, Tie faitn of the Bible ts bellef in God as @ person who nas & moral character and administers a moral government. So tne Bibie presents the | case. God, by miracles, works of power, which He only can periorm, comes into this world as a witness, We see now why it has a moral charac- ter. TheAbtigation of veracity in testimony is feit | most deeply by man. There can be no greater dis- honor than to be stigmatized as a liar, The same-| feeling exists with God, He has testified on mat- ters of infinite moment on which He desires to be | believed. If, therefore, he testifies and His word is discarded He feels that He is treated as @ Itar. If we receive the testimony of man the testimony of God is greater. He that believeth not God hath made Him @ liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. itis not only @ beilef, but a sympatietic belief, based on the love ot God, which makes communion possibie, God is | love, and to know Him truly we must know Dim by sympathetic love, ‘This opens the way for that element of the high- e8t and most perfect taith—vis., tue SELE-REVELATION OF GOD, already spoken of, by which we are made to see truth ag he sees it, aud to feel it as he feels it. Look at the sublime power of faith, Its power is illustrated by the greatest natural changes—the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and itis ex- altation to the right hand of God; so by faith men rise with Him, sit down with Him at the right hand of God, come to the company of angels, and of the spirits of just men made perfect. This i ubliiue description of the experience sthat naturally resuits from the action of the Divine mind in producing faith. The animating spirit of this world is selishness and not ioye. ‘this makes al, and the spiritual world, so that practi- are without God. To them this world is reality, in its varied forms of pleasure, weaith and power. These take the place of God, and the spirit of the whole system is ENMITY TO GOD. To live for God and for eternity tmplies an en- counter with the fall power of the god of this world. All of pleasure, profit or power that this world can give Jasts but for a lie short and uncertain. nt the spirit world are eternal. God is truly great and glorious, In His Kin; is all that Man can desire of greatness and glory. When brought into direct comparison with each other the infinite must, of course, outweigh the finite. Hence the power of perfected faith is infinite and utterly annihilates the power of the world, and in times of trial God perfects it, In every age it has wronght wonders and gained vic- tories. Nor ia its power exhausted, For Goi in sted, and whatever the r the system of Satan, there is a r powerof — faith high above them. Let us now speak F before ower of evil habits and appetites, and gives the hat and liberty of a heaven ee To un- derstans yy We must conceive of the joy of God’ make i¢ oad, “Or this our Sahioee ook eee Eny LS ol in addition consider the } Has, Hs Hal ea kde FOU o se: 2 . = Pa lin ovaoye on above all au: sorrows hopes, There an attempt to saderenne and set aside the (ved mony of God; but before you put ont this de- cide What you will have when you have pat it out. You will have the same world to deal with, ane saine temptations; and where will” pe strength and power when faith is gone? No, there. is nothing to take its place. God has kindied light—let it shine, TALMAGE AT THE ACADEMY, The Gra of God the Great Neces.. sity—Not a Religion that Sits Three» Hours on a Gravestone—The Gospel. the Great Event of Sclence—Sermon. by Mr. Talmage. Mr. Talmage discoursed to a very large congre- gation yesterday morning on the grace of God, using a8 @ text—“salt is good,” a simile em-- ployed by Christ when on the personation of one 1 His sermons He picked up a crystal and held. it up to Hishearers as an illustration of divine: grace. Inthe first place, Mr. Talmage said that grace was like salt in its beauty. Salt was beauti- ful to the naked eye, but under the glass you saw the stars and the diamonds and the white treo- branches and the fire as the sun’s rays fell on it.. It would take all the time, with an infringement upon eternity, for an Angel of God to tell one half the glories in a salt crystal. So with the grace . of God—it is perfectly beautiful. I have: seen it make an aged man feel almost young again, I have seen it lift the stooping shoulders and put a sparkle in the dult eye. It helps to purity people, and instead of put- ting a man in a philosophical hospital to be exper- imented upon by prayer, it keeps him so well that. he does not need to be prayed for as an invalid, I am speaking now ofa healthy religion, not of that morbid RELIGION THAT S1T3 FOR THREE HOURS ON A GRAVE- STUNE reading Hervey’s ‘Meditations Among the: ‘Tombs’’—a religion that prospers in @ bad state ol” the liver. Grace ts like salt, also, in the fact that it isa ne-- cessity of lite. Man and beast perish without salt. . Chemists and physicians tell us that salt is a ne- cessity, So with the grace of God; you must have itordie, I know a great many people speak of it as @ mere adornment, a sort of shoulder-strap adorning the soldiey or a frothing des- sert brought in atter the greatest part of the banquet of life is over, or a medicine to be~ tuken after calomel and mustard plasters have failed to do their work, but ordinarily a mere su- perfluity. So far from that, Ideclare the grace of Ged to be the first and the sast ne- cessity. lt is food which we must take or starve in eternity of famine, and that oung woman who sits ‘before me and itaghe must bave it or die. ‘Those who have it. live; but those who have it not die, Grace is like salt in abundance, It is for all lands and ages and conditions; pardon for the worst sin, comiort for the sharpest suticrings. If the twelve thousand millions of our race should now cry ont to God for His mercy there would be enough for all; for those: Jarthest gone in sin, for tie murderer STANDING ON THE DROP OF THE GALLOWS, for Rozensweig and Stokes and Foster. I remark again that the grace of God is like tne salt in its. preservative quality. You know that salt is the great antiputrefactic of the world, and men will admit that as a preservative “salt is good.” £ have to tell you that the grace of God 18 also & great preservative, tut lor that grace the earth. would have been a stale carcas3 long before this. Just so soon as @ government loses this salt of divine grace or has no afinity with it, just so goon. it perishes. The BinGnOuh y's} this day, just so far~ as itis antagonistic to this religion, is putrefac-- tion and stinks. Labhor it. The great wantof our schools of learning and our institutions of science: to-day is not more Leyden jars, not more spectro-- scopes, but more of that grace which will teach. our men of science that the God of the universe is. the God oj the Bible. My subject is one of great. congratulation to those who have within their souls this sait of diviue grace. That will preserve: them from the sorrows and temptations of life and through all the ages of eternity, I don’t mean to say you Will have a smooth time because you are a. Christian; on the contrary, if you do your whole: duty I will promise you'a rough time. You march: through an en$my’s country; the war you wage will not be with toy arrows, but swords plunged tov the hilt, But £ believe God Omnipotent will seo- you through, Ithink He will, But why dol TALK LIKE AN ATHEIST when I ought to say, 1 know He will? As one of the Lord’s surgeons I must bind two or three- wounds, -I have been told there is nothing hke~ salt to stop the bleeding of a wound; and so I take~ the salt of Christ's Gospel and put it on the wounded soul, It smarts a little at first, but seo- the biceding stop, and, lo! the fesh comes again as; the flesh of a little child. “Salt is good.” “9 22 TOMPKINS AVENU PRESBYTERIAN CHUROH: Dr, Clarke’s New Eaterprise on Tompkins. AvenuceA Thirty ‘housand Dollar Sermon=Whit Was Said on a Text Selected by Onc of the Congregation— The Mission of the Christian Church and Admonitions to Contribute to Its. Support. Yesterday was a red-letter day in the history ott the Presbyterian church in Macdononugh street, Tompkins avenue, Brooklyn. Dr. F. J. Clarke hag» since September last been the pastor of the church, and during his ministry tiere the congregation has. largely increased in numbers and influence. Tho necessity of a more commodious church has been. made mauvifest, and yesterday morning the first. Qnancial etlort towards that end was undertaken, and resulted in a collection after the morning ser- mou of $28,177, which, it was expected, would be- made up to $39,000 before the day was over. As soon as the frost is out of the ground It is intended to commence the work. of building, on lots adjoining the present church,, and which are contiguous to a rapidly increasing: settlement of houses of a better class, and occu- picd by influential merchants and their families,. doing business in both cities, Yesterday’s work. was regarded by the trusiecs as a very encouraging: beginning, and the new enterprise which has thus- received its baptism of dollars, will fructify speedily into a very live church, Dr. Clarke preached yesterday morning avery appropriate sermon, from a text that, he said, hadk been selected for him from “the pew,” which, putting aside metaphor, meant that one of his. congregation had chosen it. The text was the: last clause of the eighty-seventh Psalm—“All my Springs are in Phee.”” ‘The Psalm was read through, and described as. an elegy of Zion and asa rapcurous and imposing song, In order that his hearers might be in the spirit-of the subject, the Psalm and its reference to the city of Jerusalem were dilated upon and formed the introduction to the dis- course, The speetal reference that the text hai tothe contemplated bitiiding of the charch was then spoken 01, and the experience depicted in the luz Psalm was the experience that should be tha privilege of those who liad the prosperity of that enterprise at heart, A general reverence to the posi- tion of the Church and CHRISTIANITY IN THR WORLD formed the main topic o1 the discourse. Im this connection the Church was regarded as the legatee of the most precious promises. The of Christ's disciples was the representative of the legacy, and the weaith of which never conid be exhausted, In that form it had come down the ages to them, That body of believers as it came down had been unified and sanctified by one Spirit, one Lag cog God had so loved and cared fer the Church, 4 no weapon that snouid be formed against her sno J and in that respect even the resources had been subsidized by ler, Then the Church wag a great teacher, to whom was committed the oracies oi God. We had reason to thank God for the Scriptures and for the prov- ideuce that enabled the Jews te preserve the Scrip- tures in their integrity. The purest and best les- sons of our lives were those that we had been made acquainted within the Cnurch, The Church, too, was a fold and school for her children, However depraved men might be, and indisposed even to lit @ finger for their own salvation, they were al- ways desirous that their ciidren should be taugit the right and the good. ‘then, the Church was a teacher to the Bations. It was the Church that had carried civilization to the heathen and the bar- barian, It had stimulated Individual mental ac- tivity. Galileo went into the Cathedral at Piazey in devout meditation, and in the swinging of the revail ; nature jampa received the suggestion of the nda. lum. On the Other haud, it was sale iy say that Infidelity lad contributed nothing to science, ‘The areat triumphs of onr race were made undel