Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1842-08-26
Pulpit INrLuENcE.-At the recent con-


secra,ion Of the s.Church of The Messiah
located on Broadway. fronting Waverly
Place. New York, and erected at an ex>
pense of 800, 600. the Rev, Orvilie Dew
ey. who is pastor Of the Church, held the
following language to an immensely nu-
merous auditory:
.The great error in preachers of the
present day, is, that they do not allow the
pulpit to recognize the principles of hu
man nature. joy and sorrow. hope aud
,aiserv. II stands aoof from the beaten
path of life, and turns a deaf ear to the
human sympa,hies. The Pulpi! does no.
know the passion Of the human mind
The biblical essay-ttle Theological dis
course however deliberately drawn up.
has. unfortunately nothing to do with the
imprisoned ihrobs OF feeling, that swell
the human heart almost to bursting The
parent does not sufficiently consider the
respect and sympathy due the passion o.
the child; the pulpit does not consider
these things as it ought; il is theology
cal tub at sea, without rudder or compass.
and contains no chart or map of the hui
man mind. The pulpit should operate
like newspapers-connecling the whole
army of human passions as with one cleo
trio chain
How much that is bright, blessed and
beautiful in the world, is now rejected and
kept aloof by the pulpit; its existence
doubted. its appeals rejected. The many
beautiful and glowing passions, that thrill
through the human soul; the lneaments
of moral love, the affections of sympathy.
between the sexes, the majesty of natural
sympathy, the pride of the manly brow,
the self satisfied feeling of the successful
student in science, the immortal feeling OF
affection that would yield up mortal life
for the objects of lis love, the senses of all
things beautiful in nature and arl-the re-
ligion that brea,hes in the soul and in po-
elry. With these, the pulpit too seldom
communes. Hence the pulpi! is so often
useless, and its emanations worthless
The religion of the pulpit must be practi-
cally connected with all the relations,
movements, hopes, fears, joys, pains sui-
ferings, and passions of human life, or il
is barren and nugaory IN its results
And of so much importance do deem this
practical religion, that shall mover find
time to talk upon points of sec,arian cons
troversy.
! have studied human nature, | will
walk and talk with human nature from the
pulpit in this church know that all
shades and graces of life will come to hear
me. All that love music, and poetry, and
painting, and science, and learning, and
beauty, and affection, and all that makes
life lovely. and know whence they shall
come. From the lovely home aud fond
husband, from the aged parent and dar-
ling child, from the desk, the store, the
mandatory. the tavern the paths Of plea
sure, The sick bed. the market, the crow
ced streets, and from the ever sounding
sea. And you will come here for calm
and quiet hour froM this routine, and Of
these things we will discourse as human
beings, free from fanaticism. And know
whence we shall go! A little time, and
the sound of our footsteps shall die away
on the earth; and if we have lived in the
practice OF true religion and human sym.
pathies we shall no. depart in sorrow, bu.
wake up by the side Of beloved ones, in I
house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens; --where we shall ascribe glory
and power TO him that stitch on the
throne, and TO the Lamb forever and ey-