New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-02-06


tscd regeneraed, members Of His BODY and
HE church when the force Of His personal character
felt by Ms that becomes central and awak ening when
II kindlts in In n word. We have then got from
Christianity s chief good 1t has accomplished its Great
work in This would SEEM rst sight TO be a y.rv
easy and email result IL this al-sm?y to be impressed
lar with shat DO we not aeknO Wedge and il
IL il not always before in the pages OF His history l.
thor not such an exalted idea of Him abroad in the world
such deep sense Of His unparalleled greatness thai,
are 10th 10 believe that He really man-Ho
seems much more 1t wOuld sppear 20 be so /;
ard yet the consider it, the plainly will it
he that the thing which Christianity to give
The thing in Christianity which most need
intimate and active personal reverence for jesus Christ
How l wish were IN my power to DO justice to my
thought and make you understand precisely what
Let ne try. II fail sure il will not be because what
want TO say is not true and interesting and important
as represent it, Allow me to believe tina. have your
candid and earnest attention The special thing which
Christianity. through all lie Instructions and intutons has
10 give ne and without which ali else if worthless i living
veneraon for Jesus Christ "he glory of this mystery
lis Christ in YOU The world has always been going 10
Christ and studying the Christian records TO obtain creed
lCologies ecclesiastical organizations mys
,tries arguments for another life and know not what
And ell these things profess to derive directly from
Him. he came they say 10 bring them there. II was His
cypress purpose. And what an imposing show, what
tremendous noise musical and Otherwise Is made with
them One would imagine the kingdom Of heaven was i'm
IrediGtely appear But although the movement is great
there progress The worlds welfare instead % bciag
helped, how often is it not most painfully hindered
Ianacea for all its diseases. Amid the din that is
kept about modes of thought and worship the sacred
law Of personal duty is habitusDy violated or IL
nored, the eternal voice of God speaking through
the natural affections Of the human heart drowned and
tie grand End varied lessons Of Nature and Providence
written out not with hands, on the midnight sky and the
beautiful earth and in the stirring Of human events
all only overlooked but superseded by human
forms and traditions. Now for my part cannot that
Christ has brought any thing of the sort which men
claim confidently TO have obtained from Him lie pro
pounded creeds lie elaborated systems of theology
He established no institutions Like elemental force
Of nature incarnaied free and simple the light and the
wind unrestricted by times places lie went about in His
SIM Lefty and gOdy sincerity doing good, and as occa
sion arose, with the commanding authority Of perfect
vcton giving utterance to those dictates of justice ho
and humanity which, asserted forever through the
nature OF man. recognized by Him the art,culae
words of God Thus living and speaking He simply gave
to the wod-hiInself natural human being Character
wrought oil over and inaid" with godke qualities not
written creed logical argument addressed only
the intellect not dead form, awakening childish and
suerttious awe but life natural human life radiant
with every attribute that inspires confidence aud love, and
appealing forever 10 the universal sympahie OF mankind
Study the of His immediate friends OF those who
stood nearest TO Him. and upon whom His influence the
most direct and full Observe what lie did, and what He
did not do, for them He gave them no formal nsruc
tons, caechisms TO get by heart. There
ceremony Of initiation lie did not even o., baPiise
to systematic their thoughts. They had their
supersiitioIs, their erroneous opinions when they
first gathered around Him, and when His personal
ntercoure with them was terminated they had those erto
neous opinions still The last question they asked him
shows how little they had understood him Lord wilt
"thou restore the kingdom to Israel :! They had
then when they left alone, no clear IDEAS,
and all reconcilng theory, no theology.
Indeed it is not easy to conceive OF 3
companv of men more completely in the dark than they
were when Jesus had disappeared from the world Their
minds were all in confusion. They were like sheep that
had lost their shepherd And yet thing they had
Hin had been created in them. This was all They had
been what is called enlightened educated Their
mi nds were still full of their old Jewish ideas and ppos
eseo The only change that had been wrought in them
40 d al they had got new friend and inspired with
affection This repeat, was all their reverence for
Josu. 1t does not seem too much and yet you VIII
consider it well you will find that everything to
them Ii was the quckening OF the immortal within them
II was the mpershabe germ of all power moral and IN
teecua of all life. Their love for their revered friend
how naturally did it prompt them to revert to all that lie
ad said and done recall all that lie They cherished
His beloved Image Their curiosity their understandings
nauray interested penetrate deeply into the
significance of His words and acts. They learned to
put things together which before were apart and
opposite and light broke upon them. They reco
eted how kind how He had always been to them,
and to all men, how willing to suffer how promp 20 pity
and relieve the wretched how He had senced their quar-
res and roined il upon them to love another as lie
had loved ibcm TO do as lie had hidden them What com
fort what delight had they they remembered III feat
ures bsamng with His perfect truth and as the echo OF
III sincere and loving voice 0ated through their memo
ries As they thus lost all Of their desoation
in the remembrance of His love and wisdom how could
he INIT that their hearts should begin burn within them
III liobted fire What else could they do but
;nt what thew did 90 abroad and relieve their hearts
bursting with emotions Of reverence and love, by
Hing Ill the world all about Him, and endeavorng to IN
duce Others TO love Him they loved Him and to enter
into their iov They had unspeakable satisfaction IN
Going as lie had required They knew no higherJoy on
Earth than in being intimate accord with Him This
was that stirred up their intelects that inspired their i'm
sgnatio that unoosed their tongues that stimulated al
heir energies that rendered the m nsensibe to the I'M
pospg formaies of human authority TO the dread oil tor
ur,s md deaih The world misrepresented and perse
ruted but made difference to themt dd not aoae
one lot Of their animation On the contrary MI tha they
inferred through their devoted love OF Christ only en-
iesrd Him the more them and rendered the idea OF
Him still more venerable and sacred for by the rich ex
perence Of suffering for His SAKE ,neS S es
believe that when they tortured and cruched so lar
rom feeling the pain, II was POSITIVE rcliei 10 'heH
over charged hearts thus 10 Eve Pateuod within
hem And then only think what an insight tbey lnus'
bave got into life into tie secret OF true power ana
when they had learned to bearpan ana Is oeau WEI q
lincbng fortude with certain feeling OF triumph. 10
We not see how all their thoughts must have beeh
enlarged and all through the affection which they cher
shed for Christ Thus those first Christians, those Chr'
Gns OF Christs making thus were they gradually
reeenerated born again They entered new weird FOUND
and abiding interests objects OF desire ana a
btion From poor fishermen toing for their eay breao
aud feeding their imsguatons with the poor hope Oh po
tcal deliverer who coming to make the Tich ana
&C at they became luirious apostles OF truth ana rss
Du6HCs breathing life into men opening new worlus
nd all this because Christ in them, not as on arOa
~ lawgver, requiring blind and unreasonng oDegiehce-
10. formal man, doZed as god to be serVhcy I'M,
ATE but He was in them the hope of glory. glorious
hope divine aspiration Not His mere person did they
worship but in revering Him they were brought into sym
pathy with the highest and the hottest lie led themto
higher fountain Of life than Himself Fist animated by
II n they soon came to have life in themseye. and the
rest deeps of their souls were opened and IRON Win
N Them flowed rivers of living water And let be care
uv observed and considered this trans formation took
lace in no ny sca supernatural way but in tue sun
Lest and most natural manner possible through me IN
rton Of that personal affection which the character OF
bris commanded unconsciOusly for the most part on