Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1855-01-26

TING and sculpture and MISUNDERSTANDING
after new "attrac,ions," and man pleasing
rs,;sions teachers-,el! "To the poor, the
Gospel is preached" says the Record. But
were John the Baptist, the fishermen Of Cali
lee, or they of Au,ioch-were Martin Luther
or John Wesley 10 return 10 earth and alight
in the cities of Chrislendom, we think they
would take our houses Of worship to be Pagan
temples. Look at those imposing structures,
and the taxes upon worship there, and wonder
not that half the people in the cities make no
pretensIons to Christianity-are, IN fact, hea-
thens and lnfdels, under the very caves Of
frescoed and carpeted 'churches' with spires
$50 10 200 feet high-yet really no nearer 10
heaven than the unpreiendlng fabric wherein
people expect to worship God only.
Enter one Of these celebrated houses, nom
inally devoted TO the service Of Christ and Of
the God of the poor mans Bible. 1t has cost
from 100000 TO 0,000-enough 10 have
built from . 10 80 plain houses, each OF which
would accommodate As many precious souls
as This "spendid church, 1t is painted and
ornamented a. far as II IS dared TO go in plea
sing the eyes and captivating the senses. ('lt
helps the effect IS the excuse, Just as the Pa
gan saws the image he wcrshrS gives him an
idea of the unseen God 1t helps the effect"
as the Papist SAYS when he kneels before the
painting or image of CnrAt or the Vlrgin.')
Under foot as you proceed, yoI hear kissing
Sount-what Is II ! why, steam engine, pro-
pelling an Organ 10 perform part OF the wor-
ship OF that rich and polite congregation. Yes,
prasng God by steam! (or pumping i, up
by a treadeD Very true. He requires ali
that have breath to praise him; but II any are
too ignorant, or lazy, or proud To give him the
"calves of their lips certainly they think they
may employ steam, and If hey pay for it God
must accept II as thar devotion. And now
the Swelling organ peal,-but there are no
words u;tered-music is substituted for Singing
but "who hath required this at your hands y
1t may be asked. Are not Arbana and Phar-
par, rivers of Damascus, better than all the
waters of Israel ;" reply our Naamans "And
il helps the effsct," says the Papist. Bat II IS
"Ah, but it is not the ave SanctISsima of the
Calholcs-wc are devuut "roiesIanis of the
most proScriptive Know Nothing sort. After
a prelude Of ''ravishIng" music, pronounced
grand" by all the young gems, and " thweet
bv all the Misses psalm or hymn or SpIrl-
tual song" IS allowed TO be sung, every verse
however being carefully guarded against beco-
ming too spiritua! by nterposlng "tidre-l-l'
Impromptu; and at the conclusion of the
hymn, another burst of "Song" from the heart
of the steam boiler thro' the lips Of the Organ
pipes, and the rRAIsE is ended JACKSON
would style all this a dubious kind Of praise
far you and not Wh you-Shoud you ask If
such a performance were the heartworship
required by and acceptable to God you would
probably be Stared al as rery old fogy "trou-
bier Of Israel " and be gravely informed that
That Organ, SIR, cost more than that in the
First Cnurch-has SO many stops, reaching
from CCC below, up 10 infHtisN7,O-;hai they
had hired Signar Lazyboni aud Mademoiselle
Firt of the Opsra-rone a gambler perhaps,
and the other a courteSan, whose VOICES YOU
heard struggling 10 resound against the steam
propelled machine and fyou want any better
music than that SIR, you Will have 10 go ou,
Of the City. Sr-scod day, SIR
And their prayers are as formal, as much
delegated, as their praise. They raise means
10 support missionaries employed IN convert
ing those deluded heather who have PRAYING
~ E,I N ~
prayers by the yard, and they pity the poor
PaplsI' who counts her beads and repeats her
creeds and CALCULATIONS, parrot-like, ,suppoSng
them 10 be available in her salvation. Bu,
what better are these fashionable church"
members, in this respect, than the objects OF
their benevolencel Do they really pray, day
by day or do they rest satisfied with the
prayers Of their preachers, heard once or twice
weeki Do not they think in their very
hearts, If they pay minister for praying,
that his rAID, rRoxr prayers must ab-
solve them from their own duty TO God in that
act of devotion l-JAcKsov thought not So
"wITn ne, not ron me-" was his desire; he
JOINED in worship, not LIsTESED 10 1t. and be-
lieved that such only was "wOrshirIng IN spi-
rit and in truth :" and rSniyInrAL repentance,
and faith, and not the repentance,
Submission and faith of fellow sinner, WAS
his creed That is the doctrine Of the New
Testament. Every man must repent for, and
account for HIMSELF, and not for another.
The rreaching.-.but we have neither time
nor room to follow cut our widely-dvergins
subject. When we observe the spiritually weak
and formal churches we have described, we
wonder not that the Gospel has so little infiu-
ence on the life and heart Of men generally
vet we rejoice that notwithstanding the defects
and perversions and unfaiihtulness of lis pro-
fessors. i, slll,as power advances.-ln busi-
neSs-in politics-ln all other matters as well
as in religion, however, there is need of more
and a more profound sense
Of personal interest and accountability in all
we do or might do. W.
MAIDEN BEAUTY.
ny CHARLES SWAIN.
! > LII. I,,