Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-06-21

De glorlhed. Such was the allotted work of
christians in other days. Such is our work in
these days of the conflict of earthly error and
wrong, and the truth of heaven.
3. This word is one OIL love. 1t can afford to
be. 1t comes from one whose essence is love, aud
who was SO perfectly represented to man in the
being and life of Jesus. 1t is messenger breath
ing good will to men, whatever reproof, rebuke,
or correction it may announce in view of their in
EQUITIES. 1t bore love to the young man, to whom
1t said, and in whom it caused sorrow because of
the saying,-"One thing thou lackest; go and
sell all that thou hast and give to the poor, and
come and follow me-" 1t had love for those of
whom it was mpelled to speak, 20 generation
of viperS who hath warned you TO fee from the
wrath to come How often would have gathered
thee, even as hen gatheTeth her chickens under
her wings, but ye would not therefore, is your
house left unto you desolate." 1t had love for the
guilty, who would silence its divine utterances by
the work of crueiixion, and prayed that the for
giveness of Heaven might reach them. 1t had
no evil desire against Herod, althoughit ascribed
the cunning of the fox to him in plainest terms.
1t hadno revenge to crafty when it said to the
High Priest Ananias, God shall smite thee, thou
whited wall !" or to Elymas, the sorcerer, 80,
full of all subtlety and mischief thou child of the
devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou
not cease 10 pervert the right ways of the Lord?"
Its appeal of justice always was, 'am l therefore
your enemy because l tell you the truth :" 1t is
the fidelity of love which proves it the god like
principle it is.
Speaking the truth in love-" is one of the first
indications of the Christian. The word spoken
must have the heavenly temper in it, to be effect
I'VE for good. Satan cannot cast out Satan. The
spirit of God can. Lore is of God, and can best
do the god-like work of making men hate sin, and
seek righteousness, and delight in the Fathers
service. Love has consistency, true perception,
frmness. 1t has no weak indulgences, no dan
gerOus compromising tendencies, no blindness to
the real deficiencies and needs of its objects of
interest. Though suffering long, with much kind
ness, bearing, believing, hoping, enduring all
things, 1t never faileth in its completeness of ap
plication and action, whatever wrong it is called
to encounter. 1t has the secret OF Gods power;
and this makes it.
4. triumphant word. 1t was sent for a
definite purpose, just as the Divine word ever is.
Saith the Lord of old through the prophet-"For
as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heav-
en-, and returneh not thithcr, but watereth the
earth and causeth it to bring forth that it may
bring seed to the sower, and bread to the eater,
SO shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth 1t shall not return unto me void, but
shall accomplish that which please, and prosper
IN the thug wheretO | sent it" When the great
est of all opponents of this word came to man, it
was IN the Divine purpose and with a definite
end IN view. That power of truth in which he
wrought, was to find its way to human hearts
through bigotry and unbeliel, through hatred
scorn, and hardest persecution 1t saw the end
from the beginning; counted the cost of the war
fare; knew all the intermediate steps and strifes
between the commencement and accomplishment
of the glorious work intended
Nothing short of a conviction of the Omnipo-
tence of this word could have given SUCH cour-
age as they posses sed to its first missionaries and
promulgators They trusted not in themselves,
but in the spirit of truth with which they had
been endowed. With nothing but an earthly
wisdom or cause to have advocated and defended
they had been weak and powerless; and they
themselves would have been borne away and lost
to all human history, perhaps, by the over
whelmlng forces around them. But they had no
such forebodings or anticipations. They were
always confident They were to overcome the
world and not the world them. In all conflicts
they were " conquerers, more than conquerers
through him that loved them" Though they
saw that the end oil their toilings and sacrifices
lay in the far distant; though they beheld not
yet all things put under their risen and exalted
spiritual king thing they did see most
clearly, and that was, the promise OF God to do
his work of redeeming grace with man This
emboldened their hearts, nerved their arms, gave
them light in darkness, and upbearing courage
and trust in every emergency and through every
peril that threatened them.
These characteristics of the Christian Word
lead us to see how the worlds good is bound up
in it, and how necessary it is that all our powers
should be enlisted in its dissemination; in giving
it free course in building it up; first in our
own hearts, and thus IN the great heart and thro'
all the institutions of human society.
The world has thus far advanced by the dis
semination Of light. Its true pioneers and lead
ers have had hope in truth, have believed in the
free utterance, have believed as Mr.. Jefferson in
his first inaugural said that 'error of opinion NAV
be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it,
1t is thus all revolutions for good have been eff
fected old bigotries broken up old corruptions
removed; old tyrannies dethroned; old errors
exploded. 1t was of this power that we. as !
people, were placed politically i'll advance of the
nations. The blessing came of free thought,
Tree speech, a free press. 1t is by the same in
huences that the blessing is to continue Cripple.
stlte, break down these agencies, and the night
OF barbaIlsm might again overshadow u.s. Pre-.
serve and fortify. and perpeuate them, and the
great word of Freedom and human good shall
3" have free course and be gorifed' 1t shall
make us as a nation what, from our advantages
we are bound to be it shall wake up other ma.
tons of the world, one dav, to the coming of
Truths kingdom and the reign of the right
eyermore.
The recent aggressions in our land against the
right OF free speech and of free press,-and
these, too, engaged in the cause of human right
and human treedom,-haye justly awakened the
attention-to say nothing of the fear or indgna-
tlon-of all the most thoughtful of our country.
men, as to the moral tone and tendency of our
institutions, and the actual security or insecurity
of them.
need not, my friends repeat these aggres.
sions to you. They have been with you by night
and by day for weeks past have stirred our
city, other cities, other towns and states than
ours, as they should be strickland would to
heaven l could say as much as this for the
whole land From or national capital, from
our eventful West, from North and South have
the voice OF the conflict cone. Free speech and
the freedom of the press have been met by that
last argument of the fearful, the reckless, the
brutal and nbelieving-physical force Instead
OF good logic, the bludgeon instead of the fresh
sheet from the press of freedom, the destruction
of the press itself; instead of the security of
free men and women, under wholesome laws,
the commitment of their private property to
the flames /; the condemnation of their persons
feet that are swift to shed blood, in pursuit of
them; their determination threatened, and that
too under pretended laws which it is enough to
amaze us to believe could be indited or sanction.
ed by any but the rudest Of barbarians
These indications come up directly in the light
of our subject They concern as, as people pro-
Tossing Christian light, Christian principle, and
Christian freedom. What are we, and what must
we become, five repudiate the very power which
has most helped to make us what we are the
privilege of canvassing all usages, all opinions,
all doctrines involving the welfare of our race
II there is any evil with us that cannot bear this
searching operation, let prepare to meet it, not
in rashness, not in indignation only, but in the
strength of truth, in the labor of love, remember
ing or right-the common right to have this
labor go on in the persistence of truths claims;
in the spirit of Christian ireemen; in the power of
a just and immutable God
Would the Christian conservative avoid ex.
tremes This is just. But let not this avoid.
ance degenerate into mere state Of being "utra
against ultraism." Truths word and Freedoms
are often extreme words, especially wher they
speak loudly, most directly and pungently against
ignorance, oppression, or wrong. AS living
1fpfVl .yrft u rlo1.- Nlof
founder OF Christianity himself, but propounder
Of extIeme opinions. as they al peared TO the es-