The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1859-11-23
Sermons OH ssIJarper,. Ferry.


The great interest taken by the people in the
late outbreak in Virginia, calls out expressions
Of opinion from all classes of public men,
The clergy, in their modernized Identification
with oil temporal matters, are as wide awake to
discuss civil affairs as Ere the politicians, and
hence the large city journals abound in sermons
delivered by the most distinguished divines in
the Republic. Mr.. Beecher is intensely "anti-
slavery" but deprecates the horrors of the late
riot, and counsels peace and love hereafter.
Mr.. Checver pitches into the South at \ teri.
bic rate, and endeavprs to ncite, rather than to
allay the spirit of rebellion; lie even has the
audacity to beg money of English scoundrcls,
for the purpose of keeping up this war of feel.
ing, which those scoundrcls know il the only
thing that can ever discover this great nation
Mr. Remington, the substance of whose ser
mon we give below, is the Episcopal clergyman
who ofticiates at Galway Church, Brooklyn
This sermon was preached to large congrega.
ton, on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 18TH
We give it because it is calculated to do GOOD:
"lhe services were conducted according to
the form Of the Episcopalian worship After
their conclusion the preacher announced the 22d
and &5d verses of the 9th chapter of ST. Mat
thew tor his text, viz:-'T'he light of the BODY
is the eye; therefore, if thine eye is single thy
whole body is full Of light, but if thine eve be
evil thy whole body is full of darkness; If.
therefore, thy light be darkness, how great ia
that darkness" The conscience is the eve of
the soul, and we will pr ceed to consider by
what means it is blinded 1t is by sclfishncss.
The man who turns away his eye from behold
ing the oppre ssion Of the down.trodden, and his
ear from the mourning OF the prisoner, is blind.
ing his conscience. The heart of the man who
Is receiving constant supplies of mercy and new
er gives any will find those merccs putrid az
the waters Of the Dead Sea, and binding TO his
souls eye. Men extinguish this light by living
Lille OF sensuaity. The man who cares not
Tor reason, imagination, philosophy or history,
Is III that very act transforming himself into
brute and quene hing the light of his reason
we pass On to that part OF the subject in which
you will be more interested. The receiving of
error puts out the eye of conscience. The
Egyptians OF old would put to death any one
VINO would kill sacred cat; ancient Rome
kinuicd affairs Tor human sacrifice and other
ancient ana modern nations have extinruished.
in like manner, the light of reason. This blind
ing OF conscience led the Jews to cruelty Christ
anu prosecute his disciples. II the teachings
ol error blinded the ancicnts it Can do tn. same
10 us; Tor we are constituted like them.
come low to consider that fact which is blot
upon the history OF our Countrywide entering
weuse OF disunon-the greatest evil that has
Deiallen this country since the Revolution-
The murderers OF Harper's Ferry were sincere:
but their light was darkness, as were also tho
Mahommedan warriors and the crusaders, who
filled many families with woe and desolotion.
but whose light was also darkness. The muir.
derers ut Harper's Ferry would have us believe
that they committed their actions to lbcrate
themselves, and that their leader was coaded
on by the murder of his sons. But thew forget
that God is the avenger of wrong John
Brown had no right-no matter what the prov
ocation he received in kansas-to murder peo.
pie in Virginia. He should have remembered
that the Gospel teaches us if we are smtten on
one cheek to turn the other also. We have
been told by Christian ministers that this was
but tbs firing of the first gun. Is this the
teaching OF the Gospel deny it We must
remember that the south has million of mep
to bring against US ii a civil war should arise.
1t is terrible thing to contemplate the evils of
civil war in our midst, endangering the lives
Of ourselves, our wives and our children. Now,
let us consider this SUBJ ct in the light of the
Go-pel. We have the tares Of slavery among
US: Are We to pluck them up? No: the Cos.
pei teaches US to let both grow together until
the harvest. lest we pull up tie wheat (the lib.
erty bequeathed to US 10y our i'll lstriOus ior:-
fathers) with the tares. Chr st tau Int us that
the axe OF the Gospel was to be laid at the root
OF evils. At the time he taught anu spo Ike ia.
gan Rome had slavery and idoiatiy. How did
Christ and his apostles cut down these evil trees?
BY preaching the Gospel; and it is in the same
why that we must get rid OF the evil tree of
slavery. 1t was sad thing that when the men
OF Harpcr's Ferry failed in their murderous
work they should receive countensnce and SUM-
port in their work of murder from the pulpit
The Gospel is to do away with evil | have
said, love the memory of Wilberforce and
Clarkson-l love liberty and hate Slavery
But the slaves are spiritually deaf and dumb:
tn y are ignorant and poor, and what thew want
is TO have the bread of life and the light of
Heaven carried to their benighted minds. 1t is
| sad thing that such q circumstance as this at
Harper's Ferry should have occurred in our
midst. Manlius OF ancient Rome, who laid
bare his breast in defence Of the capital, could
not subsequently be sentenced by the Romans
| when he showed them the wounds made on that
occasion. So let Us be cautious what we do in
the present state of affairs. | caution the mi
pit and press not to teach errors which may lead
to scenes ten thousand times worse than those
OF Harper's Ferry. Young men, beware! Re.
member Aristdes, and our own noble Revolu
tionary heroes-John Reid, who declared that
poor as he was, all the gold of England could
not purchase him. Remember the brave SOL
diers Of the South, who could not be bousbt
from their love Ut liberty, their light of con
| science. when they were baretooted, without
powder, aid hungry. In the present case I
must say that my sympathy is entirely with the
South. l lived long in the beautiful South, on
the banks OF the Mississippi, where saw in.
terchanges Of friendship belwe masters and
slaves, and learned Southern social life. There
l knew many Christians, true an since re Chris.
tan men and women, numbers Of whom have
since passed away to the inheritance of eternal
glory, and to sing through countless ages the
praises OF God and OF the Lamb. Let IN be-
ware. Let the pulpit and tie press, therefore,
beware how they misrepresent and calumniatc
their lives and actions and social Conditions
Let them again. say, beware how they bring
about circumstances which may delugc our free
and happy land with blood, and kindIe fires
which may only be extinsuishcd in the utter
ruin and misery of this mighty and glorious ma
ton. Let US live the lives Of many good South.
erners and die their happy deaths. Let us dis.
charge our duties, anu no more, to the slaves
and their masters, and thus prepure ourselyc,
to form diadems Of never-ending briliancy in
the crown OF our blessed Redeemer. whose
mission was peace, and 10 live and reign with
him in his heavenly kingdom throughout glo-
rl0us and ne, err ending eternity. Let these ends
be our true oh jects and aims
LAID Ur.-The Aler. NcGyegor steamer
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