The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-12-25
Our Christmas Sermon.


With the best the most cordial and the
heartiest Christmas greetings to all our readers,
wheresoever these lines may be waited, on ship
or shore, we salute, las minute men among the
reserve Of millions" the great Christian holt
day-the day of our Sayiour's birth-the day
when the wise men rejoiced, with exceeding
great joy, as they saw the Star in the East.
1t has seemed to us especially fitting to this
occasion, when, if ever, the hearts of all men
should be open to the reception Of the simple
but grand truths put forward in the dispen-
sation of Christ, to reproduce his Sermon on
the Mount" which we print in full in the
HERALD of to-day and to which the attention
of all chr readers is earnestly solicited.
This solicitation may seem at the first glance
to be like calling attention to twice-told tale.
Almost every one will say 1t is the old story.
We know that the Sermon on the Mount pro-
claims in terse and epigrammatic language the
fundamental truths Of Christianity. We are
acquainted with its gentle lessons, its humani-
tartan teachings; its pure, pious and holy fer
vor: its dignifed but severe rebuke Of every
thing like cant and sham, and humbug. All
this we know, and have been taught from the
knees Of our mothers.
Then comes the question, as we think how
does your daily life accord with your early
teachings! On which side are you arrayed
during the commencement Of what Mr.. Seward
calls the irrepressible conflict between the
North and the South? That is question which
must be met calmly and quietly. The Sermon
on the Mount teaches forbesrance, fraternity,
faith. The Beechers and Cheevers Of today,
who have stolen Heavens livery wherein to
serve Satan, preach instruction, murder,
treason and rapine. Like the Devil, they can
quote Scripture to serve their purpose. We
shall find them all full of Bible texts; but do
they ever think that they are forbidden to blow
their trumpets in the streets that they may
have glory among men? Or do they remem-
Der that they are commanded to first cast the
beam out Of their own eyes before they at
tempt to pull out the notes from the eyes Of
their brothers,
To those fanatics who. like John Brown.
Henry Ward Beecher, George B. Cheeyer
Henry Wilson, William Lloyd Garrison and
William II. Seward. are prone to select biblical
texts here and there in order to mstify their
reasonable speeches and acts, we recommend
careful perusal Of the Sermon on the Mount
1t should be read from every pulpit, North,
| South, East and West, on this Christmas morn
ing of eighteen hundred and fifty.nine. 1t
teaches peace. harmony and forbearance.
as opposed to strife, evil speaking
and disunion. 1t speaks to all people speaking
the same tongue, sheltered under the same
nag, owing fealty to the same laws, with the
voice OF one having authority, not as the
scribes." 1t teaches MS that this Union, like the
Church, should be founded upon the Rock of
Faith; that then the rain may come and the
tempest may rage about 1t, bat neither of them
shall prevail against it It tells us to beware
of false prophets-the Beechers and the Chez
vers of the day; they are the workers Of iniqui-
| ty, to whom our Saviour will say on the last
day, Il know you not"
These are the doctrines Of Christianity, pure
and simple These are the words which Christ
spoke to great Union mass meeting in Judea,
almost nineteen centuries ago, but Which, are as
appropriate to all Of us to-day as VIII a they
fell from the inspired lips Of our Saviour and
terrified the Scribes and Pharisees of his time.
words fitly spoken are as apples Of gold in
pictures Of silver" and certainly no words that
ever proceeded from the most powerful preach
er, in the most svmptuous and fashionable