The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-12-14
LORD PALnERsToN.
A MODEL FUNERAL SERMON.
800 ne Lor.Ion srl,r.l.u Rr.e,r.

eminent man 10 tut unu ut uulied WIN
merely a few words Of decent regret.
Hence the rather startling advertise
ment: 1.-THE Patriot Palmerston; was
he saved? BY II. w. Dibdin, NJ. ~" f.
Surely the most penurious person
would not grudge his modest slNpence
10 ascertain the answer 10 this truly
monentous question. Unfortunately
the pious and reverent orator Is moro
skiliful IN composing sensation adyer-
tisements than in solving the problem
which they state. As he most justly
saws: at is "A deeply interesting ques-
ton. is Lord Palnerston among the
few worldly great men who, when the
trumpe, shall sound, will arise, not to
everlasting shame and contempt, but
10 glory, honor and Immortality But
the modest Dibdin can give us no sure
answer. "My brethren, l stand as IL
We're upon u precipice." This Is very
ominous. Ii makes the heart OF the
faithful quake with anxiety. Only.
who placed Mr.. Dibdin ON the brink of
the precipicel ~ cannot presume TO
Judge the dead" he says. Then why
have asked the question: AS n matter
of fact. however, he does presume 10
Judge the dead. He offers n number of
Considerations which would lead us to
hope and trust that the patriot h saved,
but he does not scruple 20 deal faith
fully with Us, and 10 tell us what there
is To be said on the other side. First OF
all, like most of the great, be had sad
ly neglected the saving truths OF the
Gospel in his younger days" Second
~, there are 10 be- remembered against
him the "sins # his youth" But then
let us look To- the creditor side of the
account. .''Salvation is of grace, and
not of works" Still works count for
something. In grace It is to be feared
the late lamented statesman was weak;
but in works he was magnificent. His
brief title To a mansion in the skies Is
"his bestOwment of Church patronage"
Wisely and persistently he rejected all
High Church candidates for promouon."
Though he may have behaved auiss
about Popery itself, che always acted
well concerning Papists in the united
Church of England and Ireland. He
never countenanced for one single hour
Papists within the National Church.
lie treated them as traitors TO the Prot
cstant Church, which gives them bread"
Then again, still on the credit side, are
sundry deans and other smaller fry.
"Such bishops and deans have been
made 10y Lord Palmerston as recall the
memory OF Ridley, Lalimer and Brad
ford. who taught and flourished in the
DAYS Of gOdly Edward VI" Precisely.
Dean Close recalls Ridley, much in the
same way as the name of Dibdin may
for the future recall the notions of
Christian charity. aud modesty, and
reverence, and good taste, and knowl-
edge Of Church history. But, unhap-
PLY, at least one deanery and perhaps
one archbishopric are ON the wrong
side OF the account. ''Some of his APP
pOintments from the Iniidel or Broad
Church party are among the worst that
can bemade." But our magnanimOus
viceroy OF the Supreme Judge lays no
blame on him for this 1--WE must
make two excuses" The inhdels
came TO preierment under the
mask of evangelicaliSm." They
" disingcniously deceived man
not over-critical in matters of divinity
Poor supplemented, gnileless Lord
Palmerston! In the second place,
some infidels were appointed "by favor
of those whose wishes Lord Palmerston
could not control, for though the Prime
Minister has very grent power, there
are voices which must be heard even
by him.. OF course this must be the
voice OF the Sovereign. And so we are
brought to this. The supreme head of
the church is a supporter of iniidels.
The supreme head of the church abuses
her influence to lavish its dignities upon
men Who ,{bhor the church, men
Favorable toinfidelity, and opposed 70
Gods ruth and to the very word OF God
itself.H What a decOrous and most
seemly inuendol However the upshot
I. tolerablv favorable. WecannOt but
cling to the belief held by so many that
the Lord had mercy upon him, though
il NAV have been AT the eleventh hOurlh
One item, by The way, ought not to be
overlooked. cIh his more private in
tercourSe, wherein have had the honor
of speaking with him." We find that he
was always good tempered dc. We
devoutly trust that our friend did not
omit 10 Ideal faithfully" with Lord Pal
merston, 10 speak ga word in season.
what workings call wOrl out of sea-
son-to him oh-this favorable occasion.
There IL something wonderful in the
pains which the godly take To let ms
know that they have shaken hands with
a great man. 'whom at the time they
verify believed Ia be straight bound in
the broad PATH that leads 20 destruction.
Aftercursing his enemies and cali ng
them had names, such as Papist, traitor
and infidel, Mr.. Dibdin goes on very
naturally To bless his friends and him
self This nation Is IA most ungrateful
and sinful nation" While protesting
10 ba Protestant, IL sis continually en-
couraging and paying Popery, and now,
furthermore, fostering infidelity and
sabbath to an extent I'M
known since the Reformation The
period of the Restoration, IL would seem,
Is no exception, nor the era of the first
two Georges. Then the nation is grace
fully compared 10 SodOm; and, as
Sodom might have been spared had
there been ten righteous found there,
$50 may this mighty emPire be saved
from its just degradation and ruin by
the prayers of the remnant, the incon-
siderable number of evangelical Chris
tians, who form faithful body in the
Church of England" so modest, so
free from spiritual pride. so little pulled
up or ready 10 vaunt HIMSELF Any
body can detect at once the genuine
ring ofChristian meekness and charity
and brotherly good will. Mr.. Dibdin's
followers must find Westminster Alb
hey the most dismal spot in the world.
'Oh! my brethren, of that splendid ar
ray Of names which cover the walls OF
thatanelentabbey kings. statesmen, war
riors, diSines, philosophers and poets
Ii is solemn thought how many, buri-.
ell in honor and handed down from
age TO age for respect and admiration,
must arise 10 everlasting shame and
contempt ~ Then, after refreshing
himself with a text, he adds-''Seeing,
then, that most of the inhabitants OF
that receptacle of the illustriOns dead
have been noble and mighty, 1t follows
that by far the greater part have receiy-
ed all the honor they ever can receive
to all eternityl' One would think this
enough, and that the wretches might be
left 10 their doom. But no, we must be
dealt faithfully with. "When they
finished their brief and brilliant course
upon earth, they came 10 the end OF all
their honOrs; for the future there Is
nothing but sorrow. anguish, remorse
and agony, the blackness Of darkness
forever, the just wrath OF a holy Cod
.Vc. $50 must il be with all but COM
parativcly few Of those who are buried
in the national burial-plaee.' Even
now Mr.. Dibdin doubts whether ne
has conveyed with sufficient elearness
his blessed message OF damatiOn. With
pious rapture he goes on gloating
over the motion OF what des-
tructiOn means. Everlasting shame
aud contemplating that shall never be
acknowledgement that shall never be
nssuaged--and remorse that never shall
cease 20 gnaw their hearts through the
= 40.