New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-01-05

S E r MON
By the Rev. Bishop Ames.

Der %, 1867, in the Ames Methodist
Episcopal Church. The congrega-
ton was large, and among other
prominent citizens present was his
Honor, the Mayor of our city. The
attention was unbroken, and the in.
terest profound :-[ED.
The text was from Matthew l, %;
"And they shall call his name EN-
manuel )" which, being interpreted,
is God with us.
The bishop began by saying
"That spiritual and gracious pro-
cesses are fifty illustrated by facts
in the natural world. Thus our Sa-
vior pronounced his great doctrines
of eternal life, and of personal reli-
rion, and then turned to the world
for commentary. Under his teach
ings nature became an illuminated
missal, lettered by the lilies of the
field, and penciled with hues that
played through the leaves of 0livet
The wild birds in their flight, bore
inward the lesson of Providence,
and the significance of the kingdom
of heaven was contained in a mus
tard seed. SO, on this day we may
follow his illuatrious example. In
the workings of Providence for the
accomplishment of some great end,
GoD Is NEVER IN HASTE. Haste is ev-
idence Of weakness, and of a con-
scious want of power. Far downin
the unfathomed depths of ocean, are
innumerable insects-the polypi-
silently at work building the coral
reefs, from which, in process of time,
islands and continents arise, covered
with nodding forests, and adorned
with tropical fruits. So with God,
in His ways of providence and grace.
An eminent English writer has said:
The mills of God grind slowly, but
grind exceedingly fine With Him
"a thousand years are as a day
The means by which lie carries on
his work are at once simple and
mighty The numberless streams,
whose shining waters come dancing
down the sides Of the Rocky Noun
tains, transport a vast quantity of
debris-the materials to bridge the
ocean. The process is slow, but
sure. So with morals. The christ
ening Of Christ was in eternity; ere
God hung the world on nothing, or
the sons of God shouted for ioy.' A
long time elapsed ere the Messiah
came, but during that long period
God was preparing the proof of His
sons incarnation, which at length
shone in glory around the brow OF
Salem's peaceful king
The history of the church clearly
proves that God appoints agents to
work out some great problem of His
providence, and at the chosen time
those agents appear on the stage of
life This is Gods method. In the
darkest hour of Jewish history the
Lord raised up Moses, who worked
out the great question of Hebrew
emancipation. The work was at
tended with difficulties, but difficult
ties are inseparable from great
achieye,&nts. This is dark day
in on ational history, and many
say Ne former days were better
thaAfhese.' Such look upon the
dark side of the picture but pre-
fer to look upon its bright side. The
world to-day is better than ever be-
fore, and the sun of to-day shines
upon better world than yesterday.
Sometimes things trouble us, and
alarm our fears for the safety of the
church. We are like the man who,
standing on the banks of the Missis-
sippi, sees near the shore a sawyer
or snag, and as the waters dash
against it, and then recede, declares
that The current is flowing up
stream, But let him look out into
the middle of the stream, and there
he will behold the mighty river
sweeping ON to the sea. So with
society. Calamities befalI us bad
men rise up and do much injury, and
cur fears are alarmed but remem-
Der God is at the helm, and at the
set time His chosen agents will
appear. Moses has often been
praised for his unselfish choice, and
in this he is worthy but there are
not few in this, and in every Chris
tan congregation, who, were it put
to them to choose between Christ
and Mohammed, would not hesitate
Tor moment, and would cry out
Lead on No matter what suf-
tering might follow. Moses had
difficulties, but was not daunted, and
at length triumphed. l should like
to die like Moses, for in his death
there is much Of the moral sublime.
God took him up to the heights of
Moab, where from his outlook he saw
the land of promise unto the utmost
sea, and then angels kissed his soul
away. He died in the highlands of
glorious vision.
And in looking along the track of
ages we see God raising up William
Tell, to defend the Swiss mountain
GERS against the tyrant Gesler. So
IN Scotland he called forth Bruce