The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-12-06

BISHOP SIMPSONS PREACHING.

Bishop Simpson was announced to
preach in the Norfolk street Methodist
church last Sunday morning. had
never heard him speak, and embraced this
opportunity to have that privilege. The
church is situated below Broome, and
eight blocks east of the Bowery, in a
quarter Of the town which long since
ceased to be fashionable but where null
titudes still live with souls quite as
precious as those on Murray Hill. 1t
had become necessary to pay off debt
on this church to save it for the people !;
Bishop Simpson had been called to preach
on the occasion, and collection was to
be made at the close of his sermon.
1t was early vixen reached the place,
which is long way from my house, but
the church was packed Every aisle was
thronged with people. One Of them at
the door asked me TO Iuiiuw nm, and he
led me up within the rail of the altar,and
gave me chair under the very caves of
the pulpit. The pulpit itself, which is
wide platform, was filled with men and
womcn--tifty at least were in it, There
was just room for the speaker to stand,
with hearers on the right of him and the
left of him, before him and behind him.
The bishop has strongly marked face,
forehead low for man Of power, with
a voice clear, penetrating and strong, not
bass, but tenor and easily modulated and
always pleasant. He is reckoned the
most eloquent of the living Methodist
preachers. One of their preachers, a
gentleman Of large culture and wide ex-
perience who told me of this opportunity
to hear the bishop, added that he had
sometimes heard him when he thought
he was superior to any other living
speaker.
His text was the word OF the Lord to
Moses as he drew near to the Red Sea
with the Israelites flying from Egypt,
Arise, speak unto the children of Isreal
THAT THEY 90 FORWARD" He told the
story wildly, simply, with no superhuous
words his sentences were short terms
well chosen. and We saw the scene the
mountains on either hand the sea in front
the foe in the rear. The command was
to 90 tormard. The path of duty was
before them to attempt to escape by the
mountains was death +; to stand still was
death now the command was to go.
This was the theme, activity the law of
life, the natural life, of all nature, the
sun and stars and earth itself, of all on
the earth and in it, the sea, the light, the
plants ,tagnaton is decay, puirefaction;
action tends TO health, purity, strength !;
it is the law Of intellectual and moral
life it is the law of Christianity. Then
he applied the law to growth in divine
life, progress toward holiness; to work
for God in building up the Redecmer's
Kingdom he showed the difference be-
tween activity and excitement warned
them against getting ercited, aud making
the mistake that there was any religion
in shouting and making noise the
shouting was to be done after they got
through the sea and on the shores beyond.
Then they might take the cymbals and,
with Miriam, sing the song of triumph.
When he was young, he used to think
of Miriam as young maiden with a
timbrc in her hand but she was several
years older than Moses, and he was cigh-
ty; she was staid and noble mother in
Israel, but she led the song Of rejoicing
when ''the horse and his rider were thrown
into the sea-" "Did you ever think, u
said he, shat We are not told word
about the dress that Miriam wore, OF
what kind of bonnet she had on nor
Moses, whether he had any real estate OF
stocks Of any kind all we hear Of them
is, that they obeyed the Lords command
to go forward, they did their duty. and
then they triumphcd in the great deliver
snce. SO will we, when out Of our trials
and perplexities We find the way Of escape
by Just doing What God tells us to dc
and trusting Him to take care OF us and
ours. The widow was told by the prophet
to give him food, but she had but Just
one cake for herself and child there was
no meracle wrought until she obeyed
and prepared to give the last morsel sht
had to the Lords prophet then the mea
and the oil were multiplied. and through
all the famine that followed ths barre
and the cruze never failed" This was
a nice point for the bishop to make, fol