The New York herald., 1870-11-14
CEURCE OF TIE DIVINE PATERNITY.

ssGOd's Power in Nature and i'm Grnce-No
Science without God,,-Scrmon by the Rev.
DIR. Chaplin.
large congregation gathered In this beautiful
scnurch yesterday to hear q discourse from DR..
Chaplin on the manifestations OF Gods power in ma
turc and among men, His text was Psalms lxv.,
7-"Who stileth the noise OF the seas, the noise Of
their waves and the tumult OF the people," The
text expresses the thought that must arise In every
human soul who has received blessing from God
and seen his goodness in his sanctuary Is the God
or nature the God OF grace alsop The text refers
especially TO HIS dealings with the material
world and with humanity. He stilleth the
waves OF the seas and the tumuts of the
people. "There are two thlngs,u said famous
German philosopher" that always inspire me with
awe-the starry heavens above and the soul OF man
wthin.n In regard TO the material world there are
only two consistent views that can be taken OF it
one, the irreligious, which asserts the
sELF-ExisrEscE AND ETERNITY OF MATTER
and denies the existence Of divine mind and will
controlling ana directing the forces and laws Of
nature and the other the religious view, as ex-
pressed In this psalm 1t shocks many or us hear
men declare that there Is no God, but 1t ought TO
shock US much more to hear men acknowledge God
ana yet live day after day in utter disregard OF His law
and In practical denial OF his authority. His name
Is treated as the lightcst thing that can be
SHOT FROM HUMAN LIPS.
They believe Him TO be a righteous God, nut in
practce they live in the dairy neglect right doing
1t IL painful indeed to see men who believe in God
religious persons who resign all their faith to the
claims Of science and yet pre- END that they hold
they are virtually on the other side. One issue or
the other must stand. Either nature Is sernade or
bound TO determine and to believe that intelli-
gent mind and VIII controls nature and
that there is higher and Detter life beyond this
material one. and this belief must not be regarded
as devout exaggeration, but devouJ reality,
and the Hebrew writer was correct when he dc
clared that the GOD who stilleth the waves OF the
sea also stllleth The tumuls OF men. Our highest
and truest .opes and purest life must be
as well as In grace, and there are no prints Of his
footsteps on
THE GEOLOGICAL STAIRWAY
leading up through tne ages-ii trace OF him ap-
pears IN tue astronomical hrmanent--if he Is not
anywhere In the physical world, then where he at
all III law hides him instead OF revealing him. then
law is everything, and with the material scaffolding
OF religion tae hopes Of mankind must fall. The
spiritual realities, however, remain though The
dium through which we hear OF them is gone. IL
the text be not the experience OF mankind, then
% l. NO God Ior our souls and we have no souls.
ana wnen all mat Is spiritual Is gone down mans
lower nature his baser purposes viii come forth
more, more prominently. The forces of nature carry men
current, wen; but II they resist tney t are are
before man, and they will exist after him The
Doctor here described the pecuartles or the sea to
illustrate the iorce OF the smile used IN the text
ana Gods power In stilllng its waves, and then he
replied 70 me infdeL The elements are our
masters Tor there Is One above them who suilleth
the waves OF the seas and saith to the winds,
''BE STILL !"
man Is dependent upon nature, and gives great
significance to it and nterprets it. We can con-
ceive OF the earths existence without man; bur 1t
mas no significance without man.. Man gathers
from nature fruits, and leaves behind him achieve
ments that give 10 IL it's significance. Everywhere
we discern perpetual commoton, human activity.
tumu!ts OF the people. The Orientals, who were be-
heved to have been firmly settled In ancient GUS
toms that nothing could disturb them feel the IN
nuence oI TINS commotion, aud new ideas are con-
finally moving and Influencing them ana they are
borrowing largely from our Western and Christian
civilization
The idea Of a central settled peace expressed IN
the term stilleth was beautifully brought by the
eloquent and learned divine, and the power tnat
holds and controls the elements in nature and tile
tumults OF men was declared to be God. In view or
this
PERPETUAL CONNECTION IN NATURE
and among men we can more readily understan
Chrsts gracious promises TO give rest and peace to
the weary. But this peace can only be obtained by
falling In voluntarily with Gods plans, and when
this is done then nature ana man in their varied
aspects will be found cheeriully accomplishing the
divine purposes Every winter changes to spring.
and so these commOtlOn5 OF nations that we be-
hold must result In settled peace An Impressive
application OF these thoughts was then made to the
congregation, and the sermon ended.