The New York herald., 1870-04-26
sunday Sermons nhd Their ranaenee.


our weekly publication of the sermons delivered
on Sunday On the other hand, the probability
is strong that many persons have been bene,
ted spiritually by their perusal. At any rate
we are glad to note that the pulpit recognizes
the sincerity Of our efforts to promote the
cause of religion, some preachers even attach
Ing value to them which we cannot with be-
coming modesty lay claim to. After all, 1t il
the duty of the press to aid the pulpit. When
Christ bade Peter feed his flock He surely
never intended to restrict the supplying Of spi-
ritual food to few privileged men. He must
would not be able to appease the hunger Of tho
furnishing multitudes. Surely, then, we may
claim to be merely fulfilling solemn obliga-
tion in publishing these sermons, by means OF
which we lead the sinner to repentance and
compel the clergymen to be vigilant and untir-
ing in their work Of spreading the Gospel.
II is fortunate that Christianity cannot bs
judged by the influence exercised over the
masses by the sermons delivered every Sunday
Nothing illustrates more forcbly the decreased
power of the pulpit than the mere fact that
the discourses of clergymen no longer Affect
people as they did a few years ago. Mr..
Beecher, than whom we could have no better
authority, admitted as much last Sunday, and
nearly all of the other preachers implied as
much in their lamentations over tho preva-
lence of sin. Nor is 1t difficult to explain the
reason for this. Three centuries ago the
minister of religion was intellectually the mas
ter Of his flock; to-day the flock are qnite
equal on the average, and sometimes m.ntally
superior, to the minister. Had our spiritual
teachers progressed with civilization mankind
would be to-day as blindly obedient to their
teachings as they were before the days Of
Luther Unfortunately, after achieving almost
marvellous success with our instincts they
began asking questions Men do not
make long journeys on horseback at
the present time; they ride In railroad oars,
which shorten the trip, are more comfortable
and supply the demand for practical method
of solving the question of how to overcome
distance In like manner the mind of man
cannot obey the religious instructions Of the
Middle Ages, however beneficial they may
have been to our haf-civilized forefathers.
We want to 60 to heaven by railroad, and
until the sermons of our present preachers are
as much superior to the teachings of the
clergymen of three centuries ago as steam 10
to h0rsefesh we cannot expect them to
possess that influence which is essential to the
preservation Of high order of religion.
When Mr.. HepwOrth tells us of the beauties Of
''the divine hope" we recognize and admire
the picture on the principle that "a thing Of
beauty is joy forever" We admire meteors,
rainbows and auroras also. What is hopef
It is good thing to die cherishng, but in life
it is, like husks, ''such dry fare" as Mrs. Cal
houn says, that it can hardly be said to satisfy
one. Now, to convince us on the subject OF
his sermon, Mr.. Hepworth should have
proven that it is better to expect great
deal than to possess little. Despair is ter
rible thing no doubt, but one knows what it
leads to, and that is consolation at least.
OF the twenty-one sermons reported in the
HERALD of yesterday there was not one
which might no. have been delivered some CEN
turies ago. AS mere literary performances they
were, in the main, excellent Undoubtedly
the preachers were eloquent and some of them
ornate in their language. AL recognized and
depicted the evils which beset religion, but
they did not apply satisfactory remedy.
AS Rev. Mr.. Wyatt declared, more grateful
praise is needed in our churches. Christianity
does not now inspire the masses with that
ervor which characterized its youth For
this the religion is certainly not accountable.
Believing that the Christian faith is that of
God, we dare not say that it is at fault. The
Divine essense is infallible and cannot err.
Without doubt, then, the evil is to be found
in the poverty Of our Sunday sermons. When
one preacher tells us there Is no Satan !;
another that the devil does exist and marshals
millions under his banner, and so on through
the list supporting their doctrines with none but
the weakest of arguments, what wonder is 1t
that Christianity loses power and Sunday SER
mons lack influence? We never read some
of these sermons without thinking of the remark
made by distinguished barrister who de-
clined attending church where popular
clergyman preached because "his arguments
in defence Of Christianity always made him
think of what logical and convincing reply
the devil could make in opposition
FROM ST. DOMINGO we learn that the feel
ing of the people in favor Of annexation to
the United States is as strong as ever, and that
the opponents Of President Baez are as active
as possible in endeavoring to stir up the ele-
ments Of discord throughout the republic. In
the South, Cabral, at the head of a number Of
followers, is doing all in his power to precipi-
tate the country into civil war. So far he
has met with small success. He is, however,
making desperate effort to overthrow the
present government; but from the energy dis
played by Baez, who has already outlawed
him, there is little probability that his labors