The New York herald., 1870-05-16
BROOKLYN CHURCHES.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

Spring Dress and Spring Fiowcrs-Sermon
Love Of Man to GOd-Mr. Beecher Continues
to Rewnil the Failure Of Christianity.
Plymouth church yesterday was very summerlsh
I'm its appearance The more than warm weather
of yesterday morning was favorable to light and
aerial toilets, and therefore 1.-THE ladies came out in
gauze.likc robes and floral hats. Though the church
was not crowded 1t sufficiently well attended to
be comfortable. The floral committee had been sue
cessfu in their arrangement OF spring flowers, and
the platform gave Mr.. Beecber q parterre
Of flowers to promenade between when discoursing
TO the audience below and around him.
Mr.. Beecher's subject was the Glove Of Man to God,
and this. with the text selected. would have been
the last subject ordinary people would think likely
to be productive Of laughter, and yet seldom has the
comic side OF Mr.. Beecher's preaching been more
awakened than it was yesterday morning. On
several occasions there was
A CHORUS OF LAUGHTER
rang over the building, as the preacher III unsur-
passable mimcry, pictured the characters he de-
scrbed to his audience.
The text selected was virtually st. Matthew xxii
37:-.Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind." In addition to this verse
the entire paragraph from the thrty-fourth to the
rortieth verse was included.
THIS declaration was the nucleus or all plety; In IL
comprised the entire Gospel for the spirit OF the
Gospel was the domnancy Of love. II might he re-
garded development Of the ethical side of Chris
anity, for the essence OF religion the love to
God and love to man. rms love was not pas
make the love towards God reverential thing.
When 1t was said that we are to love God with all
| our heart, 1t was not meant that we should
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE LOVE, LOVE,
like the ticking Of clock. but tnat ali the powers OF
! our soul should be moulded and Influenced by this
Will, our affections and our passions should be con-
J trolled by "a spirit OF love towards God.
The text gave psychological idea OF what the
| Bible meant by perfect man. Mr. Bcecher here
| gave what the Greek ana Roman idea OF perfect
man was statesman, man who had power to con :
| troll govern and manage men. Now Christs
idea OF perfect man was that he should love God
and man so perfectly and SO completely that hap
piness shOuld.be the inevitable result.
The text afforded also the only true test Of per-
| sOna religion. There were many men who
| DO NOT BELIEVE IN CONVERSION.
These men said that mems imagnaIiOns were played
upon ike the phantasmagOra plays upon the childs
| Imagination. But when man discovered that he
| had been living for himself and for his own ends,
and then seeks to make men better and to live for
| Others call 1t what you might, it was noble expe-
ricnce Now, IL this change had reality, and they
could see IT was real, how many men would like to
In reply to the objection that these words con-
| tanned no belief and no creed: WE'LL the answer to
that was that the creed OF most men consisted
chiefly In what they do not believe BY way Of Illus
rating this, MIR. Beecher gave pantOmimic de
scr1ptiOn OF the change that comes madservanl
and mistress when conversion has really taken place
IN both The portrayal OF the pecularities OF both
previous 10 their conversion was given life.likt
that the audience laughed outright al the pictures.
| Now no man could enter into the Kingdom OF
| Heaven without the ignoring OF selfshness Mr..
| Beecher here read the opening verses Of the thr
teenth chapter of the FIRST Epistle OF Corinthians
| and in his mmcry OF the ranter speaker who de
| clared. with loud voice and mounting sentences
| "what God had done for his sou,r showed that oil
tnat was 'sounding brass" very often, and not tht
charity Paul described. When men answered rhes,
questions as to their qualifications for admission /,
! Heaven and their growth in grace they would tel
you that they loved prayer. Well there were plent
| OF men who loved prayer who had
| GONE TO HE'LL.
| Towards the conclusion OF his sermon Mr.
| Beecher discoursed at length upon an aspect o
Christianity his mind is evidently greatly exercised
upon-for it has been alluded TO again and again il
his recent serm0nsand that Is the failure oil Chris
| tanity to convert the world In support OF tins II
| adduced number OF facts and statistics prominen
| amongst which was this one that OF the twelve hun
millions OF the people OF the earth, there was no
| probably five hundred millions that had even the re
eced light Of the Gospel shed upon their mind. Tn
Inconsistencies OF Christians, the sectarian spin
was so greatly and bitterly shown, that there wa
scarcely churchson the earth where Christ would b