The New York herald., 1870-12-19
FOURTH STREET PREsEYTERIAN CHURCH.
DIR. Sunderland the Evil or Excessive De-
votion 10 PleRsure-Amusement and Relax
ution Necessity Of Man's Nature.


DIR. Sunderland on the Evil OF Excessive De-
vOtion 10 PleRsure-Amusement and Relax
ution n Necessity Of Mans Nature.
WASHINGTON, Dec. Is, 1870.
The Rev. Dr. Sunderland preached this morning
on the subject OF amusements to q large congrega-
tion IN the Fourand-a-Half street Presbyterian
church. He took a rational rather than Puritani-
cal OF the subject. His text found In Pro-
verbs. XXI, l7:-"He that loveth pleasure shall
be poor man." This word pleasure, he
said, signifies the Joy OF festivity; but 1t
may be taken in the sense OF human qualification,
which springs from worldly enjoyment or amuse-
ment 1t is intmated that the man who loves
pleasure to the extent OF giving himself up it, to
the exclusion OF other and more importan. things,
shall, IN consequence OF this,
Re POOR MAN:
that is to say, ne shall come to be sorry, shftless
creature, without money, character friends. en-
ployment or influence. Notwithstanding the
abuse Of pleasure, the sad results OF which
are pictured in the Divine Word, 1t Is plain. on the
other hand, that human nature under the stress
tnat lies upon It, requires both relaxation and re-
creation, and that all amusements which minister to
these innocenty and lawfully are themselves legit-
mate and proper, while all Others arc pernicious
and are to be reprehended and avoided. The great
question is, how and where and when to draw
the line between what Il innocent and suitable and
what ls wrong and harmful 1t is not question
US TO what young man or what an old man may do
in this matter; what 1t Is proper for the young man
or woman 10 do 1t Is proper FOR the old man or
woman TO do. IL Is not question Of what the
worldling or what the Christian may do. II IL TO
more wrong for the Christian to Indulge In innocent
amusement than for the wordling TO do the same
and no more right for The wording to Indulge
In amusements that not innocent than for
the Christian to 40 the same, the only difference
beng that the Christian processes what the world
ling ought to profess. IL Is not question between
pastor and people, for what Is lawful Tor the people
Is lawful for the pastor. The question is. where is
the
DISTINCTION BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG
between lawful and unlawful II thing be right,
lawful and proper In itself we all have the
same right TO IT, There has has been an error
In dealing with this subject They have
1nveighed against certain specific popular amuse-
simply consequences, as they are, or the condition
or attitude OF society. So far amusements have
source Of e rresiou. my they may have have ar reciprocal @
action ana reaction TO augment the irreli-
gon Of the community % but they are NOT the
in everything else. are 10 be reformed not 80
much by combating their ultimate forms and
ripened harvest, as by refining and purifying the
heart OF childhood and raising up society that
by It's purity and discernment Will regulate the
character OF its amusements. DR.. Sunderland then
considered some or the laws OF human conduct de-
rived from the Word OF God which lie at the basis
OF all true Christian character. and remarked that
the law OF all Christian conduct which requires
supreme love to God Is the same IN respect to amuse-
ments as to all other Christian affairs. They must
be, In their nature In their proportion and time en-
tIrely subordinate to the great work OF the Christian.
When they are kept within these BOUNDS they are
innocent; when they transcend these they are un-
lawful and Injurious. Whatever In popular amuse-
nent Is
IN ITSELF IMMoDEsr, IMMORAL AND SINFUL;
wha'e Is excessive or incorporate, or Injurious
TO body soul, must be wrong. Whatever inter-
teres with the necessary secular business or lie.
whatever nterferes with well established customs
and habits OF worship, or with the steady growth
and advancing ripeness OF our piety, both towards
God ana man, Is harmful, and IL Is a double wrong
To engage IN 1t. Indulge III no amusement which
interferes with your paramount duty to God, TO
your church, TO your family and to society. There
and it Is excess US tends to make men Idle, to
withdraw them from rational Industries and pur-
suits ana make them discontinued with their sphere.
The speaker depl0red the tendency TO frvOty among
the young, saying that young people nowadays
don't know half ~ much as tney ought. Undertake
TO talk with them on history or science and they
do not know anything about IT, They are Us fgnor-
ant as horse blocks. The tendency OF frivolous
them precarlous and obj ectionabe habits, to waste
their time, abuse their strength and squander their
money. How are we to c0unteract these inliuencesY
by personal example, by making home ana church
the places where our purest joys are found. There
must be more vigorous, Intelligent parental
authority and better discipline In the schools We
must II possible put something better In the place
or these amusements. We may use what is useful
and salutary and true ana beautiful. Satan and the
world nave monOpOiZed many things which nave
right to reclaim. We have the liberty OF all Gods
heritage; liberty that is grand, noble, beautiful
and true We have the liberty OF all that Is refining
and exalting In this world in time In art in history
In the present and IN the future.