Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1870-05-05

y the earth. ~ ~
10 conclusion the speaker referred to ii
+ general grief for the dead, and the war;
IL sympathy felt FIR the sntf4rlng aud btrca7.C
"a and urged the duty OF 'reverentiy acknowcll
ing the dependence Of all things ralthly upu
- an allwise Providence. ~
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
&c The Rev. DR.. Bullock preached a sermon ;
,, night to a large Congregations, premisias il l.
"a giving out the hymn commencing with
Our life is ever on the wing
3 And death is always nigh.
o His text was Hebrews, ., chapter ~ V. II
is appointed unite men once to die, but utte
this the Judgment" lie said that there wcr
occasions more favorable than others tor lnln
listers OF the Gospel TO impress upon their con
gre2atiOns the Importance of the truth, tina
the final and certain end OF ali things is deaf il
and that such an occasion was presented by til,
late appalling disaster which had hurried NOR,
than half hundred human bciugs without
warning into the presence Of their God ii,
} would not, however, harrow up the feelings ol
his hearers by describing the Incidents OF that
sad, dark and gloomy day, but would rather
draw from those Incidents the lessons lhey sug
gested. One Ot those lessons was that the doc
trnc of special providence must be recognize 3D..
The world was:not ruled by chance. Death
come to our parents for their su and was or
dained to their postsrity, and the Saviour DID
not relieve us cf the curse, but deprived it of
its sting. lie portrayed the different aspects
OF DEATH and drew i contrast between the end
OF christian and sinner Another lesson was
the uncertainty Of all earthly things, but that
| whatever happened was ordered from on high.
lie then described the natural changes pro
| in ba do NV fat 4 hr,
| hams words, remove her out OF my
sight" But the spirit changed not, and when
released from It's earthly tenement, like an
uncaged eagle winged its flight upward, and to
the God from whom it came. The only source
Of information respecting the soul after death
was the scriptures, for no man since they were
| written had come TO tell US any thing abut tina
bourne from whence no traveller returns. The
true felicity of the christian is only experienc
| ed after death, while unlningled suffering is
the portion of the impentent. Probation ceases
here, as was exempliGed in the case of Lazarus
aud the rich man. The Affections Of the righte-
Gus were sometimes grleVous, but were sent by
God, and should teach us the duty OF resigna
tion--be still and know that am God. Our
utter dependency should teach US humility, for
the ashes OF all shall in the nd be common
earth. One more lesson Of tee 9th was that
We should prepare Tor the final change, for the
man was mailman who would wlngy go
into the presence Of bis maker fresh from the
scenes of his deep and damnng guilt, and
much hope could not be derived from death
bed repentances,
NJ. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
At the NJ. E. Church, South. large audi
ence was assembled, whose solemn faces bore
witness 10 the sadness they felt in commcmo-
rating the disaster recently suffered by the
State.
Dr.. Hough, the Pastor, preached I'M
pressiye discourse from the 18th chapter Of |
Luke, the first nine verses, the subject being |
sudden disasters and the lessons they should
teacn. Those who persisted thus untimeiy |
were not sinners above all Others but all should |
repent and be ready for the summons which |
may come to US at any moment. There are
men who foolishy ru-h in and make themscl Ives |
the interpreters of Pro7idential acts, sell con
stituted prophets, and who come hastily to the
conclusion that those who were thus destroyed
10 a moment were great sinners, or that wick |
ed city had been thus visited with summary
Divine wrath. But the true light in which to
view this public calamity was to resolve that
inasmuch Is our lives are but as breath, so
we ought to turn aud seek Linn with all cur
hearts. who can in a moment take away that
life. When the circumstances OF the disasier
were reviewed and the question might be asked |
WHY was not this Inflicted on a comparatively |
few, who 10 our judgment perhaps would most |
merit it? Why should the innocent, the use
full, the good, be ,husin amoment taken away
These matters God keeps to himself, and It
is ours simply and revercntlaly to bow to Ills
will.
We come here to day to the house OF mourn
l. Lotto f,r han ~
We may learn by the lesson here taught the
common brotherhood of man, and hpcy il the
midst of great calamity like tbs all minor
differences are lost n the great sympathetic tie
that binds US into ore klndr,d.
Our hearts are stirred c.t the sufferings OF the
survivors, at the crico. of the widows and or
phans, and it is Will. May We not learn les
son from tins ~ help, also, those who are fully
as needy here at our doors.
The sriden taking off OF those unfortunate
souls 20 Unexpectedly is great shock, yet death
goes on quietly but Us effectively with his " ork
all around US He held in his hand memo
raudum book, 10 which he had noted down the
funerals he had attended during the past year,
and singulary the number was precisely the
same as those who have SO far persisted by the
Richmond calamity; 81 OF those were children,
l9 were parents, 3 we're dr2nkards and one
poor wretched outeasJ harlot; $ of them were
taken without moments warning, hurried
irto eternity all unpreparcd.
These lessons should not pass by uGhccdcd.
The paragraph in the text abont the tg tree
has its moral 1t was planted in good soil, 1t
had every advantage and yet the threat was
to cut it down as cumberer OF the Garth
NJ f. CHURCH
At the NJ. i. Church, the pastor, heV.l nos
IL ...oe fr6 vary interesting services,
which were we'll attended and the faithful ut
tcrances OF the preacher soemnly impressed the
minds of attentive hearers.
The services were inauguratcd by singing Il
hymn entitled The Frailty of Life.
Dangers stand thick through all tho ground
TO push us TO tho tomb
And fierce diseases wait arnuni
10 hurry mortals home.
After the singing prayer was offered by |.
lC. O'Ncil, esq.,, at the conclusion Of which a
| "Piea for Mercy" was waited forth IN musical