The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-07-03


The Summer SOsticc and the Sermons
Yesterday.
Very few people are thick-skinned enough
to be fond of catching a red-hot iron with
their fingers. II is well known that an iron
bar exposed to an extremely low temperature
will communicate a sensation similar to burn
ing on its being grasped by the hand. Argu-
ing lazily on the same line, certain
class of minds have as insuperable
an objection to graspiug the metal
of Christianity on hot midsummer's day as
on the most freezing noon in midwinter. Our
discriminating reports of the congregations in
the churches yesterday point this in marked
manner All, children of such Sybarite
creeds, loll on your verandahs surrounded
by tobacco smoke and moral atmosphere Of
the earth, earthly should not be your only
Offering to the bountiful Providence on q Sab
bath morning In Plymouth church Mr..
Beecher, so far from being FRUSTRATED by the
ambient caloric, seemed to have caught up a
quantity of it in his high conducting mental
nature and literally spoke in s'words that
burr" He rolled on in such fiery eloquence
that every sentence was at high-pressure fever
heat, and he bids mankind glow with red hot
intensity. AS this was the last sermon before
the summer vacation, he impaired to it q
breathing flame that would suggest country
trip in February. Nevertheless, in the midst
= I. =
sound lesson Of noble manhood mixed with
much delectable eccentrcity on the subject Of
first thought impulse Whitfield" down by sober
second thought in way all that pastors own.
''Fanaticsm is the vice Of people, he says,
''oyer-cerebrated, and in that connection,
possibly, he doubtfuly complimented his con-
gregation by adding that ''some of you have
too much brain, but not many of you" The
Plymouth members may now rusticate with a
fully charged battery of holy electricity to keep
them going through the holidays.
In the Catholic churches the festival of
Peter and Paul was celebrated and in
the churches under the patronage Of
either or both apostles the appropriate
services were rendered, DR.. McGlynn,
at ST. Stephens, preaching on the subject of
the Papal succession from the great fisher
man. At st. Vincent de Paul's Ohe French
church, Pere Aubri lectured the few faithful
who came to pray on the laxity Of Sabbath
observance in those who stayed away. This
is somewhat roundabout way of reaching
the absentees, but from to-dsy's HERALD they
can learn all of moment he said on their souls
account At the Sixth Universalist church
the Rev. J. NJ. Pullman descanted on the sad
ness of life, and Dr. Dix, at st. Pants, on its
WEAKNESS. They were intended as cheering,
in view of the prospective JOY and reireshment
for the repentant sinner, and under the close at
mosphere of the respective temples the idea of a
seaside breeze or shady cooling stream formed
fitting physical analogue. To those who had
no prospect of run out of town the spiritual
comfort remained. The Rev. Merrill Richard
son preached one of his solid sermons on the
applicability of salvation to all, pointing ont
that Gods law like the civil code or the natural
law, cannot be violated with impunity. A good
old-fashioned discourse is that of Rev.
Charles b. Smyth, at the American Free
church, on the eighth chapter from the First
Corinthians, full of energy and broad in
charity. He advises teetotallers who quote
Scripture not to NEEDLE with this chapter. AT
st. Lukc's Methodist Episcopal church Rev.
Mr.. Narrower ploughed up the ground on
which the good fight is to be fought.
II, however, attendance was slim in town,
DIR. Sttt, at the Second Reformed church,
in Kingston, Ulster county, had a
crowded cty-aying auditory to hear
him thunder on Political Imperialism.
This is the only Fourth of July spread-eagle
sermon which it was our fortune to hear Of
Various are the lessons Of political nature
he draws from Holy Writ, with the Declara-
ton Of Independence Tapping in and out
through it all. He advocated paying taxes
on divine authority, but scorchcs the oppres-
sive Lawmakers with heavenly brand. Give
him a free Gospel in free America and
IL will soon embrace the Union, under the
folds of the Star Spangled Banner. Other ser
mons of power and beauty will he fonnd in
our columns to-day. and if the effects of the