The New York herald., 1871-05-15


1t is, perhaps, well known that the honored
and respected pastor Of the Church Of tho
Pilgrims, In Henry street. Brooklyn, Rev. DR..
Storrs, is now travelling in Europe, and his
pulpit has been filed temporarily by strangers
during his absence. The Rev. w. M. Taylor,
Scotch divine, is also travelling in this
country, and for the past two or three Sundays
he has preached to the Pilgrim congregation.
Yesterday that large and handsome edifce
was filed with worshippers, to whom Mr..
Taylor discoursed with great unction and
marked simplicity on Spiritual Loneliness,
taking his text from the story of Jacobs
wrestle with the angel. The sermon con-
densed will be found in another COL
umn, and will well repay the most
careful reading of it. It is full Of pure
Christian comfort There is not the least at
tempt at rhetoric or sensatonalism in it, but
from beginning to end the text and its lessons
are kept constantly in view Mr.. Taylor is q
man of medium height and size, and appears
to be about forty years OF age. He speaks
slowly and studiedly, and every sentence
seems to carry convincing power with it. His
style and manner in the pulpit are very much
like that of Rev. DR.. John Hall, of this city
calm, dignified, earnest, solemn. He evil
IDENTIFY feels in his own soul the power of the
truths which he utters, and he delivers them
with all the earnestness which such knowledge
and conviction impart His sermon yester-
day morning shows how much may be CLEANED
from careful reading and study Of the Scrip
lures. Although he talked for more than an
hour there was no sign of uneasiness among
the congregation-no looking at watches or
going out when the midday hour arrived.
The audience were too intent on the subject
so beautifully and yet SO plainly presented be-
fore them. And how heartily the majority
could agree with him in his delineations Of
spiritual loneliness and of
That sacred awe which dare not move,
which dwells securely in every human heart,
and can only be made known to the God and
Father of our spirits! This picture of loneli-
ness was heightened by a quotation from the
"Ancient Mariner who out on tho boundless
sea all, all alone," scarcely realized that even
God existed. And then to think that such
ton of thousands among us!
Adoctrine which few persons would look for
in this narration was also brought prominently
out by Mr.. Taylor-namely, the incarnation.
The Angel of the Covenant, God manifest in
human flesh, appeared to Jacob and wrestled
with him, and in his weakness importunate
prayer and steadfast faith prevailed. The
reader may notice the remarkable illustration
of the Jehovah of the old dispensation and
the God Of the new-the former awe-inspring,
the latter love-begetting. Surrounded by
majesty and power and glory in the former,
but laying aside His glory and assuming
our nature, He appears as the man Christ
Jesus with men, as God in essence and power.
So that we, His children, though blinded with
tears and weighed down with sorrows, may
embrace him as father and a friend. How
much more sublime and appropriate is such a
Gospel sermon to any Christian audience than
one which we had occasion to notice recently,
which was delivered in one of our city pulpits.
There seems to be something so solid and
stable in the pulpit teachings of British minis
ters which is lacking in our own. The sta
bility Of their local institutions and customs
seems to impress itself on their religious
thoughts, and they come among US here like
welcome messengers, bringing not another
gospel, but the old, old story, clothed in its
Jerusalem dress without our nineteenth GEN.
tury trimmings. The trimmings, to be sure,
may cost more and look better to the eye, but
they cannot wear as well nor feel as good to
the troubled and sin-sick heart. We welcome
Rev. Mr.. Taylor and commend him to Ameri-
can Christians not because we think he needs
any commendation at our hands, but because
we believe they need more of the kind Of
preaching which he dispenses.