The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-12
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.


Men to be Loved Into G0Odness-Happines
TO be Universal Finally.
MIR. Beecher delivered one OF his most powerful
sermons yesterday, taking his text from the Book
OF Exodus, chapter the thrty-third, the eighteenth
and nineteenth verses, and chapter thirty fourth
and fifth to seventh verses-"And he said, beseech
thee shew me thy glory And he said, will make
al my goodness pass before thee. and will be era.
dous to whom Will be gracious and Will shew
mercy on whom l will shew mercy. And the
Lord descended in the cloud and stood
with him there, and proclaimed the name oil
the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him and
proclaimed the l. I'd, the Lord God, mercifu and
gracious, long suffering ana abundant in goodness
and truth. Keeping mercy Tor thousands, forglving
miquty and transgression and sin, and that viii by
no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniqulty OF
the fathers upon the children and upon the chill
dren's children unto the third and to the fourth gen.
eratlOns." Moses, said he, was the great man OF
antiquity. Although there Is certain venerable.
ness in the patrarchs though they are types they
said little and did little worth recording,
and they have left Us n legacy very little.
Moses was not only great measured by his own
time, but measured by any time he was great. His
Institutes are not worn out to-day. The spirit OF
Mosaic economy has been breathed into universal
government.
1T WAS GIVEN TO THE JEW
to develop the moral side oil human nature. Moses
began his public career at time when m ost men
are ready to die. For forty years, beginning at
eighty, he administered natonai affairs. In re-
counting the great worthless OF antiquity. the writer
OF the .Eplstle to the Hebrews speaks of
Moses as one who endured through faith.
II Is matter OF profound interest," then, to know
what were the i1eas OF God that Inspired him and
lay AZ the bottom OF the Mosaic dspe asatOn. the
people mad gathered at the base OF Sinai. Moses
bi,lty, aud he said unto the Lord "show me now
Thy way, that may know Thee, that may ind
grace IN Thy sight, consider that this nation is Thy
people" SO the LORD descended in u cloud and
stood with him there. God showed his goodness In
answer TO Moses desire to see His glory as If His
goodness was HIS glory. "What are those
views Oh my God," said he, ''by which l snail
educate this great people lie asked Cod for char
ter, ana III answer 10 this practical demand God
gave this view OF his own nature:-
JEHOVAH AERoIfuL AND GRACIOUS,
in thus dec aon Of Himself made for e snas
purpose OF the gnest use IN life, the very centre is
mat God is q God Of goodness, but that
tration. There Is the omission OF what are
called the natural attributes of God. There is MOTH
not divine elements. but tney are not characteristic
elements. These elements are TO God what the
In the central element OF goodness. But this long
suffering and patience must not be interpreted into
moral laxity. IL Is The goodness OF one that Will
not leave untrled all appropriate influence to give
victory TO what Is Respondent IN goodness and
inetable In purity. God Is
NOT WEAKLY INDULGENT
but he desires mems happiness anu therefore de-
velops them so that taey may be happy. Nature
teaches plainly the doctrine OF penalty and nature
Obscurey teaches healing also. II man dlsregar,ls
the law OF gravitatlon and breaks his leg lie learns
penalty but he goes home ana gets wen aud learns
remedy. Providence teaches penalty. Men feel thai to
do right is the best way TO ind happiness We praise
the sternneSs that gives present pleasure for future
Joy. We praise goodness seeking goodness at tue
expense or pain. But is there Divine being that
In FAR hn N 10 ffnr.
for the sake OF suffering And this question every
man asks as well as Moses-Wnat Is the centre
from which penalty springsl
is TIE PAIN WHICH WE SEE
In human society, from the bottom clear up to the
op or bvns BENZ that loved se l others
have taught that God loved men when they were
reconcIled to linn, but That when they were on the
wrong side OF HIN lie took pleasure IN giving pain.
AS expressed by the Westminster Catechism:-"0f
HIS own free Will Goi created race, a large por-
tion OF which should ne lost, Tor His own glory. lie
will by no means clear the guilty. This little
qualifying phrase Is all there 10 on the stern side,
while all the power description g en- the side
OF forgiveness. lie says:-I am educating men and
II necessary VIII apply pain; but 1t Is for the well
beng o those un 1n my teacaas na y IN sne
PLANTATION OF the whole economy of the old aud new
lspepsaton. There is a point in the text that
will Be gracious There Is significance TO me in
this idea OF God who has liberty. II you ask SCI
ence 1t will tel You that GOD has made u machine
and His business IS to oil 1t. That Goa Is
GREAT MILL GRINDER,
and He stands grinding ont everlasting grtStS ana
II you want awning you must carry your bag to
the mill. Tell men TO pray aud they laugh and say
.God governs by law; He can't stop law ana give
the word force, and say that there ~ force behind
the law. They say that God can tinker the machine
O little but he can't do anything without his ma
chine. God Is left pgny OF the universe once
powerful 10 crcale, but now powerless to con-
troll. God Is represented as having laid the
egg OF the universe, and now the universe Is going
on and God cannot change II or modify IT, There
is great force Lnen in this declar stion IL Will have
m H.
sorbed In the machinery OF the universe, but am O
God greater tnan my own laws" Men say tnat a
miracle Can't tie. Why cans II be2 Ii the divine
mind was competent to make quality can't 1T
change quality hold that
THE VERY CAPITAL OF NATURE
Is the human soul ana the economy OF rock and
soil is mere nest-buildlng There Is nothing more
law. l can make an acre barren make it bring
me a hundred bushels OF corn. can make a wilder
ness OF the world or can transform ~ to . garden
brain. Civilization Is only another name Tor what
man has done with natural laws Is God mere
locomotive on iron tracks, This Is base concep-
You ana I are the cream and all the rest is milk.
And II you and can do what we do how much
more the Omnipotent the great Goodness, the
Overpoweri These ideas of Moses need to be EN-
phasizcd III tins age, when the young are listening
superfclally to superficial teaching. l am often
asked,
''wuy DO you NOT PREACH
the atonement OF Christ more preach the nature
OF Christ and his teaching. claim Christ to be the
representation Of God. 1 preach Christ, His love,
man nature-to comfort, TO guide and Instruct.
After all men say, .Why do you not preach atone
mentr, What Is His atonement2
THE AToSEaENT OF CHRIST
is Christ himself 1t Is the inherent and everlasting
mercy OF God. II is the tendency OF Goa 10 recupe
rate and heal. Historically his forgiveness OF God
is eminently developed IN Jesus Christ. The only
thing that the New Testament does explain II thai
the atonement OF Christ was but the develop
ment of the everlasting love. The disclo
sure was by His life and death, but
the thing itself was from eternity. This takes away
ali the machinery; all the dogma thai God could
FORGIVE Till HIS died and maze Him good na
turcd. The central reason why God forgives Il
because
HE LOVES TO FORGIVE.
Why did Howard go to alleviate the woes OF tn
world9 Because he had love which was only
spark from God. Every man thatloves has In himsel
an Interpretation OF Gods goodness, goodness
that works 10y smiles II possible, and II not "
frowns PAIN Is but the right hand Oh love WORKING
for the recuperaton OF The sick. malign Coo
never Will make virtuous world. When the iathe
y stern the child braces Itself. But when, IN th