The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-01-23
Fair Weather Christianity-The Sermons
Yesterday.

| Ear weather ChFistinn1ty-Tho HcfmOns
| Yesterday.
Faith, muffied up In furs, shawls and over
coats, de6ed the freezing weather of yesterday
to do homage to God. 1t is a pleasant sight
to watch the throng Of worshippers entering
church. We may see the same fashionably
dressed women and eye-glassed young men
with nosegays in the buttonholes of their coats
going into theatre, but the thoughts which
enter ones mind in the latter case are quite
different from those which instinctively arise in
the former. The calm and quiet Of the day, the
sombre aspect Of the church and the know
ledge that in few minutes prayer will begin,
alike impart to the spectacle pleasure which
Is only heightened by the pious meditations it
provokes. For though tmay be, unfortunately,
that many of those who walk into the church
are drawn there from mere habit, curiosity,
desire to while away the hours, or, perhaps,
from more condemnable motives, 1t is difficult
to associate irreverence and ungodliness with
| sight 80 outwardly pure, tender, pious and
beautiful.
Yesterday, we regret to say, the piercing
winter wind was provocative Of some luke
warmness on the part of the congregations at
| several Of the churches. There are, however,
many Christians who seem to think that they
possess indulgenoes and can with impunity
abstain from worshipping God whenever the
thermometer is higher or lower than is in every
respect conducive to physical comfort. We
have known persons who attended church on
a clear, fine day, and endured the infection Of
| a gloomy sermon, delivered by drawing
preacher afflicted with chronic catarrh, who
declined attending on another day, when dis
course was delivered Astounding in originality,
eloquence and saving influences, because it
| happened to be very warm or very cold, or the
sky was overcast and threatened rain. Ger
tainly it must be admitted that there is much
to admire in the physical and pecuniary bene-
fits arising from fair-weather Christianity, but
| it is evident that unless Christianity is great
| error the spiritual part of it is exceedingly
| small. OF course these fair-weather Chris
| tians mean we'll. That is the worst of it. All
their good intentions only add so many square
feet to the pavem ents of the Internal
| regions.
Appropriately enough, that faith which
makes all weathers alike to the true Christian
was the subject of several sermons yesterday.
Rev. ]. S. Cotierre illustrated it by recount
ing the troubles of Christian. We would
have preferred if he had been a little more
cheerful. Undoubtedly it is "better to go to
heaven along road rough and thorny-full
of trials and sufferings-than to ride in
coach on macadamizsd road to hell" We
doubt, however, If it Is necessary for one to
be always plunged in trouble and misery to
obtain salvation. DR.. Dix also described what
the life of faith is, taking for his text the pill
grimages Of Abraham and Lot. Father
Bryce described its great advantages, and
told his hearers what it ought to be. Rev.
Mr.. Narrower indirectly discoursed on the same
subject. The attainment of perfection through
| the love of God was his argument.
Rev. Mr.. Richardson delivered sermon on
the fundamental truths of the Bible, showing
| that God holds man to obedience by means of
rewards and penalties, Rev. Dr. Adams
assured his hearers that implicit belief in the
Saviour was necessary to defeat the Prince of
the World, Rev. DR.. Forbes depicted the
beauty of holiness, Rev. DR.. Houghton, at the
slittle church around the corner" discoursed
on the duty Of every person dispensing charity
according to his means, and Rev. Mr.. Butler
assured his colored congregation that the
kingdom of heaven was like unto net, into
which he advised oil colored souls to get
caught. To close the array of sermons in
New York we report Mr.. rockingham en-
tightening mankind upon the subject of who
and what God is, his idea of the Almighty
being, of course. Numerically opposed to
that of ninety-nine out of every hundred
Christians.
Passing over to Brooklyn, we have the Rev.
Mr.. Gallaher discoursng upon the proper
method Of studying the Bible; Brother Beecher,
dull on the whole, but displaying an intimate
knowledge of the defects of st. Paul's counte-
nance, in language which would be considered
decidedly coarse, If not absolutely sacrile-
gious, in ordinary mortals, but which is quite
pious and proper in the Apostle of Plymouth
| church. At St. James Cathedral Father
Turner was quite eloquent in his sermon on
the leprosy of the soul; and at the Church of
the Pilgrims Rev. Mr. French showed the
| necessity of man being free agent
| 1t will be seen that from the array of SER
mons we present this morning, and which we
have merely touched upon in the foregoing,
the reader will undoubtedly be able to derive
that moral and spiritual support and conssla-
| ton which are so necessary to mankind.
| ENGLISH CABINET DIFFICULTIES. q
| special cable despatch, to be found elsewhere
| in these columns it will be learned that sort
| of crisis now exists in the British Cabinet All
| over the three kingdoms a faelnp nrevails that