The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-03-29

O.: .!o.iags-..>.i eAi ii s.1a.,a ssass.s
800. :. :.
lGHT DOLLARS AsrYEARsss
three hundred and ffty years, forty millions
OF Gods people, are planted frmlynpon the
confessions and symbols Of the great Church
of the Reformation. The theologians OF DID
nations and tongues drink their most Tefreshs
Ing and most M s'Iengfhenlps dEagghts st r., the
restored 10 the hands and. the sacrament cup
to the lips of the Savlotirs people. 2 II q.
This church, beloved, which we dedicate to-
day, is but a continuation. and .perpetua.
zion of the great work of the Refof-
nation sof. the 10th century. Itii.H sone
among 1.-The latest and ;4mostlg precious
t,h ftgits of restored Gospel This hegss was was
repreach In it the great doctrines OF the holy
Scriptures as taught In the Augsburg iConfes-
sion of the Lutheran Church; and every tenn.
pesttoesed ;toyager who shall In, after years
seek for rep0se in the quiet harbor OF our
grand old "City by the C.y, when he catcheB'
the first glimpse OF thIa lofty spre IN the hort.r
which is proclaimed what Luther taught three,
centuries ago: 'sThe Just shall Live by Fafth."
The Idea of building femples2and houses OF
worship IN which, to meet and perform Hult-i
able acts OF devotion to God, Is not original
with man. II is an arrangement Of the Deity,
who saw In the moral aud socialG constitution
of man an imperative necessity for, such q
plain. Not only did God dispose the hearth
of His people to erect these shrines
and gather around them, but He gave:
the most explicit commands that
such temples Should be built, and In
the first instance condescended to be the:
architect Himself giving the most explicit
until fr hr1flA md
every article OF furniture 1t contained
In every age of the world-both In heatherl'
and Christian lands-the public shrines at
which men have worshlpped have constituted
the great bonds of theira social and national
union.
Burn down the temple" at Mecca, destroy
ihepubllo worship of the followers ofthe false
would be numbered among the things that
were. 1t istheir temple and temple worship
that binds them together. And the mutual
encouragement they impart,to each other ct,
their public altar does more than anything
else to perpetuate their blindness and super
stition. itN. - -i.' .-.t'! z. -L2a'.s1.t pti
Destroy the temple Of Juggernaut,, break,
them OF this great bond Of union and Centre
of power, and you have done more for theif'
conversion than by sending them thousands
OF Bibles and scores of missionaries. ..sry 81
Now I ask the question:: II the shrine OF
false god-where there is no in1uence'of the
Holy Spirit; where there is NO Divine power.
where there Is no fire from heaven where
there Ia no real blessing-is q mighty engine,
Of power for the degradation OF the human
race, should not the temple and shrine OF the
Living God be almighty agency for tts eievar
ton At the altar of idolatry man exhibits
bis depravity, bis Ignorance: bis licentious-
ness, bis carnality. In the Cnnrcn OF Jesus
restored to what he, was at 76rst designed
But the moral, social and political power Of
the heather temple, and the influence exerted
by false worship, gresl, fearful and destructive
as 1t Is, Ia all earthly, sensual and destructiDe.
It yields to the gSTss of II tho
Christian temple worship, is the power Of God
unto salvation, and Is thing against which
the gates Of hell cannot prevail.
Now, beloved; II It is here that you receive
| the word and the saoraments on which Your
hope depends; If 1t Is here that you. receive
that sacred instruction which ,is to make, you
better citizens, better husbands, better wives,
| better children; If Ii Is here that you are t1oe
prepared for usefulness on earth and ;happl-
ness In heaven, as the experience Of all ages
has proved 1t ie, then do we become debtors to
the temple-to build Ii, to pay for 1t, and to
keep the flame of q pure devotion burning on
Its altars. This we owe to God. This We owe
to ourselves, and to the generations that are
to follow US. The whole economy Of God,
from beginning to end, Is an economy Of sac.
rifce. The least God ever demanded under
the dispensations preceding this one, was the
tenth OF all the believer possessed or made.
And al one time the legal eacrlaces and offer
lngs demanded of His ancient people amount,
ed TO thirty per cent. All
these sacrifices looked forward to the one
-,.oot otoptpt, ori7na rphtnh Nhrlcf wo ynino
to make of Himself upon the cross. And In
the new offerings which We this day lay upon
this new altar, let US keep before our eyes the
example Of Him swho was rich, yet for our
sakes He became poor, that we through His
poverty might become rich"
The reverend speaker continued his dis
course, saying he had, been asked to urge the
claims OF the new building upon the beneYo'
lence Of bis hearers. &c iaa iiaa wished to be ex'
cused from this duty, but he had undertaken
it, and would discharge 1t as best he could.
But he would not ask the congregation to
bring their gifts without giving them reason!
why they should do 30. First. The religion o
the blessed Saviour and his temple-worshlp add
to the value Of every foot Of property In the
city. This fact could be shown In many ways,
but he could illustrate 1t by q circumstance
which. came under his notice while pastor Of q
church In Madison, Virginia. In that county,
under the same judges and laws, With the
same taxation, property near the church sold
for twice as much as that which was. several
miles distant, at place where the Gospel was
not preached, and where the people,
In consequence, gave themselves up to
Elm. Second. Gifts 10 the church are q
legacy to Sour children. You Claim,
said the speaker, to be working for them.
Here is an Investment from which they can
derive more benefit fo. hundreds Of years to
come, than from any other expenditure. Third.
The greater the sacrifice the greater the bless
ing. Persons frequently said that they could
give such sum and 'snot feel it.n he wanted
them to feel It. Christ, when he died for man,
felt It,. In His agonies and bloody sweat he
fetit Under the old dlspensation the Al
mighty had required bis people to give one
third Ofall they possessed to religion. And
there were instances In these day5Swhere as
much was done as in the centuries long past.
A short time ago be, the speaker, visited an
aged German lady, living in house Of charl-
ty, in this city. She was inarm, crippled, des-
titute, without husband or child. Strengthen
ed by her faith she bore all her trials without
a murmur. and entreated to, be admitted to
tlvities. The speakers multiplicity Of
the joyous time, and give the sacra-
ment to this afflicted lady on Sunday last.
This was not all. > The worthy sister, when she
could, did needlework, earning sometimes ten
cents aud sometimes more. These fruits OF
her labor she had gathered together, and be-
fore he LEFT her, after administering the sacra-
ment, she told him (Mr. Bowman) that she
had an Offering to make to the New German
IT,r ao1 tt,tt t6o o11 pan dofl hn