The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-04-15
BROOKLYN CHURCHES.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

A Spring Day Crovvd-An Overflow in g
IIouse-Nr. Beccher on the Faticrhood
Of GOd-Hc Dcnounces the Cambridge
Confession, and Says He Would Rather
| BE an Atheist than Believe Ii.
| sunny spring day; one OF those days that seem
born OF the gc--.. SOUTH and in which, as Longle
| low says, the great annual miracle Of the
b0ssomng of Aaron's rod is repeated In
uyriads and myriads of branches, had its
effect in drawing to Plymouth church rather
more tran the ordinary spring crowd When
the opening anthem was singing by the choir,
there was a surging crowd in the Hobbies, and at
the entrances to the aisles, who were told by the
ushers to "Fall back the house is fuI.r The crowd
yielded slight obedience to the necessary admOni
ton, but maintained its standing position to the
end OF the service. Mr.. Beccher preached on the
fatherhood of Cod ana selected for his text the
ninth and tenth of the sixth chapter Of the
Gospel by st. Matthew-"After this manner pray
ye:-'Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed
be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, Thy win be done
earth, as II Is in Heaven.'n The introduction to
the sermon was, of course, an outline sketch
of the philosophy OF being, in which was shown the
need Of adaptation to and the harmony with the
moral qualities OF God and man. TO the sentient
faculty in man there must be correspondingly
moral principle in God These moral qualities, we
are told by cramped theology said Mr. Bcechcr,
are unlike to mans; and there can be no sympathy
between the understanding OF the Creator and our
selves: and there Is a kind of anthro-morphsm, in
which we are placed in such utterly different leila
tionships that there Is no sequence between orr
sympathies and Himself. If this is So then there Is
to us no God. know that God viii infinitely
transcend any model, or any manifestation Of
model but. Notwithstanding, the characteristics o
the Creator are the same In u.s.
LITTLE GIRL
once asked her father what was the ocean. and the
widened, widcned and widencd ana went beyond
those mountains, until you could not see it."
mo; thousand times bigger than that" "What
is storm in the ocean ~ says the little girl. The
father takes pail OF water, and he swings the pail
from side to side and the water rushes from side
to side he says, "Ihat Is like 4 storm in the ocean,
my dear Al, you may smile, but the fatherhood
tatons of the ocean, for IL not every drop OF water
In that pail like unto the drops that make up the
great ocean; and did not the Father, when he dis
turbed the laws Of gravtation by the oscillation OF
that water In the pail faithfully represent the law,
in detail, by which the mighty ocean is swept by
the mghties Storm In this way. and in this fee
BILE way, there are the same essential qualities OF
spirituality in magnanimity, in tn, in beauty, in
BILE to our union with Him. God Is in sympthy with
ms, and the idea is false and derogatory to
HIS nature that represents INN as u inc cr sa
lures around Him, supremacy content with
Himself; He selfcentred, receiving their alteration,
and supremacy Indifferent to the creatures who
offer il. There Is no such God. II there ~ one
thing more than another that children have been
taught by their parents it is that they must admire
moral qualities; that reverence Is due to moral
manifestations, and not to physical. Yet the ten
dency of our heologes Is to teach US that God acts
snpremey for His own glory There i sense in
which this is true, but not in this sense. ! hold in
my hand what is known as
THE CAMBRIDGE CONFESSION,
and is the platform of faith Of the New England
Congregational churches. ~ the faith OF our
fathers; it was the confession of faith which was
accepted In Boston ten years ago. Mr.. Beccher
read several clauses OF this confession. The first
ended with the sentence, "By the decree OF God
and for the manifestation OF His glory men
aud some angels are prcdesnated to everlasting
ruin and some are foreordained to everlasting
death.n THAT IL rather rough, Is IL not2D
asked Mr.. Beccher. The second had
this concluding sentence :-"Thcsc angels
and men thus predeStinated and foreordained
are fixed 10 an Interchangeable destiny; their num-
Der IL certain and defined, and cannot be increased
or diminished" That is what you may call rather
a tight 1T, said Mr.. Beecher. (Laughterl The
next article read was that relating to the DEGREES
OF Go in this regard being in accordance with the
unsearchable counsel of God, in which He saves
whom He WILL and passes by those whom he passes
by and ordains them To dishonor for their sins or
to His praise and glory. Now what II there IN this
bat what, IL IL were said OF an absolute mon
archy. and that of the worst type, would
not arouse the supremest Indignation. II were
to be left TO choose between absolute infldey and
atheism and the acceptance of God, who has
preordaned and predestinated an innnmcrable
host OF His creatures to torments, TO pains, and TO
eternal death for His praise and His glory why
rather than accept such an internal Deity, would
DO an atheist. aud would glory therein. Sup