The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-17
BROOKLYN CHURCHES.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

The Pew-Owners Beginning Their Sum-
mer Vacation-Sermon by Mr.. Beecher
on "RcligiOn . Work and Not
Emotion''-WhO It Ia that Makes PEN
mics Squcal-The Chromatic Passages
or Domestic Life-The Evil OF Multi
plying Children.
The hot spell Of the last few days has turned the
thoughts and fancies OF the city residents towards
country lanes and the sound OF the deepswelling
sea- The result Of this tendency OF thought
emptied q good many pews Of itheir regular
occupants at Plymouth church yesterday. The
strangers were, therefore, accommodated with
ease, and the house was not overcrowded. Mr..
Beecher's subject was, "Religious Life Work and
Not an Emotion.n The text was selected from the
Gospel OF st. John, ", 15--'The woman saith unto
Him, Sir, give me this water that thirst not,
neither come hither to draw" The introduction
was q graphic word picture OF the woman Of
Samaria and Jesus at Jacobs well. The desire OF
the Samaritan woman to obtain this water OF
which she supposed Jesus spoke, without the labor
that was necessary In the drawing OF the water
from the WELL was the same spirit that actuated
men to-day. Men seek religious benefit without
labor, without culture and without education.
This was not attempted in physical life;
men did not seek the benefits OF an
Industrial occupation without first laboring for
sphere Of life. 1t was exception to this state
ment that there were men Of genius who seemed to
enter into an intellectual inheritance by kind OF
intuition. We were not wrong in surprising that
genius was ever ready, and was more facile in Its
workings but 1t was after all only more highly
conditioned brain. II we reason about the develop
ment OF intellect we find on the lower stage OF
mental power mental Impressions produced simply;
In the middle stage there is q development, but it
is in a lower measure; there is higher stage that
has rar higher measure; 1t is a development that
Is discriminating; and that develops itself out
wardly. Most men have state OF faculty that is
highly organized in one direction: It was quite
true that man who was thus organized could work
more easily than others, but 1t was not true that
there was no need for him to work There was
not q man who lives who
TEACHES UPON MIRACLES.
All men were under laws. The eagle got over the
ground more easily than the ant, but the eagle did
It by wingbe but the ant got over the
ground The power in one was greater but 1t was
the same law that was at work. The man VINO was
ever so much OF genius was never free from the
responsibility OF study and the application
of means to ends. It was only when men came to
the moral sentiment that they began to work upon
an entirely different scheme. Now, religion was
simply right-mindedness towards God and towards
man. That was religion which was to act accord
ing to the law OF the power of the mind from the
highest to the lowest OF the faculties. We had not
two minds--one to think about me world with, ana
essential unity In the use OF the mind ''Bnt, then
you are ready to ask " said Mr. Beecner rs there no
place for the holy Spirit no place for the influence
of divine afflatus, that stimulates and c0nvinces
men. l should have no hope In any OF my labors
for the Acknowledgement OF men il did not believe
that there WAS divine element, an atmosphere or
heaven, that pierces every heart; 1t is the faith in
this Divine Spirit that gives me courage in all my
Efforts. Notwithstanding, this Divine Spirit is not
so powerful as to relieve man from the develop
ment Of all his powers and the profting by all his
WAKES Us UP TO WORK
out our own salvation with fear and trembling
converted, there is a whole field before
them, and that there is nothing further
% en ssm nc e ao COME n 20 n c5
verified they are always converted. ! say that 1t Is
not an accomplished salvation. All that a man has
got when he is converted Ia that he has got a new
start When the angel came and struck OF Peters
chains the angel told him to 'go out, and ne went
out but he had to find his own way about, and to
conversion 1t was as far as the viii was concerned
But when he awoke from his swoon he had to be
told about all that had happened, and by slow de-
grees he came to be the great apostle that he
was. What wanted was not to wait
until great crisis came, but to begin
to be Christians. Ifyou saw man who was noto-
rions spendthriit, and when you heard him say
"When get to be snug. careful thrifty man !
will do so,n you would think he was fool. You
would tell him to begin to be careful and thrifty
man. When man is public thief, and desires to
discontinue his disonesty-if in these days public
thief is considered dishonest man Qaughter)-
you would tell him to begin TO be honest, would
You not 2 II man wants to be converted let him
begin to do rght--that is what conversion
amounts to anywhere. Should not the man pray
Certainly, but he must 90 something else
besides praying. Piety is not under different law
to general intelligence; IL in the same law Then
there is much dependent upon temperament in
estimating the influences towards goodness A
man with u long, thin, bloodcss body would have
no pity for the mistakes and failures OF the man
with the short junky cody and columnar neck, with
an immense basil appetite. But the Short junky
man might say to the lean, boodless, elongated
piece OF humanity, "Wel, If do get drunk now
anu then and do enjoy my meals, never was mean
enough to
PINCH PENNY
until made II squeal, as that man does. p.augh-
teri Then have you never noticed how diHcrent
men are in their prayers to what they are out OF
them 2 You hear one man: he never prays with
the same voice that he talks with. He seems TO
have rot n kind of Ofcial voice for that purpose.
1t Is generally vely low seli-debasing voice. Look
at him and listen to him ut the business or at the
Office; look how no PAGES about now ne orders;
what vgor what carnestness what tone there is
In that voice when things not going all right.
He is quite another man. Then glance at the man
who has been conducting family prayer and
1t is over his wife has to ark him for
something. She knows II is quite right
she should have it; he knows 1t is quite
wrong and 1t is quite right that she should not
have It, Then occurs one OF those line chronatc
passages that disturb the harmony OF domestic lie
80 much (Laughter The meekness that he had
prayed for is all gone; though God had sent an
angel in the shape of his wife TO test the sincerity
OF his prayer. Then have you never seen Christian
father under the severe trial OF having children
multiplied on his hands, when circumstances
plainly showed that he did not want thems How
plainly he showed that he wanted somebody else To
do the work for him. A clear, practical Application
OF these truths closed discourse that abounded In
Illustrations OF striking adaptablity.
BEDFORD AVENUE REFORMED CHURCH.