The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1873-02-12

1uaI Iue Ieauer may Juuge loI "Ino0lA "'
to the fairness of these representations, we
submit couple of extracts from Mr.. Beech
er's sermons. The first was published in
the Independent so long ago as July 4th,
1861, and is as follows:
"And this is the root idea of justification
before God There is a heart power in God
which, when it falls upon the soul, acts just
as benefaction does between man and man /;
between parent and child; between benefac-
tor and orphan. That which you see Of the
nature of noble qualities in the ten thous
and relations of life in fragments and in i'm
perfect operation, has its full glorious form
in the soul of God; and the heart of God is
so pure, so gracious, so sweet, so benefcent,
that when there is nothing to prevent it from
giving Heart stroke to a sinful soul, it melts
the wickedness in that soul, and overcomes
it with superlative power, and redeems it.
GA mans justification, then, takes its
origin, as we think of it, in his unworthi-
ness, in his sinfulness, in his guilt, and in
his danger; and he comes before God as a
sinner. Then God looks upon him with saw
ing compassion. Not on account Of any ar
rangement he has made, not on account Of
Gny eTpedient that he has set up, not on ac,
count of any settlement or plan that he has
fred. but on account of what HE Is, he
locks upon a sinful man and says, so love
you that accept you just as if you were
not sinful This is illustrated by one of the
simplest things in the world. A mother,
when her child does wrong, says, My dar-
ling child, will you do so any moreY and
tears are the child's answer, and she clasps
him to her bosom without another word and
the matter is all settled. There IS the moth
er's heart, an atOning sacrifice for the child.
IheologiaaS hare put forth the absurd notion
that God has made a plan Of salvation, AS
half a dozen men sometimes take up poor
debtors affairs, and look at them, and put
their heads together, and fix them, and then
say to the man, Well, We think we have
made a satisfactory adjustment of your af
fairs; SO theologians talk as if there was a
kind of conference between the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit, and as if after talking
the matter over they concluded that they
would help men out of their trouble, and
made an arrangement for that purpose -
They thus turn heaven into counting room,
aud make Gods everlasting love to be like a
mere business committee, and 80 belittle the
whole thing They seem to think that God
arranged with the Son, and that the Son
agreed to suffer for the world, with the un-
derstanding that when he had suffered
enough, mankind should be loved of God,
aud should be parioned and helped by him.
But what set the Father to begin this work
Of saving men at all, if he could not love
them till after the Son had suffered for them? ?
If that was the case, how came there to be
any arrangement made? Where did it start?
Or, did the Son love the world first, and tell
the Father that he wished that he would re-
deem it? Is not tie aOhOle Of this talk about
a plan of Salvat5On mess of sheer igaO-
rance, not to sag nOnsense 2"
This extract will speak for itself 1t is
in perfect agreement with the whole strain
Of the sermon from which it is taken, and
the ruling idea is repeated again and again.
1t agrees in fact with all the utterances we
have ever seen from the same source. Shock
ing as it is to evangelical Christians, it has
been hailed in the infdel and heterodox
publications of the country as the inspiration
of seer who has burst the fetterS that
bound him to an old fashioned Bible faith.
1t is no wonder that the Princeton Rsview,
under the editOrShip of that noble Christian
scholar DR.. Charles Hodge, clas8ed this ser
mon among the "Developmenta of American
Rationalism, aud said in regard to the ex
tract above, eff ranker Sociniani8m than
this can be found in the works of Socinius
Or if more complete reputation of the
Scriptural and Church doctrine of iustifca-
ton can be found in all the productions of
Unitarians, we have yet to
see it. If any thing could be more offensive
than the rejection of this article staatis vel
;adentis ecclesie, it is the light and hippant
style in which it is assaied and disowned."
We adopt this language as ours. 1t is true,
and well deserved, every word of it. We,
in common with thousands of ministers, far
better, and wiser than either Mr.. Beecher
or ourselves, rest all our preaching upon the
grand underlying truth that "God has made
a plan of salvation" The Bible teaches it
everywhere, (e. g, Heb. X: John xvii etc,
and so does every evangelical catechism and
confession of faith throughout the world.
And when ne Scornfully stigmatizeS all such
as ga mess of sheer ignorance,
not to say nonsense" we humbly submit that
we are not bound to lay our neck8 silently
in the dust to be walked over rough shod by
this stalking Goliath' We have at least the
right to let the world know that his attacks
upon the Cross of Christ are also attacks
upon our own understanding, convictions,
and feelings.
The other extract is taken from Mr..
Beecher'g sermon published in the Plymouth
Pulpit, of December 18th, 1869, and is as
follows:
IT have received many, many kind letters,
welI-intentioned, from persons who, while
they thought my preaching was edifyiug to
those that were already Christians, did not
believe it was exactly the right kind of
preaching for those who had not begun to be
Christians. And they complained especially
because said so little about the blood of
Christ, and so little about the atOnement of
Christ. and so little about plan Of saba.