American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-08-23
REV. j. R. GRAVES.

/ y
and preached, at night, to ii large
and respectful congregation. His
I reputation as an earnest. Jealous
! and abe defender of his peculiar
faith drew to the church many
who were not in sympathy with
the dogmas of his creed, as well
as a large number who have no
settled religious belief. His dis
course. or, rather, discourseS.
were founded OH the second chap.
ter of Acts of the Apostles. com
mcnclng at the first, and ending
with the last verse. The first dis
course-if we may so term it
was simply running commenta-
nv on different PORTIONS of the
chapter. in which he reviewed, III
brief, the history and present con-
dition of the Jews, predicting for
them a social and spiritual eXalta
ton beyond that of any other ma
ton. sin the fullness of time"
said the speaker, "the name of a
Jew will be honored among men,
and to be called a jew will be a
prouder distinction than to be
called a King!"
Passing by this random com
mentary-which, we think, was
wholly irrelevant, and useless
waste of time-he proceeded to
unfold the doctrines of his text in
sermon that must have Occupi-
ed nearly, if not quite. two hours
in delivery. During this long
sitting. the most earnest and res
pectful attention was Civ
en- to his words. 1t is not our
purpose to review this discourse,
noI to indulge i'll captious critl-
cism, although we believe that
many OF bis pOstulates would not
stand the test of logical analysis,
or rational and scriptural investi-
CATION. For example: He sta
ted, as Il Gospel truth, that
CHRIsT's Kingdom was of this
earth, and no where else, and
that his throne was erected here
upOp. instead of in the celestial
world, as enormously asserted
and believed. This proposition,
we confess, startled us somewhat,
for CHRIST emphatically said to
PLATE, on being asked if he was
King of the Jews "My King
dom is not of this world;" evident
~ meaning that it WAS heavenly
and angelic. Now, if Mr.. Graves
be correct, then did the Savior
practice a deception at the bar Of
! PLATE, and by that act invalida-
ted all his former teachings
/ With due Difference to Mr.. Graves,
we must be permitted to dissent
from his views, believing them to
be antagonistic to the letter and
spirit of Holy Writ.
We read in Revelations, that
"He that stitch on the throue
shall dwell among men, Upon
his signet is inscribed, liking of
Kings''-sLord of Lorls"-.Je-
hOvah sent by jehovah to the ma
tions." The sceptre of his pow
err comprchends universal domin-
ion-the illimitable expanse of
the universe alone bounds his di-
vine sovereignty-the nature OF
his administration is plenipO-
Tertiary. As Creator and Judge,
he has an undisputed right to
rule his subjects i'll the courts
above and on the earth beneath,
and as Mediator, his right to su
preme administration in the
Kingdom of his Father, is equal
ly indisputable. When he accom-
plished the grand purposes of his
earthly mission, and assembled to
the Majesty on High, by virtue
of his own Inherent power and
authority, Heaven became, of
right, the sphere Of his enlarge
ment, and the throne OF the uni
verse the seat of his empire. If
this logic be correct, then must
the theory of Mr.. Graves fall to
the ground.
Waving this, and other defects
in his theology, we were both
pleased and entertained. Por-
lions of his discourse were eX
ccedingly ediiying, and some of
its passages truly eloquent. Sas-
tanning no personal relation to
any christian church, we have,
nevertheless, great charity for all
religious denominations. and sin
cercly revere those who minister
in holy things. There was much
in the discourse of Mr.. Graves to
comfort and strengthen the mem
bers of his church, and to direct
the thoughts of the uugodIy to