The New York herald., 1873-12-22
Christmas .nd Othsr ssrmen.~.

| cePuon OF CnrlSt as perSOnai saviour, In
which light he presented the Lord Jesus yes
terday to his congregation. Recognizing that
personal God and Saviour is the great need
OF mankind, and individual contact with Him
the promise and the completeness of our faith
and hope, the great preacher asked some
very practical questions and suggested partial
explanations of religious decline, which is go
much deplored in these days Intense per-
sonal love of the Lord Jesus Christ is not
Mr.. Beecher thinks. characteristic of our
Christianity to-day. To great many Christ
is neighbor, but an abiding guest with
comparatively few. And Mr.. Beecher thinks
this relationship is due, in great measure, if
not wholly due, to the legal and philo-
! sophical teaching of Christ which is
so constantly kept before the people. What
men really want is not so much Christ in His
relation to government to history or to
theology as in his relation to each individual
soul As Mr.. Beecher very characteristically
put it:''When Christ is presented to me
want Him-not multiplication table. l
won't say how can three be one, and one
three2" That is the case in nutshell. If
men would take Christ first this 'smultiplica-
ton table" might be learned afterward without
much difficulty. What Christ is to each in
dividual is the starting point in each ones
career, and while men are starving for this
spiritual nourishment Mr.. Beecher thinks, as
we think, that it is cruel to offer them our
creeds and theories and forms Of Church gov
ernment instead Of that personal Saviour who
alone can satisfy the longings of their souls
And what grand thing it would be if Mr.
Beecher's own ministry had more of the
personal Christ in. it than it has And the
same remark may apply to too many of our
preachers of to-day.
The Rev. H d. Northrop saw, as it were in
vision, the expanding and incoming king
dom of Christ, and, as he beheld, the world
seemed too small for the King or His kingdom,
and we have but faint realization Of the
wonderful influence that Christ exerts in the
world. The metropolis stands in the street
when Jesus Of Nazareth passes by Princes go
out to meet Him, and kings Of the earth come
to see the brightness OF His rising. This
Christ, whose coming into the world eighteen
hundred years ago we now commemorate, has
shown more power here than all of earths
heroes, conquerors or poets. He overtops
them all, and we must bury history before we
can call the Bible fable.
The joy and happiness that came into tn
world when Jesus came, and the joy that
comes to every Christian home and heart on
every returning anniversary Of His birth-these
were the special thoughts to which the Rev.
Mr.. Cheney directed attention yesterday.
Everybody feels better at Christmas time.
Even the storm seems beautiful, and the
snow flakes strike ones face with thrill
Christmas forces us to recognize the fact that
there are others in the world beside ourselves.
There is more joy and music and content
ment in this season than in any other, and
old and young can hail Jesus as the harbinger
of peace and hope.
Bishop Potter took up similar train of
thought and enhorted his hearers to srejoice
in the Lord always" and in the language of st.
Paul assured them that if they did this the
peace of God would keep their hearts. The
Church at this season puts on her robes of
rejoicing and repeats the apostles suggestion
s.Rejoice always.'' But the strength and en-
coungement necessary to enable MS to do this
must come from God They cannot be OBJ
tanned in nature. They do not reside in our
surroundings we must have help from above.
And thither the Bishop directed the minds of
his hearers.
ssForefathers' Day was remembered by Mr..
rockingham, who gave historical sketch of
the Puritan spirit, which he was glad had in
measure passed away, SO that instead of the
sternness Of the Mosaic law which they mani
tested in their lives we have the Gospel law of
love. The Rev. w. T. Clarke also touched on
the same thing, but went little more into the
historic details than Mr.. rockingham. The
lesson that he gathered from the career Of
"the Puritans in America" was lesson of
faith in ideas and fidelity to truth.
Dr. Fulton drew from the life and labors of
the late Professor Agassiz important lessons
for parents in regard to the training Of chill
dren and for young men in respect to the pur-
suit Of knowledge, and for oil the truth that
unto those who strive to develop that which is
within them God will increase and multiply
mental and moral gifts. 1t was thinking that
lifted Agassiz to . plane with thinkers, but it
was the self-sacrifce, the economy and
the self-denial practised in the parsonage
at Ober that gave him his start. He
w.s loyal. 30 God and God was true to him.
And hence DR.. Fulton concludes that ''it
pays to love and honor God" DR.. Wild also
eulogized the deceased scientist-"one Of our
Ureatast benafartnre - nr Wild woc ,,oruaooIlv
acquainted with the late Professor, and knew
him to be ''a true, brave-hearted, honest
Isinded Christian gentleman, who worked his
religion into every scientific explorations and
discovery"
The Rev. Mr. Mel an ex-priest, while
adan0uncirat u nicIra ard -loodine. ..I