The Portland daily press., 1874-04-29

BEECHER ON PRAYER.-The New York
| World gives the following account of Henry
| Ward Beecher's talk on prayer at the Plym-
outh church lecture room last Friday even
| ing:
1 have been asked to resume and speak
| more at length on the topic which come in
| cidentally into the remarks of last Friday
night, namely, the right to pray to Christ, To
those that have been brought up in the Or
thodox church according to the strictest faith
in that direction the question will seem
strange; that is, it will seem strange that
there should be such a question. We have
most of us been brought up with the feeling
that to the name of Jesus belongs honor,
power, and glory as it is declared in the book
of Revelations. All creation is represented
as singing praises to the Lamb, by which I'M
questionably is meant the Saviour, Jesus.
Yet we are not TO forget that there are a
great many in every community who pray
precisely the other way. IT not prejudice
against the name of Christ there is preju-
dice against any such use of the name as we
make, and persons of great sensibility are
often shocked at many of the hymns and ad-
dresses of prayers to the Saviour, which they
try to translate as far as possible into PRAYERS
to the Father, transmitting these prayers,
taking them out of the idolatrous address in
to the true address. Now, while it makes a
great deal of difference to whom we pray, it
is not all, as people often think, in the name,
nor in any such personification as we are like
ly to make. In other words, think great
many persons play upon themselves uncon-
sciously and ignorantIy. will explain what
mean. l aualyze the thoughts and feelings
of men that pray to the father. If they are
simply prayers for general recognition, can
conceive that such prayers can be prayed
without any reference to Jehovah. Isuppose
there are a great many heather that have
large moral natures, and they pray as really
to God as we do. If Socrates prayed, have
no doubt he prayed better than many men in
modern Christianity. l have no doubt there
have been Roman Christians only they did
not know Christ. What is it we are seeking
when addressing the divine being? Is it attri-
butte, character, nature, or is it name? Sup
pose in your thought it is divine mercy in
finite, love infinite, goodness boundless,
and you say Jehovah or Father, thinking of
those qualities or attributes, and another
man thinking of the same thing says Saviour
or Jesus, are you not both praying to the
same? Do you pray to the name or that
which the name means? / accept the doc
trine of the Trinity simply Oh this ground,
that it seems more consonant on the whole
to the design and flow of scripture than any
other way Of presenting the divine character.
Not because understand it or caa work it
into machinery, for as to apportioning func-
tions to the Father and to the Son and to
the Holy Spirit, ard saying in this depart
ment the Father is supreme, and in another
| that the Son has power, and in another the
| Holy Ghost, it is superlative conceit to do
| this. We do not know enough to make any
such distinctions, whatever name you please
to apply to this divine, essential unity in the
characteristics of God. When devout Uni
tarians pray to the Father they do pray to the
hat ic tO of
state to me what it is in the Father which
draws them. If it be tenderness and love
which draws them, that idea is borrowed
from the Lord Jesus Christ. All the materi-
ais which go to make up the idea of the Fa-
ther are borrowed from the Lord Jesus
Christ, so that when they pray to the Father
| they mean just what l mean when l pray to
Christ If people pray with childlike faith
| and earnestly do not think their prayers
| will fall to the ground.
Brother HoIiday-What do you suppose is
meant by Christ's declaration that he was
one with the Father?
| Mr.. Beecher-I don't know. Laughter
Brother Holliday-Don't know what you
| suppose?
Mr.. Beecher-I don't suppose at all.
| When you press me beyond the limit OF
| oneness you press me further than | can CO.
| If YOU ask me what oneness means l say
| don't know. 1t is great deal easier to say
| YOU don't know when you once get used to
| it than to say you do and try to explain
what you can't explain.
| A sister-My idea is that Christ in Jesus
was God in Jesus. but not Jesus.
Mr.. Beecher-There; you have left me
already. have no doubt your mind is well
enlightened on this subject, but mine is
| not.
| Brother Shearman said no nation yet had
ever known the real name of God. The
| Jews were the only uation that had ever pre-
| tended to know Gods name, and they had
| forgotten it. The missionaries in China
were quarreling as to the name to give to
| God. The name which would command
the most respect from Chinaman we should
not think very dignified They would call
| God s'Shp," and our name of God to a
Chinaman would not convey any idea of rev.
erence.
| Mr.. Beecher-I think many of the more
devout Catholics when they pray to the Vir-
gin Mary are right. / have a great deal of
sympathy with them. There is a great deal
of fuss made about deifying the Virgin Mary,
but if you don't put the woman spirit in God
then we will have it outside.
A Scotch Brother-We are taugnt tnae az
Christ sitteth at the right hand o, 1oo "
make intercesson for us. Now, II IN onflse e. eau
grant our requests why should he aSA oou "
do so?
Mr.. Beecher-That language is hguratlve.
It was addressed to the Jews, and 1t inter-