The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-22
LYRIC HALL.

Mr.. Frothing hams Second Sermon ora
Human Naturc-His Review OF MIR.
Beecher's Recent Discourse.
Lyric Hall was flied with attentive audience
yesterday morning, who, after listening to the
i musical selections finely rendered by the &C
complisned choir and the reading from various
ancient Scriptures by Mr.. rockingham. were led
10 the same general grounds OF thought and dis
cussion occupied by that preacher on last Sabbath
morning. Mr. rockingham chose for his text the
same words, or part OF them that had formed the
basis of the stirring and eloquent sermon by Mr..
Beecher q couple OF weeks ago-"Beioved, now
are we the sons OF God" Mr. rockingham, how
ever quoted no more OF the passage, but went on
to say:-These are the words OF the apostle John.
They are addressed to Christian believers, and to
Christian believers they have all their ap-
pIication They are not spoken TO the
world outside of the limited company OF
the faithful, not to the Gentiles or Greeks
or Romans or barbarians, but only to those who
have the faith in the Christ. These privileged
to call themselves the sons of God; these are
privileged to say "Abba Father" these have the
rit-bearing witness in them that they are the
children of God-not the rest. IL Is q mistake to
read these words as If they applied to human ma
ture as such; they apply, in the Intention OF the
apostle, to those who are emancipated from the
law of human nature, and who, by faith IN the re-
deeming Christ, are raised above the natural
creature; the faith or this apostle in uttering
these great words is that human nature Is sinful;
that the human race is bound under sin. As
THE GREAT BROOKLYN PREACHER
says, "Tne wnole world lies in wickedness." Of
that there can be no doubt. This was the cardinal
faith not OF John alone but Of Paul and all other
apostles, that human nature in itself being under
the law OF SIN, essentially deprayed and could OF
itself do nothing. This, l say. was the cardinal
faith OF every OF the apostles: IL s the card-
nal faith OF the literature of the New Testament
alter the Gospel; 1t has been the cardinal faith Of
the Church snce-strong IN some cases.
feeble and vague in Others but never wholly lost
because this Is the corner stone OF the whole
mediatorial system According to the depth Of
the fall is the height OF the rise; according to the
amount that is lost in Adam is the amount that is
gained In Christ; according TO the utter inability
OF human nature is the promised ability OF the re-
deemed man. And so we will find in the history OF
the Christian Church, from the beginning until this
day. in every the corner stone Of all doctrine is
the doctrine of human depravity. II the doctrine
Is the doctrine OF total depravity then the office
of the Redeemer becomes SO much more exalted,
because the need OF the Redeemer Is much
more crying. II the depravity consists simply IN
weakness, in want OF development, then the office
OF the Redeemer is stripped OF some OF its chief
dignity and the Redeemer becomes merely
teacher and eXemplar. But, observe, the cardinal
!
pravity. or less pronounced, more or less in
curaoie, OF human nature. Now, friends, 1t is
depravity or Of depravity not total but essential
OF depraved nature, should De preached, gener-
alton amer generaIion 70 men OF all conditions
protest. There will be the reaction, though
it is not confessed; there VIII be protest though
1t Is not spoken; but it will be protested 1t will be
spoken. The voice out OF human nature itself viii
say, 1T is not and cannot be true that human ma
ture is essentially evil that 1t has
DEPRAVED AND CORRUPT ROOT.
Now the voice Of this protest broke out first in
and cnrlonsiy but significantly enough It was the
| voice OF a Briton who spoke-a British monk who
,e + S es
OF sturdy manliness, reliance on the natural
powers of the mind, iaith in wnl, faith In human
purpose, faith in character. And this British
monk Jour centuries after Christ, nited up loud
and earnest protest IN behalf OF character against
the doctrine OF depravlty. He sald:-"U human
nature is depraved then there are no men and
women; II there IS no tree will then there Is no
there is no moral worth; IT there no moral worth
then there is no such thing as Judgment or con-
or rebuKe; and il there is no such thing right OF
wrong praise or blame, then what becomes OF char
acter Character depends upon Its being possible
to be virtuous,. and II mans character Is given
beforehand 1t Is not character; because his char
acter is his own. Adam cannot be character for
t me; no person who lived IN another continent, in
another age OF the world. however good, however
able, can be anything to me. ! stand for myself.
! Every Individual being Is an individual ana his
own qualities he is answerable for. And II you
say that we all fell in Adam then you teach that
each one OF US is not an individual. but solitary
brick lying along the line which is doomed to TALL
when the first one IS toppled over. We are moth
platform d Upon Which providentai acts are done,
but we are not free agents, not personal agents,
We count for nothing" Now. the man who spoke
! out IN this great way was not q philosopher; he
! was not great theoogian; he was not a keen
and subtle thinker; he was no not man largely
divine principles at ALL He was plain, solid sub
stantial
and he stood on the English faculty OF common
sense, and he said to the the0ioglans, "What you
Il In may be bameess in philosophy; but It is abs1fd
IN reason" He was put down; his voice was
hardly heard ne was oo 1 70 nee rom one pi
doctrine was pronounced heresy, was overruled,
was cast out. and the old sect OF depravity went
on withouta ripple visible ON its surface. 1t was
q thousand years before another great protest IN
the same name, OF the human conscience and the
reason, ran through Europe-a thousand years
aud this time it was an Italian. not an Oriental,
not Greek, not subtle, speculative tneologian,
but an Italian, who like all the Italians, believed
the individual conscience, IN external and
tpings His name aower WAS vs sos'
He was more OF a scholar than the other-more q
student or history and had q larger acquaintance
with men. tie was better born. ne entered upon
higher plane OF human development, but he said
essentially the same thing. 1t was long time be-
IRON Germany. His idea was that man was
spiritual being, that his nature was DIVINE that
the essential quality tnat maze the man or tne
woman was In itself supernatural and in itself in
Inmates conception OF man as beng who rather
descended from above than worked up from below.
The very idea OF depravity was utterly abh0rrent
to the person who held this great conception.
They thought of man as being who had q relg-
ious nature--wno was the author OF religions, who
wrote himself the bibles, who sanctfed the priest,
VINO conSecrated the ministers, VINO built the
temples, who formed the cymbals, who created the
music. The creeds were this man thinking the wor-
ships were tais man praying, the confessions were
this man, numDie on his knees, the temples
|
corresponded with his idea OF the infinite.
THE APOSTLE IN AMERICA
OF this great 1aith was Charming, and in Claiming
standing as he did nominay IN thin and dry
technical sou, for he was a Unitarian by protes-
slon the prophet OF this sublime dignity In human
nature found voice. pure minded man, simple,
sincere, earnest, dey0ut with great sense OF the
reality OF divine things with an active enthusiasm
IN all moral and noble directions, with earnest
| love OF his lenoW men, Without intellectual pren-