, 1874-05-04

service; not to rhttonAltAm that donto1 all
tenso, tess and aud virtue, ' and A al of salvation
with the most rainlcnt possible Of common
sense. Faith is indeod appointed by God to DO
dom, and honoo He 8aya faith its legal powor,
boca,lao It posnossod such natural power. God
might hayo ortlained that all persons who should
crawl upon their knoes from Paris to Romo, or
from tho Atlantic TO the Mississippi. should bo
saved, and thia would. hayo boen ovcrmore b
loyal salvation but what would havo been tho
casual relation botweon auoh pilgrlmaBes and
human onorgy In all tho poreonnl reform and bo-
neyolont works of the worlda The yileat sinner
could have performed tho task, and then have
lived on In sin; but whom God attaches salvation
to filth In jesus Christ, to Rueh divine frtonu.
ship, He fas Bot In motion an influence thnt will
help each soul possessing this faith up to d.
making prominent tn Its docrlne reasonable
Agency, great natural force called belief. II
God desired to overthrow the sverlastng bills,
H. would not probably AZ H. hss gentle ,rs rnd 20
them, but would ask tho earthquake to open IT,
great bosom aud swallow them 81 1t once With
| drow tho rohm OF Atlantis. Thus faith oornes
into Christianity not simply by an arbitrary
sonableness Of God aud the nature Of man.
This faith Is part Of tho reasonable aorvice de-
mnulod by tho idoal Church, escaped feom the
worship Of superstition and folly.
1tis Incredible that God Of infinite wisdom
trtnas arbitrary a Or a5srd. Il i not only to 30
presumed that God desirea that Hia children
should reach Heaven, but that they should do
volop their own intellect and spirlts on the way.
may ASSUME, beyond question, that il will nos
| be divorced from culture and bound to super
stition, but will In sverY doctrine DO =
handmade Of common sense. II reason is con.
feeBedly one Of tho highest Attributos Of man, It
certainly ahould not bo denied the FAthor
In Heaven. In, therefore, tho slmpleat ritoa Of
tho Church, in the baptism, Of m infant or the
lmmcraion Of an adult, thero will b. reaaon-
ablenoss worthy Of God above and man beneath.
| This common sense cannot lie In any saving
powor such rito may bring, for water oannot
| form any part OF spiritual regeneration. Water
can no moro stand es tho causo Of salvation than
1t could stand 40 part Of classic education, or
as preparation for tue Bar or the senate. 6pir-
| itual changos do not thus come, but II the bap-
| tisn stands as An emblem of = new 1ifet that
shall otherwise come to tho soul, or a. snomcnt
! when parents nuke aolemn VOWS before hoaycn
and earth, then tho sito passas into its reason.
able1egs, and booomes loaf Of tho vast intelli-
gonco above and benoath. Whom, therefore,
mothers have Wept in hopeleRs agony BECAUSE
loyod child had died unbhptiked, they have dis
grsced thor Maker by their toars or Is God q
| beiuK who condemns to death soul because 1t
! has had no water aprinkled upon its forehead
| 1s the eternal miaery OF soul Of 80 little sig-
nifcanco to God that ho could in1ict It for such
tho sweat roasonablenoss Of the Heavenly Faith
or would dry many eyes that have nept too long
and too bitterly.
ruBsln4 along over tie Christianity Of Ysater-
day, porceiye everywhere TINT it has aacr6cd
everything to God except tho great virtue OF
common Henae. Permit ma to illustrate atiu
further this proposieion. Take, for example,
the sinfulness Of man. Wo al know Of this sim
fulneaa; We feel +; re repent Of i; 70 Pray
is Expressed all ovor the Holy soripturesl Ono
says; ave arc promo to evil ~ the sparks to
ny upward" Another ssya "Thore ie- mono
that doeth good no, not ous." Again It IL said:
U.S." What = world of truth thero il 10 these
statementsl There ia not even an infdel who
will rise up and dony them. for they lie 50 cloae
to tho calmcat rohson Of man: But lot the
Church zealots take hold of theao versea and
more 1 mystery tho moro faith, and you
have handed over tho beautiful, religion Of
Christ 70 tho care Of almost IT, ,r1aving mad;
statement Of Bishop Bevoridges ~ cannot
pray but sin. I cannot hcAr or preach aer"
mon but Hin. I cannot give aims or receive the
sacrament but ain. Nay, T capnot 10 much as
arc only aggrav.tions Of them." And you will per-
| ceive that auch words aro only tranHfer Of tho
Bible from its sweet reason to the care Of human
| fanaticism, and out Of such transfer has rolled
| world. Such language not only makes perfect
nonsense Of religion. but It e1aspeTatea tho ed
ucsted heart, and helps divorce Christianity from
| the public culture.
MY friends, It becomes us all to tear not only
| our own hearta away from such a wild state
ment, but to holp pluck such = badge Of dig
| honor from tho mama OF our Father aud from
tho croBB OF our blesaod Lord. It is only BY this
opon purifying Of tho sanctuary you oan make it
worthy Of the coming generation. issuing from
nton1 totian frnIr rf lad r,t1-
ture.
Thorc is Kreat goodness in tho heart that
truly attempts to take its communion or to re-
pent Of its ans,-snd she good Book eompsred
ain in repentance, declares thero is joy IN heaven
| over tho sinner that repontB; whereas, il what
Bishop Beyerdgs said 200 years ago DO true, tho
angels ought to weep that tho sinner Is 80 aggra-
knee a Theodore clrlstlieb, snd with him Leolky
md Barring Could join in affirming that infldsii-
| ty is not 30 tnuoh result Of the pretensos Of
| tho Bible, as Of tho pretenBea Of men who have
dogma Of tue Church has bred infldols BY my1iads
ali around the bad dogma. In work upon In
fidelity, work 80 powerful and truo that 1t las
| just been Published by tho American Tract 3d.
that the Church theology Of tho las. century do
seryea tho chief blanc for the general apoataBy
which then began from tho Auoieut faith. na-
| tiona!lsm waa right In oontonding for aimplc
rghteouHne6a IN oppos'tlon 70 sheoroeic ofeho-
doxy." In all ita history, the Tract 6oclety has
never published = volume 80 useful. 10 bold, go
impressive.
Now, NO nll know, my friends. TINT there is no
logic upon earth that can bring Ill the iaoas OF
| Christianity down to human comprehension, for
the finite cannot grasp all the thoughts and plana
Of tho infinite; but. In dealing with His roason-
ing childror, 1t is to bo assumed TINT, to = very
groat degree, religion from God direct will np-
Ioal constantly, nos to tho orodu1isy and super
atttion OF soolety, but to its ealment Judgment |;
and, the moro tho public culture. advances, tho
more will advance tho Diyino creed. recommend
| ing itaolf afresh to each improved generation,
1t ID only human religion suoh as that OF
Buddhn, OF Thor, or Jupiter, that may fear the
| growth OF intelligence and that may fade as the
| light Of rcason dAwns; but Of = religion from
God, given BY inspiration, tho first distinguish
ing principle muAt bo that 1t will reveal ita
| reasonnblenoaa As fast man unfolds his own
intelligence aud still become most glorious
| whore thore il the most culture. The modim-
val Christianity having boon dlsagured by