The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-05-18
LYRIC HALL.
~ mi LYRIC HALL. - ..
Rev. o. y. Frothingh ham ON the Religion
or the Soul. ai2e

4x14O 0AAAAh} es.4.sN ed.
Rev. o. b. Frothinghan ON the Religion
Or the Soul. Tea
Yesterday morning Lyric Han was died with
large congregation. Rev. o. B. rockingham, fol-
lowing up his sermon OF last Sunday on the reli-
gion OF the heart, discoursed yesterday upon the
religion OF the SOUL He ssld:-The religion OF the
heart and the religion OF the soul are different in
origin and research; the deed b not the same.
The heart represents feeling, the soul represents
aspiration. The head thinks, the heart feels, the
conscience judges, the soul adores, the head is
critical, the heart sentimental the soul reveren.
tal the head constructs theology, the heart con-
structs worship. the soul constructs faith; the
head takes things TO pieces the heart brings them
together the soul distances things by reason OF its
hope and confidence, leaves things behind IL,
makes all things new. The man OF soul is a man
whose work principally has
FIXED ALLEGIANCE
to one idea. who his life, who lives out
side OF himself; he Il q prophet, seer, q priest;
he IS SAINT AS an instance OF q man OF soul
should quote Mazzini, man OF intelligence, Of
quick emotion; above all, q man OF ideas, living in
q great conception, capable OF devoting his tai
ents and influence to a cause the result OF which
could never be known.
Among Americans DR.. Claiming was a man OF
soul; he was man OF genius and warm and close
affection he was man who lived In Q world OF
high thoughts.
Charles Sumner was man OF soul-not as these
others, being man ofless intense feeling, dry ethi-
cal; man Of great knowledge, but man who
had the power OF living In one great idea. without
that ne would not have been considered remarka-
BILE. Here we have three men, each man OF soul,
each alike intelligent; one fervid Italian, the
other two Americans, belonging to dlrerent gene
md nj thraa fba af
living out OF the moment, the power Of reverence,
OF aspiration, OF leaning on the Supreme.
This is the quality OF the soul as distinguished
from the quality Of the intellect and conscience.
Such being the soul-its tendencies, its capaci.
ties-what part does It play In religion A fore
most part, OF course, Tor religion Is Of the soul.
Intellect plays with the forms OF religion; the
heart comes IN and takes the work up ON the SEN
tlmental side; but without soul this Is nothing
Soul is the rudiment OF religion.
Go back generations among the worshippers OF
reptiles and insects: among people without any
culture or intelligence; without any idea Of what
the world Is they live In or how 1t was made I;
people whose affections are rudimentary, and who
feel the mystery OF darkness simply because they
see nothing; people who In q forest feel the mys-
terry that turks there and hear the voice of God in
the whispering OF the leaves, and yet In them
there Is . feeling Of the sense Of awe. Crude,
blind worship, It does nothing to lift them mp it
does nothing 70 instruct; but struggling through
divine sense OF awe, trembling before o great
mystery. which Is az much mystery to Plato as
to them; but Plato gazes IN It with
SERAPHIC EYES
while they crouch TO the earth. And now comes
established, creeds are promulgated. We look
upon such times as times OF superstition, and 80
they were 2. times Of DARKNESS and 50 they
ment OF reverence Tor person Or for an idea.
Take the poor Catholic from his wretched labor,
dren, from all his sorrow and depression take him
as You will nnd him IN some dark corner OF Rome
or Venice, and put him into cathedral which has
OF stone. with gorgeous windows glowing with
angels ana aPoses Wsn Ts yas so marOe pave
sacred altar, and over that The picture OF the vr
gan. the priest swinging his fragrant censor
above comes, mingled with the notes of
the organ, sweet strains Of music, human voices
tnat ne worshipsf Is 1T Q wonder that his soul IS
lifted ups There Is no form OF religion that Is
the worlds false ialtns Tor as we look back We see
1t is they that have consecrated The earth; the
builders have passed away their reward has gone
with them, their sorrows ana trials and troubles
are all forgotten, but their alteration lives carved
in stone We have come to another era We see
the law, that revelation that comes but dimly to
to every one, the conception unity the world,
OF order, OF steady continuity. Merely as law 1t is
wonderful See how complex It Is We find 1t as
In drop of water speck OF blood. Then we take
9 microscope and we find IT In beam OF light.
From top to bottom we see this mighty al.pervad-
ing force.
Sir Isaac Newton feeling his wav along the track
OF gravltatiOn, from star TO star and from orb to
orc, gnds the ininity or creation; for we see that
this thing We call law is not void and bleak. but
that there Is mind In 1t; It is one tissue Of mind
civilization, and as we look close we find that this
law h not only instinct with thought but feeling.
the character Of II Is tenderness. We feel that
the world has father and mother whom we
cannot embrace, simply because IL Is large. II IL
more sympathetic and tender because 30 impair
tal IN the distribution OF bounty. When we feel
the order and wisdom and beauty sns world n
the lace, there no reverencef no aspiration! no
glow In the presence OF eternal w,sdomP why, the
reverence OF she past Is nothing tOtt; the long
Ing OF the past sinks Into q chHd's cry at the
side OF y and now this SOUL in us inlness OF adora-
Think Of the MussuimaA turning his prayers
towards the holy stone OF 1ecca; think Of the old
IT, @ sns: ne
Roman Catholic, piousiy going on pilgrimages to
Rome; think OF the Protestant, recitng his lor-
muls OF fath going over the routine Of profession,
anxious not 70 misread single WORD, lest the
doing SO might send him to perdltion, Offering up
~ AID or PRAYERS
to support great public institutions: think OF the
Mormon calling an idle romance written BY a SICK
man i0r his own Amusement, the Bible; THINK OF
All these conceptions and think Of the souls con-
Thus the soul judges religion, but 1t has it's own
creed Let Inc mention two or three articles In the
creed OF the SOUL FIRST, IL believes In God, as
heart that demands God, but because the con-
ception OF infinite wisdom and goodness and per-
feet love belong TO the constitution OF It's nature
Its conception OF God ID not that Of an individual
betnRi 1t does not seek to turn perfect wlll--tne
will OF being who loves you infinitely more than
you love yourself. The souls God cannot be put
Into any temple he will not sanction any special
class OF persons. There is no holy ground. lie is
being who requires the whole universe.
IL 10 not faith that seeks to draw God towards IT,
Tho soul says Thy viii De done; but how inherent
from che way the heart ana head say I'll the head
says the same thing, but IL Is cold ana
and uostens the dust OF Gethsemane with It's
weeping. The SOUPS faith Is great and SERENE and
with II comes belief In Providence. The soul
does not believe IN special providence, but be-
lieves al Providence special The soul Is drerent
from the heart here. The heart says. providence
| must take care OF me.n The soul is not an xious
about tEis- It requires the whole universe. II Is
not confined 10 this nature this era. TITS aith