, 1874-01-26
B, F. Underwood on h1atcrialfsm vs..
Imnlaterialism.
Sermon by the Rev. DR.. Kohter
to Sinai Congregation.
Ths Rev. Father Riordan On Sin.
DR.. Pook on the Gospel Plan.
SOME THOUGHTS ON DEATH.

The nov. G. Day Noble, Of tho Now Jerusalem
Church. le1ivorod tho following sermon to lis
congregation yesterday morning At Murray
Chapel. Tho subjec "Bpmo Thoughts on
DEATH" was we'll suited to tho wlntry character
Of tho weather, which hold all nature in ico-
Locked repoeo, typical Of tho Inst long sleep.
Tho text was from Kings, xviii, 1e, IA followas
And sEe aail unto Elijah: What havo to do With
thee, Oh, thou man OF God2 Art thou come unto ME
to call my au to remembrance, sna to Ray my aon7
Death, as nc know 1t, Is the result Of nothing
but wrong-doiug in tho race. ALL that which
makes it dreaded and painful, which loads to 1t
through stops Of diacord or by blows of accident
aud torture, and makes its memory upon the
living lloavy and bitter, las been introduced by
mnn. and not God, into our hu1nn lot. Death
in tho Garden Of Eden would not havo deserved
the pamo. It would have been d beautiful
transition, blssful paaaago through droamful
aloop. It would haye brought no foroboaines,
md loft no sign OF suiroriug or unsightly object
of decay. Tho man III his now birth into Heavon
would hnvo blosHo1nol upwards aa tho Hour does
out Of the STALK and as tho Lord Jesus did out
of His tomb, leaving behind no empty body,
no stony reminder. Of tho happy miracle.
Whether therefore, In thinking on tho subject.
wo fix our oyos upon law OF upon God, it IL
eqnnliy truo TINT death Is the punistor OF sin
Tint man iA Of extraordinary brightncsa and
death npproactea, that ho has no hand in it.
And who Of us con1d 60 through the dark passago
with ono Of our children, and. aa re finally ro-
leased tho iittlo onos hand into TINT Of tho witt
ing angel. say, ~ hayo no sin to bring to ro-
membrnnce an, guiltess Of tho slnyng OF my
child2" This woman, therefore, In her cry to
Eliiah. WAS not only nNturnl, Blio wnR right. Tho
great Sin OF her lifo, whatovcr that might havo
bcon,, IN strict justice. threw As b!ackncss
Mkoly been visited upon the child THUS it is
that sooner or later, and in the Lords own time,
wo arc NIL aolf-convicted of our sins. No ono
FOCUSES liz, No one eays, pcrhaps no ono even
us il the fruit Of our own sowing, the sharp re-
action Of the Inv VIC have broken. But VIC know
It, and the secret or open confession that III then
wrllug from lib is not tho work Of superstition,
but Of healthy aud divine conviction; Quicker
than wo eau reason out tfn stops of Inv which
brought tho trouble, cotnea tho Rhnrp thought,
Tile d ricrcing sword 'I'his IL my punishment"
Lat ns notieo. too, TINT. as shown by this
widows history, tho noaror coming OF the Divine
Presence toward us works for the punishment Of
broken laws, as we'll as for tho revelation OF
others which euro and Save liz. III ways which
may readily, suggest themselves to you, the
presence Of tho MIN Of God i'll tho widows house
might have brought abont. tho punishment Of
Lor sin. And SO tho pressing into us and around
us Of tho Divine influences at any given time il
likely fret to say Our hApplness aud t4on to re-
store it. A coming Of God to our diHordorcd
soula must necessarily first be in kind of judg-
me,.t that IL, i'll RECOLLECTION Of wrong dnno aud
tho aense of punishment for it. Afterwards thoro
colnos to US reBtoratioa from the dead and
new lilo.
Tho causes which the creator part of mansind
assign for death arc bitter onos. It has, in their
eyes, far more evil than good. Tho human it,
etil.ct which, with such polgnancy and persist
ence all through tho ages, has 1od mankind to
dread and bcmoan deatl WIS not born Of ignor-
milton of aetrcadful fact-the fact tint death was,
and ought not to bo; that it did not belong III
the primal order OF things, and got bad Honlehow
boon introduced there. The reason. shnllowly,
when VIC say that because death is found to havo
been among tho animal creation before tho I'D
vent Of man, therefore 1t is part of
tho whole animal economy. In tito first
place, the advent Of man Is now thrown 50 in-
definitely far back into tho past TINT we can
scarcely venture to say what did take plaoe pre-
yious 10 it. And, in tie second plaeo, wo ought
not to view TINT which took place before his ad-
won't as worry differently rolatod to him from that
which followed. Man il evidently the flna o'l
of creation, and from spiritual point We must
refer, Tor the explanation OF everything, to his
nature and history. Therefore, whatever may
bo tho considerations which arc capable OF lead
ing us to modify our yiowB Of doatl., and how.
over great our hope may be that ~ the days OF
more doath, yet for tho present VIC hayo no cause
to rpgarl it lightly, to call it al unn.ixea good
or to view it ns n pro-ordained step In the ovolu
tiou OF the creature man. Our instincts arr
right. The denth Of tho body, a8 VIC know it
proceeding and characterized by the physica
phenomona from which VIC shrink, is nnnaturn
and deplorablo. 1t ia . most terrible p1nish
mont, and. like all othor punlsIilnonts should be
looked calmly in tho face aud called BY no soft
nameH. It las caused III amount of suffering
both physical aud mental, to our follow-men
which III it's awful actual1ty ontwoigha a thou
sand-folA an tho horrors Of hell and nuggaators
That were over imagined. Let lib pass this, how
7vcr, aud yot before wo turn to tue brighter sidt
af tic subject, We should not full to notice tha
lle spiritual criBs which accompanies the physi
cal QUO s solemn ono. The perfect man Ahonls
30 equally active In eyery range OF thought att
1cgroe OF life. Ito should bo able to pass Ut vii
from tho natural to tho spiritual, from the spsr
stual to tho celestial. But such man Ia to b
found only III the gloriiiod Son Of 3lan, JeHu
Christ. uo alone has nature actlvo in every part
and equally fitted to live OH earth or in heaveI.
flesh md bones like him, neither havo tloy, nc
carding to hwedenbarg'a toatimony, such cou
scouHnesB OF tho existence. much less Of til
action. OF their earthly nature as tho Rodeomo
ilaa. They r8tnin the facnltos OF tho untura
degree, but they do not exercise them. The
have passel up into tho use Of higher aud iuo
ones, and 40 gain much. Nevertheless shey loB
much. The ploaaures and toauties OF a bodl
life on earth are closed to thom. Tha study Q
the untyerHo through tho sonses Ii no NOR
possible. The vigorous powor and the growt
which belongs to tho soul when firmly planto
on Its earthly foot. aud ablo to command tho us
OF such divine forces as are found most fully
exercise In nature, lhoso arc now foregnut
True, tlero is compensation, plenty OF 1t. The1
are now advantages which, in yolao respects fl
outweigh tho ll;, olldl;, now pow ,haowle'dEoa al an
no SOMA OF want. Nevertheless, tho huma
being attor death is not poAsosaa1, Of huch wiz
possibilities az before Dofore. It was possib
ior him not only to exercise thee first, or Garth
degree Of lis iaturo, but under proper a.,
orderly development, such Az somo of the ra'
hayo reached, it was possible also for him to a
Quire the uno OF such faculties % arc used
iieayon. This condition ia tho ideal one, y
only perfect and symmetrical ono. II, on tt
ono hand, it oxcooda our common experience
on the nther it exceeds that OF The a''ge
That this ID the truo view wo must infer-as
said bogore--from tile Htate Of tile only parfo
man, tho gtoritlad JoauH Christ. The shuttl'
up thon, eyen IL it should bc but for tmo,
ono mart OF our nature, and tho opening,
nnothar, Is criAia Of tho greatest kind, It IL
veritablo h,rth, aud, az auct., may Woll ocel1
cur most horiona thought. This natn;
world IL beautiful. wonderful wQr
It ia the basis ot all tho leaYon