The Portland daily press., 1874-12-28
49, =.
SUNDAY SERVICES.
FIRST PARISH,

Yesterday morning the Rev. DIR. Hill
preached an interesting sermon on the progress
made during the three quarters of the century
which have elapsed.
He took his text from Matt. XIV, =, the
prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and
of the proud temple that graced the heights
of Moriah. With what mingled feeling must
the twelve have looked, from the heights OF
Olives, upon the lower hills of Zion and
Morah Between them and the city ran the
Kedron, swelled now by the winter rain, and
re echoed the words of the Lord. that all these
things should be swept away, that all things
ran, as they did, to the Dead Sea of oblivion
The river could not be damned up, it must
find its outlet even more resistless was the
silent stream of time. All the events OF human
history fioated like bubbles upon Its SURFACE.
Time and space were mysterious elements
time more wonderful and rich even than space.
The first of Genesis spoke of the heavenly
bodies as given to mark periods OF time; ana
this was, incontestably, one OF. their great
uses. From the days OF Job and the Onaidees,
month, problems of time in the movements OF
the sky had been one of the great means 1or
developing the intellect of the human race.
All the sublimity of physical science arose
from, or had been revealed by, these problems
of time. These gave US our faint imaaginings
of the nature Of omniscience, and of Omni-
presence, and of eternity. The eternity OF God
was the foundation of our own hope OF immor-
tally. In vain should we endeavor to picture
eternity, to grasp in Imagination It's endless
extents. its boundless hopes. But Jesus had
Given the assurance of immortal blessedness to
those who love him; and the fact that we APP
prehend its possibility, and long for its fulfil
ment, was a pledge and proof to US that 1t
should be fulfilled. There were hours when
the vivid faith in this promise of Christ made
the believer almost afraid to live; so grand did
each moment become when thus viewed as a
link in the eternal chain,
The present week we should enter the year
which is to close the third quarter of the 18th
What changes in the religious world, and its
moral state. Never since the Apostolic age
had such light been thrown upon the interpre-
taton of Scripture, or had the church come
nearer to conformity with the spirit and
mind Of Christ. Never had there been such
bold and successful attempts to understand the
human soul and its powers. Never such ad-
vances in mathematical and physical sciences.
Dr. Hill alluded briefly to several OF the most
brilliant achievements of this century, in math-
ematics, astronomy, molecular physics, chem
istry, physiology, and natural history. The
fine arts also had been reviewed, and the prac-
tical arts been enlarged and improved beyond
all precedents How brilliant the record OF
discoveries and inventions in the arts using
steam, electricity, galvanism, chemical afhnitg,
and so on.
The preacher then passed in rapid review
some of the great political events OF the CEN
tury.-the dread phantom of Napoleon, the rev.
olutien of 49, the formation OF the French en-
pire. its destruction and the rise OF the German
empire, the abolition oflserfdom, the CROWN OF
this country, the great war of the Shareholders
rebellion, the vindication of the power and
unity of the nation.
We were too near these events to see them,
The traveller approaching by night mountain
region, saw only the shadows, when day broke
he saw the foot hills, but it was only when he
had travelled on till noon that he looked back
and saw, rising out of these foot hills, the
snow crowned peaks; majestic symbols OF eter-
nal fxedness and strength. So through night
of sixty years we approached the great reVoiu-
ton; and although as day had broke, we still
saw only the nearer events and persons, we
must travel on, far towards the close OF the
century, before we shall recognize correctly the
relative importance of the men and things, and
learn who were the true towers OF strength up
on whom God had laid our help. :,
Yet would the preacher have us sufficiently
alive to the grandeurs of our nineteenth CEN
tnry, and to the greatness of It's heroes. that
we might seize our own opportunities and waK
in sympathy and fellowship with those VINO
were making our times illustrious We might
not consider ourselves worthy. but here we
were, placed amid the blazing light OF this Gen.
fury. The gospel of Christ had partially re-
deemed man, and brought about those changes
in human society at which we all reJoiced; let
us seriously put it to our own consciences wheth-
er we loved the light, walked in the light and
sought to know God by acting in the spirit OF
Christs benefcence, helping all our fellow men
to live in the best manner known of our age.
CAsCo STREET CHURCH.
Yesterday afternoon Mr.. c. w. Bickford,
student in the Bates Theological School,
preached an excellent sermon from Gall, vi, ~.
'sFor whatsoever man soweth that shall he
reap Mr.. Bickford is regarded as prom
Using student, and his sermon certainly evinced
depth of thought possessed by few so young.
D INDIA STREET CHURCH.
The pastor, the Rev. Mr.. Bicknell, mentioned
the decease on Christmas noon, of most esti-
mable young lady, in whose death the India
Street Sabbath School sustains its first loss,
loss of one of its most worthy and devoted
teachers and workers 5+