Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-06-23

! W nat tileH tIOeS luedl pcTleCtueSS re-
quire of man to be? Or in other
words what does the law of God re-
quire of mankind? For the law OF
God can be nothing Other than the
law of ideal perfectEesS. The ideal
perfectness which God requires de-
mands the right use under proper
limitations of all appetites, all pas
sions which are put into mans econo-
my, for there are no passions whose
abuse has been so terrible, no appe-
tiles that have in the long race -hist0>
ry wasted the world as they have =
There is not one Of them that is not
in its central nature and purpose de
vine, wise and necessary as consti~
tuent element Of humanity. I. is the
right use Of them. limiting them TO
their normal function, the proper
government of the apPetites and pas
sions that is demanded by the ideal
law of God. That law also requires
that men should develop their a:fec>
tions in right lives, and the educa-
ton, the predomlnance Of the moral
nature OF man, is to be done in the
light of the reason. the Imagination,
and ofthe higher forms of intelligence.
Now consider that this is to be done
in tie light of the reason. the i'm.
agihation, aud of the higher forms
of intelligence. Now coisidlr that
this is to be done in some sense
against nature, Or in other words, it
is not the tendency of mans physical
self so to develop towards spirituality,
The flesh tends towards the flesh and
towards grossncsS, and not towards
the invisible, and spiritual What is
the result of all these continuous ia
fuenccs? BY divine arrangement
men are born into the world empty.
There is nothing of them in the be-
gining there are terminating tenden
cies in them, undeveloped forces car
rying certain potent qualities but
helpless man is as it were sketched
out on paper, but not built. Eye and
ear and tongue and foot have to learn
their functions: the body itslf learns
everything. It is not as with the ami
NAL creation underneath them, that
at birth know all they are to know,
and as you go down lower, everything
is created perfect. The apprentice
ship of the animal is very short aud
when you 90 lower than them into the
insect tribe they are born perfect,
while men are boIn with everything
to learn. When you rise higher than
the body the apprenticeship is more
apparent, and man learns spiritual
things by still longer schooling. The
most difficult thing to conceive OF is
the development of the divine char
acter in man. Mr.. Beechcr then
spoke of the Complex circumstances
under which men come into this word
inherltIng the qualities not only OF
their parents but Of their ancestors
for long generations back. and be |
sides all these, under certain morbid |
diseases, passions, and
which come from the + an
ces,Ors iy the law Of hercdity-thesc |
conditions which we're unsound and |
and yet no man had a bill |
of items himself No invoice came |
say ing, brain so much or heart so
much All was silent and nobody |
knew anything about, and each one
had to find it out for himself, This |
picture was not an exaggerated one.
The fact was worse than he had pain
ted it and he was simply looking the
fact in the face, and these conditions
characterized the whole human flm-
lily, aud the theories that have accoun-
ted for these things hitherto were in-
sufficient. We must have larger |
Dnes and larger ones were dawning- =
10 tell men that they must be perfect
under such circumstances was as
ridiculous as it would be to take a
child out on the prairie and harness
up a score Of untamed horses, and,
placing the reins in his hand, say to
he little five -year-old, "Drive them
,r be d1mned;' yet the child Is ta
zen iniO This world and put behind
Ill these fiery passions and apr cities.
md is told to be perfect or he will
De damned. Consider the forces of
society which beset men on every
land, and that men we're thrust into
ociety where these forces were at
work. without any chart, and with on
y functional and educational equip
nents to guide them. When he iMr.
}eecher) looked at the facts Of hu>
nan existence he not only did not
marvel that civilization has progress
ID so slowly but that it had pro-
ressed at all. If there Were no for
es except these of nature it would !
Ot have progressed at all; if there ,
ad not been a divine nature there
ould have been no progress. IF men 1
'ere to be judged by the law of ideal
crfectiOn, vigorously demanding per>
ection and content with nothing less.
where men come from
nd how they come, how weak they :
re and what their surroundings; to
dminister tie ideal law of perfect
ess under such conditions would be
n act of tyrary So transcendCnt that
he human mind could not conceive
it. All that man ever dreamed of,
i that Dante IN his gloomiest moods
yer imagined of internal malice.
)uld not come near it. To assert
lch a doctrine was simply crushing
1t the universe and leaving it with~ n
1t hope. What, then, was Iequisite !? II
was simply TO have compassion> II
e heart that knows mans fraility .
ID that viii have compassion = II
For we have not high priest which v
.Dnot be touched with feeling for II
II infrmities, but was in all points 50
mpted like as we are, yet without =
4. Let us, therefore, come boldly fr
to the throne Of grace, that we nav fo