The New York herald., 1875-11-29
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

MR. BEECHER ON THE CIvILIzINa POWER OF
THE DfAGINATIoN-wHY MEN CAN COMPEL
GOD TO GRANT THEIR REoUEsTs-THE DOC
TRINE OF THE IMPUTATIoN OF SIN REPUDI-
ATED.
The usual crowded house greeted Mr. Beecher yes
terday The day lowering, and the window blinds
being partly closed it found necessary to light the
immense chandelier which depends from the centre Of
the ceiling IN making the announcements before the
the pastor stated that business meeting OF the
church would be held Friday night next TO consider
amendments the rules OF the church. All proposed
changes he said should be handed in at that meeting
or they would not be considered.
The text OF the sermon yesterday Romans, viii,
15-"For ye have not received the spirit OF bondage
again fear but ye have received the Spirit Of adop
ton, whereby cry, Abba, Father" The
history OF idealty Mr.. Beecher said, and
OF Imagination in connection with civilization,
would be one OF the most instructive histories thai
could be written. and OF great practical utility. The
popular impression s that imagination is the decora
tive faculty. that it is for the ornamentaon Of life and
that its exercise bears the relation to the
earnest operations of the mind dancing and
ment do to the business affairs OF life. The magina
tion is the OF the soul IL is the poetry Of proph
ecy. No other faculty has done much TO redeem
the race from animalism the Imagination The in
formation conveyed through the Imagination has done
TO instruct mankind than any other agency. The
lower down you go the social scale the you will
find susceptible through the Imagination rather
than The former has been essentially the civil
izer Of the world The whole tendency OF this impe-
rial faculty has been one higher than the desn and It's
whole mission
TO LIFT MRN OCT OF rHE VISIBLE
and the material into the higher realm where they
without eyes and where they live not upon the tangi-
BILE, but upon the intangtbie-the invisible. Paul
pressed this when he SAID We live by faith and not by
sight, mans life consists in the abundance of
things that no possesses, but IN that realm where
thoughts things where feelings laws Selftor
lures were cheap among ascctcs long before the time
OF Christ when they existed and were practised in
greater than since Christianity into the
world confess there is no part OF hurnan history
that touches me with more profound sympathy than
the efforts Of men 10 live a spiritual life and their
takes only show how little the way has been trod
Shall we raise monuments TO the men who have suf-
tered under the burning tropics in attempts to dis
cover the source OF the slimy Nile, or the man
who has sledded the North Pole, and shall have
admiration for the men that have sought earthly
Nile physical pole but who have sought the river
OF life and who have tried to stand the Of the
universe near the throne Of GodS | honor the men,
whatever their name who have sought this life. /
their defects frequent failures and often great
disgraces but / honor their efforts TO live nobler
sweeLer purer and grander lives No person read
the continuous teachings Of Christ the higher power
of the human soul by Of its exatatOn without
being impressed When He was asked by the disciples
why prayers had not been answered He said il
their want Of faith that is, II the want OF
certain state o. exatation IN their minds There IS
state ~ preparation by which man may raise into
such a Of mind that he do things that under
other conditions he could not
Mr. Beecher went TO say that
THERE MOMENTS SOLVE PROBLEMS,
and hours in which the mind reaches conclusions In
fash which at other times would require tedious
ing Some men, discontinued say when in that state
that they experience religion In exhorting his
hearers 70 persevere in prayer he illustrated hts point
by telling Of man who called upon friend late at
night and asked for bread The friend In bed and
him be on believing that he did not need what
he asked for But when the reiterated his request
the friend yielded and granted what he asked There
is be continued IN the mind of man that which fly
higher than the senses that stop at nothing short
Of the throne that induce God, nay, compel God.
is that basphemy2 One cry at midnight OF tSe babe
compes mother; little hand Outstretcned- one
little tear appeals 70 her love and compels her grant
its request
To make more clear the mean sg Of the textwhen IL
says that are the sons Of God the preacher ex-
planned the law which prevailed in the days when Il
written By which the father owned the children as
be did property. To say to q Roman jew that
the Of God meant that God Is the Father,
Christ 10 son and am another, the children
All the father the father all the children This
brings the thought " the exact point In which 1t stood
IN the mind OF the Lord Jesus Chrst-namely that we
the of God and that He is
DOCTRINE OP THE IMPUTArIoN or
sprung out Of that docrne and u barbarous the
ology when founded -that all the children OF
Adam by imputation of his guilt sinners with
him. There need OF IT. for every set
himself up in sin without going back to his ances-
tors.
The rough coarse man was compared TO closed tele-
scope. Draw him out, said the speaker, and you can
heaven with him See what light this doctrine
throws fellow SEQ what reasons there
for helping They your brethren Ia Christ
Just as You Christa and Christ Is Gods In this
light am not ashamed 10 take the hand Of the poorest
negro that ever shaved 10 rice swamp He Is my
brother.