The New York herald., 1875-10-23
THE PRESBYTERIANS

IMPORTANT PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBIAGE-OyER
| SIX HUNDRED IN ATTENDANcE-oPENING
| EXERCISES NILES, OF YORK, Pa, ON
| THE APATHET1c TENDENCIES OF THE TIMES
SCRANTON, Pa. Oct D. 1875.
The Philadelphia Synod tho oldest, largest and most
important in tho Presbyterian Church of this country
Pttston evening, at halfpast seven O'Clock,
| and was attended by fewer than six hun
| dred ministers and elders from the presbyteries
| OF Philadelphia, North Chester, Westminster,
! Lchgh and LackawanEa This Synod, besides
having charge OF the Missionary Presbycry OF Western
Africa covers the counties OF Philadelphia, Chester
Lancaster, Delaware, Montgomery Bucks, Berks Leb-
anon, schuylkil Lchgh Northampton, Carbon, Mon
roe, Luzcrnc, Wyoming, Pike, susquehanna and Brad
ford. 1t has $50 churches with $50 ordained minis
ters as 900 communicates and IT. 500 Sunday school
members. The Synod is constituted OF the minister
and ruling elder from each church. and the entire party
very literally and Hospitality entertained at the homes
OF the Pitston people, irrespective of denomnationa
differences
The opening session was preceded by half hours
devotional exercises conducted by Rev. Dr. Knox, OF
Bristol; Dr. Breed OF Philadelphia and the retiring
Moderator DR.. Niles, OF York, Pa After which SER
mon was preached or rather address delivered by
DR.. Niles
THE OPENING ADDRESS,
II was polished production and struck at some of
the evils OF the hour with an unsparing hand Por-
ons Of IT remarkable for their pungent applica
tion OF the current questions OF the day, and
in dealing with the apparent apathy OF the Christian
church the reverend speaker quito eloquent His
text was from II. Samuel VI 24:-"And let it be-.
when thou nearest the sound of going In the tops OF
mulberry trees that then tnou shalt bcstir thyself
for shall the Lord 60 out before thee to smtc the
host of the Philistnesn y
fpip tha icn1e efUniG of ba
text, in it's application to tho between the Phlis
tines who had marshaled their forces against David,
and the people OF Israel and the sign promised by
God the the speaker said that the Lord could
have gained the victory without human agency, and
without the token OF the rustlng among he leaves in
the mulberry trees If He desired, but having ap
pointed such definite orders, it Davids duty to
obey God had appointed His own order both in
grace and in the world and the history Of the Christian
Church strikingy illustrated that truth The plan of
redemption might have been at revealed to his
people after the fall The Son OF God might have
come when the light fell Eden's flowers, but
His idea was 10 unfold the grand work OF redemption,
gradually, by types and tokens-symbos of the great
reality. The apostles, after Christs resurrection were
not allowed TO rush forward in the work. but were
aration came in the sound that resembled
the mighty rushing wind, and then they went forth
strengthened and Peter Paul and the rest preached
boldly in Antioch and the other towns throngcd with
the enemies or Christ The Church. he said had been
prosperous, but only she regarded tho teaching OF
the Master and followed the 'cloud" the ''piar"
set up for her guidance. Not until the rustling in the
reetops did Luther appear the scene and that puri
anica band OF bravo pilgrims cross the ocean and set
on foot the colossal movement now going forward in
this country. Facilities for intercommunica-
ton with distant lands had made the divine call heard
distinctly and the people of bcnightod regions
asking for better things did those OF the Sandwich
Islands some time ago, and more recently those OF
Japan. The Church had
A GREAT WORK TO PERFORM,
and she bestr herself from her ethargy improve
a.ttann
IL essential that prayer meetngs-nstead OF being,
one had pithily termed them, "spare meet
ngs'-should become thronged with earnest Chris
tans animated by honest purpose; people should seek
their closets long deserted oftencr and preachers
should feel that their bathed in that pas
sonae that arises from the divine they
espouse. Such state of things would indicate that
revival was at hand-nay, that it was here but it
could not of human effort alone, 1t must be in
spred Of God TO draw people from their backslidng
and place them on higher plane from which they
could around above below them and observe earth
heaven and hell He believed in a religious revival that
would fill the people with fervor akin to that which
thrilled the tented thousands bowed like reeds in
the wind at the foot OF Sinai listening to the gentle
rebuking of Moses subsequently to the earnestness
of Joshua, that which moro subsequently attended
the teachings Of Stephen, Paul Peter, Chrysoston,
Jerome, and more recently Luther, Knox, Nettleton
and others revival Of religion would be like the
son through which we had been passing, when the
genial of summer had filed the fields with golden
grain and bowed down the vineyards with their luscious
burdens Of fruit IL would purify politics. regulate
business and MI society with Christian men and women
Surely such a state Of affairs would not be anomaly
in the land IL belonged TO tho order of God and should
he prayed and worked for and expected with anx-
icty greater than that with which David looked
for tho rustling among the trccops He deplored that
many persons enrolled with the hosts Of God
asleep with the narcotics OF sinfuncss. All the
land, he said there was movement indicating that
CRITICAL PERIOD
had come II was shown in the decadence of public
morals the sceptical tendencies OF the age, and the
triple leaf Of ruasm rationalism and Romanisrn; all
demonstrating the need OF redoubled energy in the
Church. II not knowledge that needed. for
the Bible and religious newspapers were everywhere;
1t not sermons for they were numerous;
1t was Sabbath schools-they abundant; ii
not larger wealth moro conspicuous talen-the
Church better equipped Yet all this would
avail An engine useless the track
without the motive power TO prope II; ship in pleas
ant waters fully equipped and well manned, was no
better than pleasure yacht u thousands were sinking
the troubled OF treacherous and In need
OF her assistance while she lay idle
Tho ship Ecclesiastical finely Manned well
equipped She had the ten big guns OF the Dccalogue
and yet this would be Of no avail If sinking wrecks
scuttled on the sea OF lifo by the pirates OF
sin-were permitted TO perish without her aid,
to founder the quicksands of wiulness and
worldincss amid the dense fors Of indifference.
What needed motive power. thorough
quickening revival to combat the false gods Mann
non Bacchus and the rest In that, the Oldest synod
of the Church, II was poor showing TO have but
average OF ten in all the $50 churches when
probably half many removed by death.
merical gain OF ten with all the grogshops and other
agencies of SIN nourshng everywhere enough.
The Papacy, too asserting ITSELF concentrating its
forces mere to regain what it had lost in the Old World
and IT highly essential that men should arouse
themselves in such criss
DR. Niles the close Of his address declared the
Synod opened and directed the clerks to call the roll
on exercise, which occupied considerable time.
A MODERATOR
next in order and several clergy proposed for
that honor but all declined in favor OF the venerable
DIR. Andrews, OF Philadelphia, who unanimously
elected, and assuming the chair greeted with
applause. He thanked the Synod for the distinction,
and said In his Characteristic way that there
who looked upon the Moderators chair one OF those
best things which they earnestly desired TO covet
their voice had called him, and IL only renamed
for him 10 obey Since his ordination he
had attended all the sessions Of the synod
forty -four-and actively engaged at the clerks
desk In forty OF them. lie was, therefore, no
stranger TO the usages OF the Synod and IL he should
fail in his duty the consciousness Of the indulgence OF
those before him would cheer and encourage him The
Rev DR.. Beggs, OF Schuylkill and Dr. Grcenough OF
Philadelphia, were chosen temporary clerks. After
which Rev n. G.. Park read the order Of tho sessions
OF the synod namely, from nine to twelve and from
two u five o'clock The synod then ndInnrnnd until