The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-10-04
HEPWORTH'S SERMON SERIES.
A Discourse Which Lets Light on His
Conversion to Orthodoxy.
REFORMED EPISC0PALIANISM.
Bishop Cummings Opens Another
Place Of Worship.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

FIRsT SERMON THERE BY MIR. BEEcHER SINCE
THE TRLAL-sELFIsHNEss AND PERSONAL
PowER-A PLEA FOR yoLTAIRE.
Mr.. Beecher preached the first sermon since his re-
turn from the mountains in Plymouth church yester-
day morning, and the occasion drew together one Of
those vast assembages which have become the rule in
that edihce. Fully 5000 people, crowding the galleries
and asles well the body of the church, beamed
smiles Of welcome upon the preacher he took his
seat upon the platform. On either side Of his chair
stood large basket OF autumn leaves, FERNS trailing
vines and lilies and from the foot Of the reading desk
depended dove formed of tuberoses with its wings
outspread Mr. Beecher seemed to be In robust
health as ever; but his manner while Offering the
prayer and while the first hymn being sung was
indicative OF powerful emotion resolutely suppressed
His subdued and at times distracted IL
he recalling the bitter ordeal through which he
had passed since the had been enacted on
his arrival from the mountains one year ago.
In reading the announcements before the sermon
Mr. Beecher referred to the untmey death of the
DR.. Porteous, whom he characterized as a man en-
dowed with great abtes-abilitles which had never
reaped their appropriate frui-and stated that con-
cert would be given next week for the benefit of his
phan daughter Ethel, who was left destitute by the
death of her father Many persons thought pleasure
was unreligous non-religious, but that mis-
man puts together fine piece of machinery it
peced by these people that it would smoothly and
without jarring yet when God put human soul to-
gether aud drew it toward Himself they thought ii
ought to squeak at every axle and in every joint
sELFIsHNEss.
He took for his text the seventh and eighth verses of
the fourteenth chapter of ST. Pauls episto the Ro
We hear much he said, of being true to ones
self of sefcentred men, Of well balanced souls and self
contained The little truth that these phrases
for the most part shines into darkness, and the dark
ness does not comprehend it, They kind Of cant
phrase and watchword OF scheme of selashness
Neither strength OF nobility of character
heroism Of conduct found in who 6nds his
Of influence in himself II is our alliance with great
natu raj laws, with the and with Cod that makes
us significant All true greatness is centriugal@work
Ing out from the centre and not in toward it. The idea
manhood is nature that perpetaally aspres TO
thing greater and better than itself The Of selfish
increases as go toward the BRUTE it is a
sity of the under creation to be selfseeking
We mark the degree OF removal from the brute
creation not only by the increase OF mind force but
by susceptibility influences from without and by its
power OF rejecting its energies upon others rather
than OF absorbing them. must lind his centre
Of usefulness outside of himself be like top which
spends its existence in whrlng round its smallest
point Beauty, intellect and force, the old Greek
trinity, recognized by Christians only as auxiliary
There is something higher and better than either
Of them-emotion, out of which comes disposition;
and the great apostle never tires Of affirming this
pecurarty OF Christiany-that 1t does not stand in
consequence Of intellect or by reason OF poetry or
rhetoric grace art beauty; but that IL is a
central power which springs from the influx of the
divine feeling and the kindng Of human feehng-and
feeling is the man The highest influence then ac-
Men affected easily and universally by
the lower influences than they by personality tho
capacity for receiving is OF the marked character
stics of development In differing from the brute
creation The susceptibility the highest forms Of mind
influence marks the exatation of man. We have had
much investigation and much light thrown upon innu
ences which affect national and individual character
climates, occupations, laws governments and indus
tries. These emphatic powers and they are more
universal because they are easy and because
much ANIMAL yet, because we live on so low plane
that we are influenced by the lower influences which
exist in But the higher susceptibies do not
depend on climate or any Of these influences Climate
does not make fool artist. Persons have
power than anything else This is in the house
hold; what the father and mother determine largely
what the child shall be.
PERSONAL POWER,
the power Of living soul living souls, OF life
nascent life is almost allpowerful and when we see
highest triumphs Of force 70 be those which
spring from living personality exerted on liv-
In II the most stimulus for souls It is
life that can strike fire and kindle life again. We
prepared TO understand then that Christ the man
Hesitation of God in form which Immediately
operate upon human life The world has spent ages Of
lime in exploring what is the nature Of Christ as re-
lated to the Eternal Faher-to the Godhead That is
matter totally beyond the search OF mans experience
and penetration and all speculation and study upon it
are labor lost The question for US and which within
reach u.s. "What is He to the human soulS" don't
think feeling Of love could be created in the human
soul towards being which could not be grasped
through the senses, which the Imagination could not
take hold Of II must be quckened by the senses and
sensuous knowledge think that is what the apostle
means when he SAYS that we God through glass
darkly, when think OF Him pure spirit, because
we have never seen one.
ERRORS OF sPIRTTUALIsM
ghost must reduce itself to such circumstances as
10 make itself recognized by bodily tests fit IS not
put under these circumstances If 1t is appreciate
TO the mind ITSELF who knows it2 Who itS You
cannot see spirit You not equipped at present
with those faculties of communication which would
enable you TO take hold OF spirits, pure and simple
And SO Christ became ncarnae that He might speak TO
incarnate am free to that read Greek a great
deal better in English than in the original Greek and
20 Homer is no Homer 10 till he is translated into
my language; and God may reign heaven chant
gadness and the eternal sphere be Tiled with His glory
vet He is no God to until behold Him under IN ose
conditions IN which ali knowledge must TO me-
conditions fixed in the constitution which He gave
The manifestation OF Christ Jesus in God bring
into the world personal power which could un-
aerstand and thus be brought into more comprehen
sve sympathy with God do not say there was moth
Ing more than that, for no doubt there were just as
many effects from the coming and death OF Christ on the
other side, in heaven,
CHRIST IS NOT LITERATURE.
Mr. Beecher went on TO speak OF those who asked
why IL was that Christ In His lifetime did not write a
record OF all His acts why His apostles did not do u
for many years aiterward He said Christ is not 1T
brature, nor is He Inerdteay. He IS power The
revelation of God could be made manifest by lew acts
well by many II Christ accomplished the oblect
Tor which He came don't need all the steps by which
He achieved il to be recorded drive the wheat into
my barn, but the strawnot the chah And yet tho
sha the mothers bosom to the wheat whe " was
growing; but don't eat IT, When you nave lhe re-
suit the wheat, you have the harvest Now there y
much historical straw that is not put down TO Cod that
recorded Of Him. There by reason OF the OPP
position OF theology every scientific truth that
eomes up widespread opposition TO the Church and
avery widespread scepticism. There we're times When
scepticism mali nant when religion represented "
Ief by physical Church and Church SO despotic
and tyrannica that they right TO be scepucS
voLTAIRE WAS MORE CHRISTIAN,
with all his scoding than the Christians Of his
age as they we're represented by the hierarchy Of
despotica and bloody priesthood.