The Leavenworth weekly times., 1875-03-04
BEEcHER.
His Sunday D discourse on Plymouth Heighs'
on Neekness.

His Sunday d discourse on Plymouth Heights
on Meekness.
Any one of Brooklyn's more unpreten-
tious places of worship would have been
comfortably filed by the throng OF persons
unable to obtain view Of the inside OF
Plymouth Church yesterday morning.
Many hundreds of strangers from New
York and Brooklyn, who disliked waiting
out in the cold, had postponed their visits
for mild, pleasant day, and the weather
yesterday suited every one, they all came
together. Shortly after ten O'Clock Orange
street was bIockaded, and, as nearly all the
regular members of the church attended,
the strangers who arrived an hour or 50
ahead of time were fortunate enough to get
excellent standing places outside the doors,
but comparatively few Of them got any fur
ther. The only man at all equal to the ex-
ieencies of the situation was Assistant Pas-
tor Halliday, and even he allowed himself
to become little demoralized at the close
of the service. The passages leading into
the church from the rear were soon so
thronged as to become impossible, and
even the small gallery facing the pulpit
termed the acock-loft" by irreverent per
sons-was 80 crowded as to suggest the pos
sibiiity of its giving away.
A large stand OF Egyptian lilies and ca
mellias stood at one side OF the platform,
and the round table at the other side sup
ported a small glass or vase OF clematis,
ribbon grasses, and other floral attractions.
The church was crowded almost beyond
precedent, ard vet the pastor had not ar
rived. People began to wonder how he
was to get in, and the eyes Of the members
of the congregation occupying the front
seats were anxiolsly fastened upon the
front door by which he usually entered.
But he was not coming in that way. At
precisely twenty-five minutes before eleven
O'Clock, slight click, followed by shuf-
fling cound, was heard at the rear OF the
platform, the massive Mount OF Olives
chair was pushed aside, and through the
small square opening thus disclosed, ap-
Henry Ward Beecher. He clambered
quickly upon the platform, and before the
astonished spectators had time to recover
from the effects of his theatrical entrance,
he had removed his cloak and taken his
seat in the chair with his great coat still
on"
THE GREAT PASTOR IN A GLOW.
Not for many months past has Mr..
Be.cher appeared in such robust health.
u. "a. IL IL -i,Ip mn
seemed to bc reflected in his face. The
flush upon his cheek gave no indication OF
apoplectical symptoms or overmastering
excitement, but was simply the warm, rich
hue of unimpaired bodily vigor. He was
apparently as well mentally as physically /;
his eyes sparkled, and he was evidently
fully alive to the ludicrous manner Of his
entering the church.
Mr.. Beecher concluded BY thanking God
for the unity of Plymouth church, and
praying that it might grow not 50 much in
numbers as .in faith in Christ. Alter
another hymn he announced as his text
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 5:
Blessed be the meek, for they shall in
herit the earth.
THE SERMON
This, and similar platitudes, he said,
may be styled moral paradoxes. Blessed
are they that mourn: surely it was no great
privilege to be permitted to mourn. Bless
cd are they that are prosecuted; persecution
was not usually reckoned among the pleas
ures OF life. Blessed are the meek; well,
we can easily understand how a meek,
sunshiny man is blessed in himself: but to
inherit the earth-why men would say:
"Did YOU ever see one of those moon-facoi
pers ms worth anything? Ii We were to
read in Buttons writings that rabbits and
sheep dominated over other animals, it
would not seem to us more extraordinary
than when the Bible tells US that the meek
shall inherit the earth. Yet this is not
merely the utterance of the inspired peas
ant, but the testimony Of the sacred writ
ings, handed down to us through four thou
sand wears. In all these ages, the snti-
ment that the moral element is the strong
est, has never died ont. 1t came from the
robust old warrior David, the man of the
sword and spear, as well as the sweet sing
er-who certainly didn't gain all his ends
by his meekness, but he saw, running
through all time, that one silver thread of
truth, that in the long run moral persua-
sion was of more effect than physical force.
ABOVE ALL BE MEEK,
Meekness, Mr. Beecher repeated, was the
greatest power. When the disciples got
into sort of theological argument as to
which Of them was the greatest, did Christ
say, "You, infamous fellows is this the way
you behave? have lifted YOU out of your
vulgarity, and now when my back is turn
ed / find you squabbling among yourselves
as if you had no sense of responsibility.
Oh, no on learning,,the cause of their quar-
rel, he took little child and said: (Which
of you shall become as this little child, he
shall be the greatest" A railroad contrac-
tor might say: "If you had a gang OF
Irishmen working for You on the road, you
would hardly care to try your meekness on
them," but as You treat men SO will men
treat YOU. Ii a man stands near a cliff and
calls Father" the word father comes back,
but If he SAYS devil, devil is echoed back.
Just what he saws that will he hear. Ii he
says TO his child, "You little imp of perdi-
ton, what are you doing?" the little imp
may not care 10 say what he is doing, but
hell is in his heart. Il have seen some
thing of that" continued the speaker, "and
l have seen the child slap the mother, but
the mother did not retaliate, but folded her
TO her bosom, and maternal love conquered
as anger can never conquer" Legislators,
he added, were beginning to understand the
value of moral influence, and when We
learn 10 govern our household and our ma
tion by that influence a better day would
dawn; the animal and the spiritual map
would grow better. All hail the day! and
he who acted in that spirit took one step
toward this blessed consummation.