National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1875-01-04
CHURCHES YESTERDAY

measure his strength with cure. It Is the
giant OF tse PhillEines defying the armies
TT aps for s fsSs Of aod 0' ELS oS
In the way, the YaYenous beast; yea, t Is an the
scriptures declare Il, the ruling powers OF the
past Whatthey yet win be In the future, and while
the earth remains we must feel that we must
meet then: An, let me tel yOg o. what We need Is
unity Of purpose with the brotherhood OF Gods
church, . more intimate communion with our
life, in order 10 make homes and hearts what
they should be. It Is Just like our human nature
90 make religion to suit It's own creed. Men
frame q religion which Will conform to their
habits VI life, and this Is why they fall
through It 80 often. It Is human like them
SSsS and Is 1Gs SSg sS sSstAH
brought against Il. God provides an armor for
his own battles, and only In 4 can man be
practically to this II God be net in our resolves
this coming year, they VIII end In empty medits-
tion, as they began. The life must Be begun in
It must be . life with q purpose in
It, and God BY his spirit animating that pur.
pose Ste u VII come 70 nothing. we are start
glimpse Of what may be by what has already
been in our own and others experience. We may
with sunshine and happy hearts. We may be
coming near to our HES greatest trial now.
What II this year has turn in it for us
greatest SORROW We shall ever experience this
side the grave Ali to whom did the last wear
bring the painful weight that almost crushed the
shrouded in blackness and without an endR Was
not the beginning Of that year without an omen?
What hearts are sundered now from their human
ties which one short year ago were all Respondent
with the halo Of affection? And who OF us may
walk through shadows this Year, All! beloved,
when you need them most to bear you up. But
know this: You can do nothing new without God 8
help. The same old nature Will asssil you, and
battle as God requires your defeat is certain. /
bid you lay the cornerstone Of your future work
here at this feast to-day. Let God enter into your
begin be assured your life will rise to be the glory
Of the Redeemers faith; and this will indeed be q
happy New Year for ever and ever to your soul.
FIRsT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
In the morning Rev. DR.. Rankin preached on
Forgiveness and Fear, from Psalms cxxx:4.
There Is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou
mayest be feared" Fear and forgiveness are two
words which men do not often join together.
Men do not expect to occasion fear but by threats
and penalties. It is one Of the paradoxes Of the
gospel one Of the elements OF its foolshness that
GODS love makes men stand in awe Of him, his
forgiveness makes him feared. There is neither
strength nor purity in any love which has not in
1t an element Of awe and reverence. And the
reason why so many men have gone through reli-
gion, ss they term 1t, and come TO despise It, is
because they have been taught to desecrate its
fear to tread. Yes, perfect love casts out fear,
bat It is the fear Of terror Of penalty, not rev.
erenee, not awe. Is love imperfect IN Heaven
Is there any want Of reverence thereH Reverence
is one Of the most enrolling sentiments Of the
soul. 1t is only inferior souls that feel hurt when
others are appreciated. Noble. generous minds
love to admire, to revere-fnd themselves the
better for 1t. And that religion which has not in
It an element of reverence is not the true reli-
gion for It does not meet this want Of our nature
The Christian religion, though founded upon
the infinite eondescensIOn of God has in II heights
and depths which make us feel as Peter did
when he said depart from me, for am sinful
man." He felt the majesty and power Of Jesus,
and that was too much for him; Sc wanted them
removed. 1t is so, more or less in all true Chris
tian experience. 1t often makes man feel like
taking the shoes from OF his feet, the ground lie
so holy.
i. Fear is awakened by the forgiveness Of God,
because it is wholly undeserved. When expo
meaning Of Gods words, my ways are not your
ways, neither my thoughts your thoughts" Just
as The armament at night teaches US what Gods
his love can do. That lad was true to nature who
preferred to be punished rather than be tenderly
forgiven.
because 1t is so comprehensive, so exhausting. 1t
RENTS, II Absolves from, 1t annihilates sin. It
takes away the disposition to sin. 1t more than
restores MS to the standing had before SHINING
1t gives us motives impossible before. 1t cancels
all obligations bonds, proofs Of guilt held against
us, as though the nails driven into the body OF
Paul call himself the least Of the Apostles, and
less than the least Of all the saints? II was
Gods forgiveness. The light Of that forgiveness
was thrown backward along his whole life.
8. The forgiveness Of God aWakens fear, because
1t Is SO expensive. Fol- giveness which costs moth
ing is worth nothing; is worse than worthless; is
demoralizing. The forgiveness OF man is expen-
slye to the heart Of GOd its method isrepresented
as taxing the wisdom OF God, and the power Of
God; as the ripest fruit Of these two infinite at
tributes. The Son Of God, with whom the Father
is in the most intimate relation, becomes incGr-
nate, suffers, dies for man. This is the basis OF
forgiveness, and every forgiVer's soul comes upon
Ii by repentance, by dying unto sin, by being cru
Gifted with Christ. when God forgiyes, He pro-
poses beneft. He does not propose to make for
eivensss despieaDIe: T5ere ~ iorgiveness with
how salvation by grace does not encourage men
in sin; and how to make forgiveness q safeguard
against sin.
In the evening, the subject was the sixth beatl-
tude: blessed are the pure in heart; for they
shall see GOd.n At the conclusion Of the even
ing's sermon, the Lords Supper was administered,
i've uniting with the church.
ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
At the English Lutheran church Rev. Mr..
Domer, pastor, preached from Cor. iv:l6. "But
though our outward man perish, yet the inward
man is renewed day by day." His discourse was
about as follows: e
Strange paradoxes often appear In the writ
inRs Of Paul. Many such are given in this chap
ter. And still, psradoxieal as some Of his utter.
eternal truths, and the most simple and coherent
statements Of the power Of divine grace as illus
trated in actual facts aud experiences; his own
experience and life the clearest illustration OF all
When the doctrines Of the "higher life" are con-
sidered, as given by Paul and illustrated in his
earnest, selEdenying, faithful course of life, we
do well to remember that Christians are not all
Pauls, and SO allow margin for marked differ
ences in many Of the details Of Christian charac-
ter and conduct. Still, while making such allow
ances, we may never forget that the same grace
works in all 10 the glory Of God, and that the
outlines Of true life are yet grandly typed out
in such a marvellous trophy Of salvation as that of
the great Apostle Of the Gentiles. What, then,
lie the lesson of lie which Paul gives us In our
passage? Outward decay, inward renewals
l. What strange fact is this concerning which
he so solemnly affirms? An outward" and ''in-
WARD" man In one There is a coexistence in man
ss human, we know, OF body and soul; and In this
sense We would have only the reassertion of an
old fact, very we'll known aud very generally re-
ceived. We have bodies and souls, dual nature
in the constitution Of personal unity or OF one
human personality. Well, this is to us truth so
familiar that we take It as \ simple truism, And
ct even this old truth is full of Instruction. and
as we take into thoughtful account the remark
able the mysterious cOnjunctions, powers, forces,
elements Eeh enter into the constitution Of such
duality in unity to make up a human being, we
shall always find some new aspect Of truth COM
ing into view, and so the old forever the new; and
the new forever evolving from the old. All mys-
teries ind root here, and all interpretations ind
origin and play here. The universe In miniature
is carried about with us from day to day in our
own strangely-complcx being, the universe Of
matter and mind. There is o natural body and
there is a spiritual body" and these In man give
an epitome OF the whole Of matter and mind.
This the old philosophers tell US, is man rs
'micTocosm." And herein is an "outerness" and
'fnnerness" Of the highest and most wonderful
import in man and to man, as also for man. The
outer, how complex and wonderful, "fearfully
and wonderfully made!" The inner, how much
moro mysterious and wonderful-"fearfully and
wonderfully nader The two in conjunction with
each other, and in their ENTHUSIASTICALLY, how
still more complex and wondeTful-"learfully and
wonderfully made ~
.. How does the Apostles affirmation apply to
inward is renewed from day to day; and these in
correlation with each other; the renewal is
measured by the decay. Can this be said Of the
soCl as in such essential conjunction with q ma
teTial bOdy2 Is il general fact that the soul is
renewed daily by the decay, and in proportion TO
the decay Of the body2 Where, then, are your
laws? What, then, becomes Of the
Are not the souls powers most energetic and
active in the health and vigor Of the physical
powers? With the inrOads Of disease, and the
advancing infirmities Of age, does not the sin
ward man." in this sense the soul, naturally and
necessarily sympathiEe? And can It even be
thought Of as possible that tho reckless, the
TiCtous, the ntempeTate, the volators OF the laws
longs, should thus give upward growth to the
spiritual nature within them, and find them
selves inHardly renewed" as they thus rush
into outward destruction? 1t is no unm pOrtant
part Of our religion to be obedient to physical ,
law and order. The whole economy 70 which We
belong, the economy Of matter and mind, must be
honoFed in Obedent lives, or consequential
deaths result, As Herbert Spencer puts it we'll,
Thought must be brought into harmony with
tTuth:" and this in every realm and department