The star. (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1874-1875, 1875-01-22
WORDS WITHOUT, Works.

Mr.. Beecher talks very finely about
going out after and lifting up the poor,
the ignorant and the unhappy. In re-
cent Friday evening talk, he said
81 am conscious that one who foregoes
his own pleasure, or makes his pleasure
the serving of another man, and pa.
up and bears with his whims. his insin-
eerities, his broken pledges, and lifts
him up again, and again and again; am
conscious that such an one is preaching
ristianity thousand times more pow
erfully than it is preached in any formal
sermon. There is no other sermon which
is to be compared with that by which one
uses the whole force of his nature to
rescue the apparently incurable and un-
salvable man VINO has sinned. "
Even Christians are greatly lacking in
consideration for those who 60 astray in
life. When a man has done wrong;
he has betrayed his trust in bank or
brokers' Office, it may be that he should
not be continued in his place, where he
might do more mischief; but he needs
some one who shall be his friend, and on
whom he shall dare to lean."
Those who have gone astray comprise
but small part of the large class of
wretchedness. While we admit that the
erring should receive every considera-
ton that can benefit them we still be-
lieve that they are not more than one to
twenty of the class ofpoverty, ignorance
and misery who have not "gone astray,"
but who, by the. misiortunes OF life and
hn Of
them to bear are doomed to privation, to
social ostracism, to most painful hui
initiation, finding no relief but in an ut
ter abandonment TO the most vulgar and
abominable associations.
Mr.. Beecher very frequently talks like
an archangel about the duty of Chris
tians to look after the vicious, the lowly
and the distressed, and about the SUI
preme happiness that would attend such
ministration of divine grace. But what
does it all amount to? Many other cler-
gymen and moralists, both public and
private, indulge much ,exhortation to
the same effect. But what does
it all amount to-? Beecher
pews sold, the other day, for $4,000.
Will any one of the class that needs such
consideration" ever enjoy a seat in one
OF those pews? Will any one who owns
Plymouth pew ever know that any
mortal man, woman or child on the planet
is suffering at all, except as he may
chance to glance at the headline of some
editorial or local report about the poor!
Those who 60 to church to show their
fine clothes know nothing about it, and
don't want to know any thing about it.
The middle class who 60 to church are
barely able to own pew and dress well
enough to do it honor and appear respec-
tably. AS for that portion Of the poor
who can manage to dress sufficiently to
appear in sGod's House" without shame,
their struggle to ''keep up" demands all
their energies and is full of disquiet and
dismal forebodings. What, therefore,
does Beecher's fine practical preaching
amount to-? People like to hear it, but
as for doing any thing, the rich and gen.
teel won't, and The other church-goers
can't.
1t seems to us that the Plymouth pas.
tor has preached long enough to prepare
for some downright effective practice in
good works. The large Bethel Sunday.
school that the Church maintains is good
so far as it goes; but in spite Of Bethel
charities the number of the very poor,
ignorant and vicious class is constantly
increasing. Christians should not be
satisfied with any other evidence of their
own growth in grace and manhood than
the positive decrease of genteel deprav'
ity on one hand, and OF baseness and
wretchedness on the other hand.
We could tell Beecher and Plymouth
Church how to render their much fine
preaching serviceable to mankind. Break
up Plymouth, with its $70,OC0 in pews
into twenty churches with appliances
for education and social enjoyment scat
tered over Brooklyn. Let each estab
lishment be plain and seats free. Lei
no one dress except according to good
taste and for health, comfort, conveni
ence and work.
| Let each establishment have certain
well defined district attached to it. Lei
census of every poor. ignorant, vicious
or miserable family in the district be
taken, and every individual be made tt
feel at home in the church, the schoo
and at all social gatherings. Furnish
decent Sunday clothes to those who arr
too ragged to be decent. Let all these
uniortunates lie the best loved and mos
favored brothers and sisters of thu
church. Let the supreme object be thu
redemption Of the lowly and wretchet
as the only way in which to secure self
regeneration. All this would be less ex
pensive than Plymouth church now is
Beecher's salary might be about $1,000
7 year, and he could itinerate among th
twenty establishments. 1t would sool
be found that all special distress ha,
been banished from the jurisdiction Q
these churches. Other congregation
would come into the work. BY goo
counsel and some pecuniary assistanc
all able-bodied persons would soon