National Republican., 1875-11-29
ECHOES FROM THE PULPIT
CHURCH SERVICES YESTERDAY
EIW PASTOR OF Till North RRRsBTfERIAN
TEE OLD CHURCH OF TIE ASCENSION
FAREWELL SERMON IN THE EDIFICE
Rev ]. L. Elliott ON the Coming Change
Memoirs OF Hallowed Friends and
Ninth-street Methodist Pretestanf-A
Living, Prosperous Liberal Church.
The North Presbyterian.


| He selected as his text, Psalm cxyiii.25. "Oh,
4 Lord, beseech thee, send now prosperity"
A new era, he said, had come in Jewish history
and Judah returned from Babylon to build the
walls Of Jerusalem again. At one Of those festi.
valsshortly after the Dulding OF the temple, this
/ Psalm had been sung. If he mistook not no petit
| tien found more ready utterance than that,
thai he invited the consideration q his hearers
se 61. one @ organic life pervaded all In the vsriO i:
| forms Of the animal world there was one organic
every e,Ssi human face anS fspm IN rsiisious do
life also there were many diyersities. Among
those who had come near to God, there was dE
diverse mould God had given tho same Spirit but
one would count his beads; another would shout
to- to tnrgy; but they were ali alike, because GODS
| spirit dwelt with them. There was unity In haT-
| Churches may be galvanized into apparent life
must have the Spirit Of God with 1t. a prosper
be living 1t should fulfill the second condition of
4 living Church; 1t should be loving Church.
seODd Be Lover; Of Christ ns IN 1S na
| should be enthroned. The Church was the only
means by which one could draw near to him.
| Church, have power In the world, and loving
Christ, they loved the world, for which ne mad
Church. % Ti Il tSey loved him, they would love one
| another. There was that 10 the souls Of men that
! called forth the love Of God. Every christ-like
| life pointed out what Christ really was.
| A living, loving Church would I'LL the third
condition Of prosperous Church. II would be
% had loved much; he hsd aecomplished much.
| Half done, poor, cheap, ltstless WORK In the
| Church was Of no more account than in the busi.
| ness world. The officers OF the Church should DO
| laborious Industrious men. Costly work should
| be given to the Church. Seine of their choicest
thoughts should be given to It. Well guided
4 accumulated innfh
was TO afford encouragement. Churches un-
doubtedIy lid work indirectly as moral agent in
society, but this was not their true aim. Definite
aim, lsborious effort, was necessary to prosper
Gus Church.
fourth condition OF prosperous Church; It would
| be liberal Church. True nberallty looked fur.
snsr than a selfish provision, a Oh ChurcS without
OF Cburch's decline could be written better than
this, sit has ceased to give"
true liberal Church will look to It that It
gives with q judicious consideration Finally,
living, loving, lsborious, liberal Church would be
out prayer is : paradox A prayerless Church Is
not Church. They should Initiate Christ. Lille,
love, labor, liberality, prayerfuiness. These
Without them s GhuTeh T would would die. In sn ali
vicssitudes Of notions, in all Churches there were
unon them. W" He would a. efTs them increa1e s He
had come to them, he said, rs one desiring TO
build up prosperous Church in II that community,
in prayer and usefulness.
Church Of the Ascension.
The handsome new ediice erected by the con.
gregation Of the Church of the Ascension, at tho
corner of Twelfth street and Massachusetts, ave-
nue. northwest, being completed, with the excep.
tion of small portion Of the interior adornments,
which will be finished this week, the members Of
the church and parish Will assemble there next
Sunday for the first time, when the dedicatory
services viii take place. The rector, Rev. ]. L.
Elliott, will preach in the morning, and Bishop
Pinckney at night.
Yesterday being the last day on which the con-
gregation, as q body, would worship in the old
church on H street, the turn out was large and
the house filled. Rev. DR.. Elliott, the pastor,
text, Deuteronomy, xil:lo, IL: "But when ye
go over Joroan and dwell in the land which the
Lord your God givstn you to inherit, then there
choose TO cause his name to dwell there"
He said that these words were addressed to
signal epoch in their history. D. The river Jordan
parted the life Of the nation into periods. The
gToSh ne to o@ Ta &c
strength; from unrest to permanence; from few
| ness to plentitude in numbers; from the wilder
was essentially religious and fits march under
Divine guidance, the most conspicuous and culmt.
the hum bic tabernacle to the gathering Of the
tribes in the courts Of Zion's gorgeous temple.
On last THANKSGIVING day, one whose voice
whose enforced absence was yet deplored, likened
the present stage in their history to the crossing
joicing tribes as they marched on to take posses.
zion and found the image OF
THEIR TRIUMPHANT MARCH
through the gothic sisles. He could not hnd
passage in the sacred narrative more appropriate
70 5hs sSs Any o event ,5st more
which they moved onwards to their bright posses.
sion. TWAS true, and let all emphasis be laid
gence between the two events. There are sssocia-
tons which the ancient and oft-toid narrative
might suggest to them that must be utterly cast
who should say that q richer benedIctIon would
rest upon those ransomed souls In the temple than
nent possession yonder would be visible proof Of
Gods greater favor than unrest here?
Gods displeasure fell on tbs soiourners IN the
wilderness and Of those who marched from Egypt
only to set foot on Oanaanls shore. Who should
breathe the suspicion that Gods disfayor removed
such thoughts, for this epoch in fsraeis history history
hnds It's image in their own. Such feelings filled
their eOsoms that day as tnro1oed IN the heart Of
prepared TO cross the stream. II was easy to
imagine that while he
LOOKED TOWARD WITH JOY
and exultation, he could not but linger and look
back. Tender memories Of the chequered past
came crowdipg on him. Memories OF hallowed
privileges now past and friends now departed;
memories which the swirl waters Of the Joraon
down upon the one shore Of the stream. They
looked forward to their bright possession with JOY
But he knew that they were looking back.
| Memory was busy. Let her be busy. Let them
| first gather some recollections that made them
spiritual privilege which has blessed their sojourn
here: Gods ancient people in their soJourn was
Gods snciens people still: This was the bsnsdic.
| them. "The Lord bless thee and keep thee: the
Lord make his face to shine and be gracious unto
thee" They could approach God with their sac
! rifices Of atonement sacrifices Of thanksgiving,
sacrifices Of selfdevotion. God spoke to them BY
Moses, openly by the mystic word. How near had
had clustered around the sanctuary, and every
eye could see the symbol Of Gods prss.nce. Their
more peaceful and Joyous ru snc SOusS soSUs1
the Jordan the vine. clad hills of Canaan rose be-
aae
| presence go not with us, carry US not up honcen
JESUS HAD BEEN THERE WITH THEM,
| not his radiant symbol only, seen by the eye Of
| sense, but Jesus himself visible 70 the eye Of
blessed them and waved over them his banner rI Of
| love- Here. too. the Holy Spirit had descended
doyelfke, blessed them, and holy, holy angels
| not wonder that they saw no deformity upon the
walls no desolation inthe sanctuary. They looked
4 with q vision like Elisha's, and beheld only the
| form Of our Emanuel and the Holv Comforter and
the ministering angels who I'LL Gods house, but
whose IustiiDg wings sound not in their dull ears
ancy and brightness OF youth, and here the sober
yigor Of manhood. What wonder that, as one and
/ all they gathered TO move forward, they should
linger. What wonder IL silent memory veeps
alone over hours Of peace and gladness flown, for
You have walked the happy round that circled
i Zion's holy ground. AS the pilgrims crossed the
Jordan they missed
THE CLASP OF HANDS
which they had loved TO hold in their vanderinxs
These wanderers were men and women. They
had homes even In their wanderings, for where
Il there Is love there is home. Their little ones
i slumbered, laughed, sobbed and hung about their
mothers knees. Sickness brought restless nights
and elouded brows, and death came, and weeping
PROFESSIONS and freshly-opened graves, and the
1 companion OF many joys and trials iournsyed
the close Of their wanderings they wept for Moses
on the plains OF Moab, thirty days. In those sol.
| emn days, when the hosts moved not from their
tents and the stiffness Of the camp was broken
| only BY the sounds of weeping, would not memory
recall the beloved forms that had gathered with
them N the tabernacle bearing thither the sseri-
nee ., ta9,hnksgiying and bowing to receive Gods
Deneoleuon, and would they mot be glad to llnger
around those menories7 oh, that they could
journey with them AZ they once journeyedt Oh,
that they had lived % see that auspicious dayi
within these walls. The days Of weeping for
| Moses were ended. But the days OF theIr 1eeu-
l iBg and their memories viii never end on earth.
But these gloriied spirits would be to-day the
heavenly convoy to beckon them on to their noble
| temple. They would say, "arfse and depart for
this Is not your rest Faith Is now changed TO