The New York herald., 1876-10-09
Mr.. BEECHER ON REPENTANCE
Morning and Evening SeryicGs at the Church
Of the Disciples.
T H E III A r V f S T.
Vicar General Quinn at ST. Pat
rick's Cathedral.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.

OF GOD THE MOTIVE POWER IN RIGHT IIv-
ISG-sERMoS BY HENRY WARD BEECHER.
The rush to hear Mr. Beecher yesterday was greater
than over before. Before hali-past nine O'Clock a
crowd had collected in front OF the doors OF his church
and at twenty minutes past ten-ten minutes before
services began-thcre were, by actual count, In and
around the building 6,52l persons. As the building
cannot by the closest packing be made TO contain more
han o00 somewhere in the ghborhood Of 900 peo
pie must have been unable gain admission. Many OF
.hose tsrned away had been standing patiently line
npon tho cold sidewalks for an hour previously. A
number OF pew holders, who came just before the
beginning OF the services, unable TO force
passage through tho crowd although assisted by the
ushers aud several stalworth policemen
The singing, under direction OF Mr. Henry Camp,
was unusually good, ana in the opening anthem (one
Of Halevey's) the voice OF the tenor, Mr. George
Werrenrath, late OF London, heard TO great ad-
vantage
Mr.. Beecher preached one Of his most eloquent and
powerful sermons taking for his the passage from
The twentieth chapter OF Acs"Testifying both to the
Jews and also to the Creeks repentance toward God
and iaith toward Lord Jesus Christ" This he
said, was the address OF Paul the elders OF the
Church he about to be separated from them
Paul then declared that he had served the LORD with
all humility, with many and temptations that
had kept back nothing from the Church to which he
preached that he had taught them botn privately and
publicly going from house house. and then he gives
the of his teachings the final analysis ''Repcnt-
ance toward God and iaith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ" This is the formula in its perfected shape
When John preached he began, "Repont Tor tho king.
dom of heaven is at hand, whatever that kingdom
was TO be- Whom Christ took up the ministry OF
John where the latter laid Is down He SAID "Be
lieve gospsL Paul says he preached every where
sha utnn nd faith ma npedi that 1,t,
then Is the initial form OF presching-rcpentanc Of
sin and faith the Lord Jesus Christ IL is ali OF
preaching, but It Is the root and the beginning OF
for ssone breaches tins with iervor and is
dom there Will spring up vast variety OF questions
the special method OF being rid OF thems And .faith
In Ihe Lord Jesus Christ" Who is Christi What
HIS attrioutest What are the methods by which
are to approach HimS &c The iull measure oil
sructive preaching covers every particular OF every
relationship which man susiains TO the unseen world
ana 10 TINS world The beginning Of them all Is this
REPENTANCE WRONG CONDUCT.
All devotion 10 righ, consists IN ceasing from wrong.
One is the converse Of the other You cannot servo
God and Mammon. Repentance, then, means o new
lie I'm so lar as the preparation for il is concerned
abandon SIN. In the OLD and New Testaments to tor
sin thoroughly Is all that Is needed, far
forgiveness concerned. II is said that repent
mot all which DOMAIN dsshas thcre
nature anu society demand not only that should
REFORM but that he should be made to suffer Tor
going violations OF known laws And is sad therefore
that when man repents and has faith IN the Lord
Jesus Christ, that either IN him or somewhere else
there mast be provision Tor suffering which will be
equivalent 10 that suffering Tor which the natural law
contcnds and II has been OF the conusons OF the
theory OF the Divine Word where that suffering should
come IL anu The various theories OF the aLonement
they have existed TOR 500 years have been attempts
10 show where this suffering which sin inevitably
tails comes in. We, too, believe that Christ suffered
and that His suierings had direct relation to tho
salvation OF MANKIND but In different manner.
Though the laws Of nature are fixed impacAbie
lar man in his physical nature Is concerned II Is
entirely different with respect TO the human mind.
For example, nature has thought; natural law has
respect Tor love or light or happiness. They have
discrimination; they Jake no cognizance OF chd.
youth or an old man they treat everybody just
alike, without the slightest sympathy, without recog-
of motive, the eenc-t Of will endeavor
There certain laws which, being obeyed bring just
much satisfaction or safety aud others which bring
just so much danger or suffering, nothing more
This proposition was illustrated by Mr.. Beecher at
considerable length. certain quantity of arsenic
lering the human stomach kills nature carries out
shat law remorsely slays alike the hardened de-
bauche who swallows the drug Tor the purpose Of quit
sing the world and She pretty innocent child TO whom
1t IL ministered IN a mistake for q curative
HEART,
knowledge, no sympathy. And we, tho preacher
asked, to go, AS many men go, TO nature 10 get
type TO construct from paternal governments IN the
heavens! A father mother might make q law
That their children should rise at certain hour every
morning, with threat OF condign punishment for lie
violation. But suppose child was kept awake all
night by some great sorrow, or should be taken Ill,
would the parents kc nature, say to II, There's
tho law; 1t has been violated ard punishment
must ioiiowy" They wouia bo brutes ii they acted
30 under the circumstances When dealing with soil,
light galvaEism, with the sky and the earth and all
material things Mr. Beecher said, satisfied that
nature should treat all lh,ngs without reason impcra-
lively. And much OF ourselves Is flesh and bone
and muscle must also conform to these absolute laws
OF nature; SO that II one goes ia The way OF peril,
thinking II to bc the way oi safely II will stl be the
way OF peril; but when we 30 higher than that and in
troduce tho OF social Iie not to pattern
that after the law oil nature But men say civil society
IT, ana say thai who violates any law must take
The penalty OF that Jaw II a man commit murder he
must suer Tor H. and men say u Is necessary Neces
sary for whaty rho preacher admitted that In the ad
mnsraton OF courts the judges have lett In the main
but one single coursc-"The soul that snnetn shall
uie''-and II the law says that shall be imprIs-
oned months Tor stealing . certain sum,
three months II IL is over that sum,
NJ not mo ~ . al mus, b .sn rns mon ns 'srms em
ever, acted not because il the best thing con-
ceivsbe, but because 1t rs the best thing at,anab II
i judge had the power 10 see that thor.
oughy rcpcnant, would be for the benenI Of society
that ne should say TO him.
''Go, SIN MoREin
Man is not punished Tor the sake OF vindcating the
NV, but TO teach him &c DO better Governments are
obliged to act as they do in respect to administering
the laws because they rudmentarv, sketchy,
hagey, imperfect, as compared with the ideal
but men transfer THIS condition 10 spiritual things,
10 tho law OF Cod They say that when has
broken a law God and has repentcd IL is not enough
that there must be iunlment OF the penalty. They
trapsier the lower forms OF procedure and Justice
which only tolerabc in society because we can not
do any bctter they transfer these the God
aud say that without that suffering there be
cciving OF Him. and that there II necessary
Christ To die that there should bo Infinite reservoir
somewhere in the universe lied to the old Jewish
ngurc, Win Dlopu, anu that when thefc
should bo taken out of that reservoir lust 80
much as would be equivalent 10 tho punishment
due for the sim Aud this Is their muddled
theory. Nowhere in Chrst's teachings nor IN tho
teachings oil the Apostles in the Old Testament Was
tnero anything demanded but this, Cease TO do evil;
learn TO do good" Let man who has stolen steal
more; that is all that is necessary for the iuture
For the past he do nothing. Whatever wrong has
been done let IL Drift lot IL 60 well men say,
what becomes ofts oh tools Oh slow Of heart
What became OF all the ltte faults committed In
YOUTH Did your mother stick them oil INTO . pin
cushion, and has she kept them I'LL now? DO they
exist anywberef No; they happened and that's the
End OF them, and SO TAR tho concerned
lhcy notnng but dry digit marks that such things
did happen. But was there not suffering in CHRISTI
There was; n was dsclosiye IL declares tho parental
nature OF God ana IN N II assumed sunerings
mother iather assumes those OF the child God 10
not punitive first and iorgving afterward God is
athcr His fathcrhood love stands central but
love Itsclf demands everything that Is noble and sub
,ime In the object beloved.
GuD Is TIM ETERNAL sUPFERER