The New York herald., 1876-01-24
PLYMOUTH CHURCH.
REV. HENRY WARD BEEcHER ON THE FALL OF
MAN,

MAN.
Plymouth church was apparently crowded, as usual,
yesterday, despite the unfavorable condition Of the
weather In the pew Of Joseph Howard, Jr., were
seated General George Custer, United States Army;
Stuart Robson. the comedian and Lawrence Barrett,
the well known tragedan Mr. Beecher preached from
the text "Unto you that believe Christ precious"
This belief said he; What is itH Where docs 1t
come from What is its natureP Belief which has the
same Interpretation as faith in It's most ordinary
dersandng intellectual process and it designates
state OF conviction view of evidence Confined to tho
province OF philosophy and Of reasoning conviction and
belief and faith are substantially the same. An intel
lectual state is very far from meeting the
description of faith in tho Now Testament That is
something than a mere intellectual conviction,
though often has that and sometimes has it not In
moral state faith belief It's most generic state
use is the realization OF the truths which not
taught through the of man, but which
taught through the higher faculties of the mind
truths that imperceptble mponderable, unayza-
ble invisible. If man tell me that gwen lump Of
gold weighs q certain amount contest that; but
any man anayze lovers feeling mothers feeling,
or that inspiration Of heroism which some high
hour of battle sezes heroic nature, any Of that in
tuition Of wisdom which leads some statesmen 10
and to strike through the darkness great plan OF re-
hef2 There is a realm which belongs TO the spirit,
which Is invisible, lmponderabe, intangible In that
realm faith, in one use of the word dwells. III you
opening OF the chapter from which ead:-"Now
faith is the substance OF things hoped for" Not tho
conviction, the dea, the concepton--it is the
reality, the substance OF things hoped for.n And in
another place. ''What man sees, what doth he hope
fory' IL is therefore, unseen. The whole range OF
faith IN its most generic iorm IS ths:-Ihat Is con-
sciousness of conviction OF feeling, OF belief that
do under the ordinary laws OF the senses but
are dealt with by the mind ITSELF Now, applied
the conduct bf men, this generic idea takes specific
developments all the way through There is faith
that works by each of the emotions Of the human soul
Mt xyhfl thO of faith IN
Bible the conviction of the reality OF the great nvs
ble realm In which we are moving 1t may run through
the whole scale OF human faculties Now, when
come to analyze shall find that faith IN person
belief in HIM carries slight shade Of difference;
RECOGNITION oV TRUST
in that person and there must be something which
like in him. We believe in him first and trust him
aiterward. How we trust IN friend when we know
him think dol We believe in his disinterested.
ness we believe in his honor, we believe bis fidelity,
believe in his truth, we helieve In his dsnterested
affection. We lie down in his heart child lies down
and goes to sleep in the mothers arms we are
ashamed TO have doubt rise the mind of his
treachery to friendship; we give ourselves utterly up
TO IT, and the that worthy of friend and has
that heroic conception of friendship is traitor TO him
self and is traitor TO his mind he attempt to blur
blot the OF trust with doubt-with doubt We
put oursef and life in his hand and whatsoever he
asks do We believe in him. want TO bring before
you the SOUPS trust in the Lord Jesus Christ To you
that believe, TO you that nave ever had
the experience and knowledge which brings
Christ home to you in HIS dispositions and in His
various relations TO poor struggling human souls to
every OF you that ever had Christ that your
precious Sayiourin Worship in veneration, He is pre-
cious to you One of tho things that strikes
that made like IN reading the Bible is the reve-
lation of God in Jesus Christ, who knows and feels
for sinful man because he is sinful man. Almost all
other religions present God a being that loves man
and feels Tor him as he grows more perfect Paul
says: 'The creature made subject 10 vanity,
willingly Now, II He made men as He has and put
them where they are In all conditions cropping up,
step oy step, through the ages God that is
precisely adapted to the creatures that He has made
and put into the world and stamped generation after
generation with the essential characteristics We
want God that adapted to the state OF mankind.
! They tell me that
AN FALLEN CREATURE
| Fallen from whatS never was any better than
am nowl The only fall ever had was the fall from
woman's womb. There not calf that did not
know shan did when came into the world and
was not better able itself There was not an
inch between me and the brute II is the bottom of
conceivable existence, and they tell that fell;
fell upl No. When look out upon the accumulated
facts that patent that every mother knows and
that every sensible knows, that begin zero
THAI which we get is by unfolding steps and all
poor; we are without goodness; we are without any
Thing We arc empty ine with nothing In the CIR
Gle except poientaies but respects develop
ment nothing. Then life puts before the zero and
makes us TO- puts a before IL and makes 20 We
are born unframed aud distempered every way.
What need that there shall bo God that loves
righteousness and truth and knows humanity.
Mr. Beecher deprecated the idea Of God who sits In
the OF the universe perfect Himself and saying
TO creatures whom He has made imperfect 'Man now
be like III damn youln He represented Christ
loving men, for what they are but for what He
Isl not because OF what IS in u.s. but because Of what
- ia hlin. Nhtn one NC shsu, haS SUN oaNlouIs
such experience the Saviour Is particularly pre-
cious Such lie begins small and spreads out
springs rom seed and spreads lie branches out over
the earth Sometimes Christian experience flows with
musical ripple and sometimes like lakes far up IN
the mountains surrounded by peaks that shelter them
and are not moved by winds storms.
CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.
REv cHAUScEY onRs on 'srHE GARDEN OF
EDEN"
The swcdenboYrian Chureh Of the Nov r.rrs.io,o In
East Thirty dth street. between Park and Lexington
avenues was well attended yesterday morning, when
the inccmeDoy OF the weather ia taken into consdera
ton The Rev ChAunrny Giles nreachod inkinr tor he