The New York herald., 1877-10-29
FIFTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH.
JESUS ALONE, YET NOT INSTRUMENTATION ny

REV. DR. ARMITAGE.
Tho Rev. DR.. Armitagc preached In his usual happy
and iorcibo style in this church. He took his text
from John. xvi, 81, in the following words "Beholi
tho hour cometh, yea IS now come, that ye shall DO
scattered every man TO his own. and shall leave
alone, and yet am not alone, because the Father
is with me-" "Truo greatness said tho reverend
gentleman, ''must always carry with 1t a degree OF
loneliness. Tho stately ree which towers above
tho rest OF tho forest, Mont Blanc rising for
leagues above the Alps which group at their feet,
fair emblcms OF the solitude which great souls must
feel pre-emnently above the level OF ordinary spirits.
They rcpose in storms and Dask IN beams which
Others never Know While their joys and sorrows
may be Of the same general nature, their superior
range alters their whole beng In this point OF view
Lord must have been the most SOLITARY OF NIL tho
OF humanity. As Ho looked out upon the
world OF men about Him, and His heart
went forth alter tho simple, the poor and tho
iowly, in such exquisite, tender sympathy
infant breast could ieel, there must have been most
touching sense Of profound loneliness which threw
Him back into world OF HIS own. His mighty mys-
tcrious soul must have felt something OF that strong
and vivid consciousness Of ISOLATION In which our
poetic sentiment enwraps the lotiest member OF an
Alpine range, looking down IRON the clouds upon His
dwarfsh brethren grouped meekly at HIS ioeL When
the light which gathered about His sublime brow
spoke OF a measureless distance between the light
winch shone in darkness anu Tho darkness which
prcnended II not The grander scale and tho loiter
sphere which He lived contrastcd Him with
fcrorty OF other men In motive and principle, In pur.
pose association, these being drawn from The
nnitc, tho inability OF man TO understand Him must
have made HIM icel that he was native OF another
cline wlno the elder brother III His Fathers house.
The petty preJudccs and passions IN when the raco
about Him grovecd their rnarrow-mindcdness and sci
hsn contentious were IN strong contrast with the
high atmosphere IN which He moved, pervaued us It
by aims OF unusual benevocncc, sacrihcing love,
invisible companpnsnips ana hIgh thoughts, which
came wandering down 10 Him from the bosom OF
eternity. The musings OF HIS mind upon tho affairs
and the dostiules OF universal ueing neu HIS
inner breast with those ineiiaDlc Joys ana sorrows
which thor mighty ono couid iathom, that the
greater the crowd VI unapprccativc ones who gain
about HIM. the more unapproachabe the seclu.
which He moved. Truly He alone, IN all
tue ISOLATION oI personal CHARACTER This Isolation,
however, is totally different from that insulation oi
space where league alter league stretches between
human heart and human heart, and where there
mex expressibc soul-loDgiug tor kindred spirits
cIprucaI sympaluy Ii Iruo sentiment Iies Ia the
heart mans abode may be cast IN the most ystcrious
hauuts vi man. IN cave or island desert, but tho
social desire will create thousand beings 10 converse
with there, and Will listen 10 responsive language from
inaninate objects. The widest solitudes o nature
III which he wandcrs viii be pcopied with SYM
pathetic spirits which meet MIN Ia every solitary
walk, watching and waiting for warm nionsh ps
nj every turn oi nil valley, sgu OF hu-
association breaks onotony OF speecnlcss OK
istence he very menury OF former friendships
Joycd at home, wherever home may bc translates tho
busy recoecons OF the past The freshness OF The
present. 50 that u nature the sy
human sight aud sound and touch are lneru as a
reality. A strctmct, dancing over smooth pcbpics,
laughing as VI IN love with the sunbeam which giances
down It's bosom, Is full VI aumanity especially If
tue breeze stgbs nuy through the rlis IN the over
hanging iohage It's pure waters run between mar
gins Of soft green turf, cnomcllcd with lowers or