Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1878-08-20

religious services at that place on Sunda,
forenoon, and preached sermon there Tht
house filled, nearly every available sea
being occupied; and we think We are quite
right in saying that Carson never before pre-
scented so handsome an audience within doors
When Mr.. Beecher had appeared upon the
stage accompanied by Reverends McLain and
Hammond, choir, volunteering for the occa-
SION, sang, with beautiful effect, the Hymn
beginning with the lines:
Jesus lover of my soul
Let me to thy bosom fly
The voices were, Mrs. Isabel S. PoId and
Mrs H. r. Whitehil, Soprano, Miss RANGES
Hodgkinson, Alto, Mr. Chas. E. Laughton,
tenor, and Mr. S. Z. Scoville, bass. Miss
Annie Martin presided at the organ. After
the singing of the Hymn Mr. Beecher offered
up a brief prayer beginning: ''Render unto us
the knowledge of Thy presence and beseech-
ing the Most High to do for His children not
less than He has done for inanimate things.
Grant us" he prayed, ''the sense of Thy
love, that we may know that Thy thoughts
are turned toward each of us by name" At
the conclusion of this opening prayer Mr..
Beecher read from the XVIII chapter of the
Gospel according to st. Luke the Parable of
the Prodigal Son. The reading was very eff
fective We noticed that this remarkable old
gentleman who is no less than 90 years of age,
reads without glasses. He read the S3rd
Hymn, beginning with the words, ''Safely
thro' another week" and it was very sweetly
sung Then as by the Congregational fashion
of worship it is the rule, the preacher offered
up long and fervent prayer. ''Thou boun-
tiful God, Thou dost love to give. 1t is Thy
Joy and life Thou hast said it is better to
give than to receive. These are the imper
feet Outlines of the opening sentences. He
then prayed that we might never cast away
the nobler gifts wherewith we are blessed;
that we may learn to sympathise with the poor
and the needy, and to like the unpleasant
things which lie in our path of duty; that we
may be taught the divine art of saving one
another; that we may learn that he who would
be chief must be the servant of all. He prayed
that we might seek the poor and the lost and
take part with them; that men may believe |
in religion, not because we profess it, but be
cause our lives and our deeds assert it and |
give it proof "Giye us, he implored, ''such |
fruits that men may not wish to doubt the |
goodness and effectiveness of religious faith.
Andagainhe exclaimed, ooh from what differ
ent ways have men come up hither! Bring
back to those who have forgotten the past the
recollection of the innocent days of mother S,
a brothers, sisters love. Let us not be
wholly given to the beggerly things of this life.
Let us SOW the the wheat of good purpose
even if it be Autumn and if it take the whole
Winter to brood it and bring it forth. " These
are some of the scrappy fragments of our very
imperfect notes. When the choir had sung
the 3O4th Hymn, beginning Crock of Ages
cleft for me" Mr.. Beecher stepped to the
front, opened the New Testament and said to
the audience that from the Parable just read
he should preach
HIS SERMON,
This was one of the most remarkable of our
Masters sayings. 1t is so perfect that it
would be interesting even if an isolated story.
1t is full Of the contrasts offered by human
nature. 1t had an application to the time
and the people surrounding our Saviour The
best men of the Jews were the Pharisees. We S
have learned to speak of them with an over {
measure of contempt. They were, in their
time, the Puritans of the Jews. Taken as I
body, they were the best class among the l
Jews. Especially when undergoing the Ba-
bylonian captivity did the Pharisees perform f
good service in preventing the Jews from los S
ing sight and practice of their early religious /
They remodeled their ancient re- I
igion to make it comply with their condition l
IF slavery. The meaning of the word Phari- L
zee is separated They saved the old stock a
rom perishing by absorbsion and forgetful- C
less. 1t was under the influence of the b
oharisees that Jerusalem was rebuilt and the b
Temple rehabilitated The trouble with them Il
vas, that ike too many modern professors of t
eligion, they gave more attention to outside {
than the inside heart and soul of Il
eligious belief When Jesus came upon the a
Gene the people were greatly down trodden b
The higher classes were sticklers for form. P
They were very pious and very hard and very 0
Ivaricious. They were 80 pious they knew it, n
md measured their piety off by the yard.
They regarded themselves as Gods chosen IL
'eople and as being the parties to contract p