National Republican., 1880-10-20
rnB BALrrMoRE SYNOD.
Opening Session at tho Now-York- avenue
Church


Church.
Tho Baltimore synod OF the presbyterian
church was opened last night with devotional
exercises consisting Of hymns, prayer and
reading Of the sacred scrlptur The sermon
was delivered by Rev. b. +. Bittingcr from
the sixth chapter of jeremiah sixteenth verse;
"rhus saith the Lord, stand we IN the ways
and see, aud ask for the old paths. where Is
the good way, and walk therein, aud ye shall
dnd rest for your souls. But they said, We
will not heurkcu."
The reverend speaker commenced by speak
ing Of the apostacy Of the priests and rulers
In tho days Of the text, to whom tho words
quoted were specially and primarily applied.
But this text las u present application, for In
these days an apostacy Of tho same Kind rs
that against which Jeremiah delivered the
warnings of the Almighty is spreading among
the people. Many persons have discarded all
rules of moral restraint except those congenial
with their own headstrOng wills, aud, practi-
cally, have adopted the old cpcuroan doc
trine - Eat and drink, for TO morrow
we die" A vast change Of thought had
taken place in the past few years. Philos'
osophy aud science had progressed nightly
aud In tho multitude ofmew facts ascertained,
of correct principles in physics established,
IN superior modes of investigation determined,
IL was to be freely conceded that the new was
preferable to the old. Religion, however, not
being u human invention, was the only basis
upon which we eau lay our hopes Of spiritual
salvation, and was not susceptible of change.
The old, therefore, was, in religion this time,
and God, in the institution of religion, laid his
work in such wise that nothing new was
either to he desired or to be attained. There
fore tho old teachings In religion were the
true, the only, the Interchangeable system, suib'
cicnt for men to-day rs IN tho days OF Jere.
milh, aud to be sought aud obcyed as assidu'
Ousy and dcvoutly now rs in the beginning.
Hence the preachers theme was tho "immu.
liability aud truth of revealed religion, and
the consequent inspiration of the scriptures
God was not mere abstract principle
but conscious intelligence; tho un'
| caused cause of all things personal aud
intelligent His directing oil tho uni
verso had not ceased. God was all in
ALL His word was truth unChanging aud
Interchangeable. Human reason was neither to
be dsparagcd nor despised, but it had its
limits. Human intellect had sought, uuadcd
by supernatural revelation, TO reconcile the
great problems of life, the hereafter, tho
origin and the nature of the SOUL the nature
AMI personality of God. The Mcmphui
mysteries of Egypt had been overthrown aud
proved untrue by Pythagoros; Pythagorisnl IN
its turn by the Plalonists--the latter by
the SchUOlmau aud then followed in rapid
succession to be overturned by its immediate
pounded by the philosophers, from Des Cartes
to Matthew Arnold. Cartcsinnsm was over
thrown by Locke and Hume, they by Kant, he
by llegol, SchliermaCher, FiChtc, aud they in
turn by the new philosophy of today, oi
whose pcrpetuity we have no more
assurance than we have seen attached
to the theories Of Dcs Cartcs, of Hume,
and the German mystics which have long
since passed away. Only in Gods revelation
of his love aud his justice WAS there ground
for assurance aud hope for safety. The
preacher believed in the old doctrines MS LAID
down in the bible. lie accepted without
reservation the teachings of the scriptures OF
sin and its consequences. The mercy OF Goo
was bOundless, but SO WAS his justice, aud the
consequences of sin deserved and received
the eternal condemnation OF that justice. Ex
pressing himself decidedly upon the subject
of eternal punishment the speaker yet thought
that the awful solemniy of the subject should
/ awe man 10 a revercntial contemplation o.
| the scheme of redemption conceived by al
all.wisc, just Father and executed by an all
wise, loving Son.
The synod was then constituted by prayer
| from the moderator, Rev. DIR. Bittingcr, Gfte
which tho roll of delegates was called. Their,
answered, of the New Castle presbytcry, Rows
b. Spottswood, James j. Smith, James j.. Val
landigham, j. Howard Nixon, William ID
Mackay. Robert T. Kennedy, George G.. Por
| ter, William NJ. Reese, w. W. uebcrtOn, Fred
erck b. Duvall, John G.. Steele, james Sprin
ger, George Clare, j. NJ. Brackcr, W. g
Dowell; Of Washington presbytory, Revs
Theodore W. Simpson, Joseph s. IL. Honder
son, Byron Sunderland. b. +. Bittiuger, A
FARLEY, John Chester, Mason Noble, Davi,
H. Riddle, Samuel H. Howe, George O. Little
Joseph Il. Kelley, George b. Patch, Peter ii
Burghardt, Charles b. Ramsdell, Nehcmial
Cobb, john Il. Paxton and Francis NJ. Todd
Tho roll OF the Baltimore presbytcry TO
somn reason not learned by the reporter, wa
; withheld from publication, and consequent.
the members of that body present last nigh
are not published herein. Tho election o
moderator WAS postponed until this morning
The synod then listened to Rev. Naaya
Shcshudri, whose address upon the condition
of affairs in India was exceedingly interest
ing and edilyng. The synod at its conclu
sion adjourned 10 this morning.