The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-11-03
Plymouth Pulpit.
TIE KINGDOM WITHIN.
Sermon by Henry Ward Bcccher.
fHriSiidn {'nion.-

christian {hion.l
Sand when he WIS demanded ofthr lharisecs. whe
the kins'I"'m Of God should come. he "r'sw're
them and saul: Thr Kingdom Of ti"d c"mrth III
with observation: Neither shall they say, i" here "
10 There for hrii"ld. III" kiESdun Of God Is with
y"u."-lMk- xvii. ~. ~.
Tine Kin.r!nin If tod rrinrth not before man ply
:, ical SCOPES. lou clnnnt srr il. or hrLr IL. nor touch !
II iurs not address iiS'lt I" ll" nIiut:l reason. II
u stale within y",:-lirr aud character. This Is tn
very marrow of thu =rnius IF the. New Testament
/ Il is important. mud it has become t'nH>r"nIrIit V,
rrasun al the clar.r. which hav' passed, AID are pass
in.. upon the ,dmrntrd ;'u!nir mini.
.ltiluu. II "kin.rlni:"-"tlu Kingdom Of tiOl Il
'kincl"in Of llriv"h"-w.s c%a'l,luyrd kr our =
viu,,r hundreds of Iiur> in his teaching. il VS. nrvr
: meant tn br II ki..lr,n thrt CAME u ulr outward M
rnrriatinn. II Wa, meant la be- IN inward. s'iritl:
kingdom. or safe. Christ distinctly talI=ht, and h
Was understand by his alusilcs 10 teach. that The kir9
dom ut God WAS not Al outward and historical aSs"ri:
iiun ut all. A state Of mind /. was-a disposition
This conception. in thu present s'atn Of thu publ
mind. needs Ia be !rui"ilt "it and cm.hasiz''l; Tor
Very wide secession from any visible Kingdom 4
God has taken place. aud Is takii!. place.
! The Church. whether c"tnlrrtrlisivrlv or In It
individual divisions. consists Of doctrines that hav
,lrscrnhul To us. The truths which are general
taught b. educated and scientific men are now more "
less disputed, denied. given nr. This Is true /" = lnrg
extent I'm oar own land: still more il it true in En:laIl
in Great Britain and yet mare is it true IN France an
Germany. 1t may be- said that there has an era Il
more than d"nht-"i positive skrnticistn-srt In, An
OH uN''iSN Wy" NV N'thNSN '''ht Ma N'''
endnm.
This state Of doubt is not stopped. II has distnrLr
Christian people Of 4 r. Elective turn "f mind: aid al
, though IT, has not moved them from their foundation
Of hrliof, Il has introduced an clrmrnt Of threat n
anxiety and fear lest Christianity SHOULD he srpersclc
IN some way. and the world left in ~darkrr>s. There
4 Very great change IN the emil lcnce Of chilcatrN
IrrachrtS--a change In their idras and .nctrinr:
which they formerly preached witt! Inc most implicit
fifth: y change In their conceptions "f church life:
change stall nnrc manifest IN their way of looking a
and liullins the Word of God: IN other words. n chan:
IN their conceptions Of inspiration and revelation. IL
r sultfrs. in many instance, III sin'plc silence. NJ"
paSS over doctrines which they cannot hnnr>tl
preach. but which, fifty years a=" rv"iyh"dv lrrarir
: without q thought that they were nn>"uld. !. Crra
many vii" hold To them, and preach them, d" s.; COW
Struciivrl% hy IN Ingenious rcnhc: ing. Th-y find
9rnund on which they tan preach old %hnctrinc.. Thu
is to sav. by limi,ih: and defining. For instance. III
doctrincs of election, Of rrpr"I:ltion. and Of full fnl
grace ard you take ont that which you do not thin
they ought to leach. AMI which is rcprrhcnSih'r 4
Your Judgment: and If ynl 20 ON. secondly, and stat
what you think they q" teach, and put in what yn
think they "L.ht 10 teach. you ran :rt al"n. very we
In teaching them: there is hardly any doctrine in III
world TINT cannut be taught In that way: unly it is M
honest. and 1t is no: intelligent. To s,y that rrcnn
s,ruricLI view and tn" original mranirg Of an ni d"r
trinr are historically the saline. Yet men are 81 afr:li
OF hring rrputrh 10 have giving mp an old ,lnrtrin
and adopted n new one. that they prefer to rcruns.ruc
the old doctrine. and give it an entirely new and diff
!. ltrcn' covering.
In reality, it ainnunts-ihe state Of mind in while
men are !'rrarhing--t" great unsrttlrhnrsa and dOuh;
IN So far us what are called tie great doctrines Of tn
Bible are concerned There is alarm. there Is anyict,
and there is y conscious lrtting.G" on the Inrt of m"l
that hold these t"ctrincs and they are sorry tina
they do not hold them nS they used To and they ar
cnicavurinc Ia get back 10 The old ground. In Otllr
words, there is q lapse of faith.
Now. this must be very disastrous In every respect
1t Is not To hr Condemned Violently Ms an insinccii' Y
4 man who has been professionally educated to prearl
= schedule nf doctrines, and has been taught from
c%lilihond to suppus. that thry represented the nlnr
row and meat Uf the Gospel, finds that in one point
and in no other, the pro.rcsso Of thought and education
In the community in which he lives las changed hin
insrnsibly and that man IL Ike one that Hoes ~"
know huw to swim. and who finds that II f.. shct /
nvcrtlnwlng the banks where he has always dwell
The water is coming up higher and higher and high
or: AID as he dnrS not know how 10 swim, lie doe
Hot dare to let 20 the hold that his feet have and yc
he IS afraid of being crowned where he sttrris. Thrrt
are MANY men who .lnd the tide IF thought setting II
on them. and comm. up around about them; and the!
do not know what /" do.
Now, vou must mo-: lay the law Of strength upoI
men thai Are weak. Many men arc strong enough I,
get into duubt who ac net strong enough to get on
vf II. Many nrn are acntc, but are not alI'relrnsivr
Many ! man VINO has long held 7 certain view find
tia, it is unsuund: and II Is necessary before be cal
teach il. it should ho reconstructed: and In order to d'
that II is necessary that hu SHOULD have IN aI'prrlrn
sive mind. Il constructive power, which 81 n!l r1all'
him 20 ana!yxr . whole system. and put 1t tn.ctlir
again on new grounds and in new ways. This is
work uf genius: and not every man, MT "n'
man, In u thousand, is able to do It; f"r mel
are very Largely children Of the day IN which ihr,
live, and their fceliI IS are largely those that are brr'
bv the atmosphere ~ the aye To which they belong
/ know ci no way in which we can avoid great un
sct,lc,lnrss except by going back n.ain to the stand
point Of the Gospel. and r'nn'ing ourselves prccisrl!
where the Lord Jesus Christ took his stand. lh'
obj ct of al religion. us he taught il, is the harmonic
ed development Of human nature.
ni-.. I, 49,, l.,tt I,,n mr in nr1p,1v MINI n
respects The Whole condition Of human nHtur", IL
world over. Nobody doubts that it n, eds IL rc rXnlt
cd, educated, inspired and larmon;zrd. There Is III
nan So bold rs t., doubt that. And the purpose OF a!
/ religion IS tn teach how human nature. with those an
iuaI, social. intellectual and moral tendencies that In
here in every man, msv he larmon:z"'i and 'rr-l"rr'
10 power. and have unity in lnrin"ny-in other words
how to educate II man In regard t. his Highest natnrf
lie hiss been educated l,hys:c lly IN some lIrr.'hls Z
. Greek history, and In later times; but II has been n
the cypcusr of his intellectual. social atd moral natur
7 lie has been educated intellectually; but il has been y
the rNur,Isr of his social and moral nature. lie HI
been educated csthrticaily; butt it has been al the TX
prnse at his intellectual, social and moral nature
. low shall there b. given = universal education tina
: Shall auply alike to all. and teach the poor aud i:nn
rant of i'll nations and III government? Is there M.
way oprn to mankind hr which human nature can b
drrcl1ucl syml,lrtrically so that Il man shall te per
frc;lv At harmony with himself, with his fellows. an
with his circumstances, On this ply steal globe. III III
lite that now Is, with the faith aud hope OF the life tina
Is to como:
1t was this that Christ undertook to teach. 1t wa
this that he meant hy the Kingdom Of G"d" or 9TH
Kingdom II Heaven" 1t WAS such m education q
men that they slloald he developed into superior con
di,iuns in every part OF tho human mind ana be hn,l
up pcrf.ct'y. 1t was this tnht lac APOSTLES nirnii
when they spoke. aftrrward, Of building men up III
to n Irrfect nianllool In Chris; Jesus:
Christ's t~rachin. employed. incidentally, dosNni
liturgy. tradition, and the church or a synnsncne; III
it employed them AS simply incidental Instruments
sidcwny inlnences-nevrr ~ ends 10 be sought. 20
Shall not find 4 single instance IN which Christ nndri
tu0k TO set up 4 ~ strm ~ Moses ,id. 1"u cahh'
find any such system Set forth IN Chritts teachings .
| i, to be- found IN the teachings OF many highly"r:ani;
ed churches. II WAS hot the object for which (hri!
came into the w~"rld-to establish u great cllnrch-a
| though I Is perfectly consistent with the emu VINE
he had In view that churches should he established
/. that would fall cut by the way OF necessity but til:
Which he came to teach WAS. g Sc must be burl
again, aud tn, new birth WAS t" lie the evolution
latent powers and faculties III the soul. ana To e'Y
fnrcc to those that were pre.erlihent III Their tu
native excellence. that they might hold sway over a
those parts u mans nature that ire inferior, physicn
and limc-hred.
, In what order are the T. cultics in man to he CO IL
bincd !: What is the ideal man: What KIND ~
mar.l,ood are men to seek ? What urc the relations
Ills ,ranhnod to the coulitionsof human race : Thes
nrc tho real questions Of the day they are qirs'loh
that nrc actually ut issue. and =" much turns On the,
decision that We do we'll to consider At s"hr ilt,,
length the whols matter how to develop and bull
| human nature. The question Is, AS the MAJ
row Of life has been the hidden genius Of th~ristianilt.!
what is to be that which shall save thrisi'nhtY, III IN
of universal doubts : In other words. 1t IS the Irac
tickle Question of the spiritlia! cdlchii"l "i The rae.
During the first few hundred years altcrou Saviour
Time the MIN Of hi, disciples everywhere was I
build m life, md character. How did they nndertnS
To do Il, By the personal influence "i Christ NOR d
a system Of historical 'sacn'mss; not y! t" mar.hi1
moi oven bv a sTstcm Of doctrinu'-ior there WAS non
mill several hundred years after the disappearance {
Christ from the earth. The one power by which Hr
! were influenced, WINS the fact that they rene!nbe'c
him, and loved him !; and tits Is the way lie ""lts u
to live. or to try to I'VE.
beautiful and tempting things, says 81 Will d"thls b'
cause it Is the way my mother ~onla want me 70 "n
a. n child NAV 70 through temptation and avoid II. an
com. into the unfoldin. Of all rHcrllcncles, simply o.
tn. remembrance Of what her mother would Wlsh,. :
the primitive church Christ or, II me
did not remember him. they were taught .nat thlis
ably. of the very m"n that taught "l nm. f"r NOR
thnn three hundred years men were lolu that thrls
runld came I'm t~hcirkinc and life. 1t v rs also, ] thinl
the thought Of the apostles. i cnhho. t"ns III ~
nther light uuun the accounts on .his sn'Jrct III ti
=, New Tc,turnrnt-than that they each that The Apostl
Paul and the other APOSTLES believed that Christ Sto"
Al the duur, and was likrlv to come In their day. froi
o,nrr,tion Ia generation: men lived in the cnlstan
,hmncbt of the Lord Jesus Christ rs 4 personal FIicn
whom they loved. and whom some OF them rclhcmte'
I'd. They that did rot remember him believed that h
was CLOSE 10y, and was about to appear ~ great sI'r!
This was the way he wanted them 10 I'VE. Ann J."
! three hundred Years after his departure men attempt
ed to build themselves in all .mnnlincss Iy the persona
influence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
About that time. however. the Christian Ch'rr
passed under the influence Of the GfeeHs. Inc urceh
were the educated men of antiquity ut that lin,
They were tho philosophers. they were the historians
they were the. thinkers Of the time; | need not It.
YOU wla, the settled thoughts Of all Greek r'Isorin
were but for i II period Of years, which l nay en-
.x. IL. I1riytiuuitp NyyS IL waived 1