The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-03-15

Sunday night Sixth Mount Zion church
was filed 10 overlooking by congregation
OF whites and coIored to hear the world
famed preacher Rev. John Jasper preach
his sermon on The rotation OF the sun.
Amongst the white persons present were
Rev. j G. Armstrong, pastor OF the Monu-
mental church Rev. L. T. Eaton, ID. D., OF
Petersburg; Colonel Cutshaw, Messrs. Pc
ter MAYO. Thomas Potts, George Campbell,
! j. j. Wright, Frank Potts, Coleman Wor-
than, and Mr.. Brewer, OF Connecticut.
There were ladies' from Brooklyn, Hartford,
New York, and Boston, together with about
| fifty OF our Richmond ladies.
This vast audience was called out by
notice which appeared iE the Dispatch OF
Saturday, and one Of the officers OF the
church, before the sermon was begun, made
a statement to the congregation somewhat
as follows:
~ wants to say a word TO the Dispatch.
as the Dispatch is the ciuse OF dis great
crowd here tonight. is the friend Of the
Dispatch. and IL the Dispatch goes against
me | will 60 against The Dispatch, but IL the
| Dispatch sticks 10 us | will stick to the Dis
patch. Now. Mr.. Dispatch, we wants your
assistance to help US enlarge our church.
We wants TO take down dem side walls and
run them back: put new roof on the
church; put more seats in dc church, so
that we can accommodate our large conere-
cation aid have seats for our white friends
when de come to hear Mr.. Jasper. All this
work will cost monfy-big money-hun-
dreds Of dollars, and we look to the Dis.
patch to help us raise this money. | am
coming, Mr.. Dispatch, and expect you to
help Us, as YOU nave always done in the
pas"
After this statement was made the re-
nowned "sun" orator, Rev. John Jasper,
preached from the bo X Of Exodus, L" The
Lord is Man Of War; the Lord is His
Name" 10 very graphic manner the
preacher Carl led his large and very atlen.
tive audience over the times when Israel
was in Egypt, and across the Red sea, the
wilderness, the J,IdIn, passed Jericho, and
dogn to the wars of Joshua; aud at thi,
point proved to the satisfaction Of a large
class OF his hearers that Joshua did COM
mand the ">un to stand still.' The preacher
referred TO many passages referring to the
rising and going down Of the sun. His
logic ABOUT the distance Of the sun from the
earth was very fine. when, with contempt.
he said some wise men, so called, stated the
distance to be forty millions, others fifty
millions. aud one as much as one hundred
I'D four millions of miles.
"Whar could you get tape.line long
enough to measure such a distance2 And
bow could man get up close enough to the
sun 10 hitch II on so as 10 melsureS The
railroads can't get thar. The balloons come
nearer than anything else but who can 90
up: Now, in August it is 30 hot here that
folks want an umbrella, a fan, and plenty OF
ice.water; aud yet these wise men say we
are one hundred and four millions OF miles
from the sun. II is too foolish to believe
such stuff And. turning around, he look
cd into the flces Of one Of the most accom-.
plsbed divines in Virginia and one Cf the
best civil engineers i'm this country. Mr..
Jasper treated all such figures as the work
Of wicked, foolish mind, who was not sat-
istied with the plain Word OF God, but
must 90 outside to teach such things that
no man can learn.
TO his mind the idea OF the earth being
round Is so foolish that he would not insult
his hearers with any argument on this SUBJ
ject The Scriptures say the earth has four
corners-and that was proof to him that it is
not round. How could men be under bis
| feet! How would they stick TO the earth !?
| Dey must be like flies, that can walk on the
walls. don't believe any such stuff"
Mr.. Jasper is most earnest man-iully
believes all he says--wields powerful
sway over his people, who regard him as
the most powerful preacher Of their color.
DR.. Armstrong was invited to =. line out :"
a hymn, which he gracefully did after the
old-iashioned style. The selections by the
choir and the singing by the congregation
was very fine.
1t is to be hoped liberal support will be
given the officers Of John Jasper's church
| when they call for aid.
| PERSONAL AND BRIEF LOCALs.-Tbe many