Morning journal and courier., 1881-09-26
Sp,lrraI xra Gqurier.
Monday Morning, Sep. 2e. 1881.

AmGero0G1mR Aen18Tkg Oy the tG0Vs OEs
 Bacon-An Impressive Discourse by the
 Mourning.
 The services at the Center church yester- day morning were of an unusually impress sive and solemn character. The church was decorated in mourning with beautiful centre piece at the top of the dome, attached to which were four streamers of heavy black crape. The altar was very beautifully trimmed. Back of the altar was beautiful wreath of immortelles and ivy leaves. The organ was also hung with heavy crape. The side walls and galleries were also finely 1 draped. After the anthem by the choir, the venerable Dr. Bacon arose and made few appropriate remarks. He alluded to the be- l raavement which had befallen the nation. Hesaid that this was the fourth time that the church had been draped in mourning since his taking charge of the congregation, and \ twice by the assassination of Presidents of \ the United States; first when Abraham Lin- | coin fell who remained unconscious until the
 morning after the wound from the deadly bullet, and second for President Garfield, the
 sufferer who for eighty days had fingered be- | tween life and death, watched with solicitude
 and prayed for not only by the people of the | United States, but by the whole civilized | world.
 After 8 fervent prayer by Dr. Bacon and a | requiem by the choir, Prof. Ladd delivered a very able discourse, portion of which is as | follows: Tho text was Genesis, 18th chap, | ter and the last clause of the 18th verse ''Shan not the Judge of all the earth do right"
 This question shows strange blending of ! pious confidence and skeptical complaint. It | is question of one who knew he was but | dust and ashes, and who had nevertheless drawn near to God and expostulated with l him concerning the processes of his govern | ment. It is question prompted by an hon. l orable pity and sympathetic love; but it is pressed with such ardor that, for excessive earnestness, the questioner, Luther says,
 ''seems to be speaking foolishly." If so, Abraham is far from being alone in his folly. The same pathetic inquiry, with the same strange blending of. pious confidence and skeptical complaint, has gone up to heaven from many troubled ones, under pressure from heavy hand of sorrow. Job made bold to fill his mouth with arguments oOOA Q under pledge and under the obscurity of a divine judgment seat, the fuite Ventured to ask the infinite, s'Show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldst despise the work of thy hands and shine upon the counsel Of the wicked. The infinite heard from his protect ing but clouded judgment seat this pungent and somewhat too bitter question of the finite. Jehovah did not disclose to Job the secrets of his government. But he led Job | through such self discipline that Job with l drew from the position to inquire into those secrets, and declared in the withdrawal, Behold I am vile, what shall I answer thee. | I'll lay my hand upon my mouth" Prof. | Ladd now referred to the lesson to be learned | from these good men of the old time. | One important lesson was the discipline
 to be gained the moulding of char | aeter. The great lesson WAS 8 trust in infinite wisdom, "Shall not the judge ot all the earth do right ?"
 | First, God governs by general laws and widely diffused causes. This thought was
 richly elaborated by reference in part to na
 ture's laws. Again, God never does anything
 capricious and lawless. His providence is ex. l pressed in these forces, and is accordant with ! these laws. His miracles, even, are neither capricious nor lawless. They, too. are ex- pressions of the same divine force according
 to immutable spiritual law. And further, were the divine government not by general
 laws, we could have, so far as we can see no
 basis for joy or composure, for expectation
 or energy. no motives or goal, no rational
 form of life at all. Again, our sufferings are
 the foundation of our happiness.
 Secondly, Gods government is over incon
 ceivabIy vast spaces and stretches of time This thought and the greatness of the uni.
 verse were the basis of highly interesting | reflections.
 Thirdly, Gods government is according to
 many inscrutable motives and final purposes,
 aud is conducted by many secret laws. We
 know but 8 small part of these motives, and
 the great objects to which the Deity looks forward. We are always bringing g l little rule of our fragmentary knowledge of
 some one of the divine motives, purposes
 and laws, laying it down the beside the Inf 1 mite. If we find the Infinite larger than our | rule we are amazed and think He cannot be | ON | our loving Father. "All things work things as they are, and not as we should like | to fix them.
 | Fourth, Gods government of man is chiefly designed and adapted to discipline
 man into right character. No other design l of Gods is at once so lofty and so clearly ap- parent as his design of discipline. | r. Ss &haH G,a1 l the way of asserting these truths true, also,
 we make many mistakes in applying them. 1 They who most need discipline seem often
 to receive the least of it. They who receive
 most seem often least to need or profit by it. The speaker, Illustrating the difficulties, add ed, it is the discipline of souls, we believe, reasoning from our instinct and hopes as well | as from surrounding facts and disclosures of history. It is the discipline of souls into ! ripe, symmetrical and Godlike character, for | which God designs and adapts his govern ment The speaker enforced clearly the importance of discipline and confidence in | Gods wisdom The speaker alluded to the poignant grief caused by the removal of l loved ones who were greatly useful and be- | loved, persons helpful, homogeneous and 1 noble. After pursuing this line of thought the next phase of the argument was taken up,
 viz, Gods government is largely designed, so | as to use suffering for unfolding character. I The divine purpose in this, as revealed in | Holy Writ, was enforced in beautiful
 thought. Shall not the judge of all the earth | do right" The lesson of suffering must be
 read in the light of Gods love. We read
 another and equally true lesson, our God is a
 consuming and purifying fire. We know that | God does not love in any such manner as to
 be chary of suffering. He makes
 enormous use of suffering We find
 pain is so interwoven with the
 fundamental conditions of life that we can.
 not discover even the possibility of life in
 this planet without pain. The animals suffer,
 but man suffers most acutely amongst all of
 the suffering creation. The whole creation
 groaneth and travaileth together until now.
 God reveals himself in the prince ot
 sufferers in the man whose countenance was | moro marred than that of any other. The
 Son of God dies violent death. The cen
 tral scene of history is one of darkened
 world, sunlight withdrawn, of a lifted
 cross and an outstretched form, l of a bleeding side and 8 piercing
 cry. The whole world still turns it's eyes toward the scene to read the two
 fold lesson-God is love-astonishing inf ' ,,ito lowe h,,f God daac v,of co 1ouo Ahak ua