Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-05-19
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
TIE PRESBYrEklANS AT SARATOGA.

the Pentateuch to Fieces-NoItn
and south
In bis opening sermon at the Presby-
terian general assembly, Rev. DR.. Herrick
johnson proceeded in earnest words to
depict the dangers that threaten the
spirituality of the church. The perils
within the church are, it is more Jealous
for forms than in combating errors. They
lie in three points worship, doctrine and
ministry. Presbyterianism exalts the
truth and neglects forms. But cultivated
tastes find frequent assertions for change
and lament the badness Of the service and
the absence of liturgical forms. The
Reformation divorced fine arts from relig-
ious worship, and the church may we'll
work slow in returning to the H Hsthetic sur
roundings demanded by modern culture, lest
spirituality be sacrificed to Journalism and
ceremonies. The perils deepen as we fix
forms, and the light becomes darkness.
The perils of doctrine are beset with
Pharisiac quicksands. We are in no peril
of a return to that narrow exclusion which
determined its own truthfulness anG
burned those who disagreed. Love, if it
be the fulfilling Of law, is exhibited by a
steady, not by a gushing emotion. Doc
trine is necessary. The formula of Pres
byterian doctrine is good, aud the church
cherishes it. The times are loose. Schol-
ars are picking the Pentateuch to pieces !;
| ra.ionalism is abroad. The peril is that
| we may lose the spirit of truth in guarding
| what We have held for truths. This is the
| constant peril attending the dOgmatic
faith. Presbyterians are dogmatists by
| choice. In our cherishing of the truths
we may reach the Pharisaic rigor and fate
4 ~, pc E,>1, I,oSy
| no flabby arms held out to combat error q;
but the danger is that we may hasten to
the battle without swords tempered in the
fire of God. He best serves the truth who
| best learn Christ's way.
The third peril is tae ministry and
here comes in the commercial law of
supply and demand. The church is rapid
ly approaching a calamity. 1t is threatened
with famine of preachers. Our church
number 5, TAI congregations, and by no
possible figure can ministers be made to
match the churches. Take in every stated
| supply and retired minister, and still 500
| churches are pastorless. When the taper
burns at both ends look out for darkness.
The preacher could find no grounds Of
hoped for relief in colleges and theological
| seminaries to supply tho demand. The
| trend is continually the wrong way. Of
the students in the 12 colleges the last de
| cade, only 10 per cent. entered are pro
posed to enter the ministry. The loss has
gone too far not to injure the church. Un-
less it be retrieved, disaster follows.
Secularism, irregularism and skepticism
| in American colleges do not tend to in
crease ministerial aspirantS. Statistics of
colleges were read supporting the fact
| that ministerial famine was imminent.
The preacher said the causes of the decline
| We're not the absence of support from the
churches, nor lack of men with proper
| mental powers, neither is it lack of Chris
tian conservation. The cause is more def
mite. 1t is the peril of perversion of the
truth. 1t is the peril of the early church
when the hierarchal power was substituted
for Gods will. God has given our church
glorious privilege. We have tried to
| make ministers-have we asked God to
make them ? We have applied the rule
| of supply and demand of street traffic to
sacred ministerial functions we have for
gotten the devotion of Hannah Of old in
giving Samuel TO Gods service also the
example of Henry Martyrs mother. We
have looked too much to metropolitan pull
| pits and neglected such ministry as that to
| which St. Paul and st Barnabas were
| sent.
The Southern Delegates.
In yesterdays session after the cousid-
| Grafton of tho report on education the
delegates from the Southern Presbyterian
church were welcomed. DIR. L. J. Evans,
chairman of the committee appeared on
the platform with Rev. Drs. William
Brown, of fredericksburg, and Thomas
A. Hoyt, of Nashville, and Patrick Joyce,
of Louisville. They were presented to
Moderator Hatfield, who welcomed them
and introduced them to the generar as
sembly. The message of peace and fra
ternal goodwill was read by Dr.
Brown. He expressed sentiments of re-
| conciiiatiOn and a desire for Christian
fellowship. Organic reunion he deemed
impracticable, for tho reasons that con-
| venience opposed it and that it could only
be effected by an acknowledgment OF
| error in the beginning of the disruption.
His colleague, DIR. Hoyt, spoke briefly and
| elOquently conveying tho opinion of that
| desires the reconciliation and reunion of
the two branches of the Presbyterian
church. Judge Patrick Joyce, the lay
delegation, spoke briefly, coinciding with
the views of DR.. Hoyt, because he believed
that great majority of the members of
both churches was in favor of but one
Presbyterian church in the United States
He concluded as follows "All We have
to do now is to come together, sit down
to the supper Of the Lord and look
each other in the eye, and
heart would respond to heart.
If you, as delegates, OF tho assembly you
represent, entertain the thought that
since the sword was placed in it's scabbard
in 1866 this assembly has any animoslty
against the Southern church you and they
are greatly mistaken. One great desire of
our churches and its people is, that the
breach might be healed, and it will not be
possible for the assembly to prevent the
hearts of the people to flow together. We
have not plans, but we pray that as chill
dren of the same natural parent the Lord
will make us one." The moderator replied
briefly in appropriate language and the
doxology was sung. At the evening ses
sion the question of Sunday school work
was discussed by Rev. Drs. Herrick John
son, of Chicago &; Howard Crosby, of New
York, and J. A. Worden, of Philadelphia.
The Y. NJ. q. "A.
In the international convention of the
Young Mems Christian association at De.
troit, yesterday morning discussion was
provoked by a resolution in reference to
the acceptance of a charter from the state
of New York. The Indiana and Missouri
delegates objected to having the inter-
national body located in New York
state" After prolonged struggle (ac.
cording to the telegraphic reports)
President Colby suggested that they
should join in prayer and ask aud in solv-