Year: 1875

In the sermon on Sunday in Ply mouth church, Key. Henry Ward Beecher made the following statement of 3 personal character. His discourse treated of the power of silence under provocations He said: 8 ~.8 M

 I am preaching out of my own heart now. have this comfort: that in all my ministerial life have never sought my own ends. am not afraid to have the Judge, at the last day. read my heart, and see whether have eyer preached from ann hition, or whether I have ever felt envy or jealousy of those who preached around about me. l have no credit in it. It is my father r'snature transmitted to me, ,and blessed by the Spirit of God through his example. That part of my ministry does not trouble me. think l have put in my strength, my best powers; nor do know that have ever written word or preached @ sermon that should be afraid to meet on my dy- ing bed or at the judgment-seat of Christ.

 But there must stop. When 1 take ac count of pride crucified for Christ, am very proud-not of my clothes; not of ex- ternal things; but of spirit that lifts itself up. When l take account of my willing

 ness to suffer indignities from others. and be glad when take account of that zeal and that gentleness which were In my Mas ter; and when look at the 1ashings out of the fires of lndignations-I have strug- gled very hard. have had my own inte- rior life; but it is nothng-it is nothing but this How is it with Christ? What has He seen? Have been like Him? Have l rendered to Him an account-not of 1 words. but of qualities which He reads l that have been and have done all that He gave me the capacity to be and to do ?- That is my trouble. should have been richer man, and you would have been richer people, if had been a better man; if had known how to have the dignitaes, the enthusiams. the love and the patience that belonged to Christ. when lie said to Peter, Put up thy sword ? and when He stood. up before the magis- trate and answered nothing-absolnteiy nothing. e3@ Oh, that spirit which has sense of ten derness for men! oh, that sense of God which fills life and affairs with Him oh, that sense of higher manhood, of nobility in Christ Jesus land it is for that mourn. 1 mourn for the want of heroism; for the want of exaltstion for the want of power in the Holy Ghost for the want of those ineffable qualities which are higher than common nature ever grows or ripehs and humble myself before God that it is be- cause there has beeu so little of Christ in me that have been able to produce so lit- tie of Christ in you. "'" '." ~s'+ '-.e Now, Christian brethren, let us take hold of hands together in a covenant that, by the grace of God we will eschew, hereafter, all bitterness, all hate, all revenge, all anger, reproach; that to everything aggressive we will stand in a sweet peace of silence j; that by all the help of the Holy Ghost, and by all the inspiration of Christ's example,

 we will do good for evil, and we will exalt men and help them; and that, hving or dy-

 ing, we will be a sacrifice, sacrificing our selves for each other, and for Gods church, and for Gods Christ, and for Gods sake. This is the life that is before us. It is not an easy one: it is easy to begin, but it is not easy to perfect. h'

 For one, this morning, when, now in a moment, I shall join you in the celebration of the Lords Supper, shall feel disposed to make it time of renewed dedication- in one sense, conversion, but only in fig urative sense for have been converted. shall feel greatly disposed to make it an occasion for entering upon tue inv ard and higher life-upon that power of the soul which is undisclosed to so many of us. desire to begin again, and to begin here, and with more earnest covenants with God. this inward and higher life. Win you be- gin it with me, in prayer, in heart-search- ing, in holy consecration, not 10 the church, but to Christ Jesus, and in the very respects in which have, in the sermon this morning, pointed it out ? Will you en- deavor with me to enter upon it's spirit, and to work that others may be brought in, and that the dear name of our Redeemer may be glorified and honorcd D. Christian Uaa ion