Year: 1873

Sermon by Mr.. Beecher ON The Twofold
Nature or Man-The Natural and the
Spiritual MAN P0rfrayed-A Scholar
and Man or Refinement Mt Dance
House-HoW MIR. Bcechcr whistles Old
Tunes and What He Thinks OF New
Ones.


Mr.. Beecher preached yesterday morning to the
usual overnOwing congregation on 'The TwOfold
Nature OF Man, selecting for his text the four
teenth and fifteenth verses OF the second chapter
OF st. Pauls 1rst epistle to the Corinthians :"But
the natural man receiveth not the things OF the
spirit Of God, for they are foolishness unto him;
neither can he know them, for they are spiritually
discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all
things yet he himself Is judged OF no mann
After the intellectual arrogance shown in every
age In theology, 1t is not wonderful that
persons out OF the Church, and out OF what NAV be
called the ordinary occasions OF religious fe read
words like these not only with dlstrust but with
disgust. For, If interpreted in outward way
they have the smack OF arrogance, and especially
this declaration OF the Christian man, VINO assures
US with great deal OF authority that he has more
understanding than man who Is not a CHRISTIAN
man, and to make the arrogance complete, ne
judges everybody but himself Thus he has In him
self the very


QUINTEssENCE OF PAPAcY,





cause it is interpreted according to the outward
church and the outward profession, for think
that there Is no truth that Is less repugnant to
the outward reason of man. II we come to look
at Pauls ideas OF mental philosophy we shall come
to see that 1t is more and more In harmony with
modern ideas. Ihold that the views ofmental econ
omy held to-day are substantially the views that
held by the Apostle. What then, is the natural
man The natural man receives not the things OF
God. Paul held that man was made up Of two sep.
arate natures. Men are by nature born animals;
that If their nature is developed into
q higher and a spiritual activity. they
come into that by a superhuman influence.
Mr.. Beecher read, at this poInt extracts from the
seventh chapter OF Romans, and commented there
on. He also said that these ideas are shown more
in contrast and still more pertlnently in the last
chapter OF the epistle to the Galatians, extracts
and the arcana OF secret society that put men
into the possession OF grace, and give him some
II to anybody standing outside the Church, it Is
SAID, "By coming into the Church you win under.
stano things that you never understood before"
say to the man who says that, H


IT Is A LEI


1t is a lie! You may become more familiar With
sermons and Churches, but you will not under
stand any more than you do. man can under
stand the doctrines OF religion whether he be q
Christian or not. The existence and agency OF
God merely does not conine itself to the members
OF the church. man can understand the doc.
trine Of election whether he is elected or not. A
whether he believes 1t or not. The understanding
does not depend upon his moral fitness, but upon
OF the Christian, Paul saws everywhere shows to be
In the spirit man. EVERYWHERE Paul teaches US the
by s the life is reormed Tns IS the
power OF the Gospel; this is the power the Church
was to have had, and which, II Is hoped, one gay
IL will have. The loving power OF Christianity.
then, is trained in the man. to the idea of the
powers in Christ, When 1t is declared that the
natural man understandeth not the things OF Inc
Spirit it is not statement OF any novelty. 1t Is
familiar to us in everyday life. what does the
Indian think OF the complex appearance Of civiliza-
tion it meets his view, as he ls brought on to
Washington by the Indian agentY TO hlm II ls an
uninteligible mass. He understands about


GETTING DRUNK


and about all that pertains to cruelty Just as wen
as any other man, but he comprehends little else;
to the lower forms OF pleasure know OF the serene
delights possessed by the quiet and refined scholars
look from the curbstone az one Of the dance
houses and let him look down into that hellhoyel.
amazement he looks at IT, Let the bully from be-
low come up and invite him to go down and have
survey the mani But the bully would be equally
amazed II the scnolar were to invite him to go
with ha him and hays 1SS good time aske 9
man rains down torrents Of facts and how the
other vaporIZes them into ideas. Men are so
possessed with their own nature that 1t units
them for comprehending that which is away from
II. l think Beethoven must have thought in
music. don't think 1t is possible for me to


THINK IN MUSIC,


but II any one who has enough music In their
soul will listen to that immortal fifth symphony it
will seem to him as though 1t were one continuous
procession 1t does so to me. Yet can never
whistle new tune without making 1T hash of
old ones. But as to that think that is what new
tunes mostly are. daughter III the chor.) Then
what Is this new nature-ths higher nature that
regns over the lowerS Let us look at what It's re-
suits are The first thing that is known OF it is that
1t is a fall and struggle. conversion puts man
Into an experience that he never had before. Mr..
Beecher described with characteristic graphicness
ana eloquence the supreme moment OF the conver-
sion OF the soul. These rich experiences are ia.
mar to those who have had much to do with the
Outstanding OF


THE LOWER CLASSES


OF MANKIND. know OF men and women who have
had this in far richer abundance than ever had,
who were far inferior to me IN acquired knowledge
and In intellectual force But In the deep things
OF the Spirit they were far more familiar Our
power Is In this II the Church Is to be power, It
is in this direction its victories will be achieved.
''Let every man think not OF himself more highly
than he ought TO think, but let every man think OF
himself as God has dwelt In him, In the measure Of
grace" Mr.. Beecher concluded by reference to
tne fact that the attitude OF the historical and the
scientific objections to Christianity In the present
day rendered 1t more and more needful that this
indweing power In the individual Christian
should be made more and more manifest.