'SERMON' 'CACHED AT THE OPENIN4i OF THE GEARAL ASSEMBLY, 31 - A."E" ligs" 1806, BY THE RETIRING MODERATOR, REV. THOS. BRAINERD, D.D. WISDOM IN. 'WINNING SOULS. ". 7inneth souls is wise."--Puov. xi. 30 Preaching the' gospel may be regarded in ome,Oritli aspects as the most important work the universe of God. It is the revelation of ehvoah, in his own chosen and costly method manifesting his attributes by the cross of his pn. It aims to revolutionize the character reverse the condition of immortal souls. .is renovation of character is peculiar to arth. In heaven, he that is holy is holy still, nd in hell, he that is filthy is filthy still. On arth alone, character is mutable, and it is the .ffice of 'the ministry instrumentally to give a oral resurrection to the dead in sin, and to •levate to,the smile of God those who were chil i ren of wrath. The importance pf, the Work s intensified by the brevity of its power and the infinite duration of its results. The preacher acts on the imperishable, and moulds and stamps materials for eternity. Heindoi. porates himself with the hidden life.,Of his hearers, and will meet himself in their charac ter and destiny in the-world to come . .. Such an office may well inspire, soberness`' and self-scrutiny in those who are called to exer cise it, for it is no light thing to be the &tribes zador of God. Those of us ,who hive long sus :ined it, are tempted to accuse ourselves of ) •resumption in having dared:to aisume it, and :re deeply humbled.and , Mortifted that we have -o slightly weighed: its responsibility and so ) eebly met its high Alemands. With a growing dissatisfaction with our -elves, and an ever augmenting estimate of he dignity of our Office, and the value of ,our -ork, we may be pardoned if we are anxious hat the ministry of the coming age may rise to : higher level, and develope more eminent •seful.ness. If, like Moses, we have been ounted worthy to struggle and suffer in. the emit, we must entrust'it to our young Joshuas o,jead Israel in Canaan. If, like. David, we ave, provided some fitting materials for the .piritual Temple, it is, for our ,sons and not for 8 to lay these materials in the• walls and finish e edifice. Our text tells us that he that tainneth souls is 'se. Not , alone that it is wish to win souls, ough that sentiment is true enough, but he ust possess and exercise wisdom, who sue eeds in winning souls. As- thus construed, e text justifies. us in demanding effective •Ower in those who" 'assume the sacred office. 'hough the world is to be transformed, not by uman might,, but by GoiPs kairit, yet in the *ght of experience we must believe, that ordi: arily God's Spirit itself worksi by agencies, .hick in dignity and force have some pro , ortion to the results they are , expected to , rnduce. Before hioses,was ,sent-to Pharao4 e are carefully told .he Wes learndin all iris om of thegyptiani. - If God employs material agencieeltO work his •ill in the natural world, he adapts the means o the end. He does not elevate clouds with a orce pump, nor scatter the summer rain from syringe. If he emPloy mind, to grapple with qind, the sanctified with the polluted,-*e may xpect him to conform to the laws of the agents e employs in making the strong to conttrol .e weak. In preparing this discourse - I happened to _lance at a card, . on which -were the photo of our military Generals of 1851 ' and 852. There were nine of them with our oldest .. Hite* , man in the centre. They were 7noble ooking men. In - presence and pretensions— ', public confidence and their own - exp.ecta - ons, iliejr seemed to be the-heroes of the grand . tact, the mighty men ofthe sublime period— the appointed respondents to the country's eed. But not one of these nine Generals now eta a squadron in the field or commands a oldier. Other men, then little knoWn - and • ss appreciated, but , men who had strength, east and training, have taken their place. ' hen a nation wants victory it' selects men 1 . at can Win victories, : When . God. purpeses • IS conversion Of, simile, he islikelyAcy ettiplOY ose, who, by Divine Grace, can carry out his :signs. In science, in statesmanship, in - war, , d in the ministry,-one whole mewls better an two hidilea So lohE as our con icts were matters of theory and .speculation, ' e had great Men by wholesale, but when • ar subjected our theories to a practical . test, nd our Generals were measured by 'their ility to circumvent strategy' by strategy, and übdue, force by force, our great, .men have rown' fewer, as our 'e m ergencies rose higher,' nd we have learned that . real military genius,- • ith the highest training of West Point,, lone save us.- -o.cra T imon.4.-.....+-49.+-....mi.„-Aul3- . .d our national life, but he has done it-b-y -, tting and adequate - •agents. The ministry of I egospel is a means to au end,fLud not. by its ~ onus-, but by its results is to be-finally judged. • erpettiat•defetits ace the evidence of imbecility f agents, for we are not allowed to find weak , ess in the gospel itself, nor in the tendered. 'd -of the Holy Ghost. • • ' -- No. doubt earnest piety is the fi*t element f an able and successful ministry. Religibus rnestne - sa: in' - the preacher—a • healthful en :' 1, usiasm-livill rouse to . energy a weak intellect, will improve rtime, it-will lead ,to study, to een observation, to quick and eager seizing of pportunities, to a ready and various adapta - on of means, to ends. ...It will brighten.the . -ye, and ',modulatetee voice, , and , Create illua= ations, and wake up sympathy. It will :ini, art reality to Divine things, and by prayer lnd holiness, surnm.otisto the aid of the pulpit e presence and power of Almighty God. The, Benda elbqueuce ofihe pulpit, is not in per f on, attitude, voice, ,gesture, logic, learning, nd rhetoric,. not in the beautiful . iu language, he exciting, in figure, the' startling tune, the 2assive in' thought. , These may suffice fur the lyceum, the bar, to hustings, the senate chamber. They may eate excitement, collect crowds, honor the eacher and Sell pews, and yet tail utterly to . the first - object of the gospel minis :is at the bar is cases and fees. - Success ~ oratory is Wilde and honor. success :eum lecture is crowds, admiration, lilt the pulpit aims much higher.than It seeks to revolutionize character. must subordinate the preacher and , however beamiful,tothe plidilArlith is appointed to discloiii. The earnest )5 , bringing finite into the presence of te, by unveiling eternal realities to Ms conscicaisnese - *anti' and 'fears iortal soul,' has the true element of pal . His hearers forget him and his i the view which . he gives them of ,s, of the great God, of eternity_-- A. tewman when :he lifts the curtain, ide lest he hinder the vision of his A child can -lisp a Message which a:brave man pale. It is sometimes ;istically that a preacher never forgets If We add 'to this, that he never alloWS rs to forget the speaker, we change fiment to a crushing condemnation. Opel miniatiry4 have: said is a means .. AS God has appointed - this agency, tuna to Preaurne that - it: is,.fitting and to its objects. If it fail to "win is are not - allowed to attribute the the ignoratiee, itaPidityand,depravity t for all sittn.ers-naturally have these tharacter, and to renovate that charm- , sole design of. the ministry. If it this, it fails 'utterly as to its sole oh- . 'e would. not excuse a lapidist . who ant and polish aPrecions stone, because nigh and hard, _ We would not _excuse aulturiot . in failing, - to - •14reak. r np:,.the round beeauseii was tough and matted; '•ed with briersind thorns. The 'dif fieulty creates the necessity and occasion of the labor. To yield to the obstacles is to abandon the work. So if the ministry cannot "win souls," that are naturally ignorant, stupid, obstinate and depraved, then the office is a failure, and God has not provided an adequate agency for the world's renovation. To distrust the ability of an honest and earnest ministry to win souls, impeaches the wisdom and benevo lence of God. As we dare not adopt a con clusion-so impious, 'we are allowed to assert that an earnest' and faithful ministry will be a successful ministry. Assuming for the preacher ordinary intellect and training ) and warming his heart with love to Christ and souls, and he will find or make a field—hp will summon all his' energies, lie will ascertain what his field will permit, of_effort, sacrifice, and development—he will be. all in the work and always in it-he will abandon himself for his object, _ . and. kindle in other hearts the fire that burns in his own. Such a ministry reacts to discipline and invigorates every power of the - preacher. It opens hearts and purses. It carries the gospel from door to 'door' and into destitute regions. It builds chiirches and raises salaries. It gains favor with God and man, winning at once souls and crowns of glory. ' Such preachers will not need to changeplaces continually to :find better congregations. In- Stead of this, they will change the hearts of their •people, and make their .own cengrega , tions'better; more able, generous and loving. ' ! If in thus "winning souls," the , •preacher find great obstacles, 'he hat alSo great faCility. A. preached gospel is God's own instrument for human renovation. It unveils-the. "law= which is perfect, converting: the' soul," a rule of life asking the existence of every virtue,_ and each virtue perfect and complete. It invests the preacher with Divine authority, and lays bare to his influence the responsive religiens na ture of man. It appoints.a day and• a place• for the exercise of his office, and by their con-. scious guilt, apprehentive fears, and longings for immortality, collects -his audience. It appeals to the highest motives which can move a human heart. It brings , to his aid the,sober judgment, the approving conscience of. man, the; mighty movements of God's providence, and-the renewing power of the Holy Ghost, which waits "toe transform the moral relishes into that love for holiness' which the law requires, and to wed for eternity the dictates of an instructed- understanding and the. inclina tions of the heart. Can we ask a better,. ma chinery ? - Consciousness of power is itself power. Fear, of failure is a cause of failure. In prosecuting a great war' statesmen are careful to keep upthe eonfidence of the country and the coUrage of the army. We are not to regard 'the gospel, 'faithfully and earnestly preached, as an experi ment on possibilities, but • as an agency' ade quate to win souls. ' " What are you trying.to do ?" said a spec tator to an Irishman. "It not trying 'but 'doing it we are," was the response. This is the proper spirit for thelministry, :Andl will add what I think my fathers arid brethren will endorse . that the gospel best sustains those preachers 'who trust most in the gospel: might ; el.- Peet that Jesus would take care of- sada as absorbed.their entire energies in. care for his work. • • • • • -! 7 But in order to win souls by thegospel, the, modes of the miniatry , must be. adapted to 'die dnd. ,We must remeMber that souls are be gotten "by the truth," ' and that saints - are sanctified by the truth," ''Tozlodge,iliki;tintli: . effectively in the minds of our. hearers, ia.then the problem we have to solve. - To"this'i end' we must subordinate - our 'methods - of - minis= terial trainiik, our , church architecture; 'our construction and delivery of sermons; • our modes of worship, and our personal location' and arrangements. If `‘God make the reading, and especitgly tha: hearing, of the word, an effectual means of' convincing sinners," and.,coriforming theme -to Christ," then the ministry shouldhavea pastion to make men hear the :word. ; But here a grand difficulty arises. The more men need the gospel, the less they desk: toblar ind-Law--criraitt ° we overcome t - Rir, reluctance? We may doubtlesh lawfully em ploy. the innocent natural tastes of men to draw them to the sanctuary and detain theni in it. As'anxiliary to truth, not substitutes for it,- we may bring iu the , aid of archifecthre, paint-, ing, music, and ‘passionate. rhetoric. We may appeal to every innocent susceptibility of man to bring hint as ,he is to God's temple, that we may send him away as he should be: TO at tract animalism and spiritualise it; levity and sober it, lethargy and rouse it, ggilt and'rebuke it, pride and humble selfishneTs and, expand it, carnal security and alarm it, total de pravitY and new create _it; this is our great and difficult office, and to succe4 in it we can Use . every outside auxiliary—we- can, employ all our genius, learning and elognence—we.can avail ourselves of all science and cultivation andtaste, ; rely, while yet we for saving effects oh.tV simple truth 'lnd'the Holy Ghost. Our outward forms are to be made transpa _rencie.s..to_lrigliwaie shining of truth never dark:lanterna- to ay .e galvanic motion, where there is no life,. so there may be great religious movement without' any real .religious motives. A. genteel and selfish formalist man may be willing gratify his taste by once in seven days seating. himself in a temple where his eye iTcharnied by beauty—his ear •ravished by fine music:v . 4 fine rhetoric—his pride comforted by elite asso ciations mid the deference paid to his wealth and, position. As such a service at once helps his pecuniary credit,, .promises well;for. family Helices, gives material for self-complacency, is of good report and satisfies his conscience,. he may be quite willing to keep step with the church,.though he have not a particle of Thiel' 'to Christ, or_true aarity to. men. And there are no wanting Churches and preachers who • are ready to give the greatest possible gratifi cation to natural taste and selfindulgenoe `with the least, possible proportion - of hunibling ;truth' and of 'the cross. We may' aPiSeal to iiiferior as well , as superior- stiotives ; in winning souls. But we must be cautious how we so en graft religious observances on mere taste or in dulgence, as to leave the chUrnh r as in the dark ages, a bedizened and galvanized corpse. We are always to remember that auy religious observance which does not originate or exer cise some grace in ourselves or beckon others to some virtue is a spasm, or cheat. W'i . are ap pointed '" to win souls" to. Christ and for Hea ven. To do this, we must rely on nothing leSs than " the sword of the spirit which is the word of God." In any great enterprise the mode must be' subordinated to the eud—the agent to his ob jects. The treasure, which a minister of Jesus bears into the world is gospel truth. If he "'wins souls," ii is by the truth which he utters, or'which his life illustrates. It hasi pleased .the•„great moral 'Governor of the universe to control angels and archangels, not by the naked energies Of •Alinighty power moving his creatures_to obedience ~as, suns on axes and:planets in their orbits. /1e promotes no ignorance to be moulded in passive imbe cility. He constructs no 'dramatic legerde main to inspire reverence Without knowledge, add devotion without love. Having constituted his moral. subjects in his own image, he does them high honor in as suming that they will act like himself under-the instruction of light and' the-impulse of duty. With a perfect -comprehension; of the capacity of his creatures and their obligations, he indi cated their duty, and his claims- in moral pm cepts ;" and .under the. power: of motive, and not constraint, demands and receives the obe dience of his holy empire. Our race as a'part of his 'moral iringdOm; is made capable of feeling the influence of those truths which govern angels. 'Tis true we live under a dispensation_whe re there a,re special remedies proffered for our guilt, and special: aid for our weakness—but we, share with- a whole moral universe in a wral nature of which divine truth is the instrument of purity,. devotion, 'happiness; and salvation. `For a limited period in the infancy of the THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN. THURSDAY. MAY 25, 1865. church, divine truth was impressed on the senses, through the imposing forms of the Jew ish ritual, and the intervention of startling •miracles. But the whole value of all these re sulted from their necessity in revealing and-im pressing religious truth. When, by progres sive revelations, the full radiance of the gospel had beamed on the world, these appliances to human weakness, • stupidity, and ignorance ceased ; and man, like the rest of God's moral creation, was left to the moral suasion of truth, aided by the unseen energies of the Spirit of God. Some have seemed to imagine that Ger had misapprehended the necessities of our race, and hence they have attempted to revive a re ligion loaded with forms, as if that which was ` old" had too soon " vanished away." They havea imported into the maturity of the church those appeals to the senses, through splendid forms, which God defigned only for the church's infancy. In this they not only are guilty of impeaching the wisdom of God in ap pointing the preaching of the gospel, as .the great means of human renovation, but by as suming the , imbecility of human nature under the truth, they withold that- ailment which was designed, and:.adapted to create and sustain Christian manliness and vigor. In their estimation the Lord Jesus Christ had few elements of power as a reformer of his race. He arrayed himself in no unusual vestments ; lie-practiced: no theatrical positions' of:. devo tion; he instituted no various, - complicated, and imposine ceremonies to dazzle the senses rather than enlighten the, Understanding. He exhibited no caricature of his atoning agony in miniature crosses aftd.,victims.- He was the Great High Priest, represented by Melchizedek, 'of whom all other Jewish . priests were feeble:types, and-he, set.n grand, final, iiithOiitifive- example of what all minis ters should be, by. the.pre-eminence which he ;lave to truth, addressed to the understanding, over all the pantomimes of cerenianies appeal ing to the senses. ; - • In the commission which he gave to his apostles, and through them to us, he. does not say, " Go-ye into all the World, and by'engraft ing a compound, of Jewish and heathen:zero._ monies on the gosperstock, present - a - diamatic exhibition which by appealing to • the senses shall inspire blind and superstitious de votion ;" but he says, " Go .. ye • into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Go teach alt nations. • • - The apostles comprehended the true modelof propagating the gospel: Peter, in the day 'of Pentecost, exhibited triza, and three thousand were converted. Paul., went over 'the world with a martyr spirit, not in high claims to " lord it over God's heritagenor in reliance upon the,sanctifying power of a holy change of clerical robes—nor in , the exhibition of minia ture crosses and pious genuflexions, but in the manifestation of the great truth, that God is •in. Christ reconciling the'world unto himself. : He declared that faith (andall, that is ; holy ih'Christiiin character, is by 'faith) that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by,tkeword of God. How could - Kul, by example or precept, bear -highertestimopy; . to his estirnatvg ; the truth Wad, preached, heard, and practiced, as the great 'agent of . hnman,renovationg !t gruth, like its great aiithor, - fa invisible but omnipre -Oat, immutable, and eternal. Appeals to the senses create temporary ex-- cietnerit;• I..TnipositireetOtinies,hh lit,all,,moral means, which thus appeal td:the . senses,' are in their nature local,- ticcasional; and of *aiiiii,-POwer."thlider repetition. • NTo produce" religious impifessipne; by.dramatic exhibition, we must imitate papal . Rome:in riew in*entionk What is old, in mere. ceremony, 'is - usually insipid. 'What is start..l linsAnd new- and imposing,' by how muclvit tracts attention bides God, and substitutes ate creature for the Creator. There is ,no • medium then, but to rely on truth as the great agent to win souls, or else to fail-'back upon the new inventions—the pious frands--'-the ghostly deceptions—the weeping and bleeding images of Papal Rome. If i we attempt to sanctify men by wooden or oaver..crosses....they at every corner, •an tnen their power wanes with their novelty. There is no evidencejliiit' the sight of the real cross, with the royal vie-, tini stretched on it, and the earthquake and darkness- that attended it, converted - a single soul. Some, ocked—some.pitied—some smote their breasts in fear and - fled - and the-centurion was intellectually convinced; but there is no evidence that a single soul there repented and sebmitted to God, except thethief, and he was affected less by what he saw than, by what he heard and felt. On the other band, the preach ing of the cross by 'Peter, led three thousand in one day to piety and the hope of salvation. The - cross material is powerless. It is the cross spiritual, environed= by the truths which blaze from it, that is mighty through God. • The sum of my argument - is this : God has designed the truth, revealed in his word and proclaimed by his - servants, as his instrument for saving men. He never designed grace to, be conferred by manipulation—nor the atone ment of Christ to reach the soul through the at, ____nor ordained the Vision of dolls and m trkL— ets in the - snlii of Marys and crosses, to be a substitute for religious meditation. In selecting men to be the ministers of his religion he gave them a manly office; not the graceful mimicry of prescribed 'forms, but to tax the polier of their understandings, to learn the. truth and. then to 'bring the resources of their own sanctified affections, to pour light in love on the intellects and hearte oftheir hearers. . Those who, expect to, convert he world by ceremonies ministered by a priesthood, act consistently in seeking the aid of gorgeous and various apparel, and in making much of grace-. fnl attitudes of formal devotion. Our Presby terian_ system demands in oar clergy a - vigorouS,. burnished. intellect,: and- enjoins that personal holiness which' shall secure to the ministry of truth the presence the Holy Ghos t: With these views of • the value oftruth, as Woes instrument in sanctifying , and saving men, I rejoice to belong , to'• denoinination iu' whose creed it is laid , down, that ," the Spirit Of God maketh,' the reading but . espkiellY the preaching,of the word an effectual i means of.en, lightening, convincing, and humbling sinners— of drawing them to Christ, and' of containing them to his will—of building them aip in grace and establishing their hearts holiness and comfort through faith unto salvatiOn.'? While our. church thus honors the truth of I God in her formulas, she makes it the noble office of her ministers clearly to apprehend and forcibly to impress the truth. We ask then necessarily, no gothic cathedrals, grey-and ivy crowned with years, and rich With orinithent.— We ask" no solemn darkened chapels, faintly gleaming with dim tapers. We ask no mite riatinaages to aid tH to, reveal the invisible.and spiritual Deity. We ask :‘no attention tOy . or admiration of our graceful, ,waving, clerical robes. We only ask whit the apostles enjoyed, the truth, attended by the Holy Spirit, and ability and opportunity eloquently to press the truth on the consciences of-men.— This weapon of our warfare id :knot carnal, but mighty through God inpulling down the strong holds of Sitar!. Jewish ceremonials import ed into the Christian Church are as inapotent and imbecile as would be the Jewish javelin • and bow one:modern battle-field in the presence of heavy artillery. To all those then who subordinate the truth, • to human machinery, as a means of moral im preision; we say as David said to Goliath, `Thou comest to, me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield—but. I come:to thee in the name-of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. ' To be:wise in the knowledge of. God's truth, and wise, in adapting it to haman renovation, constitutes the wisdom of the preacher` who wins. SOWS. The.adaptation of truth to the ages, wants and the. peculiar phases of .society certainly demands great skill and it strikes me that the ministry of the coming age of the church`will have:great responsibility. The age work , of the present ministry has, been an important one, and we have done something. , We have been. called to cover half a continent with schools and churches—to stretch the cords of Zion, as the phrase is, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We have been called to rise with the advance of science and arts, and to adapt the Gospel to an age of railroads, steam presses, telegraphs, public schools, daily journals, lyceum lec tures, geological hammers ' and mammoth, fortunes. The age has calledus to stand up for the sincerity of God in the proclamation of his Gospel—the, ability of man to receive it and to vindicate by moral martyrdom the right of free dom of opinion and discussion in theology and morals in Church or State. The age has called us to, insulate:and hold •up to the • rebukes of truth, the giant , evils of slavery and intem perance which had long nestled even in the bosom Of the churches. The present age has called us to map qut the great field of the world, for evangelical laborers, to fix on the church the responsibilityto enter it and• to re store the gift \ of tongues by . which the goipel could be preached to all nations. We have been called to forind the schools of the Prophete and so to furnish them with In structbrs and Libraries that it will be:their own, fault if the rising ministry shall fall behind ; the outmost wave of the world's best progress. And as ourf.,lasttresponsibility we have been called to sanction and encourage for national life a war in oily. land of fearful carnage and againatthe worst of foes, while yet we saved our selves and outtliurches from all malice, hate or thirst fdr blood. We have had Ifit age work of fearful weight and pressure, but if I mistake not . we leave to our, successors burdens equally se vere and demanding a higher wisdom. Those now entering gie holy ministry will need to be wise men -.W, 1. , . , I. To preserve, perpetuate, and sanctify.te heroic and,- lenerons virtues. nourished -hY our grand conflict of arms, separate froni the vices incident-to bloody strife, and the idleness and license of .the, camp. • s t : - 2. To -recall . the thoughts, sympathy and energies, nok'alinost necessarily absorbed in the care of Efectilar and national intereste„to a higher regard„to the great duty of persenal ho liness, the piamotion of true religion and the honor of GoA,ffo aver zeal, for religion, as an apology for indiff'erence in the death struggles of our country for union and._ liberty, was a crime. Bat. thecountry safe, to neglect relig ion to care for` its. secular interests' would'be blameworthy.,.. 8. • 3. To be tiiive and ' faithful in rehiikin , - , g na tional sins, Withbut the fanaticism of one idea,. or the 'unchristian 'temper which at once unfits us to give reproof - ' -`theo spirit oeve,an f ' c a t 1 stops the ears.apflinderates the hearts of those who should receie.it. - . • 4. To be resolAtely conservative of all good gained by the. Afisdcmi and 'sacrifices .of the long-past, and yet thoroughly, radical in extirpa ting all evil in, Church and State, and stretching, forth to all gOod'Which. God may reveal. In doing this, it, may help the rising ministry to, remember thatinthe , only dark chamber into Which the , Cliiirch t ,with miscalled_ prudence re fosed to fla.ifilight,festered the moral'rruption : which has poisoned tat' a continent, fostered a r , e&a,„; ' half christianP haltssavage, and filled the alfflfith the w-ilafwidow,s and orphans,,, • ... t 5. We shalf.aSk,the A ministr.y of the:coming ageto be too wiaelpostop_themar. of the Goapel. tb loop up its curtains. Not, to arresyfret and agitate the who l ehigelmtp-,-, , rediscuss and readjust the, d in ? ern some doubtful point in 1, ithebrogy, - arr ma e — golie men `pale Over the tendency,pfosonxe*,sliibbgeth of philosophy, Scone wild are ELIW a raising a skirmish onithe 'outworks to.iptoted Ihe.'icitadel,:by.contentlingli inainlyfor thegreat entral,doctrinei of the cross. t would best:reach ;' . libleii- -own , ends.-- , The criti eisme of Colenso,' , the speeulations , of •Reilatii the sneers of Gliddon and Nott, the'scientific annunciations of LYell, need not_excite panic as' I to the faith of the phi:Lich. What is sound in ex-. egesis is true - in scillinee and in - harmony with gospel truth s . , Wha,t-kopposes . essential gospel. truth'is false in science. We ask then the ris ing miniatiy,not to., put, the faith of the church on alg scale ready. to be adjusted to the last thlliffrof scientific.nspeculation l bat to hold and urge mainly the essential truths which ap gospel is a-I"re.'"tll.f.uinPss of mans astir . : ' nature of nutriment can make lien insensible to hunger, or williii*to refeet...b l read and meat..So no objections of skeptics will Persuade the, common people to relinquish a religious sys tem which gives pardohipeace and eternal life,. Whitfield converted more -skeptics'than Bish op Butler. Man's religious nature, instincts and wants responding to the gospel—not ihe perceived harmony of religion's doctrines with scientific facts, is our security for a sound faith , in the church. Revivals, and not controver sies, sermons, not essays, , are the best cure of heresies. Orthodoxy of heart, under the pow;^- er of the Spirit will mirror itself in orthodoxy of intellect. Not only is truth in• order to godli ness, at in a hig,her sense godlieess is in or der to truth. Doctrinal controversies, and speculations and dangerous heresies have geri ls erally originated in the schools and not among the people. „whose who manage our theologi cal schools and guide our religious literature need constant_ contact with the great heart of the church, lest they fail to learn and teach the art of "winning souls.l2 - - 6. We shall!also ask thelninistry of the com ing age_so to educste the, church as 'to Ipave unimpaired' enterprise, industry and energy in the pursuit of - wealth, and 'yet subordinate the loge of Money, to a supreme regard fore heav enly things,, and to •the claims of christiaq charity: Christianity, by its virtues promoting temporal prosperity, and this temporal pros-, perity, indicated by its wealth, taste sand re finement, reacting to aid true religion,-will herald •the liellinium. Wealth' unsanctified , irethe church, is . 4n element of arrogance,osten tation, idleness,‘voluptuousness always ready, like fat Jeshurun, to kick against'the Lord. 7. .W,e shall ask the rising ministry by their influence, to bridge the gulf between wealth and poverty, refinement land uncuitivation, so that all that, are, hrist's shall have a real and I ov ink fellowship,w.hile the order of society and the restraints of social life are left unimpaired. To refuse to adapt, churches and'religions modes to, the taste of theetiluent and cultivated would lie uriauthorized and weak. Men have a right to represent their, taste in their religious appoint me,nts, and the gospel ought to be preached to the xictras well as the poor. / But to neglect the mass of society in . order to adapt the appointments-of the church mainly not to man as man, but to man's accidents, —to , leavd-populmis parts of our great cities destitute 1 because the:poor dwell there,—to mark some of our churches as first class because they are rieh, and others as second class because they are poor ; to-measure our anxiety souls by bank stocks, city lots, broad cloth, and etiquette; 'to; measure our joy over revivals by the' class they :convert ; to use.au r, churches to widen the space between rich an poor, is opposed to the very spirit of Christ. If we classify thus our churches, we classifY at the same time our min isters, and shall oon findyoung clerical aspirants much too learnefiand exquisite to reconcile them: selves to laborfamong plain and poor people. If we desire progress as,' a denomination we must,not:allow the spirit.of the world, especially as it, is, developed in great Cities, tecontrol our arrangemente: Inthig land:end age- the poor of .one generation, under the influence of the gospel, become` the rich of another generation, and the ministry which best cares for the mass of society. will ultimately' lead all the-rest: Sonie clergymen think they-can only be ap predated by ascertain elite, educated and' re: fined class. I pity ikerr weliness.. A •very common man .can shape himself to,the taste of aslass ' bat it requitesreal shrewdness and heart' to be kite to reach 'the varieties of all , . classes: To-be able to,r'speak one - lanenage is less to be -admired than to be able,to make variousznations of Many languages understand the "works of God." - The minister of humanity rather than the minister of,a class does good'to somany, does so . great asood in. givin g . religious consolation to ; those:Who have . no :other ,—he . does good with so little huMiliation and' difficulty, he sol ekes out thedrainends:of church front the ralthiph of the :world;, hey is rewarded' with so much affection and gratitude, he so imitates his great Master, and so gains for himself evidence of his unselfishness ; and from the world such credit for religious mag -4 nauimit that he may comfort himself in the ab sence o a great salary and fashionable associa tions. - he minister of Jesus must not endorse pride but rebuke it. He must not despise ignorance and poverty, but enlighten and ele vate it, and thus by softening the spirit of the lofty, and lifting up the lowly, to make the high and low one in Christ Jesus. 8. We shall ask the rising.thinistry to strike, if possible, the line of truth and , propriety be tween an idolatry of ecclesiaKtical organism and the anarchy of a proud individualism. Their rule must be to represent real outward fellowship, for all truth, and holiness, in Chris tian men of all denominations, so far as this can be done without endorsing error or disor der in any form. This principle seems to allow some general- framework which shall en close the whole Christian brotherhood,—a framework which finds some expression in our great national societies, while yet churches are • leftfree to form those more strict denominational alliances which imply fellowship in the details of 'a common and comprihensive creed. Di vine authority forbids a schismatic and sectar- ian rejection from our affections and fellow ship of any whom Christ htut "received ; but it does not demand that we form ecclesiastical Convects, beyond the liniits of our harMony in doctrine and judgment of - polity. • - To attempt to hold out -external signals of union, beyond the :reality of union, is , required neither by candor nor common sense. To perpetnate . walls of separation l between those who are one in head and heart rsifalse to that grace of unity which ,God has • granted, and wasteful' of the energies' 'of .the: church; When a project of. Union stirs controversy , it ia premature,;.for the first_requisite for union is a desire for it, and when this is not nearly universal, every effort to combine two denominations will ordinarily end in making three. We never desired to be separate from our Old Sehool brethren. will'unite again witlithern when their arms are opened :Tide enough to cordially welcome us back, such at we everhave been, and as we now are: But a. union reached by controversy,and simple majorities would be coming "in one way to go out, seven ways." Mutual love may erlys talizefinally ,into organic unity, but organic unity in -Advance of confidence would hinder noUtid true charity. - With our 'Congregational brethren we have many points of harmony. We love them well, wish - - them to love us. We agree with theni that individuals and individual churches have a right to elect conscientiously- their own form of church governinent, but at the- same time we insist that no individual or church has a right to shun the responsibility or shirk •the restraints of some form, of church „government. We. have been often told that our General _ . . Aisembly implied a waste of time and money, and Was dangerous from its influence on the freedom of the Churches. But it is difficult to see'.;how a ',Church council is expensive and perilous in Pitebiri.,Yx, but economical and safe in itkistpn.r . We haie been told that churches are irideperideritand - invested with tiX right of Self:goVerainent. If this be 'so, havithey not a right to organiie thes:Usdi* if thejplease . , PreshAprieN, Sfriods,land General Assemblies? May !not individUals assert "their - Christian freedom as 'fully and perhaps Yrrare by selecting'their best -.men to administer`hiw and discipline rather than' by' calling the whole-body • 4 7 to judgment ? May not ressiblicanism, reties-than unregulated and promiscuous de mocracy; ibe us wise in ;church as in state?: Ta Gall,a town meeting to try a burglar would not Minister to the -interests of ;justice or:public tranquillity., We insist that, churches ' by how much their independence is claimed, have a, right to select their wisest;and best men,to ex ....ercise authority, and to allow these men such term of office as shall bring, experience be"a"r aid. Aggregated weakness does-L..or imply wisdom. We ence heard in this city, we believe,,that Congregationaliim is the direct government of the Holy Ghost through the suffrsit of the sanctified ehuretWbut un-. rtine speaker -rAfi.i...4-..--4.-rraw - tne Holy Ghost to utteein church discipline what had been revealed •to WOMEN . . This - "made ,a • aping hiatus in the argument. If we - were compelled to believe:that the church members of Northampton who exiled their spiritual father 2 President-Edwards, - were- illustrating 'the direct teachings of the Holy. Ghost, we. Could no longer deny that " God is the author, Of sin." If it be urged that selecling our church rulers as we do our civil magistrates, for their Wisdom and worth, constitutes an oligarchy and tends to despotism, we say that this ten dency has operated slvwlyirs Switzerland, Sept- - land, Ireland, and America. A.coastsurveyor asked, a Mr. Cole the name on "a 'hill of the shore of-, Connecticut. -Mr. Cole wished to immortalize his name on the chart,—That, said ' he, is Cole's Hill, but the-people round here don't, know it. If Presbyterianism is despotism - the,: people of New 'York don't. perceive it.- They are like the client who said he did not knew his heart had bled so much, until his lawyer told his siifferingsto the jury. , We shall. ask the rising ministry to regard ecclesiastical oiganisine andpolicies as value less but for their•uses, and individual liberty as best illustrated in its free choice of the wisest and best church arrangements. Finally. We shall ask the ministry of the coming times to avail themselves of the recent instruction of God's Providence, and to rise to the new responsibility thrownupen the church. •If we have ever-supposed that any church gOvernment could save its unity and prosperity from the assaults of -bigoted fanaticism and factious controversy if we have relied on creeds, professions; and pretensions to save the church trom the toleration of loathsome crimes like slavery, treason / and cruel barbarism; if we .:.have supposed that the gospel itself would con .serve the purity and peace of churches and nations unless its specific rebukes of sin were ,r brought home to individual consciences; if we have believed -that any sentiments of honor or instincts of interest, or patriotism, could shelter us from the mad ambition and pride of corrupt pOliticians; if -we have trusted to numbers, free conStitutions,.oaths, wealth, and secular edam ti-ors to save us from treason, bloodshed, anarchy, and final despotism, we are now better .instructed by God's providence. He "has opened our eyes with the bayonet." We now say " Who is a rock. save our God." We now see that nothing less than the purifying influi ence of the.whole. gospel, in its rules and Motives ' impressing and sanctifying the whole people, by the aid of the Holy Ghost, can save us from temporal as well as eternal ruin. Our rising ministry may - well congratulate them selves on belonging tb a branch of the church that steadfastly, and under reproach and loss, refused ; to endorse national 'crimes. A church that earliest Winked the causes of treason, and__ first _.rose universally and bravely to meet the shock of its assaults on all liberty, truth, and order. - . . Now when at the price of a wholesale mar tirdom, truth has been vindicated, and the • right has triumphed, our church should be first tb carry, the gospel in the track of our victori ous armies and plant the cross,.the sanctuary and the school over the ashes of our martyred desd: We now recall the treble young men litho have borne the musket and bayonet, and Supply their places with young, soldiers of Jesus, whose weapons are light aud love. We ask a double triumph. We have subdued ar- Mies. Our aim must now .be by enlightening • ignorance and softening prejudice to ,subdue ~Southern hearts to holiness and charity. Our ypung soldiers have braved death for national unity and freedom. Will oar young ambas- A stalors, of Jesus- brave like perils, and sacri fices, 'to achieve a moral conquest, more blessed in its aims, niqre permanent in its re sults ? Fathers and Brethren: Allow me, in closing, to congratulate you. on the happy auspices of our present meeting. While as a nation we mourn the prevalence of sin, the ravages of onrrath conflict, and especially , the martyrdom' of our noble Presidentomd - while 'as a church. we humble ourselves in view of our imperfec- tions and drop a tear over the graves of our beloved brethren, fallen by death, yet in all that has befallen us we recognize the good hand of God, and here to-day offer de vout thanksgiving for the victories of our National arms, for the tidings of peace, and for the unity and prosperity vouchsafed to us as a church. As the famine in Egypt vindicated and elevated Joseph, so the national and ec clesiastical earthquakes of the last four years have but raised our history and our principles to a higher level, and a brighter, sunlight. We move into the future with no stain of injustice on our ecclesiastical history, with no endorse ment of oppression of which to repent. May your present meeting be marked by the presence of Jesus, by the spirit of wisdom and of charityi and by the benediction of Almighty God. fa,sl elg&E. DON'T FAIL TO READ THIS! COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! COFFEE! THE EAST INDIA COFFEE COMPANY, 154 BEARE STREET, N. Y., Three doors from Greenlvich street, call universal attention to their Kent's East India Coffee. Rent's East India Coffee Has all the flavor of OLD GOVERNMENT JAVA, and is but half the price: and also that • Keat's Dist India Coffee Has twice the strength of Java or any other Coffee whatever, and wherever used by our first-class hotels and steamboats the stewards. say there is a saving ox 50 per cent: - - - Kent's; East India Coffee Is the most healthy beveiage known and is very nu tritious. The weak and infirm may use it at-all times with impunity. The wife of the Rev. W.Eaves; local minister of the M. R Church. Jersey qty, who has not been able to use any coffee for fifteen years. can use Rent's 'East India Coffee Three times a day withont 'injury; it being entirely free from , those properties that produce nervous ex citement. Dr. JAMES BOYLE, of 156 Chambers street, says; have never known any coffee so healthful, nutri tious and free from all injurious.qualities as Kent's East India Coffee. ladvise my patients to to-drink it universally, even those to whom-.T. have hitherto prohibited the usea coffee." • • - . . The PRINOEPAL OF' THE NEW YORK EYE INFIRMARY says: "I direct all the patients of our Institution to use exclusiveLv Heikt's East India Coffee, "Anilwiitad not lie withoutiit on any account." C. LARTIE,-an eniineiat clergyman of the Char r oh. nowatation eii at lialseyatreat, Newark, says of • Kent , s East India• Coffee: . . "I have used it nearly- a year in my fan:My. and find it eroduceencr ache of the head 'or nerv,ona,ixritation, as in,the ease, of all other entrees. Ithi exceedingly ,pleaeant, 'andl cordially recommend 'it 0 all clergy "men and their families.".. . , .• • • lient , it East India Coifed; Is need daily in the &Allies of Bishop Alit§34l/l en Baker and many of theqn,?st distipj..t" -- • and professional men 41. to NTERFEIT S! • BWAttE.--Pr . " • ' • ~ d ai the _ packages ere labelle d ' -KENT'S' EAST INDIA COFFEE, 164 IIEADE ST" NEW TORTE, As there are numerous counterfeits, afloat under the name of " Genuine East India Coffee," " Original Ea s t India Coffee," etc., put forth by impostors to deceive the: unwarz. In Packages , and in boxes of 36.60 and 100 Ps.. f or G rocer s and large . consumers. Sold by grocers Orders from city and country Grocers .solicited, to whom a liberal discount will•be made. Sold by4OHN PARKEE,;eoiner of Eleventh .and Market streeta, Philadelphia. JAMES WEBS. corner of Eighth and Walnut streets. WM. PARVIN. Jr.. 1204 Chestnut street above Twelfth. THOMP SON BLACK A SON, N. kV. corner Broad and Chest nut streets. SIMON COLTON A SON, - corner Broad and Walnut streets. LEMUEL SMITH, GeneretWholesale Agent, NO. 115 NORTH FRONT STREET, PHILAu Vino; fir.. SPEER'S SAMBURG PORT GRAPE • WINE Vineyard, Passaic. New Jersey. Pure and four years old. For the Communion Table, and for Medical purposes. THIS IS AN ARTICLE OF WINE FROM THE Pure Port Grape Juice. without the addition of spirits or any liquors whatever. None is disposed of until four years old. The beneficial effect derived from its use cannot be realized from other wine. nor from the thousands of Patent Bitters now crowding the market. Excellent for Females and Weakly Persons and the consumptive. • Be sure the signature of Alfred Speer is over the cork of each bottle.' Sold by Druggists. Trade supplied by JOHNSON, HOLLOWAY & READING, No. 23 N. SIXTH Street, Wholesale Druggists, and by FREDERICK BROWN, in Phila delphia, and by A. SPEER, at his Vineyard, New Jersey. Principal Officer-No. 208 BROADWAY, New York. 3m grg 'AI , s sz, LAA- .46 .4; Fourth and Arch, ,c Eigrrik.333LAISTIED IN 1840. 1865.-OARD FOR NEW YEAR.-1865. CLOTHS AND CASSIMERES. SILKS AND DRESS, GOODS. SHAWLS, AND SCARFS. SHEETINGS AND TOWELINGS HOUSEKEEPING GOODS. BALMORAL SKIRTS. SIX - DOLIIRS FROI FIFTY CENTS. Cali' alid• examine something urgently needed by everybody. or sample will be sent tree mail-fbr 50 cent .tatcen retails for $5. IL L. WOLCOTT. .661-1 y 170 Chatham Sqaare. N. I.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers