Christian herald., February 29, 1884, Page 4, Image 4

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ÙHUlSTIAlsr ïîlîÎlATu»
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Selections and Comments.
S udden D eath of a B las ­
phemer .—Recently in Philadelphia
a company of vile blasphemers at a
reunion undertook to mimic the
Lord’s supper. They were at the
supper table which was well sup-
pTTe<T^TEh”^^
scribes the disgraceful affair as fol­
lows :
“ After they had been seated, one
of the men said that the reunion,
on account of there being thirteen
presc.ut,, was suggesti
thc.,La&t-
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Supper, and while they were eating,
drinking and shouting, the boldest
among them uttered a terrible oath,
and made use of some blasphemous
expressions that shocked even his
comrades. They all started up with
amazement at his words, when sud­
denly he grew pale, and, putting
his hands to his head, complained
of pain. It was not until eleven
o’clock that this occurred, and the
supper had opened shortly after
eight.
‘ I’m afraid it’s my last supper,
after all,* * the miserable man moan­
ed Then clutching his chair and
rising with difficulty, he announced
to the rest: 'I must vacate the
chaif, boys. You must get some
other President. I’m going home.’
* ‘ The man was taken home, and
he complained that his head felt as
if it had received a terrible blow.
His daughter left him when she
fancied he had fallen asleep, and
the next morning he was found
dead in his bed. A horrible smile
played over his features, and his
eyes were starting out of their
sockets ‘ as if,’ said a woman rela­
tive in describing it afterward, ‘he
had seen something awful, and died
while staring at it.’ ”
Let this be a warning to others
who presume to make sport of sa­
cred things.
T almage on I nspiration .—A
few Sundays ago Dr. Talmage in
“A London fog has fallen on some
clergymen, who are at sea as to the
inspiration of the Bible. They deny
its full inspiration. Genesis to them
has become a myth, and they will
drift until they land on a continent
of mud from which, I fear, they will
never extricate themselves. But
some say, ‘ It is indeed from God,
but has not been understood until
now.’ What kind of a father would
he be who should write a letter to
his children which could not be un­
derstood until a thousand years af­
ter they were dead, buried, and for­
gotten .? Who make up this nre-
cious group of advanced thinkers
to whom God has made a special
revelations I Are they so noted for
piety and disinterestedness that
they shall take the place of Paul
and John and Christ ? On what
paount were they transfigured ?
What star pointed at them when
they were born ? I am filled with
two wonders in respect to them-—
first, what God did without them
before they were born, and second,
•what he will do without them when
they are dead. They are doing
more damage to the cause of Chris­
tianity than could 5,000 Robert In­
back in the ages, iny ancestor, they
say, was an ourang-outang, a tad­
pole, or a polly-wog; and it took a
million years to evolute me.”
Yes, there is but little to be fear­
ed from avowed infidelity; but when
those who pretend to be the best
friends of the Bible deal with it as
some do the inspiration of Genesis
and other portions of the Scriptures,
they become its worst euemtes."
These are the ones who are destroy­
ing the faith of many.
H umility .—I believe the first
test of a truly great man is his
humility. I do not mean by humil­
ity doubt of his own power, or hesi­
tation of speaking his opinions; but
a right understanding of the rela­
tion between what he can do and
say, and the rest of the world’s say­
ings and doings. All great men not
only know their business, but usu­
ally know that they know it ; and
are not only right in their main
opinions, but they usually know
that they are right~ru them, only
they do not think muNa of them­
selves on that account. Arnolfo
knows he can build a good dome at
Florence ; Albert Durer writes
calmly to one who has found fault
with his work, “It cannot be better
done;” Sir Isaac Newton knows
that he has worked out a problem
or two that would have puzzled
anybody else ; only they do not ex­
pect their fellowmen, therefore, to
fall down and worship them. They
have a curious under-sense of pow­
erlessness, feeling that the greatness
is not in them, but through them ;
that they could not do or be any­
thing else than God made them—
and they see something Divine and
God-made in every other man they
meet, and are endlessly, foolishly,
incredibly merciful.— Ruskin in
" Modern Painters.”
R eal S ympathy .—Sickness, ig­
norance, perplexity and bereave­
ment are burdens which we can
alleviate. No matter how unworthy
a man may be, he should have our
sympathy if he is suffering. But
some people get into the habit of
talking .sympathy who never feel
sympathy. They say they are very
sorry that Mrs. A. has been so un­
fortunate, and yet they take a great
deal of satisfaction in saying so
They talk sympathetically with Mr.
B., who has failed in business, and
hasten to his forced auction to buy
his new piano for 50dols., and bid a
shilling per yard on his Brussels
carpet. They are sorry:...M.rs,. ..C^is.
so poor, but they never buy any­
thing at her shop without beating
down the price and making her
wait two or three months for her
money. No ill-timed curiosity, no
unseemly officiousness carries whe
CHiristian io thehouse o^ m”ourning
His lips bear no frigid axioms. He
may be cheerful, nay, he ought to
be cheerful, but with a cheerfulness
that is not incompatible with sym­
pathy and sorrow.—Dr, Howard
Crosby.
A ttached to C hrist .—The two
must be firmly bound together.
The Savior and the saved must be
firmly bound together. Without
this union the strain- of each will
fall on each, and while the one that
can stand it will get safe back
again the other will inevitably go
down. It will be in vain for him
that his friend has left the shore
and buffeted the waters and come
to the very spot where he is and
risked his life for him if he will
not allow him to take hold of him;
if he persists in keeping apart, he
must bear his own strain, and you
can see at once What the conse­
quence will be, but if he attaches
himself to the other, the strain will
be borne by the other, and in this
way he will be saved.’ Hence, of
course, the need of faith, which is
the grasp of the soul. Just as by
the grasp of the hand, or the em­
brace of the arms, a union of bodies
is formed, so by faith the union of
spirits is formed. We may, per-
haps, see Jt more plainly if we
take a word that applies to the
body and to the soul as well, and
the word “ attach ” is, perhaps, as
good as any. The drowning man
cannot bo saved unless he be al-
tached to his deliverer, and in the
same way the sinner cannot be
saved unless he be attached to
Jesus Christ. You see, then, the
superlative importance of our
Savior’s question, “Lovest thou
Me ?” He does yearn for our love ;
he does long for us to love him; but
it is not altogether for his own sake
that he asks that question : it is
far more for ours. It is of import­
ance to him that we love him, but"
it is of »far more importance to us,
and it is for our sake, chiefly, that
he asks the question, “ Lovest thou
Me ?” When a poor woman mar-
ries a rich man, what is the conse­
quences ? She leaves her poverty
behind her, she rises in the social
scale towards him to whom she is
attached ; her fortunes follow his,
We are now ready for the last text,
" Wherefore, my brethren, ye have
also become dead to the law by the
body of Christ.” You see how at
once the man who is rescued be­
comes dea< 1 to the law of
tion. In the same way we are
dead to the law, which says : “ The
soul that sinneth shall die,” by the
body of Christ. “Wherefore, breth-
fen, ye are become dead unto the
law by the body of Christ, that ye
should be married to another, even
to him who is raised from the dead.”
When we give our hearts to Christ
We become attached to him, married
to him, as it were, so that we share
his fortunes, so that when he rises
we rise, and whither he goes we go.
—Dr. Gibson.
M r . B eecher ’ s L amentation .—
This really seems to be the age of
universal bitter cries. Quite a wail
of melancholy comes from the most
unexpected source, for who has been
for a generation past more genial
and joyous than the famous pulpi­
teer of Plymouth Church ? But
Mr. Beecher feels -full of fear for
the future of the Plymouth Church.
It is, he says, not so much a church
as as a spiritual hotel. There is no
cohesion. Only a few are left who
are willing to pray. There is a dan­
ger that Plymouth Church will soon
be but a monumental church , and
the pastor is disquieted. It is im­
possible to read this new jeremiad
without a sense of sympathy, for
there is painful pathos in Mr.
Beecher’s disappointment at the age
of 70 aftèr so brilliant a career. But
is theie U single thoughtful Chris­
tian observer who will be surprised?
The end of Dr. Cumming’s ministry
was painful; so was that of Ed­
ward Irving. Many a blazing orb
sets in dark clouds. Mr. Beecher’s
genius has flashed and flamed in the
firmament of popularity, but the
widest charity would not require
us to say that his real usefulness as
a minister of the New Testament
has been at all commensurate with
his social success and worldly cele­
brity. The Ancient Gospel of Christ
has to be hunted for in Mr. Beech­
er’s eloquent sermons, full as they
are of much fine jnen tai and moral
philosophy. Ministries of philosQ-