132 NO GREAT FAULT IN IT. Ven lar their action, their growth, and their development, respectively. Yet in the unity of the faith they were one. erable in so many aspects of his character, "for years deserving honor, but for wisdom more," Beecher stood mature, with the snows of seventy-one winters on his head, faithfully confirming the words of their venerated preacher, affectionately reimpressing them on the minds of the hearers, and solemnly warning them to obey the gospel. It was, however, a novelty or an innovation; and, as such, opinions were various as to its character and its propriety. For one, I may write it here, that, however estimated in Europe, I could wish his address were printed, stereotyped, and placed, three in every pew, of every church, and on every occasion when the truth of the gospel is clearly and purely declared in the ears of the people of America. I believe the Spirit of God would take no offense at it-so grieved, and so resisted, by that opposite course of fashionable levity and religious driveling, which murders souls, and which the FOUR ITEMS of Beecher's address are so well adapted to expose, rebuke, and supersede. It is authorized eminently by such words as the Spirit saith to the Churches, in many a notable passage; for example, Therefore we ought to give the MORE EARNEST HEED to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day, IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, harden not your hearts. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, YE DO ALWAYS RESIST THE HOLY GHOST; as your fathers did, so do ye. Not to-morrow, but now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Both services seemed to be finished about the same time After some recognitions and gratulations of friends, I met Chalmers in the apartment where I had last before seen him. He spoke very affectionately, as might so revered a patriarch; thanked me for my compliance with his request; ut APPREHENSION OF CHALMERS. 133 tered some kind words about my discourse, as so extemporaneous and acceptable; and then remarked about his own, as not so happy in his own view, since he was in some perplexity about the things and the scenery around him; so different from what he designed in the origin of that strangely-located and extraordinary service. I had heard mainly nothing of the events within doors, and he adverted to them as follows: 2. After I had ceased, our venerable friend from Cincinnati asked permission to add a few words. It was rather odd to us here, and we could not tell what he wanted to say. The precedent would not answer with us, and we are quite unused to the like of it. And what he said was quite good and solemn, only that it was open to the allegation of one fault, which, I fear, was remarked by some of the critics among us. On the whole, I rather regretted the occurrence. 1. But, doctor, the critics, if that means the men, were mainly outsiders. All the ladies nearly were with you. 2. True; but some of both sexes there, who heard it, must have observed it, as I rather fear, and so considered it as heretical. 1. My dear sir! why, did you so consider it? And in what respect? 2. No; it contained no heresy at all. I allow it was all sound and good. Still, I fear that some of them will accuse it of Morrisonianism. Their attention is so turned to that evil doctrine just now, that they will be apt to think it has traveled to America and corrupted your orthodox preachers there. Error flies very swiftly in the atmosphere of this sinning world. 1. Why, dear sir, I trust they will not be at once so sensitive, so unjust, and so silly. It is, I think, no foolery of ours at all—it is wholly Scotch. 2. Yes, but he exhorted them to do so much, and said not a word, from first to last, about the Spirit helping themthat was the great omission. 134 PHOBIA OF HERESY. 1. And is not that the very way in which the Spirit speaks to the Churches, quite often, in the Holy Scriptures? Christ says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in, and sup with him, and he with me. Now, plainly it is his duty to open the door to Christ, and antecedently to hear his voice in order to it. But neither the one duty, nor the other, nor any duty at all, is done, in fact, ever, by sinner or by saint, without the influence of the Spirit working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight. But is the Bible itself obnoxious to such a charge, because it does not drop a parenthesis at every sentence, and every doctrine, and every injunction, about our dependence on the influences of the Spirit? Is the decalogue heretical, the Ten Commandments Morrisonian, because the Spirit, or the Son, or the Father, by name, is not mentioned once in the whole of it? I trust your hearers, especially the more intelligent of them, will have too much justice, as well as too much sense and wisdom, to wrong Dr. Beecher with the charge of Morrisonianism. The CREDENDA and the AGENDA of Christianity are at once perfectly related and perfectly distinct. No man in the world believes intelligently more than he, or probably preaches and prays more, in the work of the Spirit of God. his influences and his fruits. And as to this new-fangled heresy that is just now rampant so much, and so intensively among you, I question if he ever heard of its existence. It is a mere air-bubble, or a smoke one, of your own vernacular theology. 2. Indeed, you are quite right. Perhaps I am given to overrate such aberrations; but there is ever some new phase of error upturning to our startled fears, though old in the history of erroneous ecclesiastical dogmas; and refuted often, virtually or in form, centuries before its present inventors and propagators were born. I am thinking, however, that this late virulence will damage our national pulpit, and hurt our common theology, in more ways than one. CHIROGRAPHY OF CHALMERS. 135 1. I confess there are questions of truth and skill, which all your young spiritual cadets would do well, with study, and patience, and prayer, to resolve and master, in reference to THE MANNER OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL-offering its mercy to men—and subserving, instead of subverting, the true influences of the Spirit, by exemplifying the way of the Spirit, as shown in the Holy Scriptures; studying them, and imitating, with manly wisdom, those inspired and stupendous examples of preaching. So passed the time in his company! The more I had of it, the more I desired to have, and the more attached to him I became. From my first acquaintance with him, indeed, I had occasionally corresponded with his family and himself; and here I may say that his chirography was as original, and as singularly bad, as his thinking was eloquent and his diction superb. Such quail-tracks on paper! One describes it as if a spider had fallen into the ink, and then got out, and ran over the paper, backward and forward, in angles, curves, and diagonals, describing all sorts of geometrical figures, till the sheet was covered! When one of his letters arrived, I was glad of it-perhaps enough! but I knew what deciphering study was before me. So, like an anaconda attacking a dead elephant, I went round it, looked over it, made general observations, retired and rested, then renewed the assault, attempted the mental deglutition, persevered, repeated the effort, and sometimes-as snakes never do-invoked a friendly Champollion to assist me in the enterprise. On one occasion, I had, in about ten days, fairly mastered the whole letterexcept one word! and what was that, or what it could sensibly be made to seem, was too much for me. The connection had no illumination for it; and at last I was indebted to the superior sagacity of my friend, the Rev. Dr. Skinner, for ascertaining the word-REVIEWS. I may add, that one of his best letters I had spirited away from me by one of the 136 HIS DISDAIN OF PUSEYISM. cunning and covetous collectors of autographs; from which, if I could command or recover it, I might enrich this work with some select quotations. But it is neither in my possession, nor my knowledge, nor my power. I calmly pardon, not without some effort, the felony that abstracted it, through special skill; and yet, that one honored brother, the friend of Chalmers and my own friend, called by some wags the king of autographs,* might not be suspected, and wronged, in this relation, I must say only that the wily and the right honorable felon was a lady. In that letter, as I recollect, were some golden sentences of pious scorn against a modern, and yet an ancient, system of pseudology and stupidity, which is infinitely stronger in the devil's patronage than Morrisonianism, and thus proved nearer to his own heart and better for his own kingdom-I mean PUSEYISM! Such an imposture, mendacious and assumptive, that inhabits a half-way house between popery and protestantism, though not in the centre between them, but nearer, and still getting nearer, the former; and putting on her vail, or putting it off, as circumstances vary the policy of appearance; such a system, a mighty and a holy mind, like that of Chalmers, must religiously denounce and energetically abhor. And for one of their fundamental fallacies, with which they sectarianize, make schism, profane religion, and deceive many, I can from memory quote his measured words of holy reprobation and contempt, THE UTTER FOLLY OF APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION!" A late prelate, in converse with a Presbyterian bishop on this topic, said, Well, sir, it is a great office, and has come down to us from many ages and generations; and thank God, I have it. He replied, You have all there is of it, I have no doubt! I bless God that I have no such thing; and expect to bless him for it at the judgment-seat of Christ, and after that to all eternity; with all my soul-odi et arceo * Some reader may possibly not know that I refer to the Rev. Dr. Sprague, of Albany, New York. |