Transportation
Libray
SERMON
ON THE COMPLETION OF
THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.




%.4
JLL    /L    ^  -'le




SERMON
ADDRESSED TO THE
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION, ALBANY,
ON SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1858,
ON THE COMPLETION OF
THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.
BY WILLIAM B. SPRAGUE, D. D.,
THEIR PASTOR.
PUBLISIED BY REQUEST OF THE YOUNG MEN OF TIE CONGREGATION.
ALBANY:
CHARLES VAN BENTHUYSEN.
1858.








TO
J. K. PORTER, ESQ.,
AND NINETY-SIX OTHERS,
MEMBERS OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION,
AND NEARLY ALL YOUNG MEN,
WHO HAVE ASSOCIATED IN THE REQUEST THAT THIS DISCOURSE MIGHT
BE PUBLISHED, IT IS NOW
RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED,
WITH AN EARNEST WISH THAT THEIR HAPPINESS AND USEFULNESS
MAY BE INCREASED, AS THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE AND
THE RESEARCHES OF SCIENCE ARE SUPPLYING
NEW HELPERS TO BOTH;
AND THAT WHEN THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH SHALL HAVE
FULFILLED ITS MISSION, THEY MAY HAVE ONLY BEGUN THEIRS, AS' KINGS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD."
W. B. S.








SERMON.
PSALM LXXVII, 19.
TI-IY WAY IS IN THE SEA.
It is interesting to notice how the providence of God, in its gradual developments,
gives to many portions of the word of God a
depth and breadth of meaning, which the
writers themselves had never conceived of. It
is impossible to say to what extent the Prophets
understood many of their own predictions; but
there is no doubt that when viewed, as we are
permitted to view them, in the light of Christianity, and of History, and in connection with
those great movements of Providence in which
we recognise the signs of the times, they widen
and brighten into something far more extended
and impressive than ever entered the minds
to which they were originally communicated.
And the same is true of other portions of Scripture-though they had a definite and important
meaning when they were written, yet the pro



6
gress of ages has been constantly adding to
their import, or at least supplying new, and
what would have seemed beforehand, most
improbable, illustrations.
An example of this, if I mistake not, occurs
in our text.  The Psalmist, with a view to
fortify himself against a desponding spirit, calls
to remembrance not only the grace and faithfulness of God, but his almighty power and
infinite majesty, especially as displayed in his
deliverance  of Israel from  their Egyptian
bondage.  "Thy way is in the sea"-This
expression no doubt refers to the miraculous
opening of the Red Sea for the passage of the
Israelites-the laws of nature, in obedience
to Iim  who established them, were suspended-the bed of the sea was bared, and the
waters were piled up like mountains on either
side; and thus was formed the way by which
God led his chosen people. But this allusion
had a more general and much grander significance. It was designed to illustrate the depths
of the Divine wisdom, the mysteriousness of
the Divine movements; and wherever we
pause,-whether amidst the works of creation
or the works of providence, whether in the




7
light of science or the light of Christianity,as soon as we begin to meditate and inquire,
we find ourselves on the borders of a vast region
of unrevealed mystery.
Need I say that this passage has not only
a figurative but literal illustration  in that
wonder of: the age, before which the whole
world is bowing in reverent amazement; in
honour of which we have just kept a jubilee which cast into' the shade our glorious
Fourth, inasmuch  as the one has a mere
national bearing, while the other embraces the
interests of our universal humanity.  When
we think that a principle has been discovered, and a work accomplished, by means of
which human thought flashes in lightning all
through the ocean's depths, and we converse
with those who live on the other side of the
globe almost as if they and we occupied adjoining habitations, well may we lift up our hearts
to the wonder-working God, and exclaim,"Thy way is in the sea.'  Thou hast ordained
that wonderful law of the creation, which has
its operation in this stupendous achievement.
Thou hast smiled on the researches of science,
thus rendering it successful to the discovery




8
and the application of this law. Thou hast,
by thy favouring providence, brought the enterprise to a brilliant consummation. And now
we would reverently recognise this new way,
opened at the bottom of the sea, as thy way.
We would meditate upon it with  humble
docility. Not for purposes of mere lofty speculation, or intellectual indulgence, or fruitless
wonder, but to get our minds filled with nobler
thoughts of God,, and our hearts with more
reverent and devout affections towards Him,
and to get the spirit of obedience and submission to his will more thoroughly infused into
our lives, would we hold this last, this grandest
of all human discoveries to our minds, in connection with the public services of the Sabbath
day.  Surely it is no desecration of holy time
to honour God in his works; especially to take
solemn and reverential note of that which
marks an epoch, I might almost say, in the
unfolding of the Divine perfections.
I. Here then, in the first place, let us learn
a lesson not only of the manifestation, but of the
hiding, of God's power.
Our highest idea of the power of God is
gathered, not from abstract speculation on the




9
infinity of the Divine nature, but from the
actual effects produced by that power, as they
come within the range of our own observation.
He who looks at the works of God with an
untutored mind, whose eye has never been
taught to penetrate beneath the surface of any
thing, and who knows as little of the laws
of creation, as can consist with his having
a place in it,-even he is overwhelmed, according to his humble measure, by thinking of the
power that built the mountains, and spread the
seas, and garnished the skies, and framed the
innumerable glories which he beholds around
him. But how much brighter and loftier must
his conceptions of the Divine power be, Wiho
looks at these same works with an eye that has
been schooled by science and philosophy; who
looks at the heavens as an astronomer and at
the earth as a geologist; and sees the operation of unvarying and harmonious laws, where
another would see nothing beyond the mere
succession or recurrence of events. And we
shall not reach the highest idea of God's power
in creation, by contemplating the creation as
the product of his power, unless we look also at
2




10
the energy which He has imparted to his works.
We must mark the various intellectual, moral
and physical forces which are lodged in them;
must bear in mind that the angels who excel
in strength, derive all their strength from Him;
that He gives power to. mortals to train, I had
almost said to domesticate, his own lightning; that He gives power to the ocean,
now to bear the great ships majestically on its
bosom, and now to lash itself into a fury, that
seems to threaten the very heavens. Oh yes,
if you will gain any thing like an adequate
idea of God's Omnipotence as displayed in his
works, you must contemplate the power which
He. has actually infused into them: in the vastness, the grandeur, the energy of their operations, you  must recognise not merely the
laws by which they are controlled, but the
workings of God's own almighty hand.  In
short, you must remember that all the power
that is displayed or exercised in the Universe,
is but an emanation from Omnipotence.
It is one' of the tendencies of habit to impair
our sense of the force of evidence, and make us
indifferent to the teachings of wisdom. Ever
since we opened our eyes upon the light, we




11
have been living in a world where every object
has been preaching to us of the mighty power
of God. The sun has been shining by day and
the moon and the stars by night; the mountains, piercing the clouds, have been standing
firm on their bases; the old ocean has been
perpetually heaving in restless grandeur; the
whole course of nature has been going forward
with ceaseless regularity,-all, all have been
speaking to us of God's mighty power; and yet,
even in such a school as this, how little have
we really learned of this momentous subjector I should rather say, how little have we been
impressed by that which we could not fail to
acknowledge! Now I do not undertake to say
that the recent discovery or achievement which
is filling the world with wonder, gives us
a higher idea of the Divine power than is to
be gathered from other of God's ordinances in
the kingdom of nature; but the fact that this
discovery is new, gives to it, in respect to ourselves, the force of a fresh revelation.  We
look at the heavenly orbs performing their
courses with undeviating exactness; we experience the regular changes of the seasons and
the succession of day and night, and our only




12
reflection perhaps is that all these things are
as they have always been. But when we stand
on one side of the ocean, and convey not only
our thoughts but our words distinctly to the
other side of it, without the intervention of a
moment; we recognise a new agency here that
startles and overwhelms us.  The blinding
influence of sense and habit ceases to be felt;
and instead of giving a mere cold and formal
assent to the truth that God is Omnipotent,
this truth settles upon our spirits as a living
and mighty reality.
But I have said that the recent triumph in
the world of science suggests to us the hiding
as well as the manifestation of God's power.
To have created and fixed those mighty forces
on which has depended this wonderful result,
involves an exercise of power which indeed
baffles our highest conceptions. But who shall
say that this is the limit of the almighty power
of God? Who can assure us that in the progress of ages there shall not be other manifestations of this attribute, that, even to those
who stand nearest the throne, shall seem  to
overshadow the grandest exercise of it which
they had known before?  Who can say but




that even before these heavens and this earth
shall give place to the new heavens and the
new earth, the hand of the Almighty may be
revealed even here, in changes such as have
had no parallel in the previous history of the
race?  Believe me, when you have formed
your highest conceptions of Divine power from
what you see, you have only entered the vestibule of infinity; and that period in your existence will never come, when there will not be
unmeasured, fathomless depths, from  which,
even though you were transformed into an angel,
you could only retire with the self-abasing
exclamation,-" Who can find out the Almighty
unto perfection!"
But the power of God does not exist as an
insulated attribute-and it becomes an object
of terror or of joy, as it is associated in the
mind of the sinner with justice, in the mind of
the saint with mercy.  The sinner has put
himself in an attitude of rebellion against God;
and rebellion is a capital offence-it is a direct
assault upon all the great interests of Jehovah's Kingdom-the punishment threatened is
eternal death; and that which God's justice has
decreed, his power will inevitably execute.




14
But the Christian. who has entered into covenant with God, and thus become entitled, according to the Divine constitution, to the merciful
provisions of the Gospel, has this same almighty
power pledged for his perfect safety, his final
and everlasting triumph.  The sinner may
surround himself with the glare of worldly
greatness; he may have vast possessions; he
may wield an iron sceptre; and his influence
may seem almost as wide as the world itself;
but yet he is as truly within the range of the
Divine power as is the most abject slave that
wears a chain, or the meanest reptile that creeps
upon the earth.  The saint may be an exile not
only from the world's luxuries but from the
world's comforts; he may be the object not
only of poverty but of reproach and persecution; and at the end of life's pilgrimage, he
may find the martyr's stake waiting for him;
and yet in all this God's almighty power is
working for his highest good; it puts love and
blessing even into what seemed a ministration
of wrath and wo; it is the pledge that the
sower in tears shall be the reaper in joy. Let
not the prosperous sinner then be deluded by
his fancied triumph; neither let the afflicted




15
Christian be discouraged by his manifold trials;
for as sure as God's word is truth and his arm
is power, so sure shall the triumph of the
former be turned into shame, and the trials of
the latter issue in the exceeding and eternal
weight of glory.
II. This new way which has been opened in
the sea, suggests to us the greatness or the littleness of the human intellect, according to the standpoint from which it is viewed.
Man, though he is not the noblest, is yet far
from  being the meanest, of God's creatures.
If on one side of him are the beasts that perish,
on the other side are the angels who minister
before God's throne; and if he is materially
allied to the former, though much above them,
he is intellectually allied to the latter, though
much below them. We are not to judge- of the
capacities of the human mind from the humble
measure of intelligence and culture that ordinarily obtains among men; for the multitude
are, by the very law of their earthly condition,
kept from making high attainments; but we
are to judge of it rather from those rare cases
in which Nature has been bountiful of her gifts,
and Providence of her advantages; in which




16
the mind has  asserted its native dignity in
some grand achievement, that has served to
put to shame the efforts of all other minds in
the same direction. Newton, and Bacon, and
Boyle, and Locke, and Edwards, and Franklin,
and Fulton,-how each of them led the. way
into unexplored regions of thought, and built
for himself a monument that bids defiance to
all the ages. And now here is another grand
result from the labours of science; and whether
it be viewed absolutely, or in comparison with
the ordinary standard of intellectual development, is it not fitted to exalt our conceptions
of the capabilities of our own nature? Does
it not help to redeem man from the insignificance to which the grovelling tastes and habits
of the multitude would seem to degrade him,
and lift him towards that position which he
may legitimately claim, as having been made a
little lower than the angels?
And who can estimate the responsibility that
pertains to the possession of such a nature?
Hast thou ever reflected seriously on what it is
to be a man; to have a principle within thee
that is capable of measuring the distances of
the stars, and sending thought down into the




17
caverns of the ocean? Take heed that thou
dost not undervalue thyself; that thou dost not
waste these  noble powers upon  unworthy
objects; that, instead of aspiring to share the
society and employments of angels, thou dost
not content thyself to sink to the level of
brutes. Cultivate thine intellect as far as God
gives thee opportunity  but, above all, see that
its faculties are, kept in strict subjection to the
Divine will, and rendered subservient to the
Divine glory.  Thou hast within thee that
which may make thee a very angel at lasthow fearful the thought that neglect, perversion, may plunge thee into everlasting shame
and contempt!
But suppose that, instead of comparing man
with the orders of creation below him, or the
loftiest human intellect with the meanest, we
compare the greatest human mind with the
infinite and the unsearchable; and suppose
that, instead of comparing the ground that has
already been gained in the great field of knowledge with the barbarism of the darkest age,
we compare it with the immeasurable region
that is yet before us, and which none but God
3




18
Himself can fully explore-how  essentially
does man become reduced in his intellectual
stature-how the majesty of his nature degenerates into insignificance, and its strength into
weakness, and we are led almost to ignore the
nobility which actually pertains to him. Let
the recent discovery be an illustration. It is
indeed one of the noblest triumphs both of science and of art; and when we look at it either
as a bright and startling wonder, or as a contribution to the stock of human knowledge, or
as a new element in the world's civilization,
we cannot but pause in admiration of the
mighty human power by which it has been
accomplished.  But what, after all, is here
the  extent of man's doings?   Man has
only ascertained the existence of one of
the laws of the creation; has only found
out a new use of the electric fire; has only
put in operation a hidden agency that has
existed ever since the morning stars sang
together. Let man be inquired of in respect
to any thing beyond the simple law that is
here brought into exercise, beyond the simple
fact that has here been reached; let him be
asked how  or why the lightning not only




19
becomes vocal, but makes this submarine passage, in obedience to the human will, and the
prince of philosophers is no wiser. to answer
than the savage whose mind is as dark as the
wilderness he inhabits. We do not suppose
that this brilliant enterprise'marks the limit
of the mind's developments; but no matter
what more glorious things there may be to
come, it will never reach a point where the
known will be to the unknown so much as a
grain of sand is to the globe.  There will
always be stretching  before  it regions of
thought which it has never explored; and each
fresh attainment, instead of marking a resting
place for the mind, will be a glimpse into the
distant and untravelled future, to quicken it
to higher aspirations and more vigorous efforts.
Shall not man then be abased before his
Maker, even in view of the most signal of his
triumphs? To say nothing here of his moral
estrangement from God,-nothing of the degradation and ruin which sin has brought upon
him,-is there not enough to bow his spirit in
humility in the reflection that his faculties can
grasp so little, that the limit of his knowledge
is so quickly reached? If he is conscious of




20
the rising of a spirit of self-exaltation, as he
sits at his leisure, and puts God's messenger in
requisition to do his work on another continent, surely that spirit may well find a check,
and the opposite spirit of lowliness be brought
into exercise, by the thought that his philosophy of the subject terminates with the fact,
and that there is not one of the attending
phenomena which he is able to explain.
III. This mysterious passage of the lightning through the sea marks a bright epoch in the
history of the world's progress.
Progressive development seems to be the
law of God's universal kingdom.  This remark
applies with peculiar force to the kingdom of
grace,-whether in regard to the outward communication of Divine truth, or the inward
experience of its power. From the first revelation that God made to the parents of our
race, down to the last that was made to the
beloved disciple on Patmos, the light gradually
shone brighter through the Patriarchal, and
Mosaic, until it finally reached its brightest
splendour in the Christian, dispensation. So
also the principle of Divine grace in the heart
is at first only as a grain of mustard seed,-the




21
smallest of all seeds; but it germinates into
a tree of vigorous growth, which strikes its
roots deep, and spreads abroad its branches,
and gives forth its pleasant fruits with ever
increasing luxuriance, until it finally becomes
fit to be transplanted to the upper Paradise.
And if from the domain of religion we pass
to that of civilization, we find the same principle constantly illustrated.  Not indeed that
the progress has been uniform from year to
year, or that the human mind has not sometimes
yielded to an ignoble repose, so that for a season
the movement has seemed retrograde; but, on
the whole, its march has been onward. It is
worthy of notice that the progressive civilization of the world has been marked by distinct
stages; that the discovery of one of the laws
of nature, while it has led to great immediate
results, has made way for the discovery in due
time of another; and that each successive point
that is reached, though the glory of it may be
connected with a single name, is really the
result of the accumulated intellectual forces of
the age. Witness the discovery of the magnetic
needle-what a mighty change did that work
in human affairs-how it gave not only wings




22
but security to commerce, and became a light
to guide the mariner all over the dark ocean!
The art of printing,-what an impulse did that
give to the human mind,-not only waking up.
its energies, but conferring a sort of omnipresence upon its thoughts!  The power of
steam,-what has not that done in annihilating
distances both by land and by water; in facilitating  the accomplishment of men's plans,
and quickening the spirit of public enterprise!  And now, after the lapse of little
more than half a century, comes yet another
and still loftier development, in the flying
of human thought not only through the air
but beneath  the  ocean, in  a way  which
utterly  mocks  our  comprehension.   This
wonder of wonders is not yet old enough
to enable us even to conjecture what must
be its remoter results; but we' surely cannot give to it a thought without perceiving
that it must mark  a mighty  stride  not
only in the intellectual, but the moral and
Christian, regeneration of the race. And while
it is itself such a prodigious step onward, and
is fraught with so much blessing, let it be
remembered that it is a vast addition to the




23
intellectual strength, or I should rather say,
the intellectual capital of the world; that it
furnishes a loftier eminence than has before
been obtained, from which man may reach out
and grasp the hidden wonders of immensity.
IV. And this leads me to say, in the last
place, what a wonderful bearing has the recent
discovery upon the future!
Who can estimate the effect which it must
have in enlarging the stock of human knowledge, and quickening the march of general
improvement? For many ages, such were the
barriers to intercourse between the different
nations, that it took a long time for a bright
thought to travel over the world; and such a
thing as the communion and co-operation of
great minds on opposite sides of the globe was
scarcely dreamed of. Since the wonder-working power of steam  has become known, an
important change in this respect has been
effected; but it was left to the agency of electricity to complete the triumph.  And now
that the oceanic telegraph has proved a successful experiment, I might almost say that
the last barrier to a universal intercourse is
removed; and not a grand or brilliant or use



24
ful conception can be originated by a mind,
even in the most distant country, but it comes
darting to us, and goes darting all over the
world, in all its freshness and power. Thus it
is that men will be able at once to avail themselves of each other's intellectual labours; and
the great stock of human knowledge will be
increasing with a rapidity unknown to preceding ages. Thus the intellectual power of
the world will quickly be concentrated, and
the world itself will become a vast school, in
which its brightest and most accomplished
minds will, as if sitting together in one grand
convocation, alternately impart and receive of
their collected treasures.
And not only may we expect that this great
event will minister to the intellectual advancement of the race, but we have reason to anticipate, as another result, a closer fellowship
among the nations, and a more vigorous and
effective co-operation for national and universal peace. It is hard for an individual to take
the attitude of hostility towards one with whom
he is on terms of constant intercourse; and the
danger of his doing this is not a little diminished by the fact that such intercourse secures




25
to him the opportunity of making or receiving
explanatory or conciliatory statements. And
the remark applies equally to nations as to individuals.  There -is no time now for misunderstanding to ripen into prejudice or hate, or. for
party rancour to breathe its venom throughout
the length and breadth of a country, before an
explanation can be communicated or received,
that may effectually annihilate the supposed
offence. Neither'Great Britain nor America
need to sleep a single night over any international matter that is even of doubtful import;
for the ever faithful wires may always be put
in requisition to ask or to convey the desired
intelligence..Is it too much to expect that
the disturbances among the nations, especially
in their relations to each other, will henceforth
be greatly  diminished; and that eac]h will
realize the feelings of a common brotherhood to
an extent hitherto unknown? Nay, is it presumptuous to'hope that the fact that the first
message that was brought to us through. this
strange channel, was that a fearful and protracted war had closed, may prove ominous
of what is hereafter to be; and that we may
4




26
recognise in the Atlantic telegraph not less an
agent for the preservation of peace, than a
means of spreading the goodly tidings of its
existence?
But that which we may well regard as the
climax, the consummation, of blessings connected with this enterprise, is its prospective
influence on the evangelization and moral renovation of the world. The fact that it is likely
to prove favourable to the peace of the nations,
is an omen of much good in this respect; for
while the Gospel itself is a message of peace
and good-will to  men, there is nothing so
adverse to its reception as pre-existing national
hostility; nothing so favourable to its reception
as the absence of war, and tumult, and party
strife, and the presence of that spirit that
pays dcue respect to the rights and feelings of
the common humanity. Hence we have reason
to hope that the telegraph, in its more general operations in promoting a goodly fellowship between the inhabitants of different countries, will form the legitimate preparation for
a nore direct intercourse in reference to the
interests of the Kingdom of Christ. Is there
not a chord strung in the bosom of every true




27
Christian, that vibrates to the tidings of Zion's
weal or wo, though coming even from the ends
of the earth? Does not the principle of grace
in the heart attain to a more vigorous life, from
being brought into communion with the same
principle in other hearts,-no matter by what
instrumentality? What Christian is there who
could hear that yesterday there was a meeting
in London where a Pentecostal season was
enjoyed, and thousands upon thousands, as in
the days of Whitefield, were trembling under
the sense of sin, or rejoicing in the hope of
forgiveness; or that, day before yesterday,
there was a meeting in Paris, or even in Rome,
beneath the very shadow of the Vatican, at
which Romanism herself stood abashed at the
manifest presence and power of God's Spirit;what Christian, I say, could hear such intelligence, without being quickened to a higher
tone of feeling and of effort; without giving
himself anew to that cause which is thus rising
and triumphing among the nations? And no
doubt there will be many other ways in which
Christianity will be helped forward by this
same instrumentality. Indeed it requires no
great stretch of imagination to suppose that




28
these wires that pass through the ocean, may
ultimately be rendered even more subservient
to sacred than to secular purposes; and that
when the millenial day shall spread its glories
over the earth, this mysterious agent may be
found to be closely allied to that angel that
was seen flying through Heaven, having the
everlasting Gospel to preach to every kindred,
and nation, and tongue, and people.
If I mistake. not, this grand discovery, in
order to be duly estimated in its bearing on
the Kingdom of Christ, must be viewed in connection with other things which give character to the day through which we are passing.
What means the waking up, in so great a
degree, of evangelical Christendom  to the
obligation of giving the Gospel to every creature?  What means the casting away by
Providence of those barriers of ages upon ages,
which have kept the nations apart from each
other, and which have rendered Paganism, in
many instances,. as inaccessible as she has been
terrific?  What means that great baptism of
the Holy Ghost and of fire, which has lately
pervaded our land, and has already added so
much to Zion's beauty and strength?  What




29
means the far extended Union Prayer Meeting,
which makes each Christian sect forgetful of
its own shibboleth, and by the harmony not
less than the fervour of its offerings, gives us
a precious foretaste of the Millenium, and of
Heaven?  And, I may add, what was the
import of the recent shocks and convulsions in
the commercial world, which, for the time, left
multitudes little else to do than stand still
and gaze upon the ruin of their fortunes and
their hopes? I tell you, my friends, the meaning of all this is, that God has begun to do a
great work for his Church,-great I mean in
comparison even with what he has done before;
and here he has introduced a new agent for
carrying it forward. Under the direction of
his providence, there is a grand system of means
now in operation, which cannot long advance
with its present constantly accumulating energy,
but that songs of thanksgiving will ascend from
earth to Heaven, because the Kingdom of God
has fully come.
Is it a mere fancy to imagine that this
yoking of God's love with his lightning,-this
employing of the swiftest of all his messengers
to proclaim the triumphs of his Gospel, may




30
be regarded as emblematical of the increased
rapidity with which Christianity is to fulfil her
high mission of circling the globe? I do not
pretend to say what drawbacks may yet be
revealed to us in the great work of moral
renovation; or to what extent the Church
may become oblivious of her dependance, and
require to be schooled by affliction before she
is prepared to enjoy a complete triumph. But
if the Church is faithful to her high trust, there
is every thing in the aspects of providence to
indicate that the days of Satan's reign will
soon be numbered; that idolatry and superstition, error and crime, having lived out their
little day of triumph in this redeemed world,
will be driven into everlasting exile. Standing
as you do, Brethren, on this lofty eminence,
and looking out upon the world from amidst
this profusion of Divine influences and Divine
wonders, where even Nature herself, in a new
and glorious form, is enlisting as a volunteer
servant of the Most High, shall not your faith
and your zeal, the tone of your spirit and the
tone of your efforts, be greatly quickened, to
help forward this grandest of all enterprises,the Redeemer's universal reign.




31
But I must not close without suggesting a
solemn caution. You do well to rejoice in this
new epoch in the world's history; and it was
fitting that you should testify your joy by
appropriate demonstrations.  I have nothing
to say against the imposing grandeur and splendour of the other night, considered as a token
of your high estimate of the blessing which
God has hereby bestowed upon men.  But I
may not omit to remind you that you have
individual interests to be cared for, of infinitely
greater moment than all the combined results
of science, superadded to all the riches and
glory of the world.  If you have never yet
bowed personally to the claims of the Gospel,no matter what inferior homage you may render to it,-then you have nothing to hope from
the gracious provision which it offers, you have
every thing to fear from  the terrible woes
which it reveals. There is admonition hanging even upon this bright discovery; for though
God permits his creatures to use his lightning
as a new medium of intercourse, yet He Himself sometimes uses it to blast and to consume;
and thus, while in the former case it speaks to
us of his love, in the latter it becomes a fearful




32
representative of his justice. Wherefore, venture not to trifle with the Creator and the
Ruler of the world. Think not to substitute
admiration of his works for obedience to his
laws.  Let your whole soul be concentrated
upon the one great point of becoming a new
creature in Christ Jesus. Kneel penitently at
the mercy seat; lift a believing eye to the
Cross; enter the straight, the narrow, the
upward path; and then each successive discovery in the kingdom of nature will become
with you a new element of devotion, a fresh
token of Divine love, a pledge of the infinitely
nobler discoveries that shall reward your admiring scrutiny beyond the vail.