PRAYEBS 
 
 ROM 
 
 PLYMOUTH PULPIT. 
 
 n 
 HENRY WARD BEECHER. 
 
 HODDER & STOUGHTON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
 
 INTEODIIOTOET STATEMENT. 
 
 THE moat experienced Christians, who attend the religious services of 
 Plymouth Church, have been specially interested in the devotional exer- 
 cises of that famous pulpit; and have often felt these to be even more 
 impressive than the sermons themselves, which are so greatly sought 
 after. These exercises are found so full of the most elevated thoughts, 
 expressed in such affluent and appropriate words, as to be quite unique in 
 their effect, carrying the sympathizing heart as it were up to the very 
 throne of mercy, and bringing the soul into conscious communion with 
 our Father who is in heaven. The continual diversity of the themes dwelt 
 upon, the copiousness and beauty of the language, the evident absence 
 of formality and pre-arrangement, with the graphic distinctness and com- 
 pleteness of the presentation, make these exercises worthy to be taken aa 
 models of extemporaneous prayer. But their highest value is in their fitness 
 to train the hearts of those who earnestly unite hi them ; and to lead 
 them into the richest experiences of the spirit of prayer, as that consists in 
 the conscious intercourse of the human soul with its Maker, God. 
 
 My venerable and esteemed friend, the Reverend Doctor John Marsh, 
 so long and widely honored for his useful labors in the Temperance cause, 
 in a frequent attendance at Plymouth Church, found these exercises so 
 attractive and profitable, that he could not but long to renew their impres- 
 sions. It seemed like a great loss that such glowing words and heavenly 
 thoughts should be heard but once, and never be repeated or recalled. 
 
 He thereupon conceived the idea of having some of them faithfully 
 reported, so that he might preserve them, first, for his own personal use 
 and satisfaction, and then with the thought that, at some day yet remote, 
 they might perhaps be properly given to the public in print, for the gen- 
 eral use of devout hearts. With this view, and without the counsel 
 or advisement of any one, he several years ago employed, at his own 
 expense, an experienced phonographer, to make verbatim report of
 
 iv nrrF.oi>ccTonY 
 
 large number of these prayers, entirely without the knowledge of the 
 paator or the congregation. Having feasted hia own soul upon them, 
 as thus placed in hia hands, he at length, early in the present year, was 
 brought to think that so valuable a treasure ought not to be monopolized 
 as the possession of one family alone. After taking the advice of some 
 trusted friends, who thought that any sentimental or conventional objec- 
 tion to their publication ought not to weigh against their great value and 
 probable usefulness, he frankly laid the subject before Mr. Beecher. 
 
 After hearing the story of their preservation, which was wholly new to 
 frim, and duly weighing the considerations that were presented, Mr. 
 Beecher said that, without assuming any responsibility whatever in the 
 matter, he did not feel at liberty to object to the publication of them, if 
 competent judges thought they were calculated to do good in that way. 
 
 All obstacles being thus happily removed, they are now presented, in 
 their simplicity and richness, faithfully copied us they were uttered. A 
 work so without precedent, must be its own recommendation ; and is sent 
 forth accompanied only with the earnest prayer that it may prove a rich 
 blessing to those who love our Lord Jesus Christ, in this age, and in the 
 grand and gracious ages which we believe are yet to come. 
 
 J. L. 
 
 IN addition to the above from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Joshua Leavitt, 
 for which he has my sincere thanks, I ought to state, and I do it 
 with great pleasure, that, in addition to the prayers thus providentially in 
 my hands, there have been offered me the uso of some occasional and 
 social or lecture-room prayers from the portfolio of the admirable reporter 
 of Mr. Beecher's sermons, which I have gladly accepted, as rendering the 
 volume more complete and bringing it down near to the present time. 
 The whole is now commended to the blessing of God, in the belief that it 
 will be a valuable gift to all who delight in communings with God, and 
 be of much service to such as are called to be a mouth for others at the 
 throne of grace. 
 
 J. M.
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 PULPIT. 
 
 The Fatherhood of God 1 
 
 Bemembrance of Divine mercisa 9 
 
 Preciousnesa of the Sanctuary. 18 
 
 Opening of the Spring 23 
 
 Need of God 31 
 
 God's greatness Man's security 39 
 
 Joy in the government of God. 47 
 
 Divine wisdom above all human 51 
 
 Confession and Penitence 55 
 
 Entire consecration 59 
 
 Communings with Jesus 65 
 
 Church additions 71 
 
 Sacramental season. 11 
 
 Union with Christ 83 
 
 Baptismal service 87 
 
 Growth in grace 93 
 
 For a higher life 99 
 
 Christ our necessity and joy. 103 
 
 Petitioning for light Ill 
 
 The Journey of life 117 
 
 The Battle of life. 113 
 
 Sanctified knowledge of God 1ST
 
 *1 BUBJBCTB. 
 
 Passing from death to life 135 
 
 Jesus seeing of the Travail of his soul 141 
 
 Sacramental season 147 
 
 Strength in God 153 
 
 Dependence 157 
 
 God's goodness to the ill-deserving 163 
 
 God the only object of trust 167 
 
 Preciousness of the Sabbath. 175 
 
 Security in Christ 181 
 
 Successive generations of believers. 186 
 
 Riches of God's mercy 190 
 
 Paternal character of God 201 
 
 Triumph over sin and death 205 
 
 We know not what we shall be 211 
 
 God our Refuge ; Heaven near 281 
 
 OCCASIONAL. 
 
 NewYear'sday 227 
 
 Return from the suji mer 235 
 
 Thanksgiving 239 
 
 National responsibility 245 
 
 Filial memorial 251 
 
 Return from England 267 
 
 Fast day in war 265 
 
 Mourning because of war 273 
 
 Easter Sunday 281 
 
 Missionary occasion 287 
 
 Death of Lincoln 291 
 
 Restoration of peace 297
 
 SUBJECTS. rii 
 
 Baptisms .service 303 
 
 Baptism of White Slave 309 
 
 Youthful Accessions. 313 
 
 SOCIAL OR LECTURE-ROOM PRAYER& 
 
 I 317 
 
 II 319 
 
 HI 321 
 
 IV 323 
 
 V 324 
 
 VI 326 
 
 VH 327 
 
 fin 328 
 
 IX 330 
 
 X.. 831 
 
 These prayers are all independent, and not placed in the order in which 
 they were delivered; but some regard has been had to order in the 
 subjects. 
 
 Closing prayers after sermon, are placed on vacant pages; showing 
 the emotions of th* sjoako-, after delivering hi discourse; though the 
 ubjeot of discourse cannot be given.
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 Jb the Congregation of Believers worshiping at Plymouth Church, 
 
 Brooklyn, N. 7. 
 
 To you these outpourings of the mind and heart of jour much loved 
 Pastor, in days gone by, now rising as from ambush to aid in reviving the 
 spirit of true devotion and self-consecration, must come with a tender- 
 ness and force as to none beside. To you, therefore, this volume is 
 appropriately dedicated, in the hope and belief that it will prove a rich 
 comfort and blessing to you and your families, both now and when the 
 voice of your Pastor may be hushed in death, and when you are crossing 
 the flood to part no more.
 
 PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 IKTOCATION. 
 
 OUR FATHER, another day of rest is granted unto us. We accept xt ours 
 the token of thy love and remembrance. We bring honor to thee and 
 desire to make mention of thy name, and to call thee Father. Thou art 
 our Father, and thou hast made that name more venerable and more 
 full of love than all our earthly associations of parents have been able to 
 do ; for thou art greater and better and more true to all the duties of 
 love than earthly parents can be. And now enrich us this day by giving 
 us the power more perfectly to approach thee, and to understand thee, 
 and to enter into sympathy with thee. This is our strength, the joy of 
 the Lord. And we beseech thee that thou wilt drive intrusive cares 
 and thoughts away. May the world no longer have dominion over us ; 
 may we find ourselves easily controlling it, and may it be sweet to draw 
 near to thee with praise. May we make mention of our sins without 
 fear, since <nou hast washed them away. May we be able to view thee 
 with uplooking face ; may we gain strength to-day by the power of thy 
 love ; may every thing conduce to thine honor and thy glory in our wor- 
 ship. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen, 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 O THOU that dwellest in heaven : round about thee 
 are those that are risen indeed -the spirits of the just 
 made perfect, and other ranks, dominions, and powers 
 
 that are nameleaa. Thou art in blessed society. We 
 i
 
 S BEECHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 know not what thou art in perspection, and can have 
 but faint thoughts of what is divine glory. Yet we 
 believe that, central among all other things, is thy 
 paternal nature ; and that, when we are inspired to say 
 from the heart " OUB FATHER," we have touched the 
 very height of that to which we shall come through 
 ages. We know not what we say we know not all the 
 meaning of that precious word ; we know not what 
 FATHEEHOOD means when enveloped in all the majesty 
 of the infinite, and stretched abroad in all its fullness, 
 richness, and tenderness ; when over it is all the gran- 
 deur of the eternal spheres. 
 
 When we think of that power by which thou didst 
 cause the material creation, which in its appointed 
 course is the smallest part, and that not there is thy 
 pride and thy glory, but that thy nature, in its reality 
 and grandeur, is in thine heart O when we under- 
 stand that thou art greater than any outward world can 
 make thee seem to us, and that thou art greater in thy 
 moral nature than in any conception which we can form 
 of the greatness of thy physical power, our minds are 
 overwhelmed ; and yet we are encouraged to come to 
 thee. Thou dost not sit to thunder us away. Thou 
 dost not sit to be terrible, though thou art august. 
 Thou dost not sit to burn as an unquenchable fire, though 
 thou art a consuming fire to thine enemies. 
 
 We rejoice that thou drawest us toward thee with 
 sweet permission, with persuasion, with blessed com 
 inand; that thou art endeavoring to persuade as bj 
 all the processions of nature, by all the daily occur- 
 rences of providence, by all the teachings of thy word, 
 by all the ministrations of thy grace, and by all the influ- 
 ences of the Holy Ghost, shed abroad upon our souls.
 
 THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. 9 
 
 What we are that thou shouldst so desire us, what 
 there is in us that thou couldst look at to love, we do 
 not understand ; but thou seest us not only in what we 
 are, but in what we are to be. Thou beholdest us as we 
 shall be when our education is complete, when thou shalt 
 present us before the eternal throne, without spot or 
 blemish. "We rejoice that thou dost love us ; that thy 
 love is omnipotent; and that, by thy grace, we shall 
 persevere unto the end, and finally be saved. 
 
 We thank thee that we are brought together into 
 church relationships, and have had so much joy in 
 public worship and in all social service of religion. We 
 thank thee that thou hast purged from our minds so 
 much of wickedness ; that thou hast removed so many 
 doubts; that thou hast brought many of us to expe- 
 rience so much of thy love; and that thou art bring- 
 ing others to the same conviction of the sufficiency of 
 Christ for all their sin, so that they are able to sit down 
 under his banner of love with the sweetest composure 
 and rest. 
 
 O, how blessed shall be that entrance when we that have 
 known each other in the flesh with manifold imperfec- 
 tions ; when we that have consorted together in this vale 
 of tears, bearing each other's burdens, shall stand up in 
 everlasting perfection, where we shall bear with each 
 other no longer, but be as the angels of God and equal in 
 light for evermore ! Grant that the forethought of thii 
 coming glory may sanctify our earthly association. 
 
 O carry forward every one of thy people. Teach 
 them how to live less by fear and by conscience, and 
 more by the nobler impulses of love and trust ; how to 
 behold thee, not as a taskmaster, rigorous .and exacting, 
 ut a God full of tenderness and of love. May the way o r
 
 4 BKKCHBE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 prayer be easy ; may access to thy throne be short ; may 
 we be humbled by our weakness and unworthiuess, and 
 while we take every thing, may we claim nothing. May 
 we feel that there is no end to thy bounty ; not because 
 we deserve these things, but because of the nature of 
 thy loving heart. The bounty of thy heart is so great, 
 that thou dost cause every day to pour itself abroad in 
 endless beneficence ; not because of our deserts, but be- 
 cause it is thine own pleasure. 
 
 Brood upon our souls, that we may catch something of 
 thy nature, and know thee more and more perfectly. 
 We beseech of thee that we may not feel that thou art 
 harsh in thine administration toward us when thou 
 sendest burdens. May we believe that they are sent for 
 wise purposes. When thou sendest afflictions and be- 
 reavements, may we understand the way of God toward 
 us. May we never be so puffed up by pride that we 
 shall think ourselves too good to be afflicted ; may we 
 never become so much at ease in our prosperity that we 
 shall think it some strange thing when God casts up hia 
 highways through our fields. May we never feel that 
 we are so secure in this mortal state as that there is no 
 danger of losing our cherished possessions and treasures. 
 We beseech thee, O God, that we may feel that all our 
 times and seasons are in thine hand ; that every thing 
 which we possess comes from thee, and is to be resumed 
 at thy good pleasure ; and may we be able to say in all 
 our experiences, " Thy will be done." May we have a 
 submission to thy will that runs before the coming 
 trouble, so that we may never be broken down, but 
 always live in the light of thy countenance, our own 
 lifted up to receive its brightness. And we beseech of 
 thee that thou wilt be very near to all that are passing
 
 THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. 5 
 
 through trouble and affliction, that they may not sin nor 
 grieve thee by distrust ; and grant that they may submit 
 themselves and all their affairs willingly to thy hand. 
 Guide them out of all their troubles, and exercise them 
 thereby, working in them the peaceful fruits of righteous- 
 ness which thou hast declared thou wilt work by trouble 
 and sorrow. 
 
 Grant, we beseech thee, that we may not grow selfish. 
 May we be delivered from the luxury of religion ; may 
 we not seek such experiences and joyful emotions because 
 it may be pleasant. May we feel that we are called to 
 all the experiences that Christ had ; that, like our Captain, 
 we are to be made perfect through suffering. May we 
 take cloud or sunshine, storm or calm, sorrow or glad- 
 ness; be able to bear affliction or prosperity, to be 
 lifted up or to be cast down, to feel that we are as 
 ships that cross the tempestuous deep, forever swaying 
 and rocking, forever elevated and lowered by the con- 
 flicting waves, but safe through all storms ; that the trou- 
 bles through which we pass are waves, that life is a voy- 
 age, and that we are ships making haste to cross the 
 deep. May none of us founder before we reach the har- 
 bor, but may every one of us have that pilot in the ship, 
 that guidance, that living Christ, that we shall be sure, 
 through calm and conflict, of reaching the land which he 
 appoints ; and may it be Immanuel's land that place of 
 rest, where no storms are, and where no tears wet the 
 eye. 
 
 We thank thee that so many have reached it. O, how 
 many of our friends that have cried upon earth have for- 
 gotten long since to weep or cry ! How many that on 
 earth faltered in praise, go forth in the grandeur of hea- 
 venly joy 1 How many that lisped by our sides are speak-
 
 BEECHER'S PUTJTT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 ing in the full vocalization of heavenly music! How 
 many that went from us, before they spoke at all, might 
 well be our teachers now ! We thank thee that heaven 
 is so rich for them. "We thank thee, O Jesus, that thou 
 art so loved, that thou art embraced by all the myriad a 
 of those that have been redeemed by thee in every age. 
 Thou art borne up upon the praises of thy blessed sancti- 
 fied church in heaven. "We have those there that are 
 united to us by memory, by love, and by all the ties of 
 earthly relationships. They praise thee ; they rejoice in 
 thee; they comfort us when we think of them. "We 
 would not call them back ; we only desire to hold them 
 in such remembrance that we may follow hard after 
 them, and, in the way where they found victory, find our 
 victory too. We call back none to our arms that are 
 gone forth; we call back none to light our dwellings, 
 whose going forth was as the setting sun ; we call back 
 no treasures taken to please God, but we only remember 
 that they have gone, and that we shall surely go after 
 them. 
 
 Bless these ministrations of thy providence to our 
 good, and may the things that seem to break us 
 down, lift us up. And as thou dost give life to the har- 
 vest by corrupting the seed, and crushing it under the 
 plow, that it may lose traces of life, to give forth a 
 more abundant increase, so we beseech thee that when 
 we are cast down and crushed by thy plow, and seem 
 to be utterly destroyed, may we understand God's way 
 of planting; that out of these afflictions, which for the 
 present are not joyous, but grievous, there shall come 
 forth and there shall grow up peaceable fruits of righte- 
 ousness. May we, then, every day, every hour, every 
 moment, and in every thing, look to thee to think for us,
 
 THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. 7 
 
 will for us, and then let us coincide in thinking and in 
 willing with thee, that we may be God-led, and preserved 
 and saved. 
 
 Bless, we beseech thee, all those for whom we should 
 pray. Remember all classes and conditions of men. 
 May the gospel of Christ, that hath dwelt in this world 
 BO long without subduing it, receive new power, and may 
 it go forth with more disclosures of divinity than ever ; 
 and before the brightness of thy coming may all forms 
 of selfishness flee away, may all pride be beaten down, 
 may all inhumanities sink to perdition, may the glory of 
 God's love fill and overflow the earth, and may peace, 
 founded upon justice, prevail among the nations of the 
 globe, and war be heard no more forever, and all the 
 earth see the salvation of our God ; and to thy name 
 ghall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit Amen.
 
 A CLOsnro PRA.TZB. 
 
 OUB hearaily Father, we beseech of thee that we may be made to drin* 
 Into the spirit of God, and be laborers together with thee in all truth, in 
 all fidelity, hi all love, hi all humanity. May we not, alone in our theory 
 and in our principles, believe hi this greatness of man as made by God 
 and as destined by him to immortality, but grant that we may have this 
 knowledge interpreted to us in our disposition. May we know how to 
 correct the elevation of pride and its heartlessness ; may we have the 
 desire to do good to all men as we have an opportunity. Grant that we 
 may be tenjiet^earted, and that we may have affection that stands ready 
 to flow down. May we know how to pay some tribute of esteem to all 
 men, and may there be a desire hi our hearts to-day that they may be 
 made better aud happier by our testimonies toward them. Lord, how 
 great ia the sea, how new is the voyage, how difficult is the navigation I 
 O give us thine own Spirit, or we shall never exemplify Christ in the 
 details of our h'fe. Lord God, cleanse us from this infidelity of our 
 every day life, and bring us into the spirit of Jesus, that love may reign 
 triumphant in us, and that we may glorify our Father in heaven. And 
 when we have done with life, though it hath been an imperfect one 
 sinning throughout by manifold sins Lord Jesus, let there be found in 
 us the mercy of God cleansing from every sin, and give us through the 
 infinite grace and mercy of our Saviour, an entrance into thine heavenly 
 kingdom : and let it be a heaven where pride shall come to us no more, 
 and selfishness no more, and corruption no more ; and then, if we may lift 
 ourselves up in raiment unstained and indeed purified by thy blood, w 
 will give to thee the praise of our salvation for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 REMEMBRANCE OF DIVINE MERCIES 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee, our Father in heaven, that we have already begun the 
 long of thanksgiving, and we ask that we may have that blessing which 
 is comprehended in thine own presence ; for what the sun is to all the 
 earth in summer, that art thou to us. Whatever we need, whatever we 
 would have taken away, whatever things must come or must go, all is as 
 it should be in us when thou art present, quickening, comforting, teach- 
 ing, guiding. May we have, therefore, in the beginning of our worship 
 to-day, the feeling that we are in the presence of our Father and great 
 benefactor. May we all feel that we have come home to-day. May thy 
 word be not the words printed in a book, but the voice of God speaking 
 to us. May all the exercises of worship before thee, while they are reve- 
 rential, have that high and blessed familiarity which love gives. May we 
 sing with great gladness, and sing together ; may we speak from a true 
 heart, informed by the Spirit of God ; may we be able together to lift up 
 our prayers, and so wilt thou move upon us to ask the things which we 
 ought, that, while we are speaking, blessings may fall ; and may all the 
 service of the day, being divinely inspired and guided, be divinely blessed. 
 We ask it for Christ Jesus' sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 O GOD, we come to speak of thine abundant mercies 
 to us. We wonder while we adore ! What are we and 
 our father's house, that thou shouldst have shown such 
 mercies to us ? Why was our lot cast in the midst of 
 BO much privilege ? Why were we so nurtured ? Why 
 were angel guards sent to us in the cradle and in all t^ *
 
 10 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTION*. 
 
 way of youth upward ? O Lord, we rejoice that it u 
 so, and yet we cannot see behind the veil which hides the 
 secret purpose of God in the administration of human 
 affairs. "We rejoice that we were born so near to the 
 sanctuary, and, before we knew what it meant, heard its 
 call Sabbath by Sabbath. We thank thee that our earli- 
 est knowledge came through thy word, full of marvel 
 and wonder. We thank thee that our earliest thoughts 
 and feelings were those feelings of love to our superiors 
 and parents which taught us how to love upward toward 
 our God. We thank thee that we were surrounded, yea, 
 woven into the golden fabric of domestic love, and that 
 we were surrounded by so many faithful companions 
 and trusted friends. We thank thee for the privileges of 
 our childhood, and for all the opportunities of instruc- 
 tion. We thank thee even for the things which we had 
 of trouble ; it was good to bear the yoke in our youth. 
 
 We thank thee that thou didst show us the way to man- 
 hood, and open the door thereat, and didst permit so 
 many of us to walk in thither, and to walk in the way 
 built of God, toward honor, glory, and immortality. 
 How many of ns recognize ourselves as thine own, 
 called by thy Spirit, and called effectually ! How many 
 are there that bear witness, because thou bearest witness 
 in them ! How many that remember days of great glad- 
 ness, of joys from Christ revealed in them the hope of 
 glory! How many, this morning, as they think upon 
 the mercies of God, are overwhelmed with the reflection 
 of his abundant kindnesses ! How many have been 
 drawn out of evil ! How manv have been healed and 
 brought up from sicknesses ! How many have had those 
 dear to them as their own life spared by thy kindness ! 
 
 How many have been rescued from their fears ! How
 
 REMEMBRANCE OF DIVINE MERCIES. 11 
 
 many hav<? escaped from temptation, as a bird from the 
 snare of the fowler ! How many have seen the things 
 that were cracked and ready to fall, heal again ! How 
 many households, that seemed to be threatened with 
 destruction, hast thou surrounded by the clasping of thine 
 own arms and held firmly together ! Behold, how many 
 there are that stand reading the book of their remem- 
 brance, and wondering, as they read, that every line haa 
 something of God's goodness ! How art thou celebrated 
 in our thoughts ! How is the truth and wisdom of thy 
 providence made plain, as we go back over all the way 
 in which thou hast led us in life ! Sometimes, when we 
 fall from grace and thee, and stand looking at our life 
 in the light of our lower feelings, how burdensome and 
 sordid, how unsatisfactory and unfruitful are all things ; 
 it is the weary gate that opened to let us into life, and 
 we look wistfully when the day shall come that we 
 shall go out of it. It seems but vanity, vexation, tur- 
 moil, and uncertainty, and brooding doubts spread over 
 all the sphere ; but when we are caught by thee, and the 
 spirit lifted up, so that we look upon the world in the 
 light of thy countenance, and from our higher and 
 nobler nature, how strange and wonderful is the bright- 
 ness thereof! How our souls thank thee for that birth 
 into immortality which thou hast been pleased to give 
 us ! Our very tears then seem prayers ; our very sorrows 
 and sighs are subjects of thanksgiving ; not one stroke 
 has there been too much, not one burden too heavy, not 
 one trial or experience too many. Thy faithfulness 
 seems to us to walk before and to preside over all the 
 processes and steps of our lives, and we are conscious 
 that we are surrounded by thee, and that, in the silence 
 with which thou art pleased to work, we still were
 
 12 BBBCHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIOXS. 
 
 thought of, and that the silent thoughts of God shot 
 hither and thither all round about; more than stars, 
 more than suns, were they to us, though we scarcely 
 knew their light. 
 
 And now, O Lord God, most high and holy, we desire 
 evermore to live as seeing thee who art invisible; we 
 desire to see every part of our life as thou beholdest, 
 instinct with meaning, and full of fore-pointings toward 
 immortality ; we desire to understand that we are not as 
 brutes are, and that our life is not in our outward things ; 
 we desire to feel that our truest life is hid with Christ 
 in God, that we are the first-born of the resurrection, 
 marching all of us homeward and heavenward to honors 
 and dignities, such as are not foreshadowed in any thing 
 in this world. We pray that we may be patient ; that 
 we may be humble before thee, but courageous before 
 men and temptation ; we pray that we may not repine 
 or murmur under any circumstances. May the bitter- 
 ness of the cup be welcome to our lips; may all the 
 things of life that seem to strain, and gird, and bind, 
 seem but the forming hand of God ; and as the marble 
 knows not why the chisel acts, though the sculptoi 
 knows, so, though we do not know what thou art doing, 
 may we understand that all pressures and pains and 
 troubles are but the hands of God forming us to his own 
 likeness and image ; and may we be glad even at the 
 ministry of trouble ; may we lift up a joyful heart even 
 when we suffer ; and may we learn, at last, to come with 
 that blessedness of resignation, whereby we can say, " We 
 rejoioe in infirmities, and count it all joy when we fall 
 into divers temptations." 
 
 Be pleased to bless all whom we love ; we pray that, 
 wherever they may be, they may yet be always with thee ;
 
 REMEMBRANCE OF DIVINE MEECIKS. 13 
 
 and if thy grace and providence are extended above them, 
 why should we follow them with thoughts of fear and 
 anxiety? O Lord, since we can commit ourselves to 
 thee, why can we not commit all other things which we 
 love ? We do ; we offer ourselves ; we yield up our chil- 
 dren ; we give our dearest friends and companions, yea, 
 our every hope and anticipation of the .future ; we leave 
 them in thy hand. It is a glorious refuge that we have ; 
 we plant and place in thee all things, saying, " thy will be 
 done." 
 
 Bless, we beseech thee, our brethren of every name. 
 Unite the household of faith more and more, by the 
 adhesion of love, and less and less may they seek to 
 be united by the external forms of belief and govern- 
 ment. We beseech thee that thou wilt make thy people 
 love manliness in Christ Jesus, and may this become the 
 highest ideal of Christian life. Thou hast borne thy 
 churches through the conflicts of time ; thou hast sur- 
 rounded them with bulwarks ; thou hast given them the 
 sword, the spear, and the shield ; and now may they begin 
 to understand that the fig-tree, the vine, the vineyard, 
 and all the pleasant things of the garden, are more desir- 
 able than sword, or spear, or shield. And we beseech of 
 thee that the things which make for peace, in equity and 
 purity, may more and more rise in value. May thy 
 people vex each other less and less, distrust less and less, 
 separate themselves less and less. Pour out thy Spirit 
 upon all those things that are bringing thy servants of 
 every name together, and grant that this bond of a com- 
 mon love may grow stronger and stronger around the 
 earth. We pray that thou wilt hasten the day when all 
 evil shall pass away ; when slavery shall cease ; when 
 iniquitous laws shall cease; when intemperance, igno-
 
 14 BKKOIIBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 ranee, and every form of passion shall cease ; when the 
 glory of God shall shine, and the Son shall travel in the 
 greatness of his strength ; may this blessed day rise not 
 npon us alone, but upon all the nations of the earth. 
 Lord, look again and see those whom thou hast made ; 
 behold the waste and the darkness of the earth ; behold 
 the trouble, the ruin, and the dismay of nations. Have 
 mercy upon the earth, O thou that dost hide thyself 
 behind thine own mysterious counsels ; shine forth and 
 bring salvation to all the earth ; and to thy name shall 
 be the pruse, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 PRECIOUSNESS OF THE SAJSTCTTJARY. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee, our Father, that we are gathered from BO many places 
 by thy kind providence to this, thy house of prayer. Thou hast in other 
 times been here to receive us. Stand in thine own house again to-day, 
 and bid every heart welcome with the assurance of thy lore, of thy favor, 
 and of thy presence ; and by the power which thou dost show forth upon 
 us, may we discern the truth hidden in thy word. May we take hold 
 upon thee in communion ; may we be able to unite together in fellowship 
 of song, and praise thee with one heart and voice. Grant that all the 
 exercises of the Sabbath, whether in the sanctuary or in our several 
 homes, may conduce to our spiritual comfort and edification: and thus 
 may thy name be honored. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 OUR heavenly Father, we do not draw near to thee in 
 this place as if only here thou wert to be found. Thou 
 hast made the whole earth to be full of thee. The 
 heavens declare thy glory and the firmament showeth thy 
 handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech of thee, 
 through all the years of our lives. Neither is there any 
 place so solitary, nor any so barren, nor any so dark and 
 sad and seemingly neglected, that thou art not to be 
 discerned there. Thou hast written of thee in every part 
 of this domain, and they that are instructed in thee know 
 \ow to find thee everywhere. 
 
 But yet, in some places we find thee more easily
 
 16 BBECHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 than in others. Thou hast made this place peculiarly 
 dear to as, because here we have often lingered, wait- 
 ing for the dawn, until the day-spring came from on 
 high. Here we have come, unable to see by the multi- 
 tude of our tears, and gone away seeing all the better 
 through them, as if thou hadst made them lenses. Here 
 we have been pressed down, burdened, and gone leaving 
 our burden, we knew not where. We have come in 
 heavily, and gone out light-hearted indeed. When we 
 turn back our thoughts to the many years that we have 
 been wont to come here ; when we bring to our remem- 
 brance those that aforetime have been with us, and are 
 no more upon this side, how sacred is the place ; though 
 no sprinkling of water and no reaching out of hands, and 
 no pronunciation of blessing have been here vainly to 
 seek to consecrate these elements, yet ten thousand hearts 
 have consecrated this place. The sprinkling hath been 
 of tears, and the reaching out and imposition of hands 
 hath been indeed in spiritual things. 
 
 Here have we not beheld our children bowing to thee ? 
 Have they not stood before us and with us, grouped by 
 faith into the same household ? Here have we not had 
 triumph given to us through our sorrow and anguish in 
 their early release, and our loss of them ? Here thou hast 
 made it sweet for us to pray, to sing. Here thou hast 
 made us seem more lovely to each other than ever we 
 are in our outward and earthly relations. Here thou 
 hast made the light of heaven to shine golden on the 
 wings of life that aforetime hath been gloomy. Thou 
 hast here taught us courage, and hope, and faith, and 
 love. Thou hast so stricken us through with these 
 divine elements, that we have been able to carry them 
 with us every week, as we went along our troubled way
 
 PKBCIOUSNESS OF THE 8ANCTUABY. 1Y 
 
 And now when the Sabbath dawns, it comes speaking 
 thoughts of pleasure and rest to us ; and when the gates 
 of God's house are thrown open, how do we rejoice to 
 come up together ! How sweet and pleasant a house thou 
 hast made it to us. Though we are in the flesh, and 
 though we are restricted in every thing that is good by 
 pride and selfishness, and by the low-mindedness of our 
 habitual thoughts, yet with all these hindrances how hast 
 thou made us to discern things here in the light and glory 
 of heaven. "We thank thee for the memories of the sanc- 
 tuary, for the experience of the sanctuary, and for all the 
 blessedness which yet is in it or waiting for our recep- 
 tion. 
 
 And now we beseech thee, thou that hast power to 
 touch our imagination, our affection, and our understand- 
 ing, to-day, interpret to us the exceeding greatness of the 
 truths of God. Those least truths around about us, that 
 thou hast interpreted through forms of matter, are more 
 than we can search, and deeper than we can understand ; 
 yet these are the under-foot truths, and the least, while 
 above us and related to our spiritual being, what is the 
 grandeur of those immortal truths of love and purity and 
 rectitude which thou art attempting to teach us ! Be 
 patient yet, O thou long-suffering Saviour, as thou hast 
 been patient in days past with us, for it is through thy 
 patience that we have hope. 
 
 It is not because we are good nor easily made good ; it 
 is not because we are docile or easily instructible that we 
 have any hope for we find ourselves coarse, and dull, 
 and worldly ; ungenerous, selfish, and proud ; at times 
 envious and jealous and filled with all hatefulness of that 
 which, when it comes to us revealed in the light of higher 
 truths, makes us shrink from ourselves with unutterable
 
 18 BEECHEB'B PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 loathing and to wonder that thou couldst look with com 
 placency for a moment upon us. 
 
 And jet, such is thy love, and such is the patience with 
 which it hath inspired thee, that thou hast not yet been 
 weary of thy charge. Thou hast borne us up more ten- 
 derly than ever did our parents in our infancy, and thy 
 thoughts toward us, how precious and how exceeding great 
 the number of them ! The wonder of thy grace, of thy 
 tenderness, and of thy kindness, have begun to awaken in 
 us an earnest desire to please thee. But only when we 
 endeavor to please thee, do we find how void we are by 
 nature of goodness only then when we attempt to reach 
 forth our hand to write or to appear growing and vigor 
 ous, do we find how rude and untaught our hands are. 
 We stand before thee undressed ; we stand empty ; yet 
 with all thy teaching, there is nothing that we should 
 presume to hold up before thee and say, "Be gracious 
 unto us by reason of our excellence." Our whole hope 
 and faith is in the greatness, in the grandeur, in the inex- 
 haustibleness of thy love. In thyself we must needs find 
 our redemption, our sanctification. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Lord, that thou wilt cause this 
 glory of thy nature more and more to rise up before us 
 that we might be shown for evermore, beneficiaries how 
 we live upon the charity of our God; that we may feel 
 that we receive every thing from thee as a grace, as a gift 
 undeserved ; and that, conscious of living upon thee, we 
 may learn to lean toward our fellow-men, and in our small 
 measure endeavor to reflect upon them from ourselves the 
 same charity; that we may bear with them patiently; 
 that we may be more gentle to all ; that we may have love 
 in our heart that shall be able to overflow and hide as the 
 tide hides the rocks and all noisome things beneath iti
 
 PKECIOUSXESS OF THE 8ANCTT7ABY. 19 
 
 abundant depths ; so may we have that charity that shall 
 cover a multitude of sins and hide them, though it may 
 not destroy them. And we beseech of thee, having the 
 same experience of thy nature in love, that we may 
 have the evidence that we are thy children and are 
 oorn again, in the presence, activity, and increasing power 
 of love in us. And we pray that thou wilt teach us more 
 and more the knowledge of ourselves, more and more the 
 skill to extend this divine glory ; more and more may we 
 carry in our personal disposition, in our household, and 
 through every part of our worldly business this nobler 
 spirit of the divine nature ; so may we live as perpetually 
 to preach ; so may we live that men shall be curious to 
 know from what source we draw the inspiration of our 
 life, and thus seeing our good works be led to glorify our 
 Father which is in heaven. 
 
 "Wilt thou grant to every one in thy presence the 
 blessings which they need. Have none come in hither 
 unconscious of their duty, unconscious of their need? 
 Have none come drawn merely by curiosity? If there 
 be any such, O Lord, we pray that thou wilt be better 
 to them than they meant to be to themselves, and meet 
 hem with such divine influence, such an opening of 
 their eyes, such a quickening of their affections, that 
 they shall feel that indeed God hath led them hither 
 for a purpose which they suspected not, and led them in 
 a way they knew not of. Are there those that have 
 been conscious of unsupplied want ? Are there any that 
 have been as birds flying prematurely into a land in 
 which no seed nor flower hath }'et come up, waiting 
 for the summer to come, and know not what they suf- 
 fer from hunger ? Are there not some that thou hast 
 brought, who sit hungering on the tree and longing for
 
 10 BBECHBE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 food, and know not where to turn? O, thou art the God 
 for such. In their helplessness, in their ignorance, in their 
 want of knowledge of themselves, they shall find in thee 
 Bupremest joy, for thou dost love to do great things for such, 
 because thou art great in all the inflections of generosity 
 and goodness. If there be such here to-day, may they hear 
 the voice of God in these very musings and wants of their 
 nature, and may they be drawn to thee for their supply. 
 And if there are any in thy presence that stand doubtful, 
 whose sun is risen but whose heavens are clouded, O grant 
 that the light may no longer shine twilight through 
 the cloud, but break away and give a clear, effulgent 
 experience. 
 
 And we beseech thee that thou wilt accept, this morn- 
 ing, the heart-felt thanks of those who have seen the sun 
 of righteousness, with healing in his oeams, who dwell in 
 the summer of his love and are satisfied, whose days go 
 past in music, and all of whose sounds are harmonies of 
 God. May they not fall from this blessed state, nor 
 deem it a trance, but may they abide in it and find the 
 fullness of thy love, and its sweet fiuition, which they 
 may have, who have put their whole trust in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 Bless all that are young ; help thobe that are appointed 
 as parents, or guardians, or teachers, to so rear them that 
 they may walk from the freshness and purity of youth, 
 untempted, up to the experience of Christian purity and 
 love, without swerving, without contamination. Succor 
 those, we beseech thee, that are discouraged in the rear- 
 ing of thy children, and may they have hope and trust 
 In God, and not be discouraged in themselves. 
 
 And now we ask of thee that we may all have more and 
 more of the knowledge of God ; may we grow in grace and
 
 PBKCIOUSNBSS OP THE SA.NCTTJART 21 
 
 in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
 until we are changed from glory to glory, and are permitted 
 to take our place by thy side in heaven, where we will 
 praise thee forever and ever. Amen.
 
 CLOSING P 
 
 00B heavenly Father, wilt thou bless the word of admonition given. 
 May thy truth come to us with authority, delivering us from those dim 
 and misty visions which we have when the fogs of this life rise around 
 about us ; when our own passions distemper our sight. Give us that 
 calm certainty of truth, that nearness of thee, that conviction of the 
 reality of the life to come, which we shall need to bear us through the 
 troubles of this. Oh, if we could live as seeing thee that art invisible, if 
 we could live as beholding heaven, it would not be hard to li ve aright 1 
 But our faith is faint; the world is real to us; and we are on every side 
 sympathetic with earthly things. Those things seem to us visionary and 
 remote that are most important to us. Therefore we ask that gift of the 
 Holy Spirit by which the truth is brought into the heart, and made to 
 abide there in ever-increasing power. Baptize us with the Holy Ghost ; 
 dwell in us; go with us; and at last, through all entanglements, through 
 every temptation, through perils and dangers, through death itself bring 
 us to our exceeding great reward in heaven. These mercies we aak foi 
 Chriit'i take. Amen.
 
 OPENING OF THE SPRING. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 0T of thine infinite fullness, Lord our God, be pleased to give forw- 
 strength and wisdom and inspiration. Breathe upon us, that every-thmg 
 which is good may be lifted up, and that every thing which is evil may be laid 
 low, and that we may please thee. Drawn hither, we trust, by thy secret 
 and divine drawing, we have come expectant. Release us now from care , 
 cause the peace to rest on us which thou wert accustomed to breathe on the 
 discipled band on the first day, and may we rejoice together in emancipation ; 
 and may the hours to-day surround us better than the walls did Jerusalem, 
 or the mountains the walls. May the Lord our God to-day be our joy. 
 and may his joy be our strength. Bless thy word, and as thou didst out 
 of the rock bring forth Christ, our Lord and Saviour, so may the buried 
 Christ be brought forth from the letter to-day, and stand living and 
 blessed before our gaze. Bless us as we may speak the word of truth 
 in exhortation of life and duty; may we be divinely guided in all wisdom, 
 and let it not be a vain thing that we listen, but rather for our souls' 
 everlasting profit. Accept our thanks that we are permitted in voice 
 to take hold of each other's hearts in singing together ; may we unite 
 gladly in the sweet fellowship of love one with another ; may we unite, 
 I >y the consciousness of faith, with those that never cease to praise, with 
 every joy of their hearts in divine and everlasting overflow, the grace of 
 God which brought them safe to heaven. Be thou pleased with our 
 imperfect song and worship. Help us to commune with thee face to face 
 in prayer unabashed, coming boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
 mercy and help in time of need. Lord, may the whole day, when it shall 
 have passed, seem to have been but an alabaster box of precious ointment 
 broken on our heads, whose perfume shall linger long through the week 
 with us from day to day, until we are taken home to our rest in heaven 
 where we will praise thee for evermore. Amen.
 
 24 BKKCHEK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS 
 
 BEFORX SERMON. 
 
 WE rejoice, our Father, that thou hast made known to 
 as, in thy word, that wisdom by which we can interpret 
 all thy revelation and nature. We have walked aforetime 
 in the midst of the things which thou hast made, as men 
 walk in desolate cities who cannot read their inscriptions. 
 Now, since thou hast revealed thyself to us in Jesus 
 Christ, we behold thine eternal power and Godhead in 
 nature also. We can perceive thy unity, thy wisdom, 
 thy grace of kindness, and all the sense of things fit and 
 beautiful in thee, in harmony and fellowship. The sun 
 is no longer without a voice to us. "Day unto day utter- 
 eth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.'' 
 On every side, we behold the work of thy hand and thy 
 thought expressed in visible things, and are surrounded 
 by God. 
 
 To-day we behold thee. Thou art causing with silent 
 steps the advance of spring, and we behold already in the 
 winter the preparations for its departure. Already we 
 realize what is coming, and rejoice in the advance of 
 warmth and of re-entering life, and in all the offspring of 
 things that shall reach out their arms to bless thee. 
 Now, O Lord, be pleased to encourage us by these symp- 
 toms, that we may think that BO thy word advances to 
 our souls with light from afar, and with warmth stream- 
 ing daily warmer with all the vivific influences, which, 
 falling divinely upon our thoughts, fill us and cause them 
 to spring up, the root to grow, and the stem, and every 
 part thereof. For though there is power in us, it is power 
 divinely developed, and the higher we aspire, the more 
 we need this divine help. In the things which are lowest 
 to us, in the things in which we attach and adhere to 
 matter and the world, thou hast given us great power in
 
 OPENING OF THE SPRING. 2fi 
 
 and of ourselves; and as we rise toward our higher spirit- 
 ual nature, thou hast blessedly made us more and more 
 dependent upon thee ; and so thou hast made it, that we 
 shall come nearer to God as we grow strong in ourselves. 
 Thou hast directed it that we should be less and less self- 
 dependent and self-sustained, and more and more enriched 
 by a sovereign and blessed dependence upon thee. 
 
 And this is our joy, that whatever gift we receive 
 blesses not alone in the thing that it is itself, but in the 
 word which it brings of remembrances from thee. And 
 as the flowers of the earth that are fair, are fairer when 
 love sends them to us ; and as the fruits of the field are 
 good, but better and perfumed with a rarer flavor when 
 they are instances and significant symbols of another's 
 thought: so all the gifts that we work out ourselves, the 
 things which we pluck from the boughs of life by our 
 own industries, if we see them also as the gifts of God, 
 become doubly valuable. Yet at times all those things 
 seem to us only in their lower uses ; but they are sovereign 
 and unspeakably precious because they are a part of the 
 thoughts of God toward us. 
 
 It is our joy that we live in thee. It is this connection 
 of ours with thee that every year makes us more and 
 more upright and immovable as the sons of God. We 
 are glad that we do not float hither and thither like bar- 
 ren waifs ; we are glad that we do not stand only by the 
 adhesion of our natural powers to this world ; we are 
 glad that we have a life in God, and that we are col- 
 lectively the very body of Christ, of which he is the 
 head. 
 
 Now, O Lord, wilt thou teach us more and more by an 
 inward experience what are these truths of fellowship and 
 unity with thee : more and more may we sit down bo- 
 a
 
 28 BEECHEB'B PULPIT DEVOTIOWB 
 
 neath thy care with the sweetest delight. We ar& weak 
 but thou art strong, that the weak may b aaade strong j 
 we are blind or very short-sighted, thou art penetrating 
 and omniscient, seeing the end from the beginning* and 
 thou givest wisdom liberally to those that ask, and up- 
 braidest not. Thou art never mocking us ; thou never 
 givest a gift with a reproach ; thou never pardonest with 
 any word of thy thought about our transgressions. Thou 
 only art tender and full of delicacy of feeling ; thou only 
 forgettest, and yet thou art the unforgetting One, and 
 nothing can be hid from thy thought, nor from thy memo- 
 ry, which is the universal book, where all being writes 
 itself; but our sins are forgotten ; they sink as stones at 
 the bottom of the sea ; thou makest mention of them no 
 more forever ; and all the grace which we abuse to-day, 
 rises up with a sweet and pleasant fruit to meet our re- 
 turn to-morrow. "Would God that his goodness might 
 lead us to repentance, and that, if we are not afraid to sin, 
 we might be at least ashamed to sin. 
 
 May we remember out of what a bosom we draw such 
 patience. Thou, that boldest thyself in everlasting purity, 
 art not indolent nor secure in thine own enjoyment ; thou 
 that art continually active and moving through all crea- 
 tion, exercising thy whole power and vast being in bene- 
 faction; may we see against whom it is that we thus 
 sin so selfish, so narrow, so limited and plied with vain 
 and contesting passions. In all our folly, passion, and 
 vanity, in all our sordid selfishness, we are continually 
 arraying ourselves against thee; and thou continuest 
 forgiving with long, suffering patience, with gentleness 
 unmatched. Thou, everlasting and grand in the glory 
 of thy nature, art beaixng with us, and carrying us as it 
 were in thy bosom, that thou mayest develop by thy pa-
 
 OPENING OF THE SPRING. 27 
 
 tience and goodness those supernal traits that shall yet 
 make us fit for heaven and thine own society. 
 
 We bless thee for thy faithfulness ; we hless thee for 
 thy patient continuance in well-doing toward us ; we 
 are saved by thy goodness ; it is our only hope. There 
 could be no expectation of perseverance in life, none of 
 triumph in death, none of immortality, were it not found in 
 the nature of thy greatness and goodness. And now we 
 beseech thee, that we may not plead this argument ap 
 a reason why we shall go on in sin, that grace may 
 more and more abound. May every thing that is in us 
 be touched with honor, conscience, love, and gratitude ; 
 and may we desire to consecrate our lives within and 
 without, of all thought or action, of spirit or body, our 
 whole body and soul ; may we consecrate all to the 
 service of our God ; for it is our reasonable sacrifice. We 
 owe ourselves to thee ; we do justly thus judge, that " if 
 one died for all, then were all dead ; and he died that 
 those who live should henceforth not live unto them- 
 selves, but unto him who died for them." So may we 
 live, and more and more abundantly may the fruit of our 
 life answer to the faithfulness of thy labor in us and 
 for us. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt help every one in 
 thy presence according to their needs ; for as rains come 
 down, and yet serve every plant according to its own 
 nature, coming forth in different colors, different blos- 
 soms, and different fruit, so let thy grace, which wo may 
 not see, yet work in each one of us the things that we 
 specially and individually need. May we remember 
 that we are before thee as those that are sick before the 
 benevolence of their physician ; and may we not be 
 ashamed to come to God because of the thoughts which
 
 28 BEECHKRS PITLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 we have of ourselves, or as if God had the thoughts 
 which other men have of us. However poor we may be, 
 however feeble in mind, however little of value to 
 society, however we may have sinned, and done wickedly 
 and corruptly in deceits and hypocrisies, and in long 
 continuance therein, whatever may be our facility 
 toward evil, and our slow and burdensome way toward 
 goodness, thou art One that canst not hear the first 
 risings of desire unaffected ; and that which is in us as 
 the faint trickling of a drop, springs up as the motion of 
 ocean tides in thee; and thou art ready to take us in the 
 greatness of thy being and not according to our own 
 inward strength alone, but according to our power 
 multiplied and made great by thy power. 
 
 May every one venture upon God, not in presump- 
 tion, but humbly; conscious of weakness and of want, 
 needing God as the hungry body needs bread and the 
 thirsty lips water ; may we come to thee as the bread 
 of life and as the flowing river of our life. We beseech 
 thee that there may be none who shall complain that 
 they are outcasts, none who shall knock and find no 
 opening, none who shall reach out empty hands drawn 
 back as empty. We beseech thee that thou wilt ful- 
 fill thy promises, according to the measure of thine own 
 declaration, and do exceeding abundantly more for us 
 than we ask or think. 
 
 Our life in this sphere is passing ; we are as shadows 
 which travel as summer winds across the field ; we are 
 making haste to go up unto thee, O God ; may we every 
 day find that with each onward step of time there is an 
 upward step in character; may we find that we are 
 coming nearer to God, and know that we are becoming 
 like him ; may we feel that we are coming near to the
 
 OPENING OF THE SPEING. 29 
 
 heavenly host, n that our spirit is being made like unto 
 theirs ; and so may we have the evidence of advancing 
 immortality, in the advance of all those things that shall 
 make immortality a blessedness and a boon of God to us. 
 
 Bless, we beseech thee, the sick ; comfort them in their 
 sickness. Bless the poor ; sustain them in their poverty. 
 
 Bless the bereaved, comfort them in the midst of thy 
 strokes that have desolated their joys. If there be frost 
 that hath extinguished their garden and all its blossoms, 
 may they remember that frosts come, and spring comes 
 again; and may they hope in God. We beseech thee 
 that thou wilt sustain those who are under temptation, 
 and let them not be tempted more than they are able to 
 bear. O Lord Jesus, stand by them ; and, in the day of 
 their trial, hold them up for thine own name's sake. 
 
 Be with those that are burdened with the cares of life ; 
 may they be manful in their duties ; may they go for- 
 ward and do the work of God in their own affairs with 
 diligence and with gladness. May they not shrink from 
 the battle and the warfare of life, but everywhere carry 
 Christ ; so that he shall be honored in every tiling that 
 they do. 
 
 May we all go forward ; and at last may this church, 
 we that sing together, rejoicing in sweet and heavenly 
 sympathies together, may this great embodied church 
 march chanting and glorifying God from earth to heaven, 
 there to know each other ; and may it be our inexpressi- 
 ble joy forever to celebrate thy praise, thy faithful 
 patience of love, which has brought us safely from earth 
 there ; and we will unite together in heaven, as feebly 
 and imperfectly here we unite together, in ascribing the 
 praise of our salvation to the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 CLOSING PRATER. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father, we beseech of thee that thou wilt command thj 
 blessing to rest upon us, and especially upon the truth which we have 
 contemplated. Most imperfectly do we behold it ; we feel borne on this 
 celestial flood. How feeble is our flight, and how endless beyond the 
 utmost reach of thought are the outstretched realms yet of thought when 
 we attempt to compass thy being ; when we attempt to digest thy nature, 
 and to lay one faculty and one attribute against another and harmonize 
 thee. we are as insects that build pyramids. "We know not what we do ; 
 we hold the balances in our finite hand to weigh the infinite and the eternal. 
 But this we know, that Christ died, and that he died from love to man, to 
 save the world, and that this is the nature of God revealed in Christ 
 Grant, we beseech thee, that we may be fired with ardor of lovo and 
 admiration for such a God; grant that, beholding as in a glass the glory 
 of the Lord, we may be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, 
 Ten as by the Spirit of the Lord. Amen.
 
 NEED OF GOD. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 OTJB Heavenly Father, we are drawn to thee by our wants. Erery 
 day our needs remind us of thee ; and thou hast taught us thus to in- 
 terpret our necessities, and we are called to God with every hour and 
 at every moment. Be pleased to meet us ; be pleased to reveal thyself to 
 us. And since thou art the light and the life of every one since thou art 
 the bread and the meat upon which we live since thou art all in all grant 
 that we may behold thee supplying our necessities. We rejoice that we 
 again hail the morning, which is the chiefest and best of all the week. 
 "We admire the place ; we rejoice together. And while our thoughts are 
 half drawn downward and outward by memories of the past, here we are 
 drawn upward again, and are lifted into the presence of our God. Grant, 
 then, while we shall pursue, for our edification, the exercises of public 
 instruction and worship, that we may have thy helping Spirit. May we 
 understand thy truth, and feel its significance and power. May we 
 rejoice together, and in the fellowship of song draw near to thee ; may 
 we be able to pray, because thou dost excite the desire and lead the way ; 
 may all the exercises of our public devotion, and all the joy and worship 
 of our homes to-day, be divinely blest. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE rejoice, O Lord our God, that we are made to 
 need thee. We are not created and dispersed, as are 
 the ostriches of the desert, that go abroad upon then 
 desolate errands over the sand from the moment of their 
 birth ; but we are made to lie in the bosom of thy love, 
 and to receive our growth of thee. More than little
 
 82 BBEOHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 children need their parents, do we need thee ; for every 
 part of our life needs thee. Our whole body calls out 
 for thee upon that earth which thou sustainest by thy 
 right hand. "We stand by that wisdom which guides the 
 spheres. Our destiny is controlled, and thou art obliged 
 to guard us in all our wide circuits, wandering like 
 flying stars. 
 
 Thou art the One that dost pierce the distance, and 
 whose arm of might is felt in the utmost recesses and 
 distances of creation. Though we need this sustaining 
 power of God, sent down upon us in suns and rains, 
 in times and seasons, how much more do we need 
 thee within, to know how to lead forth our thoughts, 
 how to form all our dispositions, and to connect our 
 separate parts of experiences into a consistent whole and 
 choice character. This is beyond our knowledge ; for we 
 know not how to touch the springs of our own life- 
 powers, or touch them but ignorantly. Thou hast fash- 
 ioned us within and without; and thou art to us a father 
 indeed, and an everlasting teacher, guiding, influencing, 
 and constraining ; and we rejoice that we are thus neces- 
 sitous of thee. In the very sources of our life we call 
 out for God. For thou art supreme in excellence, thou 
 art glorious in holiness, thou art wonderful in praises. 
 They that are disabused of their flesh, and stand before 
 thee in all the glorious liberty of spiritual life they be- 
 hold thee, and beholding, break forth into joy ; and the 
 joy of those that are thus made rich in happiness is the 
 peace of heaven. 
 
 We are glad, O Lord, that thou art such an one, and 
 that thou art pleased to call thyself our father, the ever- 
 lasting father, though the mighty God. And though we 
 are at the extremities of creation, though all our way up
 
 NEED OF GOD. 3d 
 
 to greatness is yet to be walked and traveled, yet we 
 rejoice that thou art pleased to call us thine own, and to 
 teach us that thy heart yearns after us, that where thou 
 art, there we may be also. 
 
 Now, we beseech of thee, O Lord our God, that thou 
 wilt fill us this day with a sense of thy graciousness and 
 goodness. May a sense of God banish our doubts and 
 needless fears. May we feel that thou dost know how 
 to sustain thyself and thine administration, and yet take 
 care of guilty and sinful creatures, that their faults may 
 not be their ruin. May we rejoice in believing, though 
 our transgressions have been many, and though our 
 offenses may have been heinous. May we stand in the 
 full faith of that wondrous divine wisdom which knows 
 how to rescue us without jeopardy to any other interests. 
 We do not understand how. "What do we understand 
 of thee, or of any thing which is a part of thine infinity ? 
 But we believe that thou art, and that thou canst have 
 mercy on whom thou wilt. Thou art not hedged in by 
 our prejudices, nor by our restrictions, nor by any neces- 
 sities of thy government ; but thou takest counsel from 
 thine own royalty, thou askest the generosity of thy 
 heart ; and by that love which is infinite in all its 
 directions and attributes by that, thou dost take coun- 
 sel, and then do as seemest best to thee. Thus we stand 
 surrounded by all the transcendent grandeur of divine love. 
 
 We know that we are unworthy: every day we 
 feel that we are more than unworthy. We feel that if 
 thou wert to administer according to any scheme of 
 strict justice if thou wert to measure our life by any 
 law, or by our own consciousness of what is fit and be 
 coming we know that we could not stand for an hour. 
 Thou art not a judge, but thou art our father ; 
 a*
 
 34 BKKCHEE'S PULPIT DEVOTIOBTS. 
 
 dost not wish to judge, unless we press through all ay 
 mercies and compel thee to accept us only as evil. T ion 
 wilt not be a judge to us ; thy desire is to be a frien I to 
 the friendless : thy longing is to be a father to us. T aou 
 dost come and beg for companionship, for thy sake anc foi 
 ours. "We beseech thee that we may rejoice in this, ;hat 
 there is an administration possible wherein love may do 
 its royal work ; and in this power, grandeur, wisdom, 
 and love of God, we have all our hope and place all oui 
 expectation. 
 
 Now, we beseech thee, that this may not lead to pre- 
 sumption. May we not harden ourselves, and of necessity 
 be cast out from the favor of divine love, by believing 
 that thou wilt do all things in spite of our recreancy and 
 against our contumacy. May we rather be led by the 
 goodness of God to repentance. May we be ashamed to 
 treat thee ill because thou treatest us well. May we 
 be ashamed to sin because thou art willing to forgive. 
 We would not BO treat any earthly friend, and O deliver 
 us from the ignominy that shall so offend thee or so treat 
 God. We beseech of thee that we may heartily repent, 
 day by day, of conscious imperfection aud folly; and 
 wilt thou strengthen us, not according to our wisdom in 
 what we need ; give us, but according to thy wisdom : 
 for we know how we every day overrule our children, 
 and think further than they think, and prepare more 
 than they dream is needful, and do a thousand times 
 more by the light of our larger life and experience than 
 they would desire if they should speak their wants ; and 
 how little of all that we do do, they ask. So we beseech of 
 thee, according to the royalty of thy greatness above 
 ours, that thou wilt do for us exceeding abundantly, more 
 than we ask or think.
 
 NEED OF GOD. 35 
 
 And we beseech of thee that we may 'have the confir- 
 mation of that blessed estate, the expectation of which, 
 and the sense of its near approach, affords us consolation, 
 when the time shall come in which we shall stand free 
 from imperfection, and be worthy of the divine loving. 
 We cannot bear forever to be a burden upon thy bosom. 
 We cannot bear forever to think that thou art obliged to 
 put forth mercy and to forgive at every single step. We 
 do not love to weary thy patience or hang forever upon 
 the hands of thy love. O our God, we rejoice that there 
 shall come a day when it shall not be so ; when we shall 
 be gathered with those that are garnered, when we shall 
 go with those that are gone, when we shall rise with 
 those that have flown upward, and are to-day chanting 
 their joy in the ears of Jehovah. We rejoice that we shall 
 inherit what they know who have the fruition of that 
 which we expect to be hereafter. And in all the steps 
 tfyat yet are to be taken, in all the experiences of life, in 
 heart troubles, in passions to be borne, in trials, in sor- 
 rows, in heartaches, in yearnings, longings, and unsatis- 
 fyings ; in temptations and struggles, in downfalls or 
 in uprising victories ; in all that we bear, or endure, or 
 achieve, or suffer, grant that we may have a sense of 
 God with us God with us in providence, God with us 
 more blessed than that, in the Spirit witnessing in our 
 spirit, touching every thought, imbuing every affection, 
 and dwelling with us as a friend with a friend, by the 
 sweet affinities of like feeling. 
 
 Now, we beseech thee, O God, that thou wilt so give 
 thyself unto us, as the bread of life ; for if thus thou art 
 ministering to us thou wilt become as our food, as our 
 drink, and as our raiment. Thou wilt be to us as a 
 shadow of a great rock in a weary land. We shall find
 
 36 BKKCHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 in thee all that the earth fails to secure us ; thou wilt 
 supplement every joy, thou wilt make every experience 
 of gladness yet higher gladness ; thou wilt make tilings 
 seemingly pure, seven times greater in purity ; thou 
 wilt deepen all true affections, and efface all base ones ; 
 thou wilt build us up into all truth, justice, rectitude, 
 and loveliness, for thine own sake and for ours; and so 
 may our life be a life hidden with God. 
 
 W& pray that thou wilt bless those that stand in thy 
 presence together this morning. How unlike are we one 
 to another, and how exactly alike are we before thee! 
 How different in our parentage, how wondrously dif- 
 ferent in our education, how different in all the parts of 
 our nature, and in all those habits that have been formed 
 upon them ; in our views, prejudices, and associations ; 
 BO different that we scarcely know how to get along with 
 each other, because our pride teaches us to put emphasis 
 on the things in which we differ one from another ; but 
 thou lookest upon us in the things we agree. All of us 
 are children of the dust, all of us have common weak- 
 nesses, all of us are alike temptable, stumbling, and fall- 
 ing. All depend upon thee in the great needs of our 
 being, all marching with one step toward the glorious 
 disinthrallment of the eternal sphere; all of us are 
 redeemed by Christ's sufferings and righteousness ; all 
 waiting for the promise of the Father. How many and 
 how great are the things that band us together; that 
 stamp upon us the name of God, and give us a common 
 brotherhood. 
 
 We beseech thee that we may feel this high and 
 solemn fellowship, this grandeur and glory of unity, every 
 day when we come together to worship. May we be 
 lifted above form, and carried above all mere exponents
 
 NEED OP GOD 37 
 
 of truth, and stand in the fellowship of those blessed 
 truths in Christ Jesus. May we learn to love one 
 another, not with mere sentiment, but with truth, and a 
 charity that will show itself in all the phases of life. 
 May we feel that to love is better than to be great ; is 
 better than to be refined ; is better than to be wise ; that 
 love takes precedence of all prophecy, of every kind of 
 knowledge, and of the gift of tongues ; that love is higher 
 than hope and faith, and is the very royalty of God. 
 
 Bless those that need special comfort this morning, 
 and we pray that thou wilt grant unto them those whis- 
 perings which we may never utter without knowing 
 the conscious peace which comes from God's touch. O 
 do thou strengthen those that have troubles ahead; 
 may they not be afraid of them ; may they go as ship- 
 masters go, sailing not only in the day but through the 
 night, upon the sea ; and though they see no land, may 
 they have thy word that shall be a sure guide to them ; 
 and as thou hast said that all things shall work together 
 for good, may they not be afraid to go into trouble, but 
 may they be saved by hope and by trust in God. Are 
 any in affliction ? have any thought that their life was 
 well nigh crushed out of them ? May they now rise up 
 from their desolations to be ashamed that they thought 
 themselves overthrown, and never again to be sped out 
 of God's hand. May they feel that they can never be 
 separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and that 
 they are touched with trouble only that they may be 
 more gloriously builded up for the eternal world ; and if 
 they know it not by thy teaching, yet may they believe 
 that all things are meant to work for their good. Teach 
 them how to bear what they cannot understand, but 
 more and more to take the spiritual discernment of what
 
 38 BEECHER'S PITLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 the chastisements and the dealings of God are with them. 
 Bless thou those who may be strangers, and although 
 they may feel themselves to be strangers, may they 
 nevertheless have the fellowship and welcome of friends. 
 Since they are in their Father's house, why are we not 
 their brethren ? They are of our kindred, and are walk 
 ing with us toward our Father's house. Grant, we 
 beseech thee, that those that are desolate, those that 
 have come sick, those that have come hither with heart- 
 ache, those that have no comforters nor counselors, may 
 find thee so comforting that this house shall be to them 
 the sweetest place on earth, and an anticipation of that 
 blessed world where God shall be their God, and all tears 
 shall be wiped from all eyes. And to Father, Sen, and 
 Holy Ghost be praise forever. Amen.
 
 GOD'S GREATNESS MAN'S SECURITY. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee, our Father, that we are drawn by thine invisible hand, 
 Mid that we are permitted, day by day, to recognize the signal and the 
 invitation to come boldly to the Throne of Grace to obtain mercy and help 
 in time of need. Grant us this morning with thine invitation thy bless- 
 ing, even the gift of the Holy Ghost. By thy life inflame oura; and 
 chiefly give us life in. that part which brings us near to thee and near to 
 heavenly realities. May the world be as the ocean is afar off, the thun- 
 ders of whose waves ia lost; whose ceaseless agitation is forgot. To us may 
 there be no sound of trouble, nor remembrance of care, nor distress of any 
 kind. Hide us to-day in thy pavilion; and in thy saactuary so graciously 
 meet us and so abundantly bless us, that it shall be indeed to us the very 
 gate of heaven. "Wilt thou help us to read thy word to profit ; wilt thou help 
 us to speak forth from it counsels of truth and wisdom ; wilt thou help us 
 while we draw reverently near to thee in prayer, and grant that it may 
 not be an unfamiliar way to our footsteps. Help us to sing together, 
 rejoicing in the fellowship of common song, and offering up praise to thee. 
 May the exercises in the sanctuary, in our own homes, or in the privacy 
 of our hearts, please thee and profit us, for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOU, O God, art exalted and art supreme ; there is 
 no counselor for thee ; there is none that is equal, none 
 that can dispute thine authority, or wage war against thy 
 power. Thy very thought is destruction, is annihilation ; 
 the very movement of thy will is mightier than the 
 thunders of the air. Thou canst, with the very turn and
 
 40 BEECHKR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 sweep of thy being, bimsh all created intelligences out, 
 and they are as dust. Nations before thee are but as the 
 drop of the bucket, as the light dust of the balance, a 
 very little thing. Thou sittest on the circle of the earth ; 
 all its inhabitants are but as grasshoppers; and yet, 
 though thou art by thy greatness so transcendently lifted 
 above us, it is by thy greatness that thou art brought 
 exceedingly near to every one of us. Thy power, wisdom, 
 and controlling agency are not thee ; they are but as thy 
 hand. In thy soul is royalty, and grandeur, and divinity 
 indeed, for they are unwasted, they are unquenched and 
 endless as the love from which we are born, by which 
 we were nursed, in which we exist and live. There is 
 that spirit which goes forth and fills the heaven and fills 
 the earth, and is as an atmosphere of creation for thou 
 dost enwrap all things that thou makest ; and the con- 
 stancy of thy love and regard is over all thy works ; 
 and in the heights and in the depths, and throughout all 
 space boundless and infinite, thou art God over all, 
 blessed forever, and forever loving. 
 
 We praise thee ; we rejoice in thee. It is not a 
 trouble to us to be exalted and gathered up into the 
 greatness of thy being. We love to lose the thought of 
 our personality and our identity As children taat love 
 their parents, and are never so near to a blessed perfec- 
 tion in themselves as when gathered in the arms of fond- 
 ling love ; so we are never so strong, so clear in ourselves 
 and in our own right, so firm, as when we are lost in the 
 sympathy and glorious goodness of our God. Be pleased 
 to-day, then, to shine abroad and gather us by thy 
 shining. As in the morning the sun goes forth and 
 gathers all the drops of dew that wait his coming, for 
 their glory and their life to depart, so gather all of our
 
 SOD 8 GREATNESS MJLtf'g SBCT7BITY. 41 
 
 grateful thoughts to-day, all the loves that are tremulous 
 upon us to-day, all our gladness and our praise; and 
 though it is, in the proportion of thy being, as dew-drops 
 are in proportion to the sun, yet thou art One that art 
 not worshiped by dominion. 
 
 Thou art pleased with the humble and with the con- 
 trite, with such as are of a broken spirit ; thou art pleased 
 with the first and most imperfect sigh of repentance and 
 forsaking of evil and yearning to the truth. Thy smile 
 is enough to bring thee to us with sweet attraction and 
 instant relief. We ask not that thou shouldst accept an 
 offering to-day glorious in its fullness ; we come as imper- 
 fect creatures in the school of development ; all that we 
 bring is imperfect, and much is most sinful both by omis- 
 sion and commission. We come to thee knowing that we 
 are spared ; that it is mercy which guards our hearts ; that 
 it is the long-suffering of God with our indolence, help- 
 lessness, pride, and selfishness, that gives us leave to be 
 and to have comfort in being by drawing near. We 
 come not bringing purified gold and silver as offerings to 
 thee ; but faint, and hungry, and weary, and often dis- 
 couraged, and conscious deeply of our own demerit and 
 sinfulness. 
 
 We come before thee because thou hast revealed thy- 
 self a God of tender mercy, a Saviour of sinners. Lift 
 thou upon us the light of thy countenance, for we are in 
 darkness. Send us mercies, for we are weak. Love us, 
 not because we are able to repay thee, but because thou 
 knowest, in the royalty of thy nature, how to love the 
 unworthy and even the unlovely. Grant, we beseech 
 thee, that to-day we may have developed toward us the 
 Divine nature, in magnanimity, in generosity, in all ten 
 der mercy and kindness.
 
 43 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 Are there those in thy presence that have walked a 
 weary way of life and that wonder why they were born ? 
 Are there those that, often like thy servant of old, have 
 sat down in their wilderness and sighed and prayed that 
 they might die ? Wilt thou draw near to such and re- 
 buke th*r discontent and their want of faith. Rebuke 
 the aim^aness of that life that longs to depart. Rebuke 
 all that is wrong in them, yet tenderly : bind up their 
 trouble, and reveal to them the purposes that thou hast 
 in their life now and hereafter, so that they shall be able 
 to wait until God shall call them home. 
 
 Are there those in thy presence whose way of life has 
 always seemed dark to their understanding ? Grant that 
 they may live by faith and not by the knowledge of their 
 own outward life. Are there those that mourn before 
 thee, humbled in the consciousness of repeated transgres- 
 sion ? , Wilt thon speak to them those words of peace 
 that are irresistible in the disturbed conscience; may 
 they know that thou hast forgiven them and put round 
 about them the arms of thy comforting grace. Speak 
 such words of comfort that they shall not dare to go from 
 thee any more. O Lord Jesus, thou art a fountain of 
 consolation ; and comfort is most needed in the clouded 
 conscience, in the broken spirit, in the discouraged faith. 
 
 To any that have backslidden ; to any that are disconso- 
 late in view of their evidences of piety or their want of 
 evidence ; to any that vacillate, that break their resolu- 
 tions day by day, and who have occasion to set down 
 grievous and bitter things of themselves and against 
 themselves, O Lord, wilt thou be gracious unto all such; 
 encourage them to gird up their loins anew for the con- 
 flict of life. Thou didst not call them deceptively ; thou 
 didst tell them that they were to take the cross and fol-
 
 GOD'S GREATNESS MAx's SECUBITT. 43 
 
 low thee, Thou didst teach them they were to be sol- 
 diers, not with constant victories but with constant 
 defeats until the end, when they should hare a glorious 
 victory in their final release. May they persevere, and 
 not be distressed by the roughness of the way, nor by the 
 number of their adversaries. Are any in thy presence 
 longing for a fuller communication of thy grace and 
 clearer visions of God ? May they see to it that this is 
 not another form of insidious selfishness ; that they do 
 not desire to sit upon the top of the mount in glorious 
 transfiguration while Satan casts many to the ground 
 possessed. May they not desire their own satisfaction 
 even in the vision of God ; may they desire above all 
 things such a view of thee as shall make them more 
 active, more self-denying, more cheerful, more redolent 
 of the Christian graces, more radiant in the light of 
 holiness. 
 
 Are there any in thy presence who remember when, 
 in their childhood, they were led along the path to the 
 sanctuary ? Are there any who remember the stillness 
 of their home and their childhood Sabbath, who have 
 since cast aside prayer and restraint ; who have broken, 
 without compunction, the laws of God, and gone away 
 from all the lessons and teachings of their youth ? Are 
 there any upon whom steal gentle thoughts, who yearn 
 somewhat against their own purposes and are musing 
 what these things shall mean ? Art thou not preparing 
 m these earlier breaths of spring to send summer to 
 their souls ? 
 
 Be pleased, O God, to melt obdurate hearts. Be 
 pleased to lead to generous repentance those who have 
 wasted all the bounties of God in making themselves 
 selfish and proud. How hateful must they seem to
 
 44 BEECHEK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 themselves in the Judgment-day if they shall go up un 
 prepared for it, all the wealth of God's kindness and 
 mercy having been perverted to their destruction ! We 
 pray that thou wilt turn them back before it is too late ; 
 put their feet in the right way, and give them a song of 
 praise and rejoicing in God. O, how great must be 
 the theme of gratulation and thanksgiving in some if 
 they shall ever, through grace, redeem their souls from 
 destruction ! O, if we are to love in the proportion in 
 which we are forgiven, what wealth of love, what depiLs 
 of love do we owe to thee for thy wondrous mercy to us, 
 mercy untold and that cannot be told, now nor ever. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt bless not only us, but all 
 whom our hearts remember. What pilgrims are oui 
 loves that go forth, North, South, East, and West, royally 
 gathering in great multitudes ! Be pleased to make our 
 very thoughts the ministers of thy mercy. May those 
 whom we love find their hearts flowing already as ii 
 some angel sent by our prayer ministered them. 
 
 Bless all the congregations that worship thee to-day ; for 
 although we may mark distinctions, and learn to suspect, 
 and to hate even and divide ourselves against ourselves 
 and our brethren, are not all men sinful at the best, and 
 are not all striving with their faces toward Jerusalem in 
 the great imperiled flock which thou art leading and 
 guarding ? 
 
 Be pleased to make the protecting palm of God to be 
 over our hemisphere; and though there is rage, and 
 wrath, and resistance, though there are wars and rumors 
 of wars, agitations and threatenings and tumults, be 
 ^leased, in thine own infinite peace, still to look calmly 
 n and restrain the wrath of man within the appointed 
 Dounds of thy providence, and by the things which meD
 
 GOD'S GBEATNESS " MAN'S SECURITY. 45 
 
 mean for wrong, work out righteousness ; and by the verj 
 passions with which men seek to break over the bounds 
 of God's justice, be pleased to establish the things that 
 are right and destroy the things that are wrong; and 
 wilt thou breathe into thy people a heart of integrity 
 and a sense of divine justice. Grant that they may hold 
 the truth in love, and justice in love, and firmness in 
 love, and may they be clothed with love as with a gar- 
 ment, and go forth to all purposes of equity and to all 
 wisdoms imbued with this divinest wisdom. 
 
 And now if thou hast appointed us for judgments by 
 reason of our great sins, we beseech thee that we may 
 not be as brute beasts that know not why they are 
 stricken and cower down. May we understand why 
 God is in judgment with us. May we not look round 
 about for the sins of men in general, but may we under- 
 stand the sins of luxury, of selfishness, of lust, of domin- 
 ion, and our carelessness of God's creatures, our supreme 
 indifference to those things which are in the heart of 
 God as the very elements of life itself our heaven-defy- 
 ing infidelities in our treatment of our fellow-men. We 
 beseech thee that we may repent of those sins which thou 
 art out in judgment against ; we pray that thou wilt, in 
 thine own manner and in thine own time and by thine 
 own appointed instruments, bring to pass the day of 
 peace, a day in which peace shall be unbroken because 
 it shall stand upon the unshaken foundations of equity. 
 May justice rule throughout all our States, and love be 
 the spirit of administration. May divine wisdom thus 
 supersede human passion and wickedness in all our land. 
 
 Raise up, as thou hast never failed to raise in times 
 past, men that shall be God's messengers in the time of 
 peril. Thou gavest to our fathers counselors and lead-
 
 46 BBECHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 ere after thine own heart ; thou didst rear up in times of 
 peril men that were leaders and counselors. They are 
 not all gone from thy mind and power, thou canst yet 
 raise up men and give them the wisdom the times re- 
 quire. Give forth men who may understand the coun- 
 sels of God, and know how to bear them successfully to 
 the discordant minds of others. Accept our thanks that 
 the world is not permitted longer to slumber ; it is not 
 pleasant to be awakened, but it is joyful to faith to know 
 that thou art abroad, that thou art shaking the nations, 
 that the tremblings of the earth underneath are but the 
 resoundings of God's footsteps coming to judgment for 
 purposes of mercy. Even so, go forward. 
 
 We are glad for Italy, for Europe, for America. We 
 are glad ever when thon comest, even when thou 
 comest to us and to the world robed in clouds and 
 darkness ; no brightness is bright without the presence 
 of our God ; and no darkness can drive us or be terrible 
 in any wise that carries God with it ; for we wait for thy 
 law, we wait for the working out of thine immutable 
 counsels ; bring all of thy firm decrees to an end in thine 
 own appointed way. O Lord God, consummate thy 
 purposes, and redeem the whole earth ; until that glorious 
 day of prediction shall come, when all men shall dwell 
 together in peace and fertile love, when none shall have 
 occasion to say, " Know the' Lord," for all shall know 
 thee, from the least unto the greatest. Hear UB and 
 accept of us for Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 JOY IN THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 GOD, BO manifest thyself here every Sabbath, that hither shall com* 
 the poor, the sorrowful, the tempted, the outcast, and the distressed. May 
 there never come a wanderer here to be sent away without a portion ; and 
 may this be a house of mercies, as a token that it is the house of God. 
 Wilt thou bless us in all our further life, and grant that all the streams of 
 our varied life may flow heavenward, until at last we oome to Mount Zion 
 before God ; and to thy name shall be the praise of our salvation, Father 
 Son, and Spirit Amen. 
 
 THOU eternal God ! before the mountains were brought 
 forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth, even from 
 everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou dwellest 
 in the fullness of the praises of heaven. The uncon 
 strained hearts of those whom thou dost bless, bless 
 thee again. Thou dost make all thy creatures happy, 
 and art thyself receiving the testimonies of their joy. 
 We are glad for thy supremacy ; we are glad that our 
 Supreme God is such an one as thou art. "We rejoice 
 that we were born, since now there is open to us such a 
 destiny. We have such help of thee, and such hope 
 through Jesus Christ ; we have so glorious a home 
 toward which we are going, that though there be peril, 
 and pain, and trials by the way, yet we are glad for the 
 journey, and anticipate that day when we shall look
 
 48 BEECHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 back upon all the perils of this life as men look upon 
 retreating storms spanned with the bow of God. We 
 rejoice that we may comfort ourselves without waiting 
 for heaven ; yea, that thou art giving us the beginning 
 now of its spirit, and causing us to taste some of its joys ] 
 enough to cheer us ; enough for the way. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Lord our God, that we may look 
 upon our life not as some chance, not as some tumultu- 
 ous whirl in which we have but a chance. May we un- 
 derstand that this which is to us so much disturbed and 
 stirred up and strangely contrary, is appointed of thee 
 to be a school ; and that men are to be educated in this 
 life by contact with its affairs, and by the discharge of 
 its duties. May we understand that those things which 
 befall us do not spring from the ground ; that our trials 
 and our troubles are not like arrows sent by some ad- 
 versary ; that the restrictions and the difficulties, the 
 burdens borne, the tasks painful to be performed, are not 
 imposed upon us as if they were easy ; that there is an 
 overruling wisdom, a guiding hand, a purpose of life ; 
 and that though we do not go with our Teacher intelli- 
 gently, understanding what he means, yet thou dost 
 guide us and conduct us. May we be disposed to accept 
 each day therefore as a day appointed of God ; and may 
 we search in all our affairs how to approve ourselves be- 
 fore our great Teacher ; and may each day educate us in 
 truth, in justice, in honor, in love, in fidelity, in patience, 
 in meekness, in all things that are good. May there be 
 no day in which we are not victorious over some tempta- 
 tion, over some evil ; no day in which we are not heroic 
 in some endurance or achievement ; no day in which we 
 are not imitators of thy divine example. 
 
 We beseech thee that thus every thing may become
 
 JOY IN THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. 49 
 
 sacred ''-o us, nothing trivial, nothing unnecessary, noth- 
 ing strange. Let us not fall into the folly of measuring 
 thy wisdom by the rule of our unknowing, because we 
 cannot explain thy ways, nor see thy reasons, supposing 
 each to be strange and wonderful. Why shouldst not 
 thou, O God, in the wide power and sweep of thy 
 being, work beyond our understanding ? We rejoice 
 that thcu art so much greater than we; we cannot 
 understand thy goings, except in parts ; but we 
 rejoice to believe that we are emerging ; we are coming 
 through our ignorance. Already there are streaks of 
 light, and by and by the day shall dawn, and we shall 
 go forth through that gate, hated of men and beloved of 
 thee ; and stand in that land where, ransomed and 
 released, enlightened and sanctified, we shall see 
 thee as thou art, and all things as they are, and delu- 
 sions, and deceptions, and appearances, shall have fled 
 away forever, and we shall know even as we are known. 
 We rejoice in that coming glory ; we have a gentle 
 expectation and an humble hope of it. May we not fall 
 by the way ; may we not become in any wise cast-aways, 
 and so come short of this eternal inheritance; for what mat- 
 ters it what we suffer here if that shall be ours ? What 
 avails it what we have here, if we lose that eternal glory ? 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt teach us how to teach 
 others how to teach those that are dependent upon our 
 example and instruction how to teach our children and 
 those that are put beneath us as pupils. May we know 
 how to guide them in secular and worldly things, that 
 they shall become monitors and teachers of better things. 
 And we beseech thee that the young in our midst may 
 never lose the purity of youth, nor be tarnished by early 
 wickedness. From the morning of their life may they 
 
 3
 
 50 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 be crowned with religion ; may they go forth as the 
 children of God, rejoicing in their calling ; may they be 
 guided over all experiences of life, of knowledge, of 
 truth, and of virtue ; may they be guided by thy good 
 providence and spirit, so that every one of them shall 
 assuredly take hold of eternal life. 
 
 O let the prayers long delayed at last be answered in 
 behalf of those who have had Christian training, but who 
 have grown up to forget their training. Bring back the 
 wanderers from the ends of the earth, and from all hope- 
 less experiences. Bring back the children of the cove- 
 nant, consecrated by the faith of parents, and for whom 
 ten thousand prayers have gone up. O Lord, remember 
 them. Is it not the time for the release of some of the 
 captives? Art thou not remembering the sinner 
 already, and giving liberty to some that are in bondage 
 to Satan ? Even so come, Lord Jesus, for their release 
 that sit in darkness, and give them light, and lift upon 
 them the joys of thy salvation. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt bless all for whom 
 we should pray thy people of every name ; divided in 
 name, may they be united in affection. May those things 
 which tend to divisions, to envyings, to jealousies, and 
 to confusions among thy churches, pass away. May 
 justice, love, and purity, stand in the sanctuary. May 
 all thy people be substantially united by their common 
 love to Christ, and by love to each other. Fill the 
 earth with thy glory ; fulfill all the blessed predictions 
 of thy word ; gather in Jew and Gentile ; and may the 
 glory of the Lord fill the earth as the waters fill the 
 sea ; and to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son ; 
 and Spirit. Amen.
 
 DIVINE WISDOM ABOVE ALL HUMAN. 
 
 An Evening Prayer. 
 
 WE rejoice, O Lord our God, to believe that those con- 
 fusions and turmoils of life that seem to us strange 
 and mysterious, are before thee simple ; and those things 
 which, to our uninterpreting eye, are evils, mischiefs, and 
 wastes, to thine eye are messengers of mercy, guiding 
 and conducting influences ; for thou art bringing many 
 sons and daughters home to glory ; and we are not large 
 enough nor wise enough to understand the footsteps of 
 that way which thou treadest in dealing with men. Our 
 sanctuary is built of men's hands, and the few ways by 
 which we know how to touch the heart are indeed 
 meager and unsatisfactory ; and yet we measure thee in 
 the greatness of thy power and in the richness of thy 
 resources, by our own miserable expedients and expe- 
 rience. We forget that thou art the king of time and 
 the God of all the earth ; that thou dwellest in eternity, 
 in light inapproachable ; that all power and wisdom are 
 with thee. Endless and diversified means are thine, and 
 thou art, through ways which seem to us to reverse all 
 good, bringing good to pass, light out of darkness, good 
 out of evil, and order out of confusion ; so that all the 
 earth doth serve thee, even hates, and wastes, and wars, 
 Thou dost restrain the wrath of man, and cause the 
 remainder thereof to praise the?
 
 52 BKECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 And now we adore thee, O thou blessed God, thou that 
 art exalted above all ascription ; thou that, canst not be 
 described, nor enough loved or admired ; thou that art 
 in heaven, surrounded by ten thousand times ten thou- 
 sand now congenial spirits, we, too, though far down, are 
 in thy train we, too, feel this divine impulse, and 
 though with imperfect thought, and with mixed feelings, 
 and with impure hearts, yet claim thee God according to 
 the measure of our power, as they do in heaven accord- 
 ing to the measure of their power. We rejoice in the 
 blessedness of their victory, nor do we repine that it is 
 not given us to be conquerors upon earth. Ours is yet 
 the warfare ; theirs the rest. We yet are in bodies that 
 require our severest government ; we are attempting to 
 bring every thought and feeling into subjection to Jesus 
 Christ's law ; we are wrestling with pride that refuses 
 coercion, and watching selfishness that presses like a 
 flood. 
 
 O God, we are yet endeavoring to contend against prin- 
 cipalities, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit 
 tha worketh in the children of disobedience ; we are 
 laboring in every way of life to perfect the spirit of 
 Christ in us, and it doth not cost any sadness in us to 
 think that there are some that have finished this work ; 
 that they were ours, but now arc thine. We are glad for 
 their victory, nor are we discouraged with the battle 
 because they have gone first, but rather we are enheart- 
 ened ; and we are sure that the path that gave them vic- 
 tory is the path that Christ trod and that we shall tread. 
 And we take comfort to-night that there seem to come 
 to us from the very heavens those sweet and nourishing 
 influences which we so much need in life. Parents 
 speak to us by ten thousand memories ; dear friends
 
 DIVINE WISDOM ABOVE ALL HUMAN. 58 
 
 gone from us speak back again, and our yearnings take 
 hold of those that were our children, but are now thine 
 angels. 
 
 And we are glad for heaven, and for them that are 
 dwelling therein, and for them that are blessed by thee ; 
 and it is sweet and comforting to us to think, that the 
 same voices that we taught to speak are now praising 
 God in heaven in strains unknown to us. Nor are we 
 envious that our children have outrun their parents, while 
 we are glad for that rest which remaineth for us. None 
 shall take our place ; there is enough and to spare, and 
 we go forward in our journey of life knowing that we 
 are journeying toward sunrise, that the darkness is be- 
 hind us, and the light more and more before us. And 
 we desire to be more faithful and courageous, and endur- 
 ing unto the end. 
 
 Wilt thou minister of thy own good spirit to every 
 one in thy presence, according to their several necessities. 
 Thou only canst read the heart ; thou knowest far bet- 
 ter than they know. We know not at all for others, but 
 thou knowest what they need ; and we pray that, when 
 they ask for things which they want rather than need, 
 thou wilt press through their unwisdom by thine own 
 divine wisdom, and give them that which they need. 
 May thy will be done in them, and may they desire that 
 it may be done, and desire to have every thought, every 
 purpose, and every tendency of life baptized in the spirit 
 of God. 
 
 Forgive us the sins of our past lives. Forgive us that 
 goodness is so feeble in us, and that selfishness, pride, and 
 worldliness are so strong; that when we should have 
 been fruitful under such teachings and influences of 
 , we are unfruitful. Forgive us every thing that
 
 04 BEECHER'S PUI.PIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 tarnishes the brightness that thou dost see in thy be- 
 loved, and grant, we beseech of thee, that we may have 
 that peace which God gives to those whose sins are 
 pardoned. Help us to-night, as we dwell for the hour 
 together, to read, to sing, to speak, to hear, and to think 
 to our edification in spiritual things, and glorify thyself 
 by our joy, by our worship, by our growth in grace, by 
 our suffering, by our life, and by our death ; and when 
 through death we come again to life, we will give the 
 praise of our salvation to the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 CONFESSION AND PENITENCE. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU that eommandest light to shine out 01 darkness ; we thank thee 
 that thou hast brought forth the morning light, and poured it upon this 
 day of rest, filling it that we might take refreshment this day ; and now 
 grant that we may have not alone that pervading light in which we stand 
 bodily, but more that joyful and peaceful light by which thou dost shine 
 into the soul thine own Spirit bringing day to our night, that art bring- 
 ing warmth to our dullness and deadness. Now we beseech of thee, that 
 all the accustomed exercises of worship in this house on this day, may 
 receive from thee divine inspiration. Empower thy word, that it may 
 carry forth the thought and will of God to our apprehension and belief. 
 Give force and power, we beseech of thee, to all the efforts which are 
 made for instruction, conviction, humiliation, and penitence, out of thy 
 sacred oracles. "Wilt thou, God, teach us how to come near to thee, 
 sorrowing in prayer, and to commune with thee in penitence. And when 
 our souls begin to discern something of thy glory, may it be our longing 
 to offer thee praises, and may we have a fellowship to-day of rejoicing in 
 song, and may all the exercises of the Sabbath at home be blest, and may 
 it be a day of refreshment and great peace, which we ask for Christ's 
 eake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 * 
 
 OUR heavenly Father, we come not to make known 
 oar wants as if thou needest that we should inform thee, 
 but to express our gladness, to utter thanksgiving, to 
 make confession of sin and supplication for thou hast 
 made it pleasant to us and acceptable unto thee that we 
 should hold communion with thee; and whenever we
 
 56 BKECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 take thy sacred name upon our Iip8 and enter into 
 prayer, thou dost bring near to us the glorious truths of 
 our relationship to thee. We are lifted out of the insig- 
 nificance in which we find ourselves ; we have some faint 
 glimpses of that immortality which is ours ; we are em- 
 boldened then to seek unto thee, since we are thine and 
 thou art ours ; and we find our inward life strengthened 
 and augmented, that in this communion with thee our 
 daily life becomes light, our duty easy, our way plain, 
 and all things are more bright when we have visited thy 
 presence and held communion with thee. 
 
 We thank thee that the access is not barred. The 
 poorest, the most ignorant, the most unlettered may call 
 thee Father. There is no one that lives to whom thou 
 hast not given the power of prayer. Every want is a 
 supplication, every yearning a supplication before thee. 
 All our aspirations for things purer, higher, and diviner 
 are not these excited in us by the working of thy Spirit ? 
 Then thou leadest these excited thoughts up to thee, and 
 thus dost return our petitions in blessings innumerable. 
 
 We thank thee for the rich experience we have had in 
 days past for the present rich influences of the Hoty 
 Spirit ; we thank thee that we have hope for the time 
 to come. Thou that hast begun a work in us wilt not 
 leave it unfinished ; thou wilt perfect it for our sake, but 
 yet more for thine own for thou dost love us, and thou 
 hast taken us to be a part of thine own, and wilt vet 
 present us spotless before thy Father's throne to be 
 monuments of thy faithfulness, wisdom, and love. 
 
 And now, O Lord Jesus, we desire to confess our un- 
 worthiness ; the limitation of our faculties, the poverty 
 of our life, the meagerness with which we do that which is 
 right, the exceeding imperfection of our whole life, and
 
 CONFESSION AND PENITENCE. 57 
 
 the absolute sinfulness of much of it. Every day we 
 try thy patience with transgression. We rejoice that 
 thou art God and not man, or thy love would be weary 
 of the task which thou hast undertaken ; but we do not 
 desire, because thou art merciful, long suffering, and for- 
 giving, tc trespass upon thy grace, and to sin that grace 
 may abound. 
 
 We desire, by a view of thy goodness to us sinners, to 
 be made more and more ashamed of our transgressions ; 
 we desire to turn from them, and with averted face to 
 abhor them. Help us to resist our easily besetting sins, 
 our inbred corruptions. Help us to take hold of all the 
 parts of our disposition and affections of our nature which 
 require remolding; help us to have them inspired, im- 
 proved, and pervaded by the love of God. May we not 
 be discouraged in the way ; may we not remember all 
 the days past in which we have carried our load of sin 
 and struggled with ill success ; let not the shadow of 
 the past gloom our future ; but may we forget the things 
 that are behind, and press forward toward the mark for 
 the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus ; for thou 
 art overliving; and because thou livest, we shall live 
 also. 
 
 O God, thou seest us afar off ; and thou dost run toward 
 us and cast thine arms about our neck ; and before we can 
 make our complaint, thou, by thy bounty and love, dost 
 speak our pardon and receive us again into the house- 
 hold ; and, behold ! we that came to have a servant's 
 place, that we might have bread to eat, wear the son's 
 robe and the ring and the sandal, and walk again justi- 
 fied and dignified in our Father's house. We thank thee 
 for this mercy. We lift Jesus up as the brazen serpent 
 in the midst of the bitten, O Lord God, may many look 
 
 3*
 
 58 BBKCHKR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 and live, may many behold thee as their strength, and 
 may they find thee a present help in time of need. 
 
 O thou patient Saviour 1 O thou teaching and illumi- 
 nating Spirit ! bring us forth into a clearer understand- 
 ing of what it is to live a life of love and to be like God ; 
 and if we are attempting to live that life, be thou patient 
 with us in all our experiments, in our beginnings and 
 failures, in our discouragements and retrocessions often, 
 and by thy grace hold us up in our moral weakness until 
 we are strong to stand. Be a father to us ; be a teacher 
 to us ; nourish and sustain us, till at last we are prepared 
 to go forth from this scene of school and trial, and take 
 part and lot in that higher sphere where men shall op- 
 press men no more ; where we shall not be imbruted in 
 every part of our nature ; where we shall behold the 
 majesty of God and the glory of divine wisdom. And to 
 thy name shall be the glory and the praise, Father, Son, 
 and Spirit, forever. Amen.
 
 ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 f 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 OCR Heavenly Father we are thy children. Although we ars weak 
 ana sinful, we are yet thj children, preserved by thy power, cared for by 
 thy love, redeemed by thy grace. "We beseech of thee, this morning, that 
 thou wilt unveil our face that we may behold thee. Thou art near us 
 and around about us, but WQ are dark-minded and do not discern the 
 traces of our God until thou dost teach us, and then with sensible com- 
 fort we behold thee where thou wert not to our seeming before. Grant 
 this morning that we may have this inward resurrection, this effulgence 
 from thee, that we may behold it Draw us near to thee by all our affec- 
 tions. May we worship thee ; may we trust thee ; may we be able to 
 praise and rejoice before thee. May thy word stand upladen with divine 
 meaning to us ; may all our exercises of prayer and our singing together 
 be in the sweet fellowship of a common love and experience. May this 
 be a day blessed to our souls. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 OUK Heavenly father thine hand is erer open, and 
 thy heart is always kind. Thou dost not need our 
 petitions to persuade thee ; yet thou hast commanded us 
 to draw near to thee in prayer, and we have found out 
 the reason in our own experience. It is blessed for us to 
 ask the things which we should receive even without 
 asking. It is blessed to hunger before God, and then to 
 take the bread as the gift of thy love to our importunities. 
 
 We are made better when we are lifted into com- 
 munion with thee ; we are made to feel thy nearness and
 
 60 BEBCHKR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 thy glory ; made to feel that thou dost sympathize with 
 us ; and in drawing near to thee, we realize that thou 
 dost draw near to us. In thy great goodness we stand, 
 and as soon as we attempt to measure ourselves by any 
 other rule, we come short. If we attempt to measure 
 ourselves by our conscience, there is .neither justice nor 
 righteousness in us ; and we find ourselves so exceedingly 
 imperfect, that there is no joy and no result of peace ; but 
 when we measure ourselves by thy righteousness, when 
 we reflect that we are children of a God that gives with 
 grace infinitely, and that without stint in the midst of 
 thy boundless compassions, and that it is the glory of thy 
 nature to do for those that do not deserve that thou art 
 a God of grace, a God of love and mercies unspeakable, 
 then we begin to find some ground for hope, some reason 
 of confidence to look up, and our hearts are lightened. 
 
 We beseech, that we may know how to trust thy 
 goodness, in such a way as that it shall inspire goodness 
 in us. May we trust thee in so wise a way that we 
 shall feel ourselves being changed into thine image. 
 Deliver us from the wickedness of making account of thy 
 goodness, that we may go on to sin ; deliver us from the 
 temptations to such baseness and selfishness. May the 
 goodness, of God rather lead us to repentance. May it 
 affect us with like honor and sensibility, and may we 
 desire above all things to requite thee with that which 
 thou givest us confidence and love. And as thou art 
 the benefactor, may we be obedient to thee ; as thou an 
 the Father, may we be the loving children. So plant 
 our life in love, and nourish and perfect us in that spirit, 
 that when we leave these mortal bodies, we may be made 
 fit to stand in that realm whose atiuosphere and all 
 whose occupations shall be love.
 
 BNTIEE CON8ECBAT1ON. 6] 
 
 We beseech thee, that thou wilt help us in the conflicts 
 which we wage in this life with things without and with 
 things within. May we be able daily to bear our bur- 
 dens, and to carry on our duties and various avocations 
 in a truly Christian spirit. May we be sanctified by thy 
 Spirit, and made meet to be the children of light. Grant 
 that we may not seek for sanctification apart from duty. 
 May we look more upon our every-day experiences, as 
 having a moral meaning and as appointed of God to 
 minister grace unto us ; and whether we eat or drink, 
 or whatever we do, may we seek in it to glorify thee. 
 May we be patient, faithful, and truthful, filled with 
 honor. May we be clothed with gentleness and with 
 humility seek, like thee, to be full of all kindness one 
 toward another seek the things which make for peace, 
 and whereby one may edify another live as seeing him 
 who is invisible and knowing that the beginnings of 
 eternity are here with us in time. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt lift up the faces of those who 
 look down with sorrow. Send light into their hearts 
 who sit in darkness, and give cheer and hope to those 
 that sit in despondency. -May those that reason with 
 themselves, and look inwardly, begin to see how foolish 
 that is, and look up and behold the glory of Christ. 
 May they see that in him and not in themselves is their 
 life and their salvation. Comfort those that are feeble- 
 minded ; and may those that have backslidden, and yet 
 would return to the shepherd and bishop of their souls, 
 find grace in thy sight. May all that mourn for sin find 
 to-day pardon of God, and may all that long for a present 
 help in trouble find Christ present and precious. May 
 all those that desire to enter into covenant again with 
 their Saviour a covenant of life, of heart, and of spirit,
 
 62 BEBCHBB*S PUUPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 O grant that they may find it easy to-day to commune 
 with thee, and may they be drawn cheerfully and gladly, 
 by thy gracious Spirit, into covenant vows and obliga- 
 tions. May it not be hard for us to pledge ourselves to 
 thee ; but may it be a spontaneous act May we rejoice, 
 above all other things, to give ourselves to Christ Jesus, 
 who gave himself for us, and whose life flows out di- 
 vinely toward us. 
 
 Kemember all those that are not with us this day 
 our dearly beloved brethren that, in thy providence, are 
 detained at home ; or are scattered abroad through our 
 land, and that, peradventure, are up and down in the 
 places of the world. May thy mercy go forth from the 
 center of thy heart to-day, everywhere, and comprehend 
 in. its embrace all whom we love, all of whom we think, 
 or for whom we desire. Bless the members of this 
 church, and unite them together in the fellowship of a 
 practical Christian life. Prepare them for all thy right- 
 eous will; prepare them for living, for dying, and for 
 immortality in glory. We beseech thee, that thou wilt 
 add to this church, from time to time, of such as shall be 
 saved; day there be many uniting with it, gathered 
 from out of the world, with their faces cleared and filled 
 with light, and turned to the New Jerusalem. Confirm 
 those that are weak ; restore those that have wandered, 
 and bring back to the faith any that have gone forth 
 from out of it. And that thy work may not be in vain 
 in our midst, may there be peace in our churches round 
 about. 
 
 Strengthen those that preach the Gospel, that they 
 may be able to do it with power from on high; may 
 they never faint ; may they go forth bearing precious 
 seed it may be weeping, but may they soon come again
 
 ENTIRE CONSECRATION. 03 
 
 with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them : and 
 though the earth is full of violence, and though it be 
 shaken to its foundation, yet may we be quiet, knowing 
 that God rules in the army of the heavens, and in the 
 armies of the earth, and that all things shall work 
 together for the good of them that love thee. Even so, 
 Lord Jesus, come quickly. And to thy name shall be thfl 
 praise, Father, Sou, and Spirit Amen.
 
 CLOSING PRATES. 
 
 ALMIGHTT God, wilt thou bless the word spoken to the edification of 
 thy people. Quicken our conscience, and lead us again to lay the founda- 
 tions on which we stand. May we make a solemn review, and know what 
 our soul-treasures are. May it not be enough for us that we are rich in 
 worldly matters. May we desire to be rich in manhood, that we may 
 take hold upon an eternity of joy in thy presence. May we search thy 
 word to behold and ponder the cautions which thou dost give us in the 
 active business of life. May we heed the silent monitions of our own in- 
 ward nature. And may we seek, by sympathy and prayer, day by day, 
 the guidance of thy Holy Spirit. And wilt thou direct us in the intricate 
 channel of life which we ourselves cannot pilot thou that art wise 
 without mistake, be pleased to guide us and bring us safely to the haven 
 of eternal rest. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen
 
 COMMUNINGS WITH JESUS. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 GOD, thou art in heaven and we upon the earth ; thou art pure, we 
 are sinful Mighty art thou and full of infinite resources ; we are crushed 
 before the moth, and in utter weakness, depend upon thee for life and 
 breath and all tilings. We come to the source of our being, to the 
 fountain of all our good, this morning, making acknowledgment of our 
 dependence, and supplicating for help. Wilt thou give forth that influence 
 which shall inspire in us holy thoughts and blessed desires. Take away 
 those things that shall tempt the imagination, or the reason, or any of our 
 passions and affections, and may we worship thee to-day in the beauty of 
 holiness. May thy word glow, and every letter be as a lighted lamp. 
 May the truths which we shall seek for our instruction to draw from it be 
 truths like bread for the nourishment of our life. Help us to draw near to 
 thee in communion of prayer ; help us to unite in the fellowship of aong, 
 and may every thing that we do, please thee and profit us, for Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMO.V. 
 
 WE thank thee, O Jesus, that thou hast appeared once 
 for all and offered an everlasting sacrifice. Now thou art 
 gone into the temple, not made with hands, eternally 
 built in heaven, and thou dost appear for us there, before 
 the' throne of God ; and art our intercessor and our medi- 
 ator. Thou dost represent thy people in thyself, and art 
 forever caring for them. Thine earthly tears and thine 
 earthly groans but symbolize thy care and the weight 
 which lies upon thee evermore; for the eai^h and all
 
 66 BKKCHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 nations of men are thine, and thou art the sole guide of 
 this weary pilgrimage of human life through all its condi- 
 tions and its long outstretched periods. Thou, that art 
 wonderful, thou that art past comprehension, not so 
 much by the metes and bounds of thine existence, as by 
 the quality of thine actions, in patience, in love, in for- 
 giving mercy, in gentleness, rare and without measure, 
 in fullness and ever-watching versatilities of love and 
 kindness ; thou that dost rear thyself up before us in all 
 the attitude and in the grandeur of God ; thou that dost 
 carry the weak, and pity the sinful and heal them of 
 their sins ; thou that makest it the work of thy lifetime, 
 to care for us and to give us that divine education by 
 which we shall become fit companions with thee and 
 thine in heaven, we thank thee. 
 
 We know our unworthiness of thy care ; we know we 
 do in the best things soil our conduct, and oftentimes sin 
 entirely ; we confess our transgressions before thee, that 
 we may be healed. Do thou deliver us from feigned 
 confession. May we, from the heart, recount before thee 
 our unworthiness; and may we desire, and by faith 
 accept the forgiveness of our sins for thou needest not 
 to be persuaded ; thou dost not stand reluctant and grant 
 this as the extreme boon, but thou art persuading us to 
 persuade thee. Thou dost desire to grant unto us every 
 grace, and that abundantly. Lead us then, we beseech 
 thee, that we may be made willing in the day of thy 
 power, and that we may know how to work out our own 
 salvation, since it is God that worketh in us. "We pray 
 that thou wilt humble us, that we may not think our- 
 selves to be better than we are. We pray that thou wilt 
 break pride in those hearts where it predominates and IB 
 despotic.
 
 COMMUJONGS WITH JESUS. 6) 
 
 Wilt thou, we intreat, help every one according to the 
 nature of the help required by his disposition in the cir- 
 cumstances where he is placed, in the scenes in which he 
 is tempted, and in the duties to which he is called. 
 Thou, O God and Saviour, and thou only, readest the 
 heart as an open book all is plain before thee; there 
 are no mysteries with thee, and there can be no mistakes. 
 We beseech thee, therefore, that thou wilt use thj 
 wisdom to direct every one, and may we so far under- 
 stand how blessed is the supremacy of God, that we shall 
 be able to say, "Thy will be done," when it is most 
 tried ; when it seems most like yielding up our very life 
 itseL, still may we have faith to say, " Not our will, but 
 thine." 
 
 We beseech thee, O divine Saviour, that thou will 
 teach us how to bear our lot in life if we are prospered, 
 with moderation ; if we are in trouble, with patience and 
 cheerfulness. Hold us back on either hand from sin, 
 and may we be conscious of our weakness and of oui 
 great exposedness to temptation. May we walk, there- 
 fore, softly every day, leaning upon the hand of God ; 
 may we live as in thy presence, not forgetting that thine 
 eye is upon us for what moment we forget thee, we. 
 forget ourselves, and the moment we shield our con- 
 science from thy searching presence, we run into mis 
 chief and folly, and fall away. We need thee as a staff 
 on which to lean ; we need thee as a shield and bucklei 
 and sword, and we need thee as the very bread and 
 breath of life itself. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Saviour Jesus, that thou wilt com 
 fort those that are in trouble. If 'there be any grieT ed, af 
 fiicted and heart-broken, to whom there can come no com 
 forter, let such come in remembrance before thee to-day
 
 68 BKECHKB'S PULPIT DKVOTIONS. 
 
 for thou canst hear the voice of the heart when the lip 
 is silent. Sanctify their afflictions, and grant that the} 
 may not be overborne by them, but come forth strength 
 ened and purified, and made more meet for heaven. Sus- 
 tain all that find themselves girded with severe duties 
 and pressures, who at times are discouraged, and sigh 
 to lay down the burden of duty or even of life itself. 
 Rebuke impatience, and teach them how, when they car 
 no longer live by sight, to live by faith. Grant unto 
 them more and more manliness, courage and strength, to 
 carry forward the duties that are incumbent upon them. 
 
 Teach us how to be gentle one to another; how to 
 prefer each other in honor ; how to seek the things that 
 belong to others' welfare and not our own alone. Teacl 
 us to be valiant for the defense of all things right ; and 
 may wo know how to carry our rights in the spirit of 
 love, and to use them for the benefit of others, rather than 
 for our own selfish assertion. Grant that we may not be 
 intoxicated either by sympathy or by pleasure, or by 
 worldly thoughts, feelings, prospects and plans. May we 
 know how to do thy work in the midst of that which we 
 call our own. May this whole life be to us a varied 
 means of grace. Are any sick ? Wilt thou be near to 
 them to-day ; may their sickness be a lesson sent from 
 thee, teaching them both the frailty of their mortal 
 bodies and the uncertainty of this life; and may it teach 
 their hearts to go to the other life. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt be near to all whom we love. 
 Look upon the memories of those present ; upon the 
 heart yearnings of those present ; upon those now whom 
 our thoughts search out and would name to thee : bless 
 them abundantly, separated from us as they may be, and 
 far off in the uttermost places of the earth. We rejoice
 
 COMMtTNTNGS WITH JESUS. 69 
 
 on such a day as this to feel that in Christ Jesus they 
 are all brought home to us again, and we are one with all 
 whom we love. Remember all for whom our prayers are 
 desired the poor, the outcast, the uneducated child of 
 neglect, and so of vice and of crime ; remember those in 
 prisons, and grant we pray that they may not be made 
 worse by punishment, but rather healed of evil and 
 led to right ways. Remember the sick and the infirm ; 
 all that are in any way divested of the privileges of life. 
 O grant that all classes and conditions of men may come 
 up in remembrance before thee. 
 
 Remember all the oppressed places of the earth in their 
 weakness, and in their destruction. And we beseech thee 
 that those that are in priestly authority or in civil power, 
 who employ their higli prerogatives to oppress may 
 they be converted from the errors of their ways, of may 
 they be made a mark of God's signal punishment and 
 taken away, for the earth doth wait for its salvation. 
 Thou hast promised that, the day should come, and the 
 highway of the Lord should be cast up, upon which the 
 ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion 
 with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. Now 
 therefore we beseech thee, O thou that art to lead this 
 earth forward through endless circles emancipated and 
 glorified the earth that for all its crying, for its groaning 
 and its sorrows in days past, shall yet chant choral thanks 
 out of joyful hearts, and with purity before thee round 
 in all its circuits O Lord, thou that art to lead forth this 
 world and give it such joy and voice of song, we beseech 
 thee that thou wilt make bare thine arm, show thy 
 presence, and convince thy people that thou art at work, 
 though hidden under forms of confusion. Though thou 
 oundeth in revolutions as if it were the voice of men or
 
 70 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOT-IOOT. 
 
 of war, yet may we know how to behold Jehovah upon 
 the storm, and see thee controlling all the elements of 
 misrule, and out of evil still educing good. Why is not 
 the time at hand? Have not the nations drunk the wine 
 of thy wrath long enough ? Is not the day of redemp 
 tion and of victory come ? We beseech thee, cut short 
 thy delay and tarry not ; come forth out of thy pavilion, 
 O thou for whom the ages wait : and when the whole 
 earth shall have been redeemed, whether we be here 01 
 whether we be with thee in heaven, we will give the 
 praise of our salvation and of its salvation, to the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 CHURCH ADDITIONS. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee, our Father, that we are spared and brought hither to set 
 each other in fellowship of joy, and that with gladness of heart we may 
 look up and speak to thee, thou that art serene in love, thou that art fuL 
 of blessing. And we implore thy benediction upon ourselves individually 
 and upon this whole congregation ; that thou wilt make thy mercies suit- 
 able to the wants of each one. Grant to us all, that we may dwell together 
 in heavenly places indeed ; and wilt thou command that the light may 
 shine forth from thy word upon our heart. Drive such cares and intrusive 
 troubles away as interfere with our worship ; bless the meditations of our 
 heart ; inspire us to pray unto thee in the sweetest communion of faith 
 and love ; assist us when with gladness we sing together before thee, and 
 grant that all the services of the sanctuary, and the experience and service 
 of our several homes may, through all the hours of the day, be blessed to 
 us, for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SEEMON. 
 
 O LORD, our heavenly Father, thou hast taught us nof 
 to live by the body, but by the soul. Thou hast taught 
 us not alone to value the things which the body can see 
 and which are the results of its senses, but hast opened 
 to us from within the limit of invisible qualities, and 
 taught us that there is a life within this substance and 
 material. Thou hast taught us of truth, of love, of faith, 
 and of a communicable joy of God. Thou hast stretched 
 out the lines and boundary of time and interpreted to 
 us the immortal life of the blessed Thou hast caused
 
 72 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 all the sweet sights of heaven, and all the choirs of iti 
 joy-making saints, to come before us in solemn vision. 
 Thou hast held those things, not at every day and hour 
 to our sight, lest we should forget the duties that belong 
 to us here, and yet, at times, they have come through 
 the ear to discouraged hearts. Thou hast revealed to ua 
 invisible things, things unknown to mortal sense, so as to 
 be more substantial than the things which the senses 
 could recognize. We thank thee, that now we have 
 abiding faith in thee, and everlasting companionship. 
 Nor is this a feeble thought or a poem of the imagina- 
 tion, though thou hast sanctified our imaginations to 
 apprehend these things. Blessed be thy name, that thou 
 hast caused a thought of God, present with his people, to 
 grow more and more plain and familiar, and more and 
 more real and glorious to us ; and with a ripened under- 
 standing, with liberty of conscience, and with largeness 
 of moral being, we have lost nothing of the sense of thy 
 presence, but gained rather, and we stand confirmed, 
 rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus, as ever present with 
 his people. 
 
 We thank thee that thou art making thy divine pity 
 to appear to men, that one and another are continually 
 being gathered by the hand of God from out of the midst 
 of worldly influences. We thank thee this morning that 
 thou hast permitted so many to stand up in the midst of 
 their brethren, not to testify how good they are, but how 
 good God is to their souls not to testify that they have 
 attained to saintship, but to bear witness that they, like 
 us, have found the sin-sickness of their souls, and have 
 found also the great physician ; and that they now bear 
 gratefully his name upon them, and desire to be recog 
 nlzed by their fellow-men as disciples of Christ Jesus JD
 
 CHUECH ADDITIONS. 73 
 
 the beginning of their Christian experience. And in the 
 continuance of their experience, in those that are of a 
 long time hoping in thee secretly, we beseech thee that 
 they may have thy divine guardianship and blessing. 
 Teach them what things are right, and true, and good ; 
 what things to be desired and what rejected ; what 
 things to be prayed for and what to be left submissively 
 to thy providence. 
 
 O Lord, so guide them that they may never stand as 
 low as now. May their hearts ascend ; gire them never 
 so little light as now ; fulfill to them the declaration that 
 the path of the just is as the light that shineth brighter 
 and brighter unto the perfect day. And may the prayers 
 and cheerful sympathies of thy servants here surround 
 them. How great a company is there before thee of 
 witnesses ! How many hearts bear witness this morning ! 
 Are there not many that can be carried back by this 
 occasion to that joyful day when they, too, were publicly 
 affianced unto God. 
 
 Thou hast made us to be all of us a part of that 
 great company which are rejoicing night and day 
 before thee in heaven. We are yet held thitherward 
 by the restraints of these mortal bodies, but not long. 
 Nor are we really divided ; we are of them of whom the 
 whole family is named, some in heaven and some upon 
 earth. Thou art making the commerce rapid ; thou art 
 sending tents thitherward not a few continually ; and 
 blessed be thy name, thou hast declared to us that thy 
 ministering spirits already minister to the heirs of salva- 
 tion likewise, and the one broaJ wing of divine protec- 
 tion and care is spread over all in heaven and upon 
 earth, and we rest in the bosom of thy love. Thou that 
 dwellest in the infinite realm, thou whose nature doth 
 
 4
 
 74 BEBCHER'S PTTLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 transcend all power of onr conception, we adore thee as 
 the universal father, the everlasting God, the blessed 
 re warder of all those that by faith and patience are 
 brought home. 
 
 We beseech thee, if there are any this morning that 
 have at all lost the gift of vision, the sense of love, 
 upon whose hearts no longer are played the melodies 
 of heaven, O Lord grant that their harps may be strung 
 again. Lift them up from out of the dust, and bring 
 them back from their decline and indifference; blow 
 away all those chilling winds and those mists that hide 
 their vision. If there are any of them that have been 
 called to walk in slippery places, and even have fallen, 
 have mercy upon them ; may thev be penitent for their 
 transgressions, and know how, though they bewail their 
 sin, to have hope in the sparing mercy of Jesus Christ. 
 And we beseech thee that none may make themselves 
 castaways because they have stumbled and because they 
 have done wrong ; let none count themselves unworthy 
 of eternal life ; bring them back, thou Shepherd of the 
 flock, that goeth out to seek and to save the lost. O do 
 thine office-work in our midst in behalf of any that are 
 in peril, for they are thine and bear thy name and have 
 been loved by thee and borne through many years ; and 
 now be not weary, we beseech thee, of thy work, nor cast 
 them forth, though they count themselves unworthy. 
 Do not forget them as they forget thee. 
 
 Are there any in circumstances of trouble and afflic- 
 tion, that need the sunshine of heaven and the presence 
 of God to strengthen and comfort them ? O be pleased, 
 according to all thy mercies, according to that great and 
 wondrous disposition of sympathy and love which thou 
 hast, be pleased to draw near to such and succor them,
 
 CHUECH ADDITIONS. 75 
 
 that they may not feel that thou art a God afar off, but 
 a being to help in time of need, that they may turn to 
 other men that are like them and proclaim what God 
 hath done for them. Glorify thy name in such. Are 
 there those in thy presence this morning that come with 
 arguments of thanksgiving and with lessons of praise ? 
 Be pleased, O God, to hear that which they now offer up, 
 though silent. Thoughts speak louder in the ear of 
 God, than men's words can speak ; the heart is heard 
 throughout the universe, and all yearnings, and all 
 desires of truth and of love within, speak forth evermore 
 into the ear of God. "We beseech thee, that thou wilt 
 accept our thanks, our gratitude, our love, our desire of 
 obedience, and our offerings of repentance for past mis- 
 conduct. We commit ourselves to thine hand, O Lord 
 God of our salvation, praying that thou wouldst do 
 exceeding abundantly more for us than we ask or 
 think. 
 
 Remember the young that are in our presence. Bless 
 the parents that are endeavoring to rear up a generation 
 to fear and serve God. Bless those that are as teachers 
 who are endeavoring to co-operate with parents in the 
 religious instruction of their children. Bless, we beseech 
 thee, those that are coming forth out of infancy into 
 youth, may they not be imperiled in virtue ; and 
 those that are emerging from youth into manhood, we 
 pray that they may not be tempted more than they can 
 bear, but may they walk from youth to manhood with 
 honor unclouded, consecrating the morning of life to 
 virtue and religion ; may more of such dwell under our 
 roofs, may peace abide in our households, and may there 
 be more and more coming from the altar of the family 
 to the altar of the church, to bear public witness to the
 
 78 BKECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 fidelity of the teaching of their parents. Bless us in the 
 further work, labor, and joy of the sanctuary ; and pre- 
 pare us for all its sweet and solemn services ; be with us 
 while we live, and grant that thus we may be with thee 
 in eternal life, and we will give the praise to Father 
 Bon, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 SACRAMENTAL SEASON. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOC-ITIOK. 
 
 WK rejoice that them hast caused the sun to know its day and bound 
 and duty to shine. Thou that art the Sun of righteousness, more 
 glorious and more faithful and fuller of blessed truth, arise upon us with 
 healing in thy beams, chasing away the darkness of unbelief, the clouds 
 of doubt and fear ; and grant unto us that sweet light by which we may 
 know how to go forth and find whatever thing is needful for us to-day in 
 that spiritual realm. Open our eyes upon the wondrous truths of thy 
 word ; grant that we may no longer be left to interpret the spiritual by 
 carnal reasonings. Give us that breathing and inspiration, that presence 
 and brooding influence of thine own self, that shall lead us by spiritual 
 teaching into spiritual truths. Accept the offering of worship; accept the 
 song of fellowship and praise ; accept all our devout meditations ; all our 
 aspirations both excite and guide ; and grant that every thing this day may 
 be seemly before thee, and profitable to us; and so glorify the name of our 
 
 Saviour. We ask it in that blessed name. Amen. 
 t 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE draw near to thee, thou that art eternal and un- 
 searchable, taking hold of Jesus our Saviour, and learn- 
 ing how to understand thee by understanding him. 
 We adore thee in all that we understand. Thy great- 
 ness is unsearchable, but all is not unsought and 
 unsearched that is in thee ; and thou hast shown toward 
 us in thy dealings, and thou hast explained by thy words, 
 enough for our souls' admiration and love enough to 
 overwhelm us with wonder when we behold thy power,
 
 78 BEHCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 and see the greatness of thy being. Not that we can take 
 it in, but in so far as we can trace it and see how like 
 an ocean it leaves its shores and goes off endlessly 
 beyond all voyaging of thought, we are amazed ; we 
 are baffled ; we sink into insignificance before thee. 
 
 We marvel that thou shouldst take note of suoh aa 
 we are; we are as but worms before thee, as motes 
 of the very dust. And this is the beginning of our 
 wonder, when thou dost lift thyself up in all the majesty 
 and grandeur of thy being to interpret to us that it 
 is thy nature, that which makes thee God and not 
 man ; that thou dost concern thyself in the least things 
 and in the poorest, and in that which is farthest away 
 from thee and most needy; that thou art a nursing 
 God, that thou art an everlasting Father, that thou dost 
 not outgrow nor permit us to outgrow this tender 
 relationship between the infinite supplies of divine 
 superiority and the infinite needs of our inferiority ; and 
 we stand, not because we were made to stand alone, but 
 because we are made to stand in God; and we live 
 till this time, not because we have found out a way of in- 
 dependence safe and secure, but because by the leading 
 of thine own hand we have been brought safely through 
 every danger to this state of blessedness which we feel 
 to-day. 
 
 How good and how pleasant it is to come together 
 this morning ; not so bright in the sky is the sun that 
 shines to-day, traveling in the greatness of his strength, 
 and filling all the wide firmament with his gladness, as is 
 our joy and our brightness and our gladness coming into 
 fellowship to-day in this place. Thou hast taught us to 
 love each other, yea, even without name and without 
 personal knowledge ; thou hast taught our hearts to go
 
 SACRAMENTAI, SEASON. 79 
 
 forth and to greet every living thing that like us suffers, 
 or loves, or yearns, or aspires ; that needs and seeks in 
 God, that finds and loves the hand that fulfills its necessi- 
 ties. And thou hast brought us in this enclasping love 
 together to-day. We look upon each other with strange 
 surprise. What treasure have we in each other's hearts ! 
 What gladness anu , 3 T)th of joy ! These are estates in- 
 deed for which we wait ; but death shall give them to us. 
 
 We that here walk in tears ; we that walk in manifold 
 imperfections together ; we that sing both hoarsely -and 
 discordantly, we are heirs of a common glorification ; we 
 are making haste, casting our burdens and our faults, 
 outliving our vain desires and reaching up with a divine 
 impulse. We are going to that crowd of common meet- 
 ing where we shall be in the image of God, and harmo- 
 nize with each other by the perfect purities of love. 
 We anticipate it, we believe in it, we desire to feel 
 already the ground swell of the eternal world lifting us up. 
 We desire to feel that this is not a vain and fantastic 
 thing, that by the blood of Christ Jesus we are united 
 together. 
 
 May we evermore weep with those that weep, and bear 
 them up in their sorrow, and rejoice with those that 
 rejoice, delivering ourselves and themselves from narrow 
 selfishness of joy. May we live together ; and may we 
 strive to cast all that is good as so many brands in the 
 fire, and may the common light and common warmth 
 thereof be our heritage of joy together ; and may we 
 learn to feel that every thing that stands solitary in our 
 own individual experience, is of so much power to 
 another ; and that all things, even the most secret and 
 sacred, when God shall bring them out of privacy into 
 the large union and fellowship of final love, shall be
 
 80 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 made richer and more glorious. And may we search out 
 this truth, even in this life by the light of thy Spirit, 
 the mystic love of Christ, and his union to his people, 
 and their union to each other. 
 
 And we beseech thee, as we sit to-day and sing 
 together, that not our voices alone may mingle and go 
 up in torrent of song, but O m<^ our hearts find each 
 other ; may we feel a unity of zeal and gladness. 
 
 And now may we be enkindled to pray for others, and 
 not forever selfishly for ourselves, and may we learn to 
 take into our sympathies largely the wants of others. 
 May we feel for them, and think for them, and yearn for 
 them, and live for them. Teach us at last the beginning 
 of divine love, to use ourselves not for ourselves but for 
 others. Teach us to find a coming back from that 
 which we have given to others of joy, or purity, or good- 
 ness of any kind. And we beseech thee that we may 
 more and more interpret the spirit of Christ, the mean- 
 ing of his life, the meaning of his death, and the meaning 
 of his everlasting life in heaven. 
 
 O, our Father, we are not only thy children, but we 
 are very young children. We mark and know our im- 
 maturity by our own inexperience, by our want of those 
 qualities that should mark those that are joined to thee. 
 Be pleased, our Father, to bless us, taking thy measure 
 of benefaction not from our want, still less from any 
 desire or persuasion of ourselves, but taking it from thine 
 own nature, from the royalty of thy love, from the won- 
 derfulness of thy generosity, and bless us in such a way 
 as God loves to bless. O how rich are we that stand in 
 the grace of God, not in our own work or attainment, 
 nor any measure of our own desert. This is what we 
 delight in. This is that which we daily rejoice in, that
 
 SACRAMENTAL SEASON. 81 
 
 we do not receive things for our own sake, but all for the 
 sweet sake of Christ. We rejoice in him that BO per- 
 fumes our life, that so gives value to the meanest things, 
 that leaves the savor of a heavenly name and spirit upon 
 things that otherwise would seem dry and insipid to us. 
 
 Now, what motives are lacking in our condition, we 
 find descending from thee that art high above all earthly 
 things. What time denies us, thou givest ; what our re- 
 lationships do not afford, this all comprehending relation- 
 ship with thee yieldest. Thou art the harvest-field in 
 which we sow and in which we reap ; thou art the tower 
 into which we run ; thou art our sun by day and our star 
 by night, that bright and rising star of morning hope ; 
 thou art bread and water to us ; thou art staff and stay, 
 thou art medicine and food ; thou art guidance ; thou art 
 championship ; thou art teacher ; thou art friend, brother ; 
 thou art sister, father and mother all things to all men, 
 and all in all. Our being is comprehended in thine ; in 
 thee we live, and move, and have our being ; blessed be 
 the name of the Lord. 
 
 And now we beseech thee, our Father, give us to-day 
 in one gift all gifts, the consciousness of thine own 
 presence ; the sense that thou art thinking of us, and the 
 preciousness of thy thoughts, thine individual presence 
 to us according to our own individual wants ; and may 
 we, long before we are permitted to touch the sacred 
 symbols that are before us in everlasting consecration 
 may we begin to commune with thee, and to take of thy 
 life, to take of thee, by thought and faith and affection. 
 Thus may we live to-day and to-morrow and each day 
 and every year, until at last, the last year shall come, 
 which, borne as a chariot, shall carry us speedily to our 
 home in heaven ; and there, when we behold thee, not 
 
 4*
 
 btt BEECHER'S PULPIT DBVOTIONS. 
 
 all the estate of thy glory nor the surrounding of in- 
 numerable spirits, shall separate us or daunt us for one 
 single moment ; but we will cast our crown at thy feet 
 and give to thy adorable name, Father, Son, and Spirit, 
 the praise of our salvation. Amen.
 
 UNION WITH CHRIST. 
 
 Evening Prayer. 
 
 AFTER COMMUNION. 
 
 draw near to thee, O our Redeemer, who dost 
 move in tho living way of love thou who hast made 
 thyself to be the gate. Thy heart opens even to us, and 
 through that we walk unabashed before God. We 
 rejoice we know something now of what is wrapped up 
 in those words, that name, God ; the glory, the joy, the 
 purity, the depth, the power of love ; its power for hap- 
 piness, for restoration, for life-giving confidence. All 
 that we need is in thee; all that makes our life flows 
 from thee; in thee we live, and move, and have our 
 being, and we desire in the full appreciation and con- 
 fidence of this truth to walk for evermore as the children 
 of God. 
 
 We are not, O Lawgiver, thy slaves ; we are no longer 
 the servants of sin ; we are by adoption Christ's freemen ; 
 we are his brethren ; we are heirs together with him, 
 and stand before God even as Christ stands, forever 
 beloved. And now we beseech thee that this may not 
 be written in the book, and consulted by reading at 
 times, but may this be written in the fleshly table of our 
 heart. Grant that this sense of our connection with the 
 eternal world, especially of our connection so endearing
 
 84 BBECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 with Jesus Christ grant that this divine union may be 
 ever present with us ; may we be sustained by it, con- 
 verted, inspired, cured. 
 
 "We ourselves are nothing. If thou wert to mark our 
 nature and take account of our attainments, there is 
 nothing to be said. It is folly even to look at us with 
 any thought of excellence. Our hope is in thee. It is 
 to be in God, to take up the rudiments of being, and 
 revolving them in the midst of thine own nature and 
 power, to bring forth final excellence out of such rude 
 beginnings. O Lord, our God, we beseech thee that we 
 may not for a moment endeavor to stand and find rest 
 in any consciousness of our own excellence. May we 
 make haste to own to ourselves the overwhelming imper- 
 fections of our life, and yet may we see how all our 
 powers are inchoate ; may we see how all the beginnings 
 of our actions are rude and imperfect ; may we see how 
 far short we come in every point from the fullness of the 
 divine intent in that respect, and how our whole charac- 
 ter stands and must stand to the very end incomplete 
 before thee. 
 
 May we, therefore, know from henceforth the divine les- 
 son of thy love, thy goodness, thy compassion, and mercy, 
 as the counterpart of our significant imperfection and 
 sinfulness. May all our hope be in God ; may we cease 
 the folly of lingering and looking elsewhere ; at last, may 
 we forget self and think of God. May we look away 
 from all our consciousness, from our various endeavors, 
 and from fretful resolutions that vex and torment us, from 
 the whole round and fever of our inward life ; may we 
 look away from all that is mean and little and insuffi 
 cient in ourselves, upon which we have so long brooded, 
 and from which we have tried to extract some comfort ;
 
 v UNION WITH CHBI8T. 85 
 
 and behold the glory of God, that fills the heavens and 
 that overspreads the earth, and in thee, by joy, by admi- 
 ration, by trust, by love, may we begin to find some 
 heart-rest, and may we take our consolation not in 
 what we are, but in what we behold. May we look up 
 into the face of Jesus Christ, and since he chooses to call 
 himself ours, may we not thwart the divine enunciation 
 nor in any way withstand the blessed faith by unbelief, 
 but rejoice with exceeding great joy, that this is the 
 nature of God, to take up such as we are, to love them, 
 to bear them, to carry them forward with everlasting 
 strength, until at length they shall be purified and estab- 
 lished in heaven. 
 
 O Lord, restore to any that have lost it, the savor of 
 this blessed view of Christ ; give the clearness and the 
 fullness of it to those that see it but in part and linger- 
 ingly ; and reveal thyself to those that never beheld thee 
 thus clothed with glory, and standing for them. May 
 every one of us desire to be clothed with thy righteous- 
 ness, not with our own ; and may we stand in thy love. 
 May we have this faith, that works by love, and super- 
 sedes all other influences, and is mightier than all others. 
 And so we beseech thee, that we may go on from day to 
 day, till the trial is ended, and life closes here, to begin 
 there in full vision and fruition. Wilt thou hear our 
 petitions, not because we are worthy to speak unto thee, 
 but for thine own name's sake. And to the Father, 
 Son, and Spirit, shall be praise everlasting. Amen.
 
 CLO8IXG PRATKB. 
 
 THOTT Saviour of the world, thou hast occasion to bear even with our 
 knowledge. Our best things are so imperfect that thou hast to bear with 
 them. Our very love is frigid, if it be measured by the golden tropic of 
 heaven. The ripest fruit that hangs upon our bough, spirit-ripened on 
 earth, is yet acerb, and unfit for the heavenly garden. Thou hast occasion, 
 gentle and loving and ever-blessed God, to carry us all as little chil- 
 dren are carried. "We are ignorant, we are weak, we are stumbling all 
 the time ; and yet we arrogate to ourselves such knowledge that we take 
 one another by the throat, and cast out men that differ from us. We are 
 perpetually proving one another and judging one another ; and yet, all the 
 time, we are depending upon the infinite forbearance and love of God. 
 Teach us, we beseech of thee, the whole lore of love of its forbearance 
 and gentleness, of its kindness and patience, of its charitableness and 
 richness ; and make us to be thy dear children ; and work out in us thine 
 attributes ; and finally draw us, by that in us which is like thee, to the 
 open arms of Jesus, and to the bosom of our heavenly home where we 
 will praise thee, Father, Son and Spirit. Amen.
 
 BAPTISMAL SERVICE. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 WE rejoice, our heavenly Father, when we behold the 
 faces of these dear children for they are as doors to 
 THEE, and through them we enter heaven and have 
 some conception of thy fatherhood. Thou that dwellest 
 in eternity, that spannest the heavens with thine hand, 
 and layest the foundations of the earth, that callest al. 
 the stars by name and givest them their appointed 
 circuit, and sittest serene in the immensity of universal 
 affairs, art God over all blessed forever; and yet, such 
 is thy nature that thou art delighted with these little 
 ones, and art saying, " Suffer them to come unto me, and 
 forbid them not." 
 
 In this announcement from the skies we see the 
 sweetness and the tenderness of thy loving nature to 
 cheer and to encourage us. Surely thou art to be the 
 soul's delight, when, set free from the obstructions of this 
 mortal life, leaving the shell and the nest behind, we 
 stretch our wings and fly up unto thee and see thee aa 
 thou art. Not through the interpretation of laws, nor of 
 nature, nor of man, but as thou art we shall behold thee. 
 We shall joy and rejoice in thee for evermore, and all 
 the soul shall be happy ; every thought and feeling and 
 purpose shall be filled and overflowing with thy divin< 
 exceDence We rejoice that thou hast a home appoint***
 
 88 BEECHBR'S PULPIT DEYOTIONS. 
 
 for thine own, now dispersed, apparently wind-blown 
 storm-beaten up and down through all the ways of Lfe. 
 Thou art gathering tfiem, tfcou art sending forth death as 
 a nurse to collect and bring thy children home through 
 sleep to thee, and they shall all be housed and stored 
 where there is no more storm or trouble for evermore. 
 As when our children are sick, we patiently and eagerly 
 care for them, so dost thou care for us : " like as a father 
 pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear 
 him." As we make haste to every cry of want, so dost 
 thou ; thine ear is ever open ; thou nearest us when we 
 cry, to relieve and to bless. 
 
 We rejoice, O God, in thy paternity ; we do not under- 
 take to explore its bounds nor to know its intimate work- 
 ings ; it is enough for us that thou art disclosed as a 
 Father, infinite in love, perfect in justice, everlasting and 
 immutable in truth holy, just, and good. We trust 
 thee ; we adore thee in all those inapproachable elements, 
 in all those attributes which dawn upon our sight, but 
 run away in their proportions beyond the region of 
 thought. 
 
 In all those things that evermore make thee mighty 
 and infinite as God, we adore thee; but, rising in the 
 stature of our minds, as fast as we come to a better 
 knowledge, as fast as we bring in elements to our own 
 comprehension, we change adoration into love : and so 
 we adore thee for the vast and unrivaled extent of grand- 
 eur which plays upon the imagination and fills the 
 whole soul with awe and fear and reverence ; but all the 
 disclosures that thou hast made, the words thou hast 
 spoken, and the puttings forth of thy nature on every 
 side these draw us to thee in the sweetest bonds. We 
 confide in thee ; we lean upon thee ; we rest our souls in
 
 BAPTISMAL SERVICE. 80 
 
 thee Whom have we in heaven but thee, who is there 
 upon earth that we can desire beside thee or in compari- 
 son with thee ? Thou art great in heaven ; thou art 
 great upon the earth ; thou dost not stand in thy great- 
 ness upon the recognition of any. Though all men forget 
 thee, though all men should bow down to idols, still thou 
 art God over all, filling immensity, great beyond all 
 thought, or conception, or bounds. 
 
 Now, O Lord, we beseech thee that we may not alone 
 have in the fervor of devotion these reverent and loving 
 thoughts, but grant that we may be able to walk with 
 thee evermore in all our affairs and be undisturbed ; that 
 we may not be vexed by the harassing of care and 
 trouble in our own hearts ; that we may not be disturbed 
 in our social relations, in the ten thousand collisions and 
 threats of feverish life ; that we may not be alarmed in 
 the mutations of outward affairs, nor cast up and down. 
 Grant that we may not be as ships, ever changing with 
 the winds and waves of the sea, but rather may we be as 
 the cedars of Lebanon, that stand from generation to gen- 
 eration unmoved and unmovable. 
 
 Grant that our confidence may be in God and not in 
 man, nor in ourselves. We bring to thee all our affairs ; 
 we are willing to be under thee the conductors of them ; 
 we are willing to be thy stewards; we are willing to 
 labor, to bear, and to suffer unto the end. We will 
 endure whatever in thy providence is brought upon us, 
 but we desire to feel that there is a thought wider and 
 clearer than our wisest thought a purpose that over- 
 rules the purposes of men a providence that includes in 
 it greater good for us than we can plan for ourselves. 
 Whatever may seem to be the courses of things, thou 
 art guiding the earth, and thou art guiding the nations
 
 90 BEBCHBB'B PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 of the earth, and thou wilt bring all things to pass that 
 shall establish peace upon justice, and universal liberty 
 upon equity, and all nations shall see the salvation of 
 God. 
 
 And now, Lord, we commend to thee these dear 
 children that have been brought and offered up in con- 
 secration. Deliver these parents from superstitious re- 
 liance upon outward form that is but significant of an 
 inward consecration. May the purpose of their heart, 
 which they have formed to-day, abide with them and be 
 as a rudder in the household, a discipline, an education, 
 an example, a care. May we accept, also, the charge as 
 brethren in one household of faith which is brought 
 to us ; may we sympathize with each other in the family, 
 and in the care and trouble of rearing our children. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt remember all that have brought 
 their children in days past all that have brought 
 them before thee in the sanctuary and the closet, any- 
 where in the faith of Christ have humbly attempted to 
 educate their children to thee. We beseech thee that 
 thou wilt bless their children ; may they grow up in 
 purity, and if tempted, be able to resist temptation ; may 
 they be able to break through every snare, and go forth 
 from Christian youth to Christian manhood. Help 
 parents that are tried ; whose patience is tried, who are 
 in distress of heart respecting their household, in any 
 wise whatsoever ; may they find that neglecting faith is 
 cause of more trouble, and may they be able to cast their 
 care upon the Lord, who careth for them. 
 
 Thou, Everlasting Strength, hast set thyself forth 
 to bear our burdens. May we bear thy cross, and 
 bearing that, find there is nothing else to bear; and 
 touching that cross, find that instead of taking away our
 
 BAPT18MAI SERVICE. 91 
 
 strength, it adds thrreto. Give us faith for darkness, 
 for trouble, for sorrow, for bereavement, for disappoint- 
 ment ; give us a faith that will abide though the earth 
 itself should pass away a faith for living, a faith for 
 dying. 
 
 Grant, we beseech of thee, O Lord God, that when 
 we shall have passed through these years of uninterpreted 
 sorrows and cares, and gone through all the instrumen- 
 talities by which thou art in thy school educating us, and 
 we have come to the end, the appointed bound, O 
 grant that then we may not be afraid to venture further ; 
 may we find ourselves mightily lifted up by the Spirit, 
 borne upward to thy very presence ; and standing in Zion 
 and before God, may we be satisfied and undisappointed 
 and unterrified ; may we stand to behold him whom our 
 souls delight in, and to whom we have feebly cried ; may 
 we behold thee in thy glory and find ourselves welcomed 
 there, saved with an everlasting salvation. And to thy 
 name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit, ever- 
 more Amen.
 
 CLOSING PRATIB. 
 
 OUR Father, wilt thou bless the word spoken to every one ; may it g 
 with power not human, but divine. Make us willing workers, patient 
 workers, persevering workers. May we desire to add to every grace the 
 next, or to each grace in a lower form the next highest form. May we 
 have such a comprehensive view of how much there is to need our pecu- 
 liar care, and all the successive stages and evolutions of it, that we might 
 leave the follies of those that count themselves perfected and of those 
 that think they have already attained perfection, and that we may apply 
 ourselves with diligence and patience, and that unto the very end that 
 Christ may be formed in us the hope of glory. This is thy work. We 
 do not desire through indolence to rest upon thy sovereignty, yet we 
 gratefully recognize it as high abovi our weakness ; high above the frost is 
 thy sun, high above the sky is thy summer ; high above our impotence is 
 thy power, and high above our ignorance is thy bright, far-seeing wisdom 
 and goodness, and our hope is in thee. Deliver us, we beseech of thee, 
 Lord our God, thou in whom we have trusted, and deliver us unto the end 
 that finally we may be saved, which we ask for Christ's lake. Amen.
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 IKTOOATIOH. 
 
 OUB Pettier! we are thy children, come home this morning to the place 
 of invitation, the place made sacred by the fulfillment of thy promises ten 
 thousand times to us. Thou hast made our wants to grow, that thou 
 mayest have the privilege every day of supplying them, and that we might 
 be brought into the sweetest connection with thee, by taking, day by day, 
 our daily bread from thine hand. We come to-day, then, to take what 
 thou shalt give us; and as thou art our bread and the water of life, the 
 life, the breath, the all in all, grant us thyself and we are supplied. 
 Help us to read thy word, to sing thy praises, to commune with thee in 
 prayer, to speak and to hear from thee. We ask it for Christ's sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WB thank thee, that we are again brought to the house 
 of prayer ; and that we are permitted, our Father, to make 
 known our wants, not because thou needest to be told ; 
 thou knowest before we want what we shall need ; and 
 our own uneasiness, that does not yet even interpret 
 what the trouble is, is well understood by thee, before 
 whom the thoughts and the intents of the heart are ever 
 open. But thou hast made it to be pleasant and to be 
 profitable to us to ask, and consciously to receive in ask- 
 ing, the things which we need. Thou hast made us to be
 
 4 BEECHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 like thee not only, but to be thy children ; and all the 
 offices of duty are made to bring us around about thee, 
 and into personal intercourse with thee ; and we rejoice 
 in thee, every one. We would not pluck our blessings 
 from thee as men pluck fruit from trees which they never 
 planted. We desire so to receive our mercies, as that 
 from every taking, we shall think of thee, and feel 
 warmth and gratitude to thee ; for all the things that do 
 now attend upon our perverted natures are making us 
 earthly, and are sending us aside to the Creation instead 
 of to the Creator. 
 
 And we desire evermore to be made so conscious of our 
 dependence upon thee, and of the endearing and ennobling 
 relations that there are between us, that we shall be 
 turned toward thee by the things that are made and 
 which we use day by day. We have become selfish ; we 
 have perverted our best powers ; we have not given to 
 ourselves that growth which belongs to our nature. We 
 have pursued the things in life which thou hast forbid- 
 den ; we have left neglected and unsearched the things 
 which thou hast commanded; and thou beholdest us 
 altogether sinful, and stained in every part. 
 
 We need forgiveness ; we need divine forbearance ; we 
 need a new creation ; we need to be inspired by the energy 
 of thy mind, that never faints, and never is weary. 
 Blessed be thy name that thou art our watch, our guide ; 
 thou art our Captain in the hour of conflict. Thou, who 
 art in the night the bright and morning star, and in the 
 day the sun of righteousness ; thou art to us the shadow 
 of a rock in a weary land our tower, into which we run 
 when pursued ; our Saviour, our pavilion, where we can 
 hide until the storm be overpast. What is there that we 
 know of grace, or purity, or comfort, or strength in things
 
 GROWTH IN GBACB. 95 
 
 of earth, that thou hast not selected them and called 
 them by their name ; so that we can neither by day nor 
 by night touch any thing that is made of thee, that it hath 
 not some message impressed upon it from thee to us. 
 All things are speaking to us of God, if we were not 
 deaf and would not hear. We pray, O Lord, that thou 
 wilt grant that the experience, little though it be, of our 
 love and joy in thee in time past, may not fade out, but 
 rather augment; grant, we beseech of thee, that the 
 things which aforetime have held us away from thee, 
 may now lead us more closely to thee. 
 
 "We thank thee for our blessings. Often we have per- 
 verted them ; the gift was good, except in the using ; 
 and now we pray that thou wilt send us the blessings 
 that we need, and with them thy grace, by which we 
 shall be able to employ them aright. May we be enabled 
 to develop ourselves by all the benefactions of thy provi- 
 dence ; may we not grow selfish by prosperity, nor hard 
 by reason of power and influence. May we not grow 
 conceited, because thy light shines in our path to teach 
 us where to go. When we are strengthened of God, may 
 we not feel that we are independent of thee ; may we 
 rejoice in all our affections, and may we not make idols 
 of the things which we love. May we learn to love 
 all our friends, and to hold all our friendships in the 
 light of the eternal world ; our children, our brothers, 
 and our sisters, our companions and friends of every 
 name, may they not be as roots that hold on to this soil 
 and earth, but rather as blossoms that always lie with 
 bosom open to the light and the air of heaven. 
 
 And in the midst of these things, may we not only 
 not be held down and back, but rather strengthened 
 to rise up and to go forward. May we learn to
 
 96 BEBCHEB'S PCXTIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 bear with one another, each his brother's burden ; may 
 we labor to alleviate each other's cares ; may we 
 seek to live not selfishly, but grant that we may take 
 hold the one of another's hand, remembering that we are 
 members one of another, and so may the law of love be 
 more and more exemplified in our disposition and in our 
 outward life. 
 
 May we desire to be pure. May we desire to be bene- 
 volent ; may our yearnings be for these things. May we 
 not leave it to the coercion of daily duty, but may our 
 yearnings be for that life in our souls that is in thine. 
 Thou art love; and whilst upon earth, Blessed Jesus, 
 thou didst go about doing good, and unto the end ; may 
 that example quicken and strengthen and comfort us. 
 
 "We pray that thou wilt bless those that are gathered 
 together, according to their several wants. Thou knowest 
 every one ; all the secret temptation, the secret sorrow, 
 the secret weakness, the perplexity, the darkness of mind, 
 the foreboding sadness, the remembered grief, the antici- 
 pated trouble all things are naked and open before 
 thee with whom we have to do ; and as thou causest the 
 clouds to rain down of thy abundance, so that all the 
 myriads of things that need the showers do receive their 
 portion in due season, so grant, we beseech thee, that 
 thy blessings may come down to this congregation, and 
 every one may find that God is thinking of him. May 
 every one feel, to-day, that some heavenly influence hath 
 met and blest him. 
 
 Be with all those that are separated from us, but who 
 belong to us, wherever they may be. If sickness detains 
 them, or journeying, or residence afar off, or whatever 
 other separation or hindrance, still may we to-day feel 
 that we are united to Christ ; and as we rise in sacred
 
 GROWTH IN GBJLCB. 07 
 
 song, in the fellowship of love and worship, or in com- 
 munings and meditations, by as much as we come near 
 to thee, may we feel that we are coming near to those 
 that are dear to us, and so evermore on earth may we 
 have premonitions of that blessedness which awaits us in 
 heaven, where we shall all be united one to another, 
 because to thee. On earth may it begin, so that disper- 
 sions and separations shall have no power to make voids 
 between us, but unite us by faith in Christ even to 
 those that are his disciples here upon earth. Glorify 
 thyself in the truth ; glorify thyself, we beseech thee, in 
 this land by the events that are transpiring. "Wilt thou 
 advance the cause of justice and of truth ; may the whole 
 world receive thy blessing, which hath so long been 
 delayed ; at last, O grant that the glory of the Lord may 
 shine over all the world, and the daylight of heaven 
 come ; and to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, 
 
 and Spirit Amen. 
 I
 
 CLOSING PRATER. 
 
 OUR heavenly Father, we beseech of thee that them wilt follow the word 
 spoken, by the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of men, that the truth may 
 fall therein as seed into good ground. Incline them to thy ways, that 
 they may learn those ways. Make them hungry, and then thou wilt be 
 bread sweet to their taste ; make them thirsty, and then they will seize 
 the water of life. When prostrate by thine hand, console them, that they 
 may hail the life that brings them forth again. Cast them down wounded, 
 that they may see that thou art a physician, and that they may accept the 
 healing service. teach us, we beseech thee, above all other things 
 how Christ may be formed in us the hope of glory. Fulfill thy promises ; 
 come to us, Jesus ; come and speak with us, come and abide with us. 
 Go not forth with the twilight ; go not forth with the morning ; dwell 
 , with us ; aud when at last summoned we come forth out of this taber- 
 nacle, leave us not nor forsake us ; but may our first consciousness be, 
 when we awake, that we are in thy likeness ; that we are hi thy kingdom ; 
 that we are in thy presence, received and saved with an everlasting 
 salvation; and to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit* 
 evermore. Amen.
 
 FOB A HIGHER LIFE. 
 
 AN EVENING PRAYEB. 
 
 WE rejoice, O Lord our God, that thou art great, and 
 needest not that any one should draw near to augment 
 thy glory ; yet by reason of thine heart, thou dost need 
 even us, and thou dost bend toward us even as a father 
 toward his children. We rejoice that thy greatness 
 doth not separate thee from thy creatures. We rejoice 
 that perfect purity, which we know nothing of in this 
 life, is revealed to us in thee ; not as hating and despis- 
 ing the impure, but as fall of pity and full of mercy, and 
 fall of patient forbearance and full of all curative com- 
 fort. And we rejoice that such is thy nature, and that 
 thou art royal in thy mercies. Thou art God over all, 
 blessed forever, because thou art good unto all, and for- 
 ever blessing. 
 
 And now we desire to unite the acclamation of our 
 voice, and the consent of our heart, and the full strength 
 of our desire, to those that praise thee in heaven. We 
 give ascriptions of praise to thee ; we glory in thy 
 majesty, and in the grandeur of thy being. We rejoice 
 in thy supremacy, and that we are beneath thy sway. 
 We rejoice in thy goodness, and while we adore thee, we 
 love thee more ; and we desire, O Lord our God, though 
 with faintness of spirit and with weakness of light in the
 
 100 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS 
 
 midst of temptations, in the midst of darkless and igno 
 ranee, with ten thousand wavering steps, and mistake! 
 innumerable, yet we desire to follow thee. "Whatever 
 waves roll over us, whatever streams drive us out of our 
 path, whatever befalls us, we come again to this one 
 desire of life ; that we may follow after thee, and be con- 
 formed to thine image, and become thy children indeed, 
 and have an evidence that we are to have the inheritance 
 of the saints in glory. 
 
 And further we desire, O Lord our God 1 that thou wilt 
 strengthen all that is good within us, and teach us how 
 to put it forth. Help us to restrain whatever is evil, to 
 bind it for Christ's sake and by the power of God, 
 through Christ Jesus given unto us. We pray that God 
 will grant unto us, that the fountain of all goodness and 
 divine love may be in us. May we have those secret 
 beginnings of grace ; may we learn how to chastise sel- 
 fishness, how to humble pride, how to restrain every 
 wayward and vicious inclination that offends against the 
 purity of our souls or the peace of our fellow-men. 
 
 And may we not take counsel of the world ; may we 
 not listen to its suggestions, nor measure what is right by 
 its customs alone. May we not feel that that is obedi- 
 ence enough to thee which fulfills the measure of obedi- 
 ence required by human laws and usages ; but may we, as 
 disciples of Christ, be forever growing to something higher ; 
 to something nobler in justice, truer in veracity, greater 
 in honor, purer in life than that which is required by 
 men. And so may our life be above life ; so may our path, 
 though it be straight and narrow, tend speedily above 
 all the lower ways of time. 
 
 O strengthen us against temptation ; against those 
 temptations that are peculiar to each of us. Thou
 
 VOB A HIGHER LIFE. 101 
 
 knowest where tlie adversary most easily forces om 
 defenses ; be gracious to every one in those respects in 
 which they need divine help. May those that are cap- 
 tives be set free; those that are discouraged in their 
 warfare with evil, be empowered of God ; and may all 
 of us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord. 
 
 "We pray that we may be inspired to nobleness of life 
 in the least things. May we dignify all our daily life. 
 May we set such a sacredness upon every part of our life, 
 as means appointed for the glorious ends of our edifica- 
 tion, that nothing shall be trivial, nothing unimportant, 
 and nothing dull, in all the daily round of life. 
 
 O may we have thy presence so long as we live. 
 Abandon us not when old age shall come. Whatever 
 changes may intervene or then may come upon us, 
 wherever we may be, in sickness, and when weakness 
 begins to take hold upon the strength of death, O Lord 
 Jesus, abandon us not in the trying hour, in that grand 
 passage, and in that beginning of immortality which lies 
 before us all. May we not only have faith in Christ 
 Jesus, but the presence of Christ consciously with us. 
 May we be cheered in our weakness, may all our doubts 
 as clouds be driven away, and may the bright smiling of 
 thy face be as a guiding star ; and following thee, may we 
 wake in heaven, at rest and glorified for evermore. And 
 to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit
 
 CLOSING PRAYER. 
 
 GRANT onto us, our heavenly Father, to lire as seeing him who is inriii- 
 We Thus thine ancient servants went through incredible labor with 
 wonderful patience and endurance, and thy servants in every age have 
 achieved the mightiest victories, because they saw God where other men 
 aw but void. Give us to behold thee in the largeness of thy mercy and 
 goodness. Give our souls the habit of trusting thee, so that when by and 
 by we need to trust, or we should die, we shall find it easy to anchor in the 
 bosom of thy love. Lord God we have no reason to ask these things 
 in ourselves ; we cannot pay thee ; we have done nothing why thou 
 shouldst requite us thus. The reason why we ask is that it is more 
 blessed to give than to receive. This is thy nature. We ask from thy 
 generosity ; we ask from thy royalty. 0, thou infinitely rich, give us of thy 
 riches ; thou that art infinitely strong, give us of thy strength. Our Father, 
 nourish us because thou lovest thy children. And so, we beseech of thee 
 give us every day to walk in the consciousness of our filial relation to 
 thee, unto the very end of this life ; and then, when heaven dawns, may we 
 appear in our true life before thee as thou art, and be satisfied because we 
 are in thine image. And to thy name shall be the praise of out salvation 
 Father, Son and Spirit Amen,
 
 CHRIST OUR NECESSITY AND JOY. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INTOOATION. 
 
 THOU hast opened thy hand, Lord our God, and the earth doth smile 
 with the light of thy countenance. Thy hands give forth substantial 
 blessings, and thy voice reaches even unto our souls ; and we are blest in 
 both. We beseech thee, therefore, that we may recognize this morning 
 that thou art the source of all our good. May we be glad in thy presence ; 
 and, coming into thy temple, may we believe that here are peace and joy; 
 here is love; here communion with God and rest for the weary soul 
 Wilt thou, therefore, bless us in the exercises of our assembly. In every 
 word of instruction which we shall endeavor to speak, in the reading of 
 thy word, in offering up petitions and prayers, in sacred song together, in 
 our meditation, in every thing that we shall do, may we have help and 
 blessing. Go with us to our homes, and may there be Sabbath in the 
 household as weH as in the sanctuary the rest which thou givest unto 
 thy people. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WHAT are we, O Lord our God, that we should wor- 
 ship thee? Thou dost not need our praises; thou art 
 surrounded in heaven by those of nobler stature, and 
 thou hast, dawning like the morning round about thee, 
 glorious ones that have kept their first estate ; and thou 
 hast in every part of thy heavenly domain innumerable 
 spirits of just men made perfect, and there thou thyself 
 dost teach the everlasting choir, and joy is their music. 
 They behold thee, not with mortal eyes, nor through the 
 veil of infirmity and passion, but as thou art ; and are 
 perpetually drawn toward thee, not alone by the voice 
 of praise and by sympathies, for thou art making them
 
 104 BEKCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 like unto thee. They perform thine offices ; they go 
 forth at thy word, and going to the utmost bounds and 
 domain of God, are still at home with thee ; for that is 
 heaven where thou art, and thou art everywhere to those 
 that love thee. 
 
 "We rejoice, O Lord Jesus, that thou art praised in 
 heaven and with heavenly perfection, and that therefore 
 thou dost not in this way need our praises ; and yet thou 
 hast taught us that wonderful and blessed truth, that 
 thou dost need us ; for thou dost pray for us, that where 
 thou art we may be also. We can faintly interpret what 
 thou art by our own experience in this for we know 
 that it is not alone those that are our fit companions, that 
 rise and stand by us, that we need, but that we have 
 need often of the pity and love of those that are less than 
 we, and that are far below us in moral stature ; and we 
 believe that thus, even in these faint experiences, we 
 have some conception -of the majesty, greatness, and 
 grandeur, of that nature of God which leads him to need 
 us and to yearn for us. We see in this the mystery of 
 divine love, which shall never by searching be found 
 out known more and more, more and more unfolding, 
 never perfectly known and never exhausted that won- 
 derful love of Christ. O Lord our God, we thank thee 
 for the revelation of it. We thank thee for the rest and 
 the unspeakable comfort which we have in the thought 
 of thee. 
 
 If we turn to what we are, if we look to our achieve- 
 ments, if we measure even our hope and aspiration, there 
 is but very little satisfaction, and soon worn out. There 
 is not in all the weavings of our fancy, in all the turnings 
 of our thoughts, or in our daily life, enough to gratify 
 DB. We need God. Thou hast infinite fullness, great-
 
 CHRIST OUR NECESSITY AND JOT. 105 
 
 ness, and glory. In thee is all purity and goodness, all 
 justice and truth ; in thee are all things that engage the 
 heart, enwrap the imagination, and fire the soul with ec- 
 stasy. All are born with thee and dwell with thee ; and 
 thou art in thy heart sufficient for all the wants of all the 
 hearts throughout the desolate universe. O Lord our 
 God ! when shall we rise to some conception of thee above 
 the things that thou hast made ? When shall we see in 
 these things, but mere symbols and interpretations of thy 
 nature, until human life shall be an ever-written gospel ; 
 until nature itself shall be again the book of God to our 
 eye, as once it was to the eyes of prophets and inspired 
 men. 
 
 O Lord our God ! thou art teaching us through thy 
 written word, that we may know how to understand thy 
 created revelation. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may 
 know the beginning of all knowledge of God, by the im- 
 planted spirit of Cod in us. We pray that thou wilt 
 cleanse our souls from the darkness of nature ; that thou 
 wilt brood upon us, and bring from chaos out of the 
 furnace of creation all-ordered things. If there are those 
 in thy presence that are wistfully looking toward the 
 East, who long to see some light, O Lord Jesus ! thou 
 bright and morning star, dawn upon them. 
 
 If there are others present that have seen thee, that 
 have known thee in times past, but who have lost the 
 sweetness of early experience, who have but fitful gleams 
 and rejoicings, O Lord Jesus ! rise upon them as a sun 
 of righteousness, with healing in thy beams, and give them 
 daylight, full, bright and serene. If there are those that 
 look at themselves more than they look at God, and are 
 bereft of joy and comfort, by reason of self-condemna- 
 tion, doubt and apprehension, filled with conscious guilt, 
 
 5*
 
 106 BEKCHEK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 that tho i hast withdrawn ; O sweetly charm their vision 
 that they may forget to look at themselves, and that they 
 may behold the unspeakable glory of Jesus Christ, 
 which is a better vision. May they at last learn that 
 their strength is in Christ and not in themselves, and 
 that it is the righteousness, the boundless grace and 
 goodness and love of Christ that is to save them, and not 
 the longings of their own will and power. If there are 
 found in thy presence those that have had a faith of thee 
 and have lost it, and are wandering in darkness and 
 trouble, who at times think it is a vain delusion, and are 
 rushed upon by strong desires of something nobler and 
 better than life's experiences, O Lord, let them not drift 
 forever thus out at sea without guidance, and subject to 
 swelling storms. Go to them, thou that walkest on the 
 water, thou that hast control of the elements, thou that 
 didst save thy terrified ones. O Lord Jesus, go to any 
 that are thus drifting further and further toward dark- 
 ness. 
 
 If there are those that are in despondency, whose hope 
 in Christ is as if Christ in the ship were asleep in the 
 storm, rise thyself, O storm-calming Christ, and calm their 
 terror, and give them peace that they may praise thee. 
 Is not every heart a temple of God ? O how wonderful 
 shall be the offering of every one who knows how now 
 out of a grateful heart to speak forth thy praise ! What 
 other thing can we ask? Disclose thyself to every one 
 thy love, thy gentleness, thy faithfulness, thy fidelity that 
 cannot be overcome ; that power that is more than life, 
 more than death that power that reigns in heaven and 
 controls in hell. Disclose thyself to every one, not as the 
 God of judgment, though thou wilt judge ; not as a Q-od 
 of justice, though thou art unspeakably holy; but so
 
 CHBIST OUB NECESSITY AND JOT. 107 
 
 breathe consolation upon every clouded spirit that light 
 promise shall come to every heart that is mourn- 
 
 Begin the work of grace in those where it is not 
 begun ; carry it forward in all hearts where thou hast 
 begun it ; and, O Lord, perfect it in those that have long 
 sought thee and have not perfectly found thee ; and may 
 there be many among us upon whom shall begin to 
 dawn that perfect peace, that peace which flows as a 
 river, whose sources and fountains are not in any earthly 
 thing, but in God. Be very near to those in thy pres- 
 ence that need divine quickening and help ; for thou art 
 so wonderful in thy mercy, that thou dost not alone help 
 us in our greatest wants, but in least ; for there is nothing 
 that concerns us that does not concern thee. 
 
 If there are any present troubled with affliction, 
 thou art here to answer their petition. If there are any 
 that are grievously oppressed by poverty, and know not 
 what to do ; thou, O God, art here to listen to their 
 complaint and to send them succor. If there are any 
 here who are weary with sickness, and troubled for want 
 of sympathy ; thou art their God and dost love them, and 
 they may come to thee with all their trouble, for thou 
 wilt not cast out their complaint. If there are any that 
 are straitened in business and burdened with social cares, 
 here thou wilt permit them to bring their secular affairs ; 
 not that they may turn them in their minds to make life 
 more weary and care more vexatious, but here they may 
 lay down their burden ; here they may be sustained with 
 a consciousness that they are leaning upon the staff of 
 God, and that all events are in his hand, and that all 
 things shall work together for good. 
 
 If there are any that are mourning because thou hast
 
 108 BBBCHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 taken their children from them ; thou canst show them to 
 them again. If there are those present from whom thou 
 hast taken friends and companions ; thou canst let them 
 see them. Only the bodily form is gone ; they are near 
 to them, and thou canst reveal how near the kingdom of 
 God is to those that are on earth. If there are here those 
 who are strangers in a strange place, O, thou canst make 
 them understand this morning that they are of the house- 
 hold of faith, and that here is their Father's house and 
 here are their brethren. If there are those that are in 
 any way tried or have any need whatsoever, whether 
 bodily or spiritually, whether of the affections or of the 
 understanding, or of things domestic, thou, O God, art 
 here to-day to receive supplications from every one, and 
 to show thyself royal in mercy and wonderful in wisdom, 
 and patient beyond all earthly degrees of patience. 
 
 We pray that we may not offend thee by unbelief; 
 may we come, every one of us, knowing that there is 
 nothing more pleasing to God than that we should trust 
 his goodness, and that we should presume upon his mer- 
 cy ; that we should come boldly to the throne of grace 
 and obtain grace in time of need. And if those present 
 gain nothing else, may every one of us go away feeling 
 that we have been nearer to God, with a greater cer- 
 tainty of his presence overshadowing us; and so may 
 we feel more of the Spirit of God carried with us. 
 
 Be thou near to those who are sick and cannot come 
 hither, and wilt thou grant that the light of God may fill 
 their dwelling. Chase away their trouble, their doubts, 
 and their unbelief, and give them sweet peace in believ- 
 ing in Christ. May those that are appointed to life 
 again come forth in due season, chastened by sickness, 
 and made better. May those that are appointed to life
 
 CHRIST OUR NECESSITY AND JOT. 109 
 
 eternal, issue forth out of the gate of promise and hope, 
 and appear in Zion and before God. 
 
 We pray for the outcast, for those that have given 
 themselves over to work iniquity for the children of 
 vice and crime ; for those that have had no instruction 
 in better things, unto whom the gate of heaven has been 
 shut ; father and mother both teaching the ways of vice 
 and crime O God, have compassion on such. Re- 
 member those that sit in ignorance; remember all 
 that are in oppression; all that are in any way the 
 subjects of injustice and misrule. We pray that the 
 whole family of man everywhere may come up in remem- 
 brance before thee. O Lord God, how long, how long 
 shall the earth carry its burden ? How long shall the 
 world be without even the knowledge of God ? How long 
 shall darkness and besotted ignorance and sin brood upon 
 whole continents ? How long shall war and oppression, 
 and rapine and misrule, desolate the earth ? When shall 
 the realm of tears cease ? When shall the voice of singing 
 be heard in all the land ? Thou hast promised better 
 things O God, send forth thy summer in which this 
 world shall ripen, and then pluck the fruit, that thou 
 mayest glorify thyself with it through the ages of 
 eternity ; and to thy name shall be the praise, Father, 
 Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 OLOSDffJ PRATER. 
 
 OTJB heavenly Father, we beseech of thee that we. may be impressed 
 with the grandeur of those truths which are cast out in thy word as free 
 as the air, and which we breathe as unconsciously as we breathe the air, not 
 knowing what they teach. grant that we may not be surrounded by 
 thee, nursed, loved, cared for, and watched, and yet not know thee. 
 Forbid that we should be surrounded with God, and yet be unconscious 
 and indifferent. Forgive us our past infidelity ; forgive us our atheism. 
 Thou hast made the world, and we have emptied it of thee. help us to 
 bring God back again. Help us to see that thou art still walking in the 
 garden, not alone at the close of the day, but all through its hours. May 
 we feel that thou dost come into the house ; that thou art with us in the 
 breaking of bread, and dost not vanish any more. May we feel that thou 
 art every where ; and may those who are so dependent that they must 
 needs lean back their heads, lean them upon thy bosom, since every thing 
 is to us as the bosom of God, for thou hast made all things. May we 
 understand how divine truth multiplies itself, how it goes forth in all 
 directions and surrounds us. May we be made not afraid, but strong and 
 rejoicing in this ail surrounding presence of our God. May we be helped 
 by his strength, and carried by him in his eternal march. And when at 
 last we have passed through this scene of ignorance, disappointment, sin, 
 and trial, may we emerge in that clear licrht of an unbroken day ; and 
 there we will praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Amen.
 
 PETITIONING FOR LIGHT. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee, Lord, that thou hast already begun to do us good, 
 *ven in thy sanctuary; and hast lifted up the light of thy countenance 
 upon us. Now, our Father, we ask that thou wilt fulfill thy purposes. 
 Breathe that divine and quickening influence upon us under which all our 
 powers shall rise up and do their office-work. Grant us all needed help 
 in the reading of thy word, that we may not walk through it as though it 
 were the grave of truths, but that we may behold them rising in power, 
 touched of God ; and that we may hear them speaking to us. Help us to 
 lift up our voice in prayer, and to have sweet communion with thee ; and 
 help us also to commune with thee in fellowship with each other in sacred 
 song. May we rejoice thus to mingle our voices one with another, and go 
 before the throne of a common Father. Bless us in speaking from thy 
 truth, in meditating upon the word spoken, and in all the exercises of 
 public worship and of private devotion, this day. We ask it for Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMOV. 
 
 One Heavenly Father, we come this morning to ask 
 that thou wilt give us the spirit of little children, that 
 we may be able to throw off that pride and that vanity 
 which have grown up under the influences of this world, 
 and which have not enlightened but blinded us, making 
 us think that we were living when we were dead. We 
 pray that we may be able to look upon ourselves, not in
 
 112 BKEOHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 the light of other men's opinions ; nor according to our 
 own low merit as judged in the light of affection and of 
 household and of human affairs. May we behold our- 
 selves beneath the light of thy law and under the light 
 of thy countenance. May we see our littleness, our 
 crude moral state, our scanty attainments, the mixture 
 of motives that perpetually play upon the surface of our 
 life ; and may we behold the deeper and darker currents 
 that work beneath. May we behold how we grow out 
 from the earth ; how we are inclined to the things that 
 savor not of God, but of man ; and how we ofttimes live 
 under influences that are bearing us downward and fas- 
 tening us to the earth, rather than inspiring and lifting 
 us toward God. 
 
 We pray, ay, we entreat, that we may have such a 
 sense of our sins, that we shall be glad to be instructed 
 by every word of thine. May we have such a sense of 
 our wickedness, that it shall come with inconceivable joy 
 to us that God is our everlasting strength. May we be 
 so far weaned from our own vainglorious self-depend- 
 ence, that we shall be willing to trust in Christ and to 
 take hold by faith and live upon him. We beseech thee, 
 not that thou wilt give us that help which we need to do 
 the things that are of the body and of the earth ; for that 
 we have power ; but to do the things that lift us from 
 the earth and toward the spiritual and the invisible ; for 
 that we need instruction. And we come to pray that 
 thou wilt crown all thy daily gifts and thine other in 
 numerable mercies, with that sweetest and most blessed 
 gift, the Holy Spirit, so that every one of us may feel 
 that the flame which lights our path is divine, that we 
 are walking in no uncertain way, that we are not left 
 alone to the suggestions of our own imagination, nor to
 
 PETITIONING FOB LIGHT. 113 
 
 follow the imperfect directions of our own reason, but 
 that we are guided of God, who loves us and has com- 
 prehended us in the arms of his promises ; who has 
 adopted us into the household of his own children, and 
 made us heira of eternal riches that are yet to be revealed 
 in us. 
 
 Now, we ask, O God, if there are those in thy pre- 
 sence who are rejoicing before thee, who have learned 
 that thou art gracious, who know of a surety that 
 there is a life hidden with Christ, more blessed and 
 joyful than any disclosed life of earthly pleasure or suc- 
 cess, if to-day they offer up their tribute of thanksgiving 
 and of gratitude, be pleased to accept it at their hands ; 
 and if they have found access to thee and can prevail in 
 prayer, may they not forget those round about them that 
 are struggling as once they were. May their prayers 
 to-day go forth for all their Christian brethren, for their 
 more perfect emancipation, and for a more perfect dis- 
 closure of the power of Christ in their souls. 
 
 Hear their cry who sometimes love thee, but whose 
 hopes are often clouded ; who know that the true way of 
 life is that which leads toward the Saviour, but who lose 
 that way. O Lord, we beseech of thee that thou wilt 
 draw near to such ; and we pray not that thou wilt take 
 conscience away from them, but magnify its office in 
 them ; and add to it a faith that shall discern, a trust that 
 shall rest in Christ, and a love that shall be able to find 
 him wherever he is. May they grow in grace, and in the 
 knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 
 And if there are in thy presence, those that are walk- 
 ing in the exact way, avoiding evil and seeking good, 
 walking with duty as a perpetual burden and ache, O 
 Lord God, fulfill to them the promise thou hast made
 
 114 BEECHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 and may they find that their religion, which is of duty, 
 being touched of Christ, and illumined by faith may 
 they find that the yoke is easy and the burden light 
 There are many that can not walk by reason of that 
 burden which they bear, and whose life is one perpetual 
 throe of trouble, and almost of despair ; but thou canst 
 bring them forth, quickening all the power of doing 
 right ; thou canst make sin seem to them yet more sinful 
 and evil, more hateful ; and yet thou canst make the 
 victory more easy, and their way of life more bright and 
 joyful by the shining of thine own self, shining into their 
 souls and teaching them of God. 
 
 If there are any present desiring to know something 
 of these things, but are like ignorant men that know not 
 whither to go nor where to land, O Lord Jesus, thou 
 canst guide the lost, for thou didst come to seek and to 
 save the lost, and we commend to thee to-day every heart 
 that is in any wise touched with a desire to live a better 
 life ; may they not be content to live simply in external 
 things better, but may they come boldly at once to the 
 throne of grace, and begin to live a Christian life in faith 
 and love. Bless those whom in thy providence thou 
 hast put to guide the inquirer ; may every one of thy dear 
 people, to whom thou hast given some experience of 
 divine things, feel that they are commissioned of 
 Almighty God to be his ministering servants, and that 
 they are to preach the Gospel by their joy, by their 
 purity, and also by the word of mouth. May they feel 
 that they are ordained to be ministers of Christ, and that 
 they are both to instruct and guide those round about 
 them, giving them wisdom and an appetite for these 
 sacred things. May they rejoice in nothing else but 
 Christ, and may great success be given to thy people.
 
 PETITION7XG FOB LIGHT. 115 
 
 We thank thee that thou art manifesting thyself a God 
 of power ; giving resurrection from the old life into the 
 new, so that thy churches are brought to rejoice in 
 thy goings forth. O Lord, we rejoice in the memory of 
 past goodness, in thy providential mercies, and in the 
 belief that thou art not far from us. We hear thy foot- 
 steps here and there ; we learn of the trophies of thy 
 victorious grace in one and another instance, and our 
 souls are glad in thee. Even so, make bare thine arm in 
 the midst of thy people. Go forth, O God, not in judg- 
 ment, but for salvation ; and may there be many in all 
 the churches throughout our land that shall be awakened 
 to righteousness many that shall be called from dead 
 works and darkness into the marvelous light and liberty 
 of the sons of God. Bless the truth that is to be spoken 
 to-day ; strengthen thy servant to perform the duties 
 that are allotted to him, and may a portion be dis- 
 tributed to every one, nor fail of its effect, and may this 
 be a day of blessing among us. We ask these things, 
 not that we are worthy, but because it pleases thee to 
 give. We ask them for thine own name's sake ; to whom, 
 with the Spirit, shall be praise everlasting. Amen.
 
 1 , CLOSING PEATBE. 
 
 OUB Heavenly Father, wilt thou grant a blessing to rest on the word 
 spoken. We thank thee for the gift of Christ our Saviour ; we thank the* 
 for the declaration of his love. We do not believe because the word of 
 God has told us ; now we believe because it hath been shed abroad in oui 
 souls. Thou hast given us the witness of the apostles and holy men of 
 old ; but the witness of thy Spirit is better, and thou hast shed it abroad 
 hi our hearts. We know thy nature of love, having experienced it and 
 being changed by it Nor can we forget what comfort we have had ; the 
 hours of prayer, the hours of sweet communion through thy word with 
 thee personally the hours of meditation, of solace, of sickness and of 
 trouble made bright Thou that shinest into the storms all the glory of 
 the heavens, and makest the sun turn darkness into light, thou canst also 
 change the sources of sadness, sorrow and sickness, into all glorious 
 things ; and thou dost. We are witnesses for thee. Thou art doing in 
 our life exceeding abundantly, more than we asked or thought We 
 blesg thy name that this world is but the earnest of that to come, and if 
 this is that which is done afar off, 0, what shall be the revelation and the 
 glory of thy love when we are near at hand. Even so, Lord Jesus, aom 
 quickly, and to thy name shall be the praise forever. Amen.
 
 THE JOURNEY OF LIFE, 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 nrVOOATION. 
 
 BE pleased, our Father, to look forth from the fullne&s of thine ow 
 glory, and communicate to us something of thy life, which thou hast for 
 thyself and for all thy creatures. Grant that we may know thy presence 
 by the rising in us of that faith, that hope, and all those affections that go 
 forth to greet thee. And we ask that thou wilt give us a comprehensive 
 heart, that the words that we shall read from thy sacred revelation shall 
 come to us as the messages of God. Grant that we may feel the need of 
 confession and worship, and that we may unite together, and be blessed 
 in the union of prayer and in the communion of song : and may the word 
 of instruction be given earnestly and received heedfully, and may all the 
 worship which we offer, and the instruction which we seek, and the joy 
 which we desire, and every experience and exercise of the sanctuary and 
 of the whole Sabbath day be blessed of thee. We ask it for Christ's sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 adore thee, thou that art the source of light thou 
 that carriest life to all that are. Thou art great in 
 power, unsearchable in wisdom, and infinite in all the 
 resources of thy being. We can not by searching find 
 thee out, or understand thee to perfection ; but what we 
 know inspires in us reverence and love and joy. With 
 our hearts we prostrate ourselves before thee, glad to 
 know that we are of thee and going to thee ; that our 
 life is watched ; that thou seest the end from the begin- 
 ning, and through endless diversities art drawing ua 
 each to our final estate of glory. Thou art the author
 
 118 BBBCHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 and the finisher of our faith ; and when things around 
 about us are insecure, thou art the tower of our strength. 
 When all other things seem to fail, thou never failest 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, without variable- 
 ness or shadow of turning. 
 
 We rejoice, O God, that thou hast made such com- 
 munications of thy thoughts and feelings through Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour. He is the bread of our life. We 
 are strong in thee, that are weak in ourselves ; and are 
 able to walk where but for the knowledge that thou hast 
 given us, we should crouch down under trouble. We 
 are able to stand, and having done all to stand against 
 every assault in the midst of battle. In thick-coming 
 dangers, both present and future, thou hast taught us to 
 sit securely, to sing, to rejoice in thee ; and in the midst 
 of our adversaries to count it all joy when we fall into 
 trials; to rejoice in weakness, in infirmities, and afflic- 
 tions for Christ's sake ; to rejoice in persecutions, aye, to 
 hail death itself, and to go gladly toward it as the gate 
 of deliverance. 
 
 Thou hast taught us, O Lord God, to despise the 
 things that are in this life, except as things to be used 
 by the wayside ; therein thou hast taught us to abound 
 in joy in the gifts of God, but thou hast taught us to lay 
 them down even as we took them up. As strangers and 
 pilgrims our city of habitation is not here ; the houses 
 which we build are but for the hour; the city, whose 
 builder and maker is God, shines everlastingly ; and 
 those mansions, not made with hands but eternal in the 
 heavens, are our home. Thitherward we flock in com- 
 panies and in families thither each is tending. And 
 we rejoice that thou art sending forth messages to us by 
 the hour; that we are remembered, and that we are
 
 THE JOUBNEY OF LITE. 110 
 
 secured. We rejoice that thou dost teach us to believe, 
 that all the events which are every day environing us 
 are watched of God, permitted or sent, and that all 
 things work together for the good of them that love thee. 
 
 Now, O Lord Jesus, we beseech thee that we may be 
 held up in this faith, and that we may bear it about 
 even as our very raiment, to cover our nakedness. What 
 are we when we stand in the flesh, and only in the things 
 that this world can give ? What are we when we are in 
 the midst of the best estate of life, without the sunlight 
 of thy countenance ? Thou dost by thy grace give light 
 to us ; and though we are consumed and the outward 
 man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day. 
 We desire that thou wilt continue that work which thou 
 hast begun; that influence which thou hast already 
 breathed upon us, let it still work for us and in us. 
 
 Help us to watch against easily besetting sins ; to put 
 away every thing that separates between us and thee, 
 and limit and measure our expectations by the rule thou 
 hast given us help us to set before us evermore the cross 
 of Christ on earth and Christ himself ever living in 
 heaven, and from day to day may our treasures be there 
 and our heart be there also. May we set our affections 
 upon things above, where Christ sitteth. And grant, we 
 pray thee, as thou art making that land both nearer to 
 us by every year that we live, and clearer to us by all 
 those that thou art taking from us and to whom we 
 stretch our vision grant that it may become more in- 
 fluential upon us ; that we may live by faith of the 
 invisible more, and by the power of the senses less. 
 
 Grant this morning, to every one in thy presence, the 
 appropriate mercy which they need. How many have 
 come up hither, as it were to ask life of thee! How
 
 120 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 many burdened ones 1 And if thou dost not strengthen 
 them, they will fall. How many that are hungry 1 
 Thou, O God, only canst feed them. How many sor- 
 rowing and believing ones ! The presence of thy heart 
 can heal their wounds, and nothing else can. How 
 many that are in trouble of sin, and are unable to deliver 
 themselves from the coil of the serpent, but thou canst 
 for thou, blessed Jesus, hast triumphed over the serpent, 
 and bruised his head, and can teach us to do the same. 
 How many tempted, and driven of temptation, as ships 
 by violent winds ! How many that have aspirations upon 
 which fall mists and clouds ! How many that are strug- 
 gling at times for good, only to furnish to themselves the 
 standard of right by which to rebuke their uses of life 
 and of daily business ! How many are there in thy pres- 
 ence, that see enough of thee and of duty, to feel that 
 their life is painful and their character void 1 
 
 And now, O thou Blessed One, we beseech of thee, that 
 givest to every thing in the earth, outwardly of its kind, 
 the food appropriate ; thou that art sending, in the uni- 
 versal sun, in showers, and in all the genial influences of 
 the soil, the appropriate nourishment to things that grow 
 before thee, wilt thou not give to us that sunlight, that 
 descent of heavenly dew, that blessed and genial influ- 
 ence and soul-food that we severally need ? Are we less 
 loved than these outward things, and less cared for ? Art 
 thou not the Creator of the outward world, but the 
 Father of our spirits ? We come to thee this morning 
 in our own behalf, and in behalf of every one in thy pres- 
 ence that needs prayer and divine help, beseeching that 
 thou wouldst do to each the things that they severally 
 Deed. Raise up the fallen, strengthen the weak, and 
 comfort the comfortless.
 
 THE JOUENBT OF LIFE. 121 
 
 Wilt thou, O Lord God, teach us to shed tears no 
 more, or to weep with profit of soul. Make us to feel 
 that this world is not our home, and may we be glad in 
 the recognition of it. Make us to feel that the heavenly 
 spirit-land is our home, and may we have, by thought at 
 least, introduction there, that it may become real to us, 
 that it may be dear, and by foretaste compensate the 
 burden and the trouble of the way. 
 
 O Lord God, draw every one in thy presence to thee as 
 the source of life and of health. May we cast ourselves 
 upon thee, may we feel that thy guiding and loving care, 
 thy forgiveness, thy grace, thy culture, shall be our hope 
 and our salvation ; and so may we rest in thee, and trust- 
 ing may we see springing up in us the fruit of love, and 
 of those good works which otherwise we could never per- 
 form. 
 
 Grant, we pray thee, a blessing to rest upon all the 
 congregations that gather together in the city at this 
 time. Bless the pastors of the various churches, and the 
 office bearers, all the members of the churches and con- 
 gregations, and families that are grouped round about 
 these several centers, and grant that there may arise 
 from all worshiping assemblies grateful incense to thee, 
 and may this city be greatly blest by the example and 
 active influence of thy servants. May we have officers 
 and magistrates that shall fear God and be just to men. 
 
 Purify our laws and institutions, and establish this city 
 in righteousness. Grant that all our land may come up 
 in remembrance before thee. Inspire those struggles 
 that are needful for the supremacy of good over evil ; and 
 in the struggle, wilt thou be found directing the courses 
 of thought and intention, and give final victory to justice, 
 to liberty, to purity, and truth. May we behold the 
 
 6
 
 122 BEECHER'S PITLPTT DEVOTIOICS. 
 
 advance of Christ, not in his visible form, but in hia 
 second coming, when he shall appear, and all mankind 
 shall stand in the restored image of God. Grant, we 
 pray thee, that all these things may work out this final 
 consummation, and that the glory of the Lord may fill 
 the earth, as the waters fill the sea which mercies we 
 ask in the name of the ever beloved, to whom, with the 
 Father and Spirit, shall be praises unceasing. Amen
 
 THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 
 
 An Evening Prayer. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father, we rejoice that we are not any 
 longer left to the interpretations of thee by fear, neither 
 art thon made known to us by the interpretations of 
 conscience. Thou hast tanght ns that thou canst be 
 known only by the interpretations of love. Thou 
 hast set forth thyself in our Saviour Christ, and 
 thou hast taught us what was the love of God in that 
 which inspired him to bear and to do; and we are 
 taught to come to thee through him, as children come 
 to parents, and all the bands and cords which draw us 
 are affection. Thou art no longer lifted up in the im- 
 mensity of the eternal world, explored by our trembling 
 fears and looked for by our mortal apprehensions thou 
 art brought very near to us, yea thou dost dwell within 
 us, and we learn of our own experiences to understand 
 thee though we are so poor in excellence, though we 
 are so much stained with sin, yet thou hast been pleased 
 to bear witness in us to the truths of thy word : Now we 
 rejoice in the fullness of thy nature, in the majesty and 
 the power of divine goodness. "We marvel at all the 
 exercises and magnanimities of thy love, and learn to 
 behold thy grandeur more there than in the outstretch- 
 ing of thine hand, in the turning of the earth, or in the 
 sweeping through the heavens of all its host. Thou art
 
 124 BEKCHHR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 God in these outward things ; thou art in thine omnipo- 
 tence and omnipresence Divine, but within only dost thou 
 bring us to bow before thee when we look within and 
 Bee what is the royalty and nature of love in God 
 thy mercy, thy gentleness, thy compassion, thy good- 
 ness. 
 
 We beseech thee that we may take heed of thee, that 
 we may become like unto thee ; for the law of selfish- 
 ness works mightily within us and against our better 
 knowledge against our daily resolutions, and against our 
 wishes even. It strives within us, overmastering often 
 and subduing us. We desire to be led out from its bond- 
 age ; we desire to come into the large element of true 
 love, to become like God to dwell among our fellow- 
 men with constant benefactions and endless sympathies, 
 and to make our way through life by doing favors, to 
 walk as thou dost walk, going about and doing good 
 for evermore. 
 
 Wilt thou help every one of us in this strife which we 
 bear ; in all the experiences which fall out by the way. 
 Thou art teaching us by our outward avocations ; thou 
 art teaching us by our social experiences ; thou art giving 
 or taking away; thou art putting burdens upon us or 
 giving us release from trouble ; thou art teaching us on 
 every side with motive, and persuasion, and influence. 
 
 May we have sight given to behold the hand of God 
 in all these earthly experiences, to know what is the 
 meaning and purpose of care and sorrow, to know what 
 it means to be thwarted and turned aside from cherished 
 purposes to have our pride humbled and our vanity 
 pnt to shame, to be made to pine and long for things 
 not reached. May we understand the mystery of thy 
 providences, and seek to co-operate with them in the
 
 THE BATTH. OF LIFE. 125 
 
 evolution of all those higher and nobler states, which 
 should characterize thine own people. 
 
 Now thou knowest what is the battle with each one; 
 and we beseech of thee that thou wilt help every one to 
 gain victories in his own place and over his own disposi- 
 tion. May we not be weary in well-doing; may none 
 of us feel as though it were too long and continued a 
 strife, too hard to bear. May we set before us evermore 
 the vision of that rest which remaineth for the people of 
 God. May we set before thee thine own image, calmly 
 beholding us, and forever looking forth upon the strife of 
 life, not indifferent to its least act ; and may we live as 
 seeing thee who art invisible, moving as before these 
 eternal truths, and taking heart ; and may we more and 
 more manfully contest every day the battle of life unto 
 the end of it. 
 
 Let us not be. content with our own individual good. 
 May we seek on every side to draw others with us to 
 those that are linked to us by the chains of sympathy 
 and affection, and those who are bound to us by the 
 more intimate connections ; our kindred, that carry our 
 blood and life with them. 
 
 May we more and more feel what are the obliga- 
 tions resting upon us toward those that are bound to us. 
 May life become more real, obligations more binding, 
 and kindness and love more sacred. May there be more 
 and more of God in human affairs ; may our daily experi- 
 ences become more and more simple to our apprehen- 
 sion ; and so may we walk, never forsaken of thee, never 
 forsaken of duty, never seemingly far off from heaven 
 never so far but that wa can hear its sweet sounds and 
 feel its blessed influences : and when the end of life shall 
 come, may we find that it is not an end but a beginning ;
 
 128 BKBCHBB'S PUUTT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 may we find that we pass from glory to glory from 
 the veiled and shadowy glory of this sphere, to the un- 
 veiled and real glory of that eternal sphere. And we 
 will give the praise of our salvation to the Father, Son, 
 and Holy Spirit Amen.
 
 SANCTIFIED KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 GRANT unto us, our heavenly Father, this morning, access to thee with 
 all joyfulness. Thou dost not bar thyself from our approach, but thou 
 lovest to have us run unto thee, even as parents do their children. "We 
 ask that we may have that needed help, that divine brooding by which 
 our understanding shall be cleared and lifted up that teaching by which 
 we shall receive power in all our spiritual parts. Inspire us to love, and 
 through love to do all things. May the reading of thy word be sweet to 
 us, and may it be as the eating of fruit from the tree of life. May speak- 
 ing from it not be void and empty, but full of profit. "We pray that we 
 may know how to pray. Grant us also those joyful affections that shall 
 overflow hi songs before thee ; and may we never sing together without 
 the dawn and vision of that blessed realm, where joys for evermore indite 
 and roll themselves forth hi psalms and hymns. So may even the earthly 
 sanctuary be a suggestion and a foretaste of our heavenly rest We ask 
 it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE adore thee, O thou that art lifted up above all the 
 earth and above the heavens, infinite in power, in wis- 
 dom, in goodness, transcending all our experience or 
 conception. We rejoice that thou art perfect, though 
 we know not what the fullness of that word means. All 
 our thoughts of thee are filled with wonder. Aa fast as 
 we learn, we admire and marvel; and that we shall 
 never know by searching, nor complete our finding out, 
 is a source of peace and joy to us, giving yet higher con-
 
 128 BKECHEE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 ceptions of what is thy being and the riches of thy 
 nature. 
 
 We desire to accept thee as thou art revealed to us in 
 the light of nature ; and we thank thee that now we can 
 avail ourselves of that revelation, since thou hast given 
 us its commentary and interpretation in thy word. We 
 beseech of thee that thou wilt teach us the divine lesson 
 how to bear forth the light of scripture upon the world 
 itself, until we shall have affixed to every part of it, and 
 all its familiar faces, the teaching of God till we know 
 how to discern thee in thy standing works, and till we 
 find ourselves walking in the midst of a Bible that is 
 never shut, whose revelations are perpetually sounding 
 and reporting themselves. Deliver us from the tempta- 
 tions which surround us to see only laws in nature. May 
 we feel thine heart throbbing throughout the world ; may 
 we believe that thou art present, not merely as an intel- 
 ligence and as a power, but in sympathy as a living 
 being ; may we walk with God, finding it impossible to 
 be alone, having company for evermore wherever we are. 
 And grant that it may not be merely for the lifting up 
 of our understanding, not for our enjoyment, nor for the 
 refinement of our taste, that we grow in the knowledge 
 of Jesus and of God the Father ; but may we also find 
 that this knowledge of thee is making us like thee in all 
 truth and the love of truth ; in justice and the love of 
 justice ; in benevolence and in all its controlling forms 
 and influences. We beseech thee that we may thus 
 become like unto thee ; and by this likeness have this 
 interpretation of God in our own experience. 
 
 But when we endeavor thus to learn, how are we 
 beset with constant selfishness ; with ever domineering 
 pride, with intrusive passions, with all manner of inquisi
 
 SANCHFIBD KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 129 
 
 live evil ! It is impossible for us to look and see the 
 reflection of thy face in our own hearts, for they do not 
 lie still like tranquil lakes to reflect the stars above 
 them ; but are for evermore agitated by winds that play 
 upon them and break up the reflection and cast noth- 
 ing back to us. O give us that purity of heart by 
 which we may see God. Give us that peace by which 
 we may be able to reflect thee from untroubled affec- 
 tions. 
 
 "We pray, O God, that thou wilt teach us how to find 
 every day occasion of grace. Teach us every day how to 
 find our life in the things that are known to us and 
 which thou art putting into our hand. May we cease 
 to look upon things under the ill-named forms of trial, 
 care, trouble, and sorrow ; may we look upon those 
 things as so many teachings of God and so many lessons 
 to be learned. May we be more brave of heart ; may 
 we be more brave in our affections. Take away from us 
 all effeminacy of taste and all effeminacy of love, and 
 all things that shall make us shrink from the battles of 
 life or from any of its experiences. Give us that robust- 
 ness, that strength, that patience, and that endurance, by 
 which we shall be able to carry our daily experience 
 with great cheerfulness and gladness. May we know 
 how to be content with such things as we have ; may 
 our conversation not be with covetousness, nor anxiety, 
 but may we walk as children of God, surely beloved 
 walk as in thy presence, and live as seeing- thee who art 
 invisible; and may we understand the reason of thy 
 providence in so far as it is necessary for our faith. May 
 we know that thou dost not willingly afflict nor grieve 
 the children of men. May we endeavor to take all thy 
 providences, according to this intent ; seek every day U 
 
 G*
 
 130 BBECHEE'S PULPIT DBYonojrs. 
 
 submit ourselves before the mighty hand of God, and to 
 humble ourselves thereby. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt help those in thy presence 
 that are striving against their easily besetting sins. Do 
 thou, O God, by thy grace, stir us up with new thoughts 
 of duty, with new desires of holiness. We understand 
 better than we practice ; we discern what we should be, 
 but, alas ! we are as men that perceive fruits upon the 
 further shore, while the storm rolls deep and threatening 
 between them, and they can not cross over : and we see 
 where excellencies are, but, alas ! the passions which we 
 can not ford. O Lord, grant unto us, not only the power 
 of discernment, but the power also that will enable us tc 
 overcome. May we know how to fulfill the duties that 
 are put successively upon us ; know how to avail our- 
 selves of thy strength, to abide in thee, and to have thee 
 abide with us, that we may bear witness that we can do 
 all things, Christ strengthening us ; for our experience 
 now is more that without thee we can do nothing. We 
 pray thee that thus our life may be so joined to thee, that 
 we shall come to feel that we are branches, thou the trunk ; 
 and that the fruit of goodness in us is of thee ; and may 
 we thus glorify God by bearing much fruit. Deliver us 
 from the temptations which easily environ us, and which 
 spring out of the peculiar circumstances in whicli by thy 
 providence thou hast placed us. Grant that every one 
 of us may gird up his loins, and with all diligence, with 
 all fidelity, and with all truth and justice, we may walk 
 exemplifying the spirit of Christ, and blessing thee by 
 our holy obedience. And in those things where we are 
 less instructed, may we have the illumination of thy Spirit, 
 that we may learn more and more, and practice what we 
 learn.
 
 BAXCTUIED KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 131 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt bless our dear friends ; 
 and remember our parents, remember our brothers, our 
 sisters ; remember their households ; remember all 0111 
 connections, and all with whom we have had sweet friend- 
 ship and fellowship in life. Remember all that have 
 shown us kindness or service of any kind ; may we 
 never forget to be grateful. We beseech thee that 
 thou wilt remember those that have shown us ill-will, 
 those that are our enemies; and if they are justified 
 somewhat in our misconduct, may we repent for our owr 
 sakes and for theirs ; and may we carry a mind above 
 all animosity. May we love even our enemies, and may 
 we seek to do them good. May that mind be in us 
 which was also in Christ Jesus ; and so may we be 
 perfect as God is perfect not by mere yearnings, not bj 
 mere conceptions of superior bliss and holiness, but may 
 we seek perfection in these lower ranges by the subjec- 
 tion of our pride and intemperance, and by crucifying all 
 those things that wound and offend love. 
 
 Remember those that are young. Grant, we beseech 
 thee, a prosperous voyage to every one of them toward 
 manhood. We pray that they may not be cast away, 
 nor sink, nor be misled, nor captured by piratical pas- 
 sion. Deliver them from the evil which is in the world. 
 May they be shielded in the household; may they be 
 shielded in their own souls by the workings of thy Spirit, 
 and by the teaching of those that are endeavoring to rear 
 their children for God and for the benefit of the world. 
 May their faith never fail, nor their fidelity cease. May 
 they see their children grow up full of honor, and mighty, 
 their own joy and the comfort of the world. 
 
 Remember those that are occupied in teaching on 
 every side, day by day or from Sabbath to Sabbath j
 
 (132 BEEOHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS 
 
 grant that they may be filled with a sense of the great- 
 ness of the work which they perform ; may they know 
 that those that work at the foundation must needs work 
 beneath the ground, and that they are inconspicuous ; 
 and that while it requires great laboriousness, great pa- 
 tience, and great self-denial, it reaps in this world less 
 fruit of praise than any other work. Yet may there be 
 sacred and divine joy in the thought that that which man 
 may not know nor appreciate, is known of God, and will 
 never be forgotten ; and may they have the abiding faith 
 that they are going toward their reward. The crown of 
 praise and rejoicing shall be theirs ; and may they, there- 
 fore, be patient, vigilant, and faithful, filled with the 
 spirit of Christ. 
 
 Bless all for whom we should pray. Remember those 
 that preach the Gospel of Christ to-day ; remember those 
 churches that are gathered on every side of us, and fill 
 the houses of thy people with joy and with peace. We 
 pray that thy children of every name may be united in 
 the bonds of a more perfect and patient love ; may of- 
 fenses and divisions- be taken away, and may that charity 
 prevail which is yet to unite all the discordant elements 
 of the world. 
 
 O Lord, we beseech of thee that thou wilt in thine own 
 infinite wisdom make haste and cut short the days which 
 must come, and from which the world can not shrink the 
 baptism of blood and of fire. O let it take place speedily, 
 that the end may begin to dawn ; that when nations have 
 been wrecked by war, and consumed enough by desola- 
 tions, they may learn the things that shall make for 
 peace let it be known at last that a true love, standing 
 upon a true justice, shall give peace and happiness the 
 world throughout. Wo ask of thee that we may learn it
 
 SANCTIFIED KNOWLEDGE OF QOD. 133 
 
 ourselves at home, and that we may not lay up for our- 
 selves food for intestine interpellations and mischiefs by 
 and by. May we know that there is not in the strength 
 of the right hand, in all the munitions of war, in all pro- 
 visions of law, or in properties of every kind, either safety 
 or salvation to that people that have forfeited justice and 
 humanity. May we know that a nation is but an empty 
 carcass, out of which these divine qualities have gone ; 
 and may this people, that is outwardly and nominally 
 Christian at least, learn to see this even thy church, O 
 Lord Jesus. Teach thy church that it is a Christian duty 
 to love and to be just, and for these to sacrifice every 
 thing else on the earth. Thou needest to die again ; 
 thou art dying and crucified afresh in thine own 
 churches. Lord, rise again, and bring forth salvation 
 in all our lands and among all thine own people ; and 
 grant that the light and the glory of the Gospel may 
 shine forth not alone in letter and exposition, multi- 
 plied and iterated, but grant that there may be this 
 inspired Gospel in the lives of thy people, in all law, 
 custom, and usage in things public and in things 
 private may the Spirit of Christ be breathed forth ; and 
 so may thy Gospel spread till the earth is filled with thy 
 glory ; and to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, 
 and Spirit. Amen.
 
 CLOSING FRATXB. 
 
 OUR Father, wilt thou bless the word which we hare spoken. Grant 
 that it may be an incitement to our motives. May we measure the ways 
 of men, the ways of this nation, and our own ways, not by human opinions, 
 but by sympathy with thy revealed truth. We thank thee that thou hast 
 called so many back from the way in which they were wandering, and 
 that thou art awakening again the dormant sympathies of man for man. 
 We prap that thou wilt kindle to a glowing name that which is but a 
 spark now ; that thou wilt give to all thy churches and to every heart a 
 glowing love until summer, from out of the midst of thy people, shall 
 bloom again. 
 
 Wilt thou, God, bless the remaining hours of this day. We walk 
 with thee ; we would walk with thee when thou smitest us, and we would 
 walk with thee when thou smilest upon us ; for, smiling or smiting, it is 
 in love. We take chastisement because we are sons, and thou art Father. 
 grant that we may never need to feel thy hand as Judge. Restrain us 
 with thy love. Wean us from our sin, and from the love of it, and bring 
 us back to thine own self. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 PASSING FROM DEATH TO LIFE 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 BECAUSE them hast spared us, because thou hast drawn us hither by th 
 sweet attraction of thy love, we are before thee in this place, Lord our 
 God ; and we desire now to remember thy presence. And as they, that turn 
 their faces to the sun, glow with the light thereof, and shine ; so grant 
 that there may fall upon us the effulgence of God, and that we may stand 
 thus in the beauty of holiness. Cause thy word to be touched by the 
 divine power, that out of the deadness of its letter, Christ may come forth ; 
 even as from the death sepulcher, upon this blessed morning, he came into 
 life. Release us from the bondage and the tyranny of care ; release us 
 from the despotism of fear; release us from all sordid influences. May 
 we feel our better life rising up to-day within us, and holding communion 
 with God. May we mingle our voices together in singing in the sweet 
 fellowship of hymns and psalms ; may we chant forth thy praises ; may 
 thy word be spoken unto edification, and may all the services of the sanc- 
 tuary and the experiences of our homes on this day be for our souls' 
 benefit and thy glory. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE thank thee that we are not left, our heavenly 
 Father, to find our way unto thee alone ; we are borne 
 up as upon clouds of remembrances. All the past of our 
 lives, if we but understood its sacred teaching, would be 
 a revelation of the goodness and the patience of God 
 toward us. We have walked in blindness, and as men 
 walk upon the earth that thou hast made, and do not 
 understand it, and behold all the fair things which thou
 
 186 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 hast fort.ed and scarcely note them. As there are those to 
 whom the heavens speak no lessons and the earth recites 
 no history of God, so we have been in respect to the 
 events of our own personal lives and the most memora 
 ble things thou hast done in us and upon us. "We are 
 surrounded with God, whose hand has been upon us from 
 our cradle upward, and yet such brute creatures are we, 
 so stupefied with conceit, so foolish for the pleasure of 
 the senses, the running after that which men vainly call 
 wisdom that we have not regarded these wonderful 
 providences, the care, the love, the forethought, the 
 grace, the mercies of our God. But thou hast been 
 pleased to enlighten our minds, to touch us with the feel- 
 ing of love, and to bring us into such personal union 
 with Christ that his life is now breathed upon us. "We 
 are beginning to live, although yet we are but children. 
 Would that we were more children in our faith and 
 love! 
 
 "We thank thee that thou hast begun this, giving us 
 birth again as it were, starting us fresh in life, to inter- 
 pret to us our own nature, to interpret the ways of God 
 to man. The earth is a book, and every day a turned 
 leaf therein ; and our own selves are marvelous histories, 
 all of them illustrating thy care, thy love, thy tender 
 mercy, thy paternal goodness ; and when at times all the 
 thought of God comes upon us, when we stand, upon 
 some bright Sabbath day like this, to worship thee in 
 thine house, and we look back and think of the days 
 gone by and the joys that have garlanded them and the 
 mercies that we recognize, when the multitude of thy 
 thoughts toward us come to us amid all the experiences 
 of our lives together, in this sanctuary, and in our sweet, 
 social converse of Christ our hearts are overwhelmed
 
 PASSING FBOM DEATH TO LIFE. 187 
 
 with a sense of thy goodness ; and we know that there ia 
 more forgotten than remembered, more unnoticed at the 
 time than that which we recognize. We know thou hast 
 always been he who doth exceeding abundantly more 
 than we ask or think. We are surrounded by the 
 memorials and memories and testimonies of thy goodness 
 to us. 
 
 And now, our Father, what can we say to thee? 
 What utterance of thanks can seem other than foolish 
 by the side of such mercies ? We are made dumb by 
 the sense of thy goodness. Our hearts can not speak, and 
 our lips have no power to interpret them; but thou 
 knowest, thou seest. We do not need to speak before 
 thou wilt accept the unuttered germ of thought and feel- 
 ing. Accept us this morning in our thanks, and in aL 
 the memory of thy grace and our gratitude for it, accord- 
 ing to that which thou seest and not according to that 
 which we speak. We desire, O God, no other service. 
 Thy law is holy and just and good, and thy service with 
 its yoke and its burden is more truly liberty and light- 
 ness than the freest service of the world and of sin. 
 Then only do we feel ourselves without care when we 
 are most entirely surrendered to the spirit and will of 
 our Father in heaven, when we feel that our life is flow- 
 ing with thine, that we are part of that great scheme oif 
 redemption, that we are being borne in the bosom of the 
 church of Christ, that we are of them that are to be 
 registered in heaven, the general assembly and the 
 church of the first-born there. 
 
 O Lord, when we walk with these thoughts in our 
 souls, how are our meanest duties dignified 1 how are we 
 enthusiastic for all the parts of our earthly life, which 
 has lifted up and illumined, made a part of thy work
 
 i38 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 on earth 1 O grant that we may behold thee thus 
 in all our least affairs, and that there may be from Christ 
 that motive which we may fail to find in the nature of 
 things around us. If we are called in poverty, may we 
 not be discouraged nor neglectful because there seems no 
 motive to activity. May we remember Christ and find 
 in him all that we need. If we are in obscurity, may 
 we not withdraw from enterprises of love and kindness, 
 but remember Christ, and find in him every consideration 
 moving the human soul. Though we are surrounded by 
 trying circumstances, vehement assaults of temptation, 
 and difficulties of every kind, O remember us. Teach 
 us to remember thee, and may we draw from the bosom 
 of thy kindness and love that strength which we need 
 being continued to us that we may not fail and perish. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt be very gracious to every one 
 according to his need. Thou knowest the universal 
 heart ; there is not one in thy presence whose name 18 
 not known to thee ; there is not one whom thou dost not 
 know better than he knows himself: nor has any event 
 ever transpired that thou hast not beheld it, for thou 
 hast carried us always in the arms of thy providence. 
 Are any in affliction ? Thou knowest what man doth 
 not ; thou canst comfort. Give forth the consolations of 
 the Holy Ghost, to draw near to every one by thine own 
 nature, and by the might of thine own glorious love ; 
 and we pray that they may find themselves strangely 
 quieted and lifted up, and as children that are hurt are 
 caught in the bosom of a mother's love and hushed, and 
 scarcely know what hath comforted them or what strange 
 joy hath befallen them so, be pleased to fulfill that 
 declaration that thy love and remembrance are more than 
 a mother's, and take into the arms of divine consolation
 
 PASSING FROM DEATH TO LIFE. 139 
 
 those that need thee, that they may be hushed in thy 
 bosom, and find there that peace which passeth all under 
 standing. 
 
 Arm with strength according to the duties of their life 
 those that stand in the midst of human affairs. Leave 
 them not unguarded, leave them not to be tempted with- 
 out help. Comfort, and with every temptation give 
 them rescue. Teach us all how better to serve Christ in 
 our ordinary and daily avocations ; and may we have thia 
 feeling upon us that it is Christ that we serve and not 
 ourselves. We pray that we may be led, not by pride, 
 nor by selfishness, nor by any feeling, motive, and pas- 
 sion, but that we may be led by faith and by love. 
 
 Grant that the events of thy providence may be 
 blessed to us spiritually and to our eternal good. We 
 are strangers and pilgrims in this world. May we heed 
 it. May we bless God for all the fruit, and all the flowers 
 that bloom or hang by the way tempting our necessity, 
 but may we never sit down nor desire to embower our 
 selves on earth, as if this were good enough for our home , 
 and may we bear about with us in our most pleasant 
 experiences the thought of the better land, and may 
 every joy that comes to us be but the distant sound of 
 the heavenly bells that call us hence to the eternal 
 city. 
 
 Grant that every day we may so live, thinking of the 
 future, that death shall be the most radiant of portals, 
 urging through which we ascend to triumph and eternal 
 victory. May it not seem to us a sad thing to grow old. 
 As daylight begins to dawn upon our darkness, leaving 
 its glory there as one sense after another indicates that 
 thou art preparing to take down this mortal frame as we 
 behold these signs and tokens of outward decay, O grant
 
 140 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 that there may be a deep peace, an inward joy, and that 
 the thought of our blessed immortality may be to us as a 
 bairn in every trouble, as light in all darkness, as en 
 couragement under all oppressions and trials, and as a 
 guide and an inspiration when things seem to us sapless 
 and dead. 
 
 O our adorable Saviour, since thou art the way and 
 upon thee we walk, grant that, having our life hidden in 
 thee, we may at last go forth, not doubting, not wander- 
 ing, not lost in death, but may we go forth to find our- 
 selves called by vehement voices of love, and may there 
 be given to us a choral entrance into heaven ; may there 
 come forth not only those that have been of us and with 
 us and associated in sweet and blessed church fellowship, 
 but grant that there may come forth those that are to be 
 our superiors and teachers there ; may we go forth out 
 of this school and drill of life, and find ourselves admitted 
 to manhood and to the home and city of our God, with 
 songs, and joys and blessings resting upon us; and tc 
 thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit. 
 Amen.
 
 JESUS SEEING THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SODL 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INTOOATION. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father ! already thou hast opened the temple of thy 
 worship; thou hast received us thyself; thou art our host, and we are 
 thy guests. Stretch forth thine hand to give us that food which we need. 
 Speak unto every one of us by name. May we feel that we have come 
 home, and be able to say, " Our Father." We beseech of thee that thou 
 wilt grant us the light that we need and desire for the reading of thy 
 word ; grant unto us that enlarged state of heart which shall enable ua 
 to interpret its principles, that we may know them experimentally. Draw 
 us forth graciously in prayer, communing with us, and inciting us to 
 communion. Help us to sing, and accept our songs, and bless ua in all 
 the words of instruction ; and in every thing that we shall do this day, 
 may we have the peace and the defending purity of God with us. W 
 ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE thank thee, thou eternal Father, that the glorious 
 work, the manifestation of thyself through Jesus Christ, 
 is completed. We thank thee that the light now shineth 
 into the world, and into the darkness thereof, even 
 though it comprehendeth it not. We rejoice that the 
 day-spring is with thee; and thou that nourishest the 
 morning and teachest it how to wax in strength and 
 spread itself abroad upon the hemisphere, thou also shalt 
 teach the day-spring from on high to come upon thi8 
 earth, and carry forward the first faint dawnings to the
 
 142 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 glorious consummation, when the knowledge of the Lord 
 shall fill the earth, and the glory of Christ shall be the 
 glory of the whole human family ; and the day cometh 
 and tarrieth not, though to us it seems to linger, for our 
 whole long life measures but one single step of thine, 
 and thou art traveling faster tHan we know. 
 
 It is our slowness, our brevity, and our ignorance, that 
 makes it seem that thou delayest thy coming. We com- 
 fort ourselves, and are rejoiced without sight, to believe 
 that thou, O blessed Jesus, wilt yet see of the travail of 
 thy soul and be satisfied. We know not what that 
 means : but when we look upon thy yearnings, when we 
 look into those words of boundless love, when we see thy 
 suffering and refusing to shrink, drinking the cup of 
 anguish to its very dregs, unwilling to descend from the 
 cross, that thou mightest fulfill the desire of thine heart 
 in the salvation of the world, we have some conception 
 of what that is which thou longest for, and what shall 
 be the glory that shall satisfy such love and such desire, 
 stronger than suffering or death. And- thou shalt be 
 satisfied. The reaping shall be a thousand fold more 
 than the sowing ; and though we cannot measure nor put 
 bounds, nor in any-wise analyze and define what shall be 
 this glorious triumph of redeeming grace in the earth, 
 we are kindled with great gladness, joy, and gratitude 
 toward thee, in believing that there comes yet a popu- 
 lous summer in the future, such as the earth hath not 
 known, and that the glory of the Lord shall make this 
 poor sin-stricken struggling earth, that hath only ruled 
 to groan and travail in pain until now thou shalt make 
 it as illustrious, wheeling among the heavenly stars, 
 for its joy, its purity, and God's goodness in it, as it hath 
 been sad for sorrow and sin and woe, and even weeping.
 
 JESUS SEEING THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL. 143 
 
 O Lord ! we love to look away, though it be into the 
 mist made luminous in thee. We love to look at the 
 very cloud of thy glory, though it part not, and we do 
 not see thee within it. Our souls move within us and 
 we are glad. We desire to take comfort in all our part 
 of life, in our struggles, and in the little building which 
 we are permitted to have. We desire to take comfort 
 by a steadfast regard to the future, not curious about 
 what is unseen, yet comforting ourselves in the frigid, 
 cool realities of the present. We love, O God, to warm 
 ourselves by hope in the future; for often and often 
 we have realized that we are saved by hope from 
 despondency, from discouragement, from repining and 
 murmuring, and are clothed afresh and go forward 
 rejoicing in a poor naked way. 
 
 And now, O thou blessed One, we pray, while thou 
 dost not reveal to us the secrets of thy counsel and all 
 the fruit of thy decrees, yet we pray that thou wilt 
 manifest to us that which is better, something more of 
 thine own self. It is not so much what thou wilt do 
 with other worlds, nor with time, nor with thine own 
 administration, we desire; we ask to know what thou 
 wilt do with thine own and with us. We ask to be 
 drawn nearer to thy heart, to understand what it is to 
 know something of the love of God, the whole of which 
 passes understanding. We desire to have a more near 
 and divinely inspired conception of what is the sweet- 
 ness, the purity, the faithfulness, and the endurance, of 
 the love of Christ to sinful souls. We are creature8 
 made up of flesh and passion and appetite ; we have 
 selfishness, and pride, and a thousand evil things in us ; 
 and we cannot, when our own moral conception is clari 
 fied and beams with the reflected light of vision, we
 
 144 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 cannot even love our own selves, or approve our- 
 selves, and yet thou dost look upon us, and dost love 
 us, and thy heart is toward us. All the drawings that 
 we have of good, all the pointings of aspiration, all 
 the kindling of sparks and flames in us, are of thee, 
 because thou lovest us. Grant us, then, to have some 
 conception of what that divinity is that knows how to 
 love the sinful, and to purify them out of their sin 
 by love, that blessed bath of God in which we are 
 washed, and whence we are yet to ascend triumphantly 
 white as snow. 
 
 O God, we desire to know something of this love of 
 Christ, both as a thing to be thought of and as a thing 
 more to be felt. We desire to be redeemed by it ; we 
 desire that it may cause all things weak in us, and that 
 should be strong, to grow, and that it may cause the 
 things that are strong which should be weak, to diminish. 
 Grant, we beseech thee, that we may have in thy 
 nourishing bosom all that which thou hast taught us of 
 thyself in the nourishing by the mother of her child. 
 Grant that we may have the feeling of a child ; may we 
 belittle children before God ; may we know how to nestle 
 in the bosom of thy promises ; how to look up and say, 
 against every fear, "Well, it is my father;" may we 
 know how to put down every temptation by the feeling 
 and warmth of our Father's heart. Grant that we may 
 have this entrance into the bright life of love, into this 
 peace which passeth all understanding. May we thus 
 have the purity wrought in us which love works, begin 
 ning to show more and more of God. May we know 
 out of which window of the soul to look when we would 
 descry thee ; and turning from reason, and from all 
 powers and passions, may we look out through the orbed
 
 SBEOfG THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL. 145 
 
 glass of faith and love, and there behold thee, and gaze 
 till the vision grows, till growing it draws near, and 
 drawing near it fulfills the promises and conies in and 
 abides with us : and so may we feel adopted, and know 
 that we are God's beloved children, not because we see 
 in ourselves the things that make us worthy to be 
 children, but because we have a conception of God that 
 teaches us that he can love imperfect and sinful and un 
 lovely creatures ; and grant that the thought of God's 
 power, God's depth, and the endless abundance of love and 
 of its transforming power upon the soul, may grow in us ; 
 not so much our thought of worthiness, not so much our 
 thought of atonement, not so much any expectancy 
 founded upon our will or persistence in good, but may 
 we have this feeling that thy mercies are endless, and 
 that the power and abundance of thy gobdness is beyond 
 all expression, or thought, or imagination, and so may 
 our life be hid in thine, and as streams flow out from the 
 sides of mountains but drops beginning, and rills going 
 forward to constitute the broad stream, so from the 
 mountain of Zion may all the sources of our life come, 
 and may the stream thereof go forth. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Lord, that thou wilt bless with us 
 all whom we love, and those whom we ought to love. 
 Bless, we beseech thee, the whole family of man. We 
 long for that day of bright prediction. Our souls are 
 troubled except when we shield and clothe ourselves 
 from the thought of what man is doing to man. The 
 earth verily is tormented, anl its time has not yet 
 come for peace. O thou patient One, O thou wonder- 
 ful God of long suffering, either make haste or else give 
 us faith to wait ; and grant, we beseech thee, that in our 
 lifetime every one of us may cast something into th 
 7
 
 146 BEECHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 treasury of the Lord. May we all be workers together 
 with God for the redemption of this lost world. 
 
 And we beseech thee, that we may have a renewed 
 desire to be ourselves pure, noble, heroic, strong and 
 constant in all good things. May we fear not the face 
 of man nor man's tongue ; may we fear nothing but God ; 
 and may we fear thee only because we love thee and 
 fear thee in love. May we be emancipated from all 
 other bondage of fear, and so may we grow careless while 
 we take care of every duty ; so may we be released from 
 fright, apprehension, and all the things that weigh down 
 the spirit and consume the marrow of life. In God may 
 we be strong, and write upon our banner, " If God be for 
 us, who can be against us." 
 
 May all those that preach thy Gospel preach the 
 Gospel of Christ ; may it be the Gospel of truth dissolved 
 in their own consciousness, and may it not be deductions 
 of the letter but the life of the spirit, and may there be 
 great power given to thy people. May their joys increase , 
 may thy churches purify themselves, may their light and 
 virtues become more and more significant to divine justice, 
 purity and truth. May the day hasten when the church, 
 which is the universal family of man redeemed, shall 
 possess the earth, and the glory of the Lord fill it as the 
 waters fill the sea ; and to thy name shall be the praise, 
 Father, SOB, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 SACRAMENTAL SEASON. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU art exalted forever ; and being God, thou sendest forth innumer- 
 able mercies which fall upon the earth as the rain and the light, which 
 come not in vain, and return not to thee, but accomplish the purpose 
 whereto thou sendest. Be pleased then out of thine infinite fulness to 
 clothe our poverty to-day. Give us bread from our Father's table ; reach 
 forth thy hand which hath in it the keys of life and death ; open the doors 
 of our understanding, and open the doors of our hearts, and bring forth 
 into life every grateful thought, every sweet and divine affeotion, and fill 
 us this day with the spirit of devotion. May we know how to call thee 
 Father, from the swellings of our hearts ; may we know how to thank 
 thee, how to rejoice in thee, how boldly to express our gladness and every 
 feeling which comes from our heart toward thee. May we be blest in thy 
 word, in its reading and in speaking from it ; may we be bleat in prayer ; 
 may we know the way as thine angels know it, up through the trackless 
 air by faith to thy throne ; may we be blest in the fellowship of song 
 rejoice together, and sing with the innumerable throng that hymn around 
 about thee in heaven, joining our imperfect songs to their glorious anthems. 
 May the whole earth, and all the realm of the universe praise thee thi* 
 day. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOU, that wert a man of poverty and acquainted with 
 grief, art lifted up now above all sorrow, and art draw- 
 ing thitherward all thine that are in affliction, tempta- 
 tion, trial, and difficulty. Thou wilt not permit any to 
 be taken out of thy hand ; but wilt keep to the end all 
 whom thy Father hath given thee. We rejoice in thy
 
 148 BEKCHEB'B PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 supremacy, thy faithfulness, and thy powers. All our hope 
 of continuance in good and of victory in the issue of life 
 is in thy watching and warfare. 
 
 Thou, O Christ, art appointed the Captain of oui 
 salvation ; following thee we have hope, but without thee 
 we can do nothing. Thou art our bread and our rai- 
 ment ; thou art the door of our dwelling and the temple ; 
 thou art our life, and the sword of our defence ; thou art 
 our friend and our physician ; thou art our teacher and 
 our deliverer ; thou art our Saviour now, our Redeemer in 
 the hour of death and our final exceeding great reward. 
 We hail and bless thy name this morning; thou hast 
 sent this Sabbath that walks with quiet feet and ardent 
 brow merging from storm, to teach how thy blessings 
 and thy gracious succor come forth from the dark and 
 utmost storms. May we read not only the messages of 
 thy word, but day by day understand and interpret the 
 ways of nature, which, speaking to us, is the reminding 
 voice of God. 
 
 We beseech thee that to us this may be a day of bright- 
 ness, of calmness, and joy. May we have to-day no 
 purposes of pride, and none of selfishness, which war 
 against thee and against our own souls ; may we lay 
 aside all the burdens of care and of distress, and come 
 home to our Father's house, and around our Father's 
 table, in fellowship one with another. May we dismiss 
 the world and all its troubles, that we may sit peace- 
 fully and lovingly, trustfully and gladly in the presence 
 of our Redeemer. 
 
 O Lord God, thou dost love to house thy children 
 thou dost love to take them to that imperial place in 
 thine own heart. Thou dost love, when the world 
 thunders round about them and storms upon them, to
 
 SACRAMENTAL SEASON. 140 
 
 hide them in thy pavilion, until the storm be overpast. 
 Now grant that this Sabbath day may lift itself up over 
 all of us as the pavilion of God. May we dwell in it 
 secure, restful and at peace from every piercing fear, 
 from every induration and thought of guilt. May we 
 have the peace of God. O let the light of thy coun- 
 tenance fall tranquilly upon our hearts undisturbed ; 
 and whatever may have been our weekly care or trouble, 
 to-day may we see God ; to-day may we reach Christ ; 
 to-day may we feel that our whole life is instinct 
 with the Holy Ghost; and may our aifections move 
 in harmony with thy will, and our thoughts tend 
 upward toward thee. May we have that peculiar and 
 unmistakeable blessing of the sanctuary, with which 
 thou art wont to enrich and bless thine own dear 
 children. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt not only grant this 
 consummation, but that it may be for the furtherance 
 of our faith, that it may establish us in our trust in thee, 
 and that it may give us courage to do right, always, 
 and everywhere, and that it may make our faith in thine 
 over-ruling providence immutable, so that we shall not 
 be turned out of our way by any threat or fear. May 
 we not be afraid what man shall do unto us ; for if God 
 De for us, who can be against us ? 
 
 Bless, we beseech of thee, according to the wants of 
 individual hearts, every one in thy presnce. If any 
 have come hither from curiosity, if any bearing burdens ; 
 yet in the presence of God, may every one be pressed in 
 the open and secret recess of his heart to offer up praise 
 and thanksgiving, and to make confession of sin. O may 
 every one come before thee, that knowest the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart, and open it that thou mayest
 
 150 BKEGHKB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 survey and search in it the whole interior life with thy 
 cleansing eye. 
 
 Grant, we beseech thee, that we may be able to-day 
 as in the presence of God, to consecrate anew every 
 power, every affection. May we lift up our plans, which 
 we have formed in twilight and are half hidden in their 
 moral character from ourselves, and survey them in the 
 light of thy countenance. May we look upon all the 
 forces and tendencies of our life to-day, and measure 
 them again by the truth of God's word. May we stand 
 to-day and bear upon ourselves that light of the eternal 
 world, that shall throw just light and measurement upon 
 all our thoughts and feelings, our habits and processes, 
 so that we may to-day indeed meet our God rejoicingly. 
 Are any cast down ? Thou hast strength for those that 
 will suffer thee to lift them up. Are any pierced and 
 bleeding their life away in grief? Thou that hast died in 
 unutterable anguish, hast in thy blood balm and remedy 
 for every lesser grief that the world shall know. 
 
 Are any in thy presence discouraged and disheartened 
 and dissolved within them by shame and conscious guilt ? 
 Thou, O Jesus, hast inspired penitence and confidence 
 of restoration and purity in thrice ten thousand souls, 
 and heaven is full to-day of those that never thought to 
 reach it. All through the shining ranks come those 
 that are forever and forevermore pouring precious oint- 
 ment from the alabaster box of their own hearts ; they 
 are redeemed, they are washed, they are cleansed, who 
 on earth seemed to themselves soiled to the inmost ; so 
 great is thy power to forgive sins, so great is thy power 
 to cleanse the conscience and to mend the broken life. O 
 grant that there may be none in thy presence, that shall 
 cast away God, because they have cast themselves away
 
 SACRAMENTAL SEASON. 151 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt draw near *o those 
 that are sordid and burdened with unnecessary care, 
 who take care with unnecessary burden; we pray 
 they may learn every day to love the things that 
 are placed for them as duties, and may they perform 
 their task each day in the name of God ; may they 
 learn how to bear trouble for Christ's sake, and so 
 find some sweetness in it. We beseech thee that they 
 may feel, in having their way in the wilderness, that 
 while they are removing their obstacles, they meet many 
 precious vines with clusters most refreshing, that they 
 press many odorous things that give them fragrance 
 by the way, and so may they toil on, content if it be thy 
 will to labor in things that are poor and humble, to beai 
 burdens as good soldiers, looking not here but hereafter 
 for rest and reward. 
 
 We beseech thee, O God, that thou wilt grant, if there 
 are any in thy presence who know not which way to look 
 for the East, show them at last the bright and the morn- 
 ing star. Gazing upon that, ere long bring them forth and 
 suffuse them with the light of the rising sun of Right- 
 eousness, with healing in his beams. If any are strug- 
 gling with themselves at times like mariners over blown 
 of storms and seemingly about to go down ; if any are 
 struggling to overcome old habits, to staunch corrupt 
 inclinations, to put down all wicked tendencies ; if there 
 are any that seem to themselves at times almost cast 
 a ways, may they be led into the bosom of Christ ; ma} 
 they go nowhere else, but steer right to thine heart. Il 
 is a stone of stumbling to those that break upon it, but 
 a rock of defence to those that come by faith. Grant 
 that every one of us may know how, more nearly than 
 the favored disciple, to lay our head upon the bosom of
 
 152 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 Jesus, and there may our cares fly, and all our troubles 
 be hushed, and our soul find its rest. 
 
 Bless all that worship to-day in other congregations ; 
 strengthen thy dear servants to preach the truth as it is 
 in Jesus. Restrain all temptations that beset thy church ; 
 give victory to thy people in all the struggles that they 
 maintain in the name of Jesus. Grant that the whole 
 earth may speedily see thy salvation ; and may the glory 
 of the Lord shine as the sun traveling in the greatneea 
 of his strength. May we depart speaking a better speech 
 of Christ, and when these seats are no longer filled with 
 our forms, may our children and their children rise up 
 and take our places and carry forward thy work ; and 
 when all our worldly experiences end, and our history 
 closes here, may it open with grace and glory in heaven, 
 there to go on unto perfection ; and to thy name shall be 
 the praise, Father, Son and, Spirit. .Amen.
 
 STRENGTH IN GOD. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 OUR Father Grant us that blessing, without which we shall remain in 
 darkness, as those that are blind. Quicken us, mat we may discern 
 thee. Move our affections, that leaving mere earthly influences, they 
 may begin to lift themselves up this morning to seek thee, and fasten 
 devotedly upon thee. Bless the reading of thy word, and may it be as 
 the bread of God handed down to our want. Bless the union of prayer, 
 and may we have our petitions suggested by thy Spirit, that they may 
 be granted. Bless us in giving thanks, especially hi songs of thanks- 
 giving and praise ; and in our endeavors for instruction from thy word 
 may we have thy guidance ; may the exercises of the sanctuary, and of 
 our several homes this day be divinely accepted and blest We ask it for 
 Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOU art a very present help in time of trouble, O 
 thou that art the salvation of the earth and the Saviour 
 of men. Therefore will we pnt our trust in thee. We 
 lean upon other things which thou hast appointed, but 
 their strength is of God ; and thou art beneath every 
 thing, and dost lift up every thing that is able to stand 
 with thine own strength ; and thou givest thy people 
 faith to discern that all strength is of God, so that we 
 are enabled to feel that thou art in every thing, and that 
 all the attributes and uses of human life and of nature 
 itself are of God. We rejoice that the savor of thine 
 own self is in all the earth, and rejoice that we by faith
 
 154 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOT-IOHTS. 
 
 know thee. "We have been enlightened by the word of 
 God, and by the teaching of the Spirit through the 
 word. 
 
 We rejoice that now our reading of truth is augmented, 
 and we go forth from that Holy Scripture able to under- 
 stand what thou hast written in the work of nature, 
 that primal revelation, but which men were not able to 
 understand aright. "We rejoice, O God, that thou art con- 
 tinuing from day to day to turn some leaves, and giving 
 us further knowledge ; that we are permitted to grow in 
 grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. We mourn that we have had so little 
 growth, and borne so little fruit, and that so poor ; and 
 we desire, quickened by thee, encouraged by thy smiles, 
 nourished and drawn mightily forward by thy gentleness, 
 O Lord God, we desire in times yet to come, to be more 
 and more perfect disciples. We rejoice that time itself 
 is developing strength, and that in the natural unfold- 
 ings of our soul, if we are guided by thy strength, we 
 are coming into those states in which more knowledge 
 is possible, greater depths of feeling, and a wider round 
 of experience. 
 
 And we desire, O Lord Jesus, to be taken by the hand 
 and led into all truth. May we not arrest thee by our 
 pride ; may we not be given over to the folly of conceit, 
 thus thinking we know more than all, when we know 
 nothing. May we have that spirit of little children, by 
 which we shall know how to confide before we know 
 ihe reasons of confidence. May we ever find toward 
 thee an open heart of belief, of trust, of love. May we 
 live by that faith which works by love. Purify us, we 
 beseech thee, from the power of the flesh. May we 
 know how to control ourselves, so that our whole sou]
 
 8TRENGTP fN GOD. J55 
 
 and body may be sanctified. May we desire to carry 
 about whatever thou hast given us, whatever endow 
 ments, and whatever organization, as a gift of God, most 
 precious, and consecrated to his service. 
 
 We beseech thee, that thou wilt help us in the several 
 allotments and appointments of our life, where thou hast 
 sent us. Thou hast need of witnesses in every place. 
 Thou art teaching the world, and the worlds to come 
 that are spectators, what is the immense diversity of thy 
 grace in thy people ; and art unfolding from the human 
 race in their several positions, something of that infinite 
 treasure that is in thine own soul's goodness. May every 
 one of us understand, when we are in peculiar relations 
 and circumstances, that it is because we are there to 
 bear witness which no one else can bear. We pray, for 
 Christ's sake, that we may study the things that are just 
 and true, the things that are meek and pure, the things 
 that are gentle and patient, the things that are loving and 
 right. We pray that we may be guided by sight so far 
 as that is best, and by faith where sight fails, and where 
 neither sight nor faith avail us, where we know not at 
 all, nor even imagine, may we be guided by the presence 
 of that all-surrounding Providence. Do thou think for 
 us, and may we be saved by thy knowledge. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt teach us how to look 
 upon each other as of one household, not merely those 
 that are confederated in the bonds of one church cove- 
 nant, but as those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. May 
 we feel that we are a common household. May we not 
 vex each other, nor selfishly follow our own sectional 
 ends, but may we live in sweet fellowship with thee, in- 
 divisible ; and we beseech thee to teach us how to look 
 upon all mankind with that same pitifulness that thou
 
 158 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 hast. May we ever feel that all are created in the i 
 of God, and destined to live with God eternally. 
 
 Grant, we beseech of thee, that the sight of our eyes 
 may affect our hearts as we pass through this world, as 
 a vale of tears ; may it not be ours to ravage, to destroy, 
 to oppress, to appropriate, to hoard, and perpetuate the 
 misery that already hath lingered too long ; but may we 
 be the children of grace, and diffuse on every side the odor 
 of peace, the reasons of purity, and the influences of love ; 
 and may we be workers together with God, in the redemp- 
 tion of this world. "We pray that thou wilt bless the 
 instrumentalities which thy people have appropriated to 
 the great objects of benevolence in this world. Bless 
 those that labor among the poor and ignorant, that train 
 the young and turn them early from the ways of vice and 
 crooked crime into the straight way of justice and purity. 
 
 Be with those, we pray, that in foreign lands preach an 
 unsearchable gospel to the heathen ; may they be built 
 up themselves in holy faith, and may the power of godli- 
 ness inspire their labor and give it success. Be with 
 those, we beseech thee, everywhere, that are diffusing the 
 word of truth, and sending abroad the glorious Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ. We pray that thou wilt build up thy 
 kingdom in every form. Diffuse more and more the 
 spirit of the gospel into secular affairs. May all institu- 
 tions of law and justice, may all governments and organi- 
 zations of the world conform themselves to the spirit of 
 Christ, and represent the spirit of his gospel, and that 
 day be hastened when war shall cease, and slavery as 
 darkness fly away ; when all misdeeds shall pass and be a 
 thing but remembered, and the glory of the Lord fill the 
 earth as the waters fill the sea. And to thy naroe shall 
 be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 DEPENDENCE. 
 
 AN EVENING PEAYER. 
 
 WE thank thee, our Father, that thou nast not cast us 
 forth from heaven in thy wrath ; we are not born into 
 this world as though we had fallen headlong ; thou hast 
 sent us hither that thou mightest bring us back again in 
 the day of thy glory with joy and everlasting triumph. 
 Nor wilt thou suffer us to be overborne nor tempted 
 beyond that which we are able to bear. Thou wilt open 
 a door of escape ; thou wilt lead us forth out of our sin 
 and out of our transgression ; thou wilt heal the love of 
 sin in us ; thou wilt by thine own blessed spirit work in 
 us mightily to will and to do of the things which are 
 pleasing to thee. We thank thee for this assurance of 
 thy providence ; for this certainty of thy grace ; for this 
 wonder and wealth of thy love ; for this thoughtfulness 
 in our behalf. How great is the sum of thy thoughts of 
 us ! How precious when they come to our realization ; 
 that thou dost think of us, and think to love, and love 
 to succor and redeem. We cannot reach the height and 
 the glory of this, but we receive it gladly. This is the 
 succor which we need. 
 
 Much as we can do in this life, and are made to do 
 for ourselves ; much as we can help one another, thou, 
 O God, art yet needful for us. We need thee, that we
 
 158 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 may rest; we need thee that we may be raised up out 
 of rest ; we need thee that we may be able to discharge 
 the duties which are incumbent upon us one among 
 others in life ; we need thee more that we may not be 
 held down to earth by our daily duties, but that we may 
 learn from them to rise to higher conceptions of life and 
 ideals of character, that we may be able to take hold 
 upon the invisible and eternal truths of thy kingdom. 
 We need thee every day; we need thee sleeping or 
 waking. When we lie down and cannot think for our- 
 selves, we are safest ; then most we need thee when we 
 rise up and begin to go forth and act upon our own 
 judgments, and are open to ten thousand temptations ; 
 we need thee in the things which we do best, and how 
 much more in all other things ! 
 
 And now, we beseech thee, that it may not seem toua 
 either terrible or hard that we should open the door of 
 the soul and call thee in to dwell with us. May we 
 desire above all other things to be guided by thee ; may 
 we desire those things that most nearly represent thy 
 will ; may we not sit down in our own complacency, nor 
 flatter ourselves with the opinions of others, nor live 
 under any servile obedience to the things that now are, 
 and are of esteem among men. Be thou discerned of us, 
 and reveal thyself to every one. May we be dissatisfied 
 with ourselves, with our past lives, yet not in a repining 
 spirit, but may we forget the things that are behind, and 
 may we reach upward and press forward. "We beseech 
 of thee that thou wilt bless us according to our several 
 necessities. "With some there is a strife of pride ever- 
 more, but thou hast pity on the proud ; thou wilt help 
 them, and dost love to help rather than punish, if they 
 will permit thee. There are those that are made weak
 
 DEPENDENCE. 169 
 
 try their vanity every day, and led by it into transgres- 
 sion. We beseech of thee that thou wilt teach them 
 how to wage that battle of faith which belongs peculiarly 
 to them, and may they look at those things as thou dost, 
 and see that their life lies where most is to be overcome ; 
 and may they not wish that they were others, or that 
 their circumstances were changed, or that any thing was 
 different but purity. May they long for greater man- 
 hood, for more holiness before God, and may they accept 
 their circumstances and their discipline as the means 
 which thou dost point to them of grace. "We beseech of 
 thee that thou wilt bless those that are exercised particu- 
 larly with worldly care, and in its midst find themselves 
 drawn away and tempted, and overcome by temptations. 
 Remember any that find themselves mourning the 
 violation of their own moral sense, who see how far their 
 feet slide, who know how irreconcilable with the law of 
 God is the life they have lived, but who spend their 
 time in repentance. 
 
 We beseech of thee that thou wilt help them to set up 
 thy banner, which is victorious over temptation and over 
 the adversary. We beseech of thee that thou wilt give 
 them such confirmation in good that they may at last 
 begin to build higher than their foes can reach, and 
 beyond the reach of any more unsettling. 
 
 If there are those in thy presence, that by ignorance 
 or heedless mistakes, who, by courses of folly and wicked- 
 ness in times past, are suffering severe penalties and 
 trouble, we pray that they may not spend their time in 
 useless murmuring, that they may not rebel against the 
 past, but rather may they take hope of thee, and with all 
 their heart turn to the living God, and find in a newness 
 of life that peace which they cannot find in the present
 
 ICO BEECHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 nor in the remembrances of the past ; and may every one 
 have hope in thee. May none feel that they are in a 
 state without hope; the most guilty, the most wicked, 
 those that have sinned longest, and deepest, and darkest, 
 may they remember that there is a grace of God in Christ 
 Jesus even to them, to those afar off as well as to those 
 that are near. O make thine atoning mercy and the 
 glory of thy forgiving goodness apparent unto every one, 
 and may every one be able to see that, in proportion as 
 they are forgiven, according to the magnitude of their 
 iniquity and the greatness of their transgression will be 
 the glory transcending which thou wilt have, if thou 
 showest mercy unto them ; and while we doubt ourselves, 
 and while we may distrust one another, and while at 
 times all things seem unstable and unsatisfactory, O save 
 us from that last and worst disaster, distrusting thee 
 may our faith in God be immutable^and even when we 
 are so guilty that we cannot look up, at least may we 
 be able to bow the head, to smite upon our breasts, and 
 say, " God be merciful to us sinners." And if we dare not 
 sit by thee in thy throne, if we dare not come to thee as 
 children to the knees of their parents, and look up, at 
 least may we sit down at thy feet, and find there that 
 we are sitting at the feet of a Redeemer, pitying, gentle, 
 forgiving, all-succoring. We pray that none may be 
 discouraged ; may every one accept his life-work ; may 
 every one, undismayed and undaunted, go forward from 
 good to better, from strength to strength. We beseech 
 of thee that thou will make us useful ; while we are 
 seeking for our own growth, may we not treasure up 
 strength gained, or experiences, or joys, for our own 
 selfish using, but as we receive so may we give. Maj
 
 DEPENDENCE. 161 
 
 our whole life be a life of seed-sowing ; may our whole 
 life be a work for God and for man. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt bless all the churches that name 
 the name of Christ in this city. "Wilt thou strengthen them 
 to do thy work ; redeem all that are called by thy name, 
 and make them lovely. May thy servants that preach 
 the gospel be inspired of God to preach it ; may the 
 witness of thy Spirit go with the preaching of the truth. 
 "Wilt thou search the hearts of thy servants as with a 
 lighted candle ; reveal to them their true nature, and the 
 significance of their whole life. "We pray that thou wilt 
 go forth through our whole land, deepening the founda- 
 tions of piety, raising up greater zeal for God, more purity 
 of intention and of life, and filling this whole land with 
 the power of the Gospel of Christ. May we be saved 
 from a dead-letter gospel ; may we be saved from the 
 formalism of unvital institutions ; may we be saved from 
 the timidity of men ; may we be filled with a sacred, a 
 holy, a burning zeal of Christ, and may love temper it, 
 and restrain it, and only that, and so may this land see 
 the salvation of our God. Pity the condition of the 
 world ; make haste, thou that lingerest not, but seemest 
 to linger, because thou livest so long. Make haste, we 
 beseech of thee, even by reason of our infirmity, for we 
 wait for thee, and our eyes fail for thy salvation. O kin- 
 dle the morning, then, and bid the light advance, and 
 the glory of the nations, that we may take hold upon thy 
 promises, and interpret them in the light of growing 
 events, until the day shall come to be seen by us, either 
 from earth or from heaven, when the glory of the Lord 
 shall fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. And to thy 
 name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit, ever- 
 more.
 
 CLOSING PRATER. 
 
 OTTR Father, wilt tbou add thy blessing to the word spoken. Grant 
 that it may do good to us all. May it encourage us to undertake a release 
 from evil. May it encourage us to undertake the assailing of habits long 
 formed. May we not be discouraged because the labor of the way before 
 us is BO great, or because of past failures. And grant, Lord God, that 
 we may look up at the infiniteness of thy patience. Thou art long-suf- 
 fering, thou art wonderful, and full of graciousness ; and we pray that 
 we may take heart, not from what we can do, but from that great sum- 
 mer which shines and distills the divine influence upon us perpetually. 
 Grant, thou divine Light and Warmth, thou Sun of righteousness, that 
 thy beams may shine with cheer and nutriment upon all that are here 
 present to-day. May there be many that shall be called by the goodness 
 of God to repentance. May there be many who have been seeking thee, 
 that shall girt their loins with fresh alacrity. May there be many who 
 are discouraged in the way and are lagging that shall be gathered up, and 
 that shall begin to work again with new zeal. Revive thy work in our 
 hearts, and in all the churches throughout the 'and. We ask it for the 
 Redeemer's sake. Amen.
 
 GOD'S GOODNESS TO THE ILL-DESERVING. 
 
 AN EVENING 8ERYICB. 
 
 WHILE we are walking in darkness, thou, O our jght 
 and life, art in the unclouded heaven. With us are 
 storms ; with thee is everlasting peace. Breathe forth of 
 thy life and peace upon us, that we may be undisturbed 
 by fear ; that we may be kept quiet amidst all those con- 
 tests and collisions which disturb men ; that we may not 
 be swung to and fro as the pendulum vibrating inces- 
 santly. May we have that peace that passeth all under- 
 standing, which no sorrow or anxiety can long disturb, 
 which no greed, or avarice, or discontent, can take away. 
 May we feel the warmth of thy love, the certainty of thy 
 promises, and the glory of that wealth which is ours 
 because we are thine the nearness of the promised land 
 into which we may almost look, and upon which we 
 shall ere long step. 
 
 Grant that we may not be puffed up, as other men are ; 
 nor, as they are, cast down and dejected because our pur- 
 poses are ended and our way is turned upside down. 
 For, are we not included by all the promises of God, 
 which are yea and amen ? Hast thou not circled us around 
 about with bands that are stronger than walls of stone, 
 and sharper than the very fire itself? Hast thou not 
 made us the objects of thine own heart's desire, and have 
 we not the love of God and the faithfulness of God as
 
 164 BBECHBK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 pledges for our safety; for our conduct through this 
 world and our everlasting safety in the world to come 1 
 Since we were born, upon what have our sorrows stum- 
 bled ? What have been the sources of our sorrow and 
 growth ? Mostly but vain desires, but conflicts of pride, 
 but the manifestations of selfishness. How have we 
 found our lower natures checking us, when we have been 
 by thy power, by thy grace, and by thy truth, lifted up 
 into the realm of our religious feelings, and so brought 
 near to thee ! Thou evermore hast made us walk upon 
 all trouble, and keep it beneath us, to despise the vain 
 things of this life, and yet to count it all joy when we 
 fall into trials and temptations, to rejoice even in afflic- 
 tions to sing at midnight, and walk in the light, though 
 our lamp had gone out. 
 
 Thou, O God, canst work wonderfully in the hearts of 
 those that put their trust in thee. To this we are thy 
 witnesses ; we bear testimony to thy faithfulness, to thy 
 gentleness, and to thy power for good, succoring and en- 
 couraging us every day yet punishing us in thy faith- 
 fulness when rods and stripes are the best medicine. 
 Thou art not tender to indulge us ; thou art not stern and 
 just to distress and destroy us ; thou art tempering thy 
 justice by mercy, and thou art by love and mercy, by 
 justice and by judgment, by all the motives of hope and 
 of fear, by commands and by persuasions, through nature, 
 through the daily progress of our lives in society, through 
 all the influences of truth upon our souls, in our medi- 
 tating hours, and in our Sabbaths of rest, by ten thou- 
 sand instrumentalities in all periods of time, thou art 
 educating us and preparing us for our residence in thine 
 own immediate presence ; for thou hast made us thine 
 own, and it is known in heaven that we are coming
 
 GOD'S GOODNESS TO THE TLL-DESEBVLtfG. 165 
 
 thither, and thou wilt yet present us before the throne 
 of thy Father, spotless, without any blemish, or wrinkle, 
 or any such thing. 
 
 And now we bless thy name, we laud and magnify 
 thee ; thou art the high and the holy God, thou art of 
 purer eyes than to behold iniquity, but blessed be thy 
 name thou hadst rather heal than punish us. We bless 
 and praise thy goodness, thy benignity, thy patience, thy 
 lenity, thy justice, and thy sparing mercy, which have 
 made our lives rich and our hearts so hopeful. Bless, we 
 beseech thee, all in thy presence. Thou knowest what 
 are the thoughts and meditations of them that come forth 
 before thee ; thou knowest what ones of them are good. 
 Meet every heart, not according to its petition, which is 
 of ignorance, but according to thy glorious knowledge. 
 Think for us better than we can think for ourselves ; feel 
 for us more truly and worthily than we know how to feel 
 for ourselves, and then do exceeding abundantly more 
 for us than we can ask or think. 
 
 Bless those that are not gathered with us. If any are 
 absent from home, spare their lives, prosper them in law- 
 ful errands, and bring them back to their own house and 
 to their sanctuary again. Bless any that have been 
 abroad and come again with thanksgivings, praising, and 
 blessing God for sparing mercy. Are any sick? Bui 
 what is sickness but God's medicine, and then best when 
 it is mortal ! We beseech thee that thou wilt cheer and 
 comfort any that are languishing ; give them visions of 
 the far-coming land, and may all of us count ourselves 
 strangers in this world, then only at home when we rest 
 with God. Help those that bear burdens, to be patient 
 and to be strong under their burdens. Help those that 
 are grieved and wounded of heart, to look up unto him,
 
 166 BKKCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIOITS. 
 
 whose hands and side were pierced for them, and learn 
 of him. 
 
 Grant to every one, we entreat, the mercies they need for 
 deliverance, and the mercies that they need for riches in 
 Christ; and when we shall have passed through the 
 scenes of this mortal life and draw near to the celestial 
 gate, may it stand open ready for us, and may we see a 
 choral host waiting to give us an abundant entrance into 
 heaven. May none of us or of ours knock at the celes- 
 tial gate and hear from thee the fatal words, " I nevej 
 knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity ;" but 
 may we stand ransomed, purified, and saved in thy 
 presence, and we will give to the Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Spirit the praise of our salvation forever and 
 for evermore. Amen.
 
 GOD THE ONLY OBJECT OF TRUST. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 INVOOATIOH. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father I Already thou hast blessed us and anticipated 
 our asking. "We recognize thine hand that opens the morning; we 
 recognize thy bounty that gives to us the rest which this day is wont to 
 bring. And now we are gathered in this appointed place, which has been 
 made dear to us by thy grace in days past, that again we may receive the 
 Holy Ghost known by all desires inspired by thee, by wholesome in- 
 struction received by its ministration, by all joy and peace in believing. 
 Wilt thou therefore minister to us thine own self. Thou art life, and 
 they that possess thee have every thing that life can give. May the 
 reading of thy word, may the singing of thy praises, may the ministry of 
 prayer, may the speech of instruction or meditation of truth all profit 
 our souls in glorifying thee. We ask it for the Redeemer's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SEIiMON. 
 
 THOU art the eternal God. Before thee there is none 
 else: no authority higher than thine; no power like 
 onto thine ; no wisdom that is not borrowed from thee. 
 Thou art the center and the source of existence, and we 
 rejoice that we may believe, since in thee we live and 
 move and have our being, that thou art full of goodness, 
 that love is thy nature, that all thine administration ia 
 for the purpose of infinite love. 
 
 We are not wandering in darkness and forgetfulness ; 
 we are not cast into the midst of confusions and undi- 
 rected turmoils of life. Thou sittest regent : all thingi
 
 168 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 are nuked and open before thee, and thon beholdest <he 
 end from the beginning. In thy hand the most complex 
 things are simple ; the strangest things to our thought 
 are plain to thine. Thou wilt restrain the wrath of man, 
 and cause the remainder of wrath to praise thee ; and 
 the things that run adverse, all those causes which con- 
 flict in time, we shall behold them from the other side ; 
 and in the order of eternity all things shall then appear 
 wise, nothing fugitive, nothing erratic. 
 
 It is our joy that we may believe thus in thee, O thou 
 God of our salvation, that art higher than all men, than 
 princes, than kings : thou art thyself the Lord of lords, 
 and the King of kings. All things are beneath thee, not 
 that they may be trampled down, but that thou mayest 
 look benignantly upon them from thine infinite excel- 
 lence, from the height of thy glory, and conserve them. 
 We believe that it is in thine heart to bring forth 
 unspeakable good, transcending far the measure of our 
 thought or any tracing of our imagination. Nor do we 
 desire to guide thee by our thoughts, nor prescribe in 
 our own feeling the way that thou shouldst come. We 
 simply desire to look up and adore to believe, to trust, 
 to love, to obey. 
 
 O Lord, when we look upon the face of things, and 
 attempt to judge thee by sight, how quickly are we re- 
 buked by the darkness and the confusion of our own 
 minds even the things most familiar to us deceive us, 
 even the things most common are inexplicable. All the 
 ways of life are convoluted ; all the affairs of men are 
 liable to such disasters and apparent minglings, that we 
 cannot understand the course of things. We read thy 
 providence in the history of nations with amazement ; we 
 behold the current affairs of life with awe and wonder ;
 
 GOD THE OBTLT OBJECT OP TBT7ST. 169 
 
 and if we were to establish our faith in the destiny of 
 man, in the perfection of the race, in the growth of 
 truth and purity, on that which has been and that which 
 is, how should we falter at every step ! We must live 
 by faith and not by sight. 
 
 We rejoice that our God is so great, that it is no im- 
 peachment of our wisdom to say that we cannot under- 
 stand his ways. If thou wert to be understood easily, 
 then thou wouldst be but little more than a man ; and 
 as thou art the God of the universe and the Father of 
 ages, and we desire to understand our relative place, 
 and to know that thou art moving upon the spheres of 
 eternity, and not upon the lines of this globe and of our 
 eras of time, we desire to take thee as the Lord God 
 Almighty, comprehensive over all conception, endless, 
 dateless. Before we can send back a thought, thy gov- 
 ernment was supreme ; from periods beyond all concep- 
 tion, thou still wert the eternal God ; and to the end thou 
 shalt be forever unfolding by thy works what thou art, 
 forever endlessly creating and sustaining and never 
 exhausted. 
 
 And we desire, O Lord, to be so in sympathy with 
 thee, that we may hold on for ever with thee, though 
 born of yesterday never to die. We rejoice that we are 
 to be thy children and of thy household, and that no dis- 
 aster can come to us so long as thou art supreme. " No 
 weapon formed against thee, shall prosper," thou sayest 
 unto thy people, and we believe that it is so, and that it 
 shall be so ; and while we cannot understand the 
 history of thy church upon earth, nor fully comprehend 
 the history of nations, nor understand the providences of 
 the times in which we live, nor the influences that are 
 operating upon human affairs, we do understand that
 
 170 BKBCHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 thy kingdom may be established in every heart, and 
 that while there is confusion without, peace there 
 may be within ; and while we cannot understand 
 thee on the earth, we can understand thee in our own 
 souls. 
 
 And now, we beseech thee that every one of us may 
 attempt to build up the world, by building so much of 
 it as lies in our own character, in our own development. 
 May we feel that it is ours to put one more fair stone on 
 the walls of Jerusalem on earth, and thus aid in perfect- 
 ing this growing structure. May we, therefore, become 
 more conscientious and equitable, more pure and moral, 
 more truthful and truth-loving ; may we be clothed 
 with love as with a garment ; may we have an active 
 and vital sympathy with thee ; may we learn to discern 
 thy ways by a holy intuition. May we know what is 
 right and what is wrong among disputed things ; never 
 seek to be less than that which is already believed to be 
 right, but always strive to overmeasure and rise to yet 
 nobler conceptions of rectitude. May we make justice 
 more just, purity more pure, and love yet more refined ; 
 and may we never seek to shield ourselves by excuses, 
 nor to hide behind weaknesses, and variously explain 
 delinquencies. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt remember every one of thy 
 people before thee in their special and common wants. 
 Be near to those that are passing the last days of their 
 lives upon earth, that are glorifying God with the going 
 down of their sun. Let them compose their minds with 
 peace and with joy, and grant that they may by antici- 
 pation take hold of the rest which remaineth for the 
 people of God ; and we pray that their testimony and 
 example and encouragement to the young, may be such
 
 GOD THE ONLY OBJECT OF TRUST. 171 
 
 as to make them evermore examples and leaders in the 
 host of God. 
 
 Remember those upon whom are the burdens of life. 
 O make them rest who carry the yoke ; and those who 
 are in the midst of suffering, and who from day to 
 day are vehemently exercised with various duties, may 
 they be strong in the Lord, diligent in business, fervent 
 in spirit, serving the Lord. May they learn how to serve 
 thee by their daily duties ; may they know how to look 
 upon their secular affairs as a part of that which God 
 requires at their hand ; and may they be in the discharge 
 of those things so imbued with justice, with truth, and 
 with love, that it shall be a perpetual religious service. 
 Thus may they never have occasion to pass from the 
 sanctuary to the world, but may the world itself become 
 their sanctuary, and their altar everywhere, with their 
 God forever present with them. 
 
 "We beseech of thee that thou wilt look upon those 
 that are growing up into life and are beginning now to 
 take hold upon manhood. O let them make no fatal 
 missteps, lest they be dashed in pieces from the very 
 beginning ; let them not listen to false teachings ; 
 especially may they not listen to their guilty passions, 
 or be misled as to faith and truth by the suggestion 
 of corrupt hearts, but may they from the morning of 
 life be consecrated in all truth and honor to the cause 
 of Jesus Christ. May they take care of each other, and 
 may the young care for the young. Bless, we beseech 
 thee, our children. Thou hast made us to know many 
 things by reason of them; they have taught us more 
 than we have ever taught them. 
 
 "We thank thee that thus thou hast opened our hearts 
 to know the great things out of thy law of love ; that thy
 
 172 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 word lias its perpetual ministry in our household, and 
 that thou hast united us together as husbands and wives, 
 parents and children that in our own daily versatile 
 experience we might understand the word of God to us 
 who are the children of God, of God who is the Father 
 of every living creature. We pray that thou wilt help 
 us to rear our children as God would rear us, teaching 
 and taught, receiving from them much by their silent 
 example, and yielding much to them by our own ex- 
 ample. May we be faithful to our trust ; may we not 
 be misled to weakness through overfondness of affec- 
 tion .for them, but may our love be chastened ; may 
 we learn to take them in the light of the eternal world, 
 and behold their immortality even in their infancy. 
 
 Sanctify the family ; and grant, we beseech of thee, that 
 it may be a gate of heaven to every one of us. Bless us 
 in our association one with another ; may we have more 
 and more noble conceptions of the relations of friend- 
 ship. May we every day cleanse and purify ourselves 
 from all the vulgarities, from all the selfishness, and from 
 all the meanness to which we are liable by our contact 
 with this world. May we get higher conceptions than 
 those which we have of duty one toward another, and of 
 all the duties of affection and of true friendship. May 
 there spring from the heart of Christ in the heart of 
 every one of his children more and more nobility of 
 purpose, more and more heroism of conception, more 
 and more manliness of life. 
 
 Are there any that are looking wistfully into this 
 sanctuary ? are there any that do not believe the 
 things that make us supremely joyful? O Lord we 
 beseech thee that they may understand, not by the 
 power of reflection, but may they be taught that true
 
 GOD THB 01TLY OBJECT OP TBUST. 173 
 
 wisdom is in experience, and may they seek the things 
 that are pure as God interprets purity things that are 
 wise as thou dost interpret wisdom things that are 
 generous, noble, and good ; and from some experience in 
 these things may they begin to learn their truth, and so 
 through the realizations of love may they come to the 
 conceptions of truth. And we beseech thee thou wilt 
 fulfill thy kind designs and purposes toward all mankind, 
 hastening the day when men shall have their reason sc 
 high that they may cast off prejudice and selfishness and 
 all that is hateful and divisive ; and may all the earth 
 begin to find the drawings of love ; and all men begin to 
 help mankind. May all the earth begin to bear witness 
 that God is coming in his final power to give ripeness 
 to the race ; and may all things that are offensive, and 
 selfish, and proud, and hateful, and cruel, begin to sink in 
 power, and all things that are refined in wisdom, good- 
 ness, love, and purity, begin to gain front and strength. 
 O hasten, thou that from on high art the God of 
 battles, not of clashing battles of steel and iron, but thou 
 that dost contend in the heavens and upon the earth, and 
 round about the universe, in that great and universal 
 conflict between good and evil make haste that the 
 final glory may be consummated, that the earth may rest 
 as a ship long tempest-tossed and not comforted rest 
 when at length it finds its peaceful harbor. bring 
 this world at last to the bosom of Christ, and there may 
 it find that anchorage and peace which it has so long 
 sought in vain in its course. And all the glory of this 
 victory, and all the glory of our own salvation therein, 
 we will give to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
 
 CLOSHCO PRAYKR. 
 X 
 
 OUB Father, wilt thou bless the word of truth spoken; let it not leave 
 as barren and profitless ; may it do us good in the inward man ; conse- 
 crate the fountain of feeling, and educate the thoughts, motives, and feel- 
 ings. Deliver us, we beseech thee, from arrogance and all uncharitableness ; 
 make us temperate and unfeignedly kind and forbearing to all men, only 
 exacting and unrelenting toward ourselves. Bless those that are in 
 darkness; bless those that are mistaken, and committing through their 
 own sins and mistakes great iniquities. Turn them back from their folly 
 and give them that illumination which thou hast been pleased to pour 
 down round about us. We beseech thee that thou wilt grant to this city, 
 to the great city, and to this nation, the power of the Holy Ghost. Season 
 men's thoughts with divine grace, and overrule their counsels ; may 
 wicked men find themselves shorn of influence, and may wise men be 
 called of God to lead forth this people in the ways of righteousness. We 
 ask that thou wilt exercise the plenitude of that sovereignty which is 
 with thee hi all the world. 0, grant that nations may be reformed, and 
 that they may become civilized and exalted ; and that Christ may see 
 of the travail of his soul and be satisfied ; and to thy name shall be the 
 praise, Either, Son, and Spirit Amen.
 
 PRECIOUSNESS OF THE SABBATH. 
 
 Sdbbaih Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE implore thy blessing, our heavenly Father, that all the things which 
 we do in thy house may be divinely inspired and guided. Open thy word 
 that it may be as the opening morning upon the night, that the clear 
 shining may drive the darkness of our worldly thoughts and cares away. 
 Touch our hearts that all that is within us may rise up and rejoice this 
 morning before thee. May we be inspired with a spirit of union, and find it 
 easy to say, " Our Father." Aid ua while we sing together, in fellowship 
 one with another and in worship of thee. Help us to speak from thy 
 truth and to accept its exposition. Help us in the worship we offer thee 
 in the silence of our thoughts or in our social relations at home. Bless 
 this Sabbath day wholly, hi all its parts and hi all its blessed joy and 
 pleasure. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE beseech thee, O God, to shine upon us with that 
 divine light which illumines within, which gives thought 
 and affection, and power to seize upon higher truths ; for 
 we are living in a world which touches us on every side 
 through our senses and by the senses, and we need to 
 have the power of God to develop that faith in us by 
 which we shall recognize the truth that does not belong 
 to ourselves. 
 
 It is good for us, O Lord, that thou hast cast this 
 island in the stream, and builded the Sabbath all around 
 wherein we stand and are secure. No sound of secular
 
 178 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 occupation disturbs us; we are at rest. And now we 
 lift up our unwonted thoughts into themes which the 
 week disallows, and have leisure of meditation, and can 
 draw very near to thee and abide under the shadow of 
 thy wing Now we are no longer chafed and fretted by 
 care ; we are no longer heated by rivalries one with 
 another ; we can look out as from a window and see the 
 storm of worldly things out of which we have come, and 
 pass judgment upon them, and measure again our 
 thoughts and our joys yea, search into the deep places 
 of our heart and know our own selves before thee. 
 
 Now we stand in the sanctuary, and we can measure 
 all things by the golden reed thereof. "We are per- 
 mitted to judge now what is the real worth of 
 pleasure ; we are permitted now to judge as before God 
 all the various experiences of affection. Thou dost now 
 make it possible for us to pass the line upon all our 
 worldly avocations, and see them somewhat as we shall 
 see them in the judgment. And thou dost with attrac- 
 tion draw our earliest affections up ; now thou art reveal- 
 ing to us thy reconciled face; now thou art making 
 Christ Jesus to draw very near, the chief among ten 
 thousand, the one altogether lovely. Now thou art 
 interpreting to us his faithfulness, his patience, his 
 wonder of gentleness ; thou art already breathing upon 
 us the spirit of adoption, and our hearts begin to repeat 
 that sacred name, OUR FATHER, and we rejoice in this 
 precious property of thee. All things are ours since 
 thou art ours; and we rejoice that we are so com- 
 prehended in thee that we need not look for reasons of 
 our salvation to any merit in ourselves, to any reason 
 within us why thou shouldst regard us. "We are poverty 
 stricken, but thou findest in the royalty of thine own
 
 PBECIOUSNESS OP THE SABBATH. 177 
 
 nature reasons of loving by which, we are bnoyed up and 
 saved ; BO that we pray for mercy for Christ's sake, since 
 in him is fullness of generosity, of love unquenchable 
 and unfathomable the height and the depth, the length 
 and the breadth whereof surpass all understanding. 
 
 Indeed, we cannot understand why thou, O sacred 
 heart, shouldst love us, and what is the nature and 
 royalty of God that can love unlovely things, and what 
 is the nature of that being before whom ages pass leaving 
 neither weariness nor marks, the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and forever unchanged and unchangeable. We can- 
 not understand the fullness, though we do perceive some- 
 what of the glory, and we rejoice in it, and we glory in 
 our God. We glory not in our own strength, nor 
 because wealth has increased, nor in earthly honors and 
 pleasures, nor because we have builded our house and 
 stored it full and substantially withal ; we glory not in 
 men's opinion, nor in all the fruitions of human enter- 
 prise. 
 
 We glory in the Lord. It is, O God, in thy strength 
 that surrounds us ; it is in thy thoughtfulness that never 
 misses an opportunity of good ; it is in thy faithfulness, 
 new every morning, fresh every moment, and more in 
 number than the drops of the morning dew. We rejoice 
 in the wonder of thy heart, that hath taught us to love, 
 and that shall teach all created things yet to love. We 
 rejoice in thee, and glory in thee, and are strong in thee, 
 and are weak only when we forget thee and go back to 
 trust ourselves. And now we beseech thee that we may 
 not pervert this precious truth of our dependence upon 
 thee to supineness, indifference, and indolence. May it 
 rather inspire us with a more hearty courage and resolu- 
 tion of activity. Since thou wilt work in us to will and
 
 178 BEKCHKB'S PULPIT DBVOTIONS. 
 
 to do, may we work out our own salvation with fear and 
 trembling. 
 
 If there are any in thy presence, those that are in fear 
 and trembling, thou O God, canst quiet the quaking 
 heart as easily as thou dost the storm and the rushings 
 of the waves. All things are possible with thee. We 
 beseech of thee to take to thyself to-day the unquiet, the 
 disturbed, those that suffer in mind, and speak those 
 words of consolation to them which they need ; for thou 
 knowest who suffer from long depression, who suffer 
 from the vexatious burdens of secular things; thou 
 knowest who seem to themselves unfortunate in life, cast 
 out and neglected those whose purposes are crossed, and 
 whose very aims and ends of life seem to them subverted. 
 Thou canst make them feel that they are dear to thee, 
 and that they possess thee that in thee they have all 
 joy and all wealth. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou. wilt draw near to those 
 that are in trouble, that they may not be alarmed by it, 
 nor think that any strange thing hath surprised them. 
 May they behold themselves initiated by their sorrow into 
 the true brotherhood of the great human family ; yet may 
 thef perceive that they are united to Christ, the head of 
 men and the captain of salvation, made perfect through 
 suffering ; and may they rejoice to have suffering, if 
 through its ministration they may learn more and more 
 of faith, of patience, of hope, of submission, and of love. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt deliver us from worldly-mind- 
 edness, from the contaminations of those things which 
 we must needs handle. Keep us, we beseech of thee, from 
 growing sordid under those duties which we must needs 
 perform. May we watch our thoughts, lest we should 
 grow selfish by prosperity. May we seek to walk humbly
 
 PRECIOTTStfESS OF THB SABBATH. 179 
 
 before God, and not fail to recognize that spiritual con- 
 nection between thy thought and blessing and our suc- 
 cess ; and BO may we desire every day to go back fron? 
 all our outgoings, all our blossomings and fruit-bearings, 
 to thee that art the root from which we spring. 
 
 O Lord God, we pray that thou wilt bless the young ; 
 grant to those that have been consecrated by their 
 parents in the midst of this household of faith, that they 
 may not be forgotten in our prayers. May we pray for 
 each other's households ; may we love each other's chil- 
 dren ; may we have sympathy in the care and burden of 
 their rearing, and help each other ; and may we as the 
 Church of Christ remember the covenant implied, the 
 helpfulness and sympathy implied by the offering of 
 children before God in public. We beseech thee that 
 those who receive the sacred symbol of consecration in 
 public, may not forget what faith their parents have for 
 them ; and, as they grow up to years of discretion, may 
 they enter into the blessedness and treasure of Christian 
 knowledge and of Christian life, and become themselves 
 the recipients by faith of the Spirit of God. 
 
 May those in thy presence not depart from the ways 
 of truth in which they have been reared. May they be 
 saved from the power of temptation ; may they grow 
 strong by resisting solicitations to evil, and may they 
 grow up in honor, in truth, in simplicity, and Christian 
 manliness. We beseech thee that they may stand in 
 their day and lot to fulfill the will of God, and to carry 
 forward the work of the Gospel of Christ. We pray that 
 our whole land may be remembered before thee, thou 
 that dost look upon the nations of the earth they are but 
 a very little thing before thee. How easily canst thou 
 raise or allay the tumults of the people ; how soon, when
 
 180 BEECHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 thou speakest, will the winds fly away, and the waves 
 grow calm. We beseech of thee that thou wilt ordain 
 our fate. We pray that there may be so much of conflict 
 and of strife as is needed to work out the righteousness 
 of God among men. Grant that we may be held back 
 from all malign and passionate influences, that we may 
 be restrained, that we may be conscientious and earnest, 
 yet full of love. May we forget no truths in our zeal fcr 
 any truth ; may we understand the whole will of God, 
 and be kept in the very spirit of Christ, and do our Mas- 
 ter's work in our Master's spirit. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt bless this church. Grant that 
 its members may evermore be fruitful and humble. Let 
 us not be pufie(J. up with a vain prosperity. Deliver us 
 from secular influences. May there be more and more 
 prayer in the membership of this church, more and more 
 faithfulness in Christian families, more and more fidelity 
 in the rearing of their children ; and in their whole estate 
 may they do as Christ would have them ; and finally 
 may they all be accepted of thee for Christ'* sake, 
 Amen.
 
 SECURITY IN CHRIST. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 OTTR heaven.y Father, we are moved from our hearts to draw near to 
 thee this morning, and we come to a place whose every thought suggests 
 thy past mercy ; and we are clothed and armed with recollections of thy 
 grace and bounty so that we may come boldly and hopefully again. We 
 need, what always we have needed, the inspiration of thy Spirit, the help 
 which thou givest to ns and to all who need help in spiritual things. 
 May thy truth, therefore, be a truth to-day, generous to us as God him- 
 self; may all the exercises of worship, whether of prayer or of devout 
 meditation, or of sacred song, be inspired of thee and welcomed to tho. 
 Grant, we pray thee, that every thing which we shall do for instruction, 
 may be guarded from erroi and quickened to truth, and may it be pleasant 
 to us to meet each other in the sacred precincts of thy temple. May we 
 find our affections purified and our whole souls refreshed by being this 
 morning with God, which mercies we ask in the name of Christ our 
 Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE adore thee, our God, and worship before thee. 
 Our hearts acclaim thee God ; sovereign not alone in 
 heaven and over the earth, but over us, by our wish. 
 We rejoice that thou art supreme, and that there is a 
 law to which every one of us must give obedience, 
 framed in perfect wisdom and maintained in perfect 
 goodness. And now, we would walk thereon safely as 
 upon a highway cast up ; a way upon which the ransomed 
 of the Lord shall walk. And when by wickedness or by
 
 182 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 sin we stumble thereon, thou, O God, in thine infinite 
 mercy and kindness, wilt lift us again and plant us upon 
 our feet ; and we shall, by the strength of God, endure 
 to the end and finally be saved. 
 
 This morning we rejoice that we are here, that we are 
 permitted to lay aside for the time those duties of the world, 
 and such occupations as divert our minds and carry us 
 away from things spiritual and invisible. No more are 
 we borne down by this outward and physical world, 
 which dominates us so easily through sounds, and sights, 
 and varied occupations ; we are permitted to rise up easier 
 than birds from out of forests do. Our thoughts lift 
 themselves up and go, not wandering, and yet singing 
 toward thee. We know the divine attraction ; we are 
 taught of the Spirit to say out of the heart's thoughts 
 and feelings, " Our Father," and that word is the gate 
 of heaven ; and when we speak it, behold the gate stands 
 open, and God is ours, and we are Christ's and he is God's, 
 and we enter in and have fruition of invisible blessings. 
 
 We had hitherto taken thee as the Saviour of sinners, 
 and pledged that we would renounce transgression and 
 turn from it ; and yet, how have we violated every 
 promise, and made ourselves even worse than by our 
 original transgressions. But thou art infinite in mercy ; 
 thou lovest to do good to us undeserving, and dost build 
 up thy glory, in this very estate of magnanimous mercy ; 
 and we rejoice that there is in thee more than a match 
 for all the thoughts of guilt, all the rears of guilt, or all 
 the transgressions that inspire hoplessness. 
 
 We rejoice, blessed Saviour, that thou dost appear 
 before God for us. We are not unknown in heaven; 
 we trust the names of many are in the Lamb's book ; 
 we believe that we are recognized as children, though
 
 SECUKTTY IN CHRIST. 183 
 
 absent from our Father's honse. Do they not think of 
 us who are in charge as ministering angels ? do they not 
 think of us whom we once thought much of, guiding, 
 and leading, and teaching ? The taught are our teachers 
 now ; they that were beneath us are risen above. And 
 are we not known of those whose hearts are of ours, 
 whose lives were of ours, and whose companionship has 
 been with us here upon earth, whom yet again we shall 
 /meet in fullness of joy. Are we not known, O thou 
 that didst bear us upon thy suffering heart, thou that 
 hast clasped us often for rescue and released by thine 
 own wounded hand, thou that hast remembered us in 
 Gethsemane, and upon the cross ? Shall any of us be for- 
 gotten of thee, thou that art wondrous in remembering ? 
 Thou that didst love us while yet we were enemies, canst 
 thou forget, or shall we be unknown where thou 
 dwellest? 
 
 We intreat that we may make our calling and 
 election sure, and that by an humble faith, by a perse- 
 vering following of Christ, by a fulfillment of all thy 
 claims, which are easy and most reasonable. We be- 
 seech of thee that we may not merely have the promise 
 of that rest, but may none of us come short of it through 
 unbelief and disobedience, and fall in the wilderness and 
 perish; but by thy Holy Spirit wilt thou shield us, 
 delivering us from temptation, and in temptation stand- 
 *ng by us to deliver. Withdraw our thoughts from evil, 
 save us from that despondency which overtakes the 
 transgressor in his way, and grant, we beseech thee, that 
 we may have all the fullness of the work of grace 
 wrought in us by thine own good Spirit. We confess 
 our unworthiness of thy care ; we confess that our trans 
 gressions have merited punishment bevond our thought
 
 184 BEECHER'S Ptnjrr DEVOTIONS. 
 
 If thou hadst lifted thyself up in thine infinite purity 
 and disdained our wickedness; if thou hadst walked 
 over us and submerged us beneath our own way and 
 wickedness, thou wouldst have been just and we could 
 not have replied ; but thou hast had mercy, and thou 
 lovest mercy, and we are alive because of thy grace and 
 not because of our own. We rejoice to believe that the 
 same power that has been the author, shall be the finisher 
 of our faith, and that thou wilt not begin a work of grace 
 without carrying it on until the day of redemption. 
 
 And now we desire, O Lord, to strengthen each other, 
 and to comfort each other, to bear to others the tidings 
 of that ransom and that ransomer, to make mention of 
 the grace of God to us, that it may redound to his honor 
 and glory in others. We beseech of thee, on every side, 
 that we may be the preachers of Christ, that we may not 
 stand in our own virtue, honor or principles, or upon 
 our own merits, proclaiming our own morals. Grant 
 that Christ may be our joy. May our strength be in 
 him. May this be the teaching of our lip and the 
 thought of our heart, and this the very argument as it is 
 the secret strength of our life. And on every side, amidst 
 our children, among our friends, and wherever we go 
 with strangers, may we carry the light of Christ, and bear 
 witness to his faith, to his power, and to his redeeming 
 mercy, so that many souls shall be quickened, many en- 
 couraged, many redeemed and saved with an everlasting 
 salvation. And the glory be given to the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
 
 SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF BELIEVERS. 
 
 Sabbath Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank tbee, thou that art risen from the dead, and ascended to life 
 evermore, and giving life to all thine own, that we have received life of 
 thee. That light which thou hast granted us through nature is thy gift; 
 but that other and nobler knowledge and life which comes by thy grace, 
 transcends all gifts of nature and of Providence. And for that Life of the 
 BOU! we render thee, this morning, thanksgiving and praise. Thus born 
 of God, may we worship thee, who art a spirit, in spirit and in truth. 
 And as we are speaking and hearing thy word, and engaged in the songs of 
 Zion, give us a spirit of prayer, and may all the sacrifices we shall offer 
 ascend acceptable in thy sight, Lord, our strength and our Redeemer 
 Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 OH God, thou hast illumined the morning. While 
 yet it is dark, it is light. We rejoice in the potency of 
 that word by which thou dost bring forth into com- 
 munion and power the holy thoughts and triumphant 
 experiences of so many souls. We are witnesses of thy 
 resurrection power. We are witnesses that that spirit 
 which gave life once, is giving life still and abundantly 
 and universally. How many hast thou already set free I 
 We go back in thought from age to age, and trace the 
 Bourse of thy struggling church, for which we give 
 ihee devout thanks. We go back to the days of its 
 beginnings and feebleness, and we find thee there, 
 rescuing from fear, from sorrow, from trouble, and from
 
 186 BKECHBE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 the domination of the world, those who since, through 
 long ages, have dwelt with thee in glory. So long are 
 they in heaven, that were it not for the endless gratitude 
 of love, they might have forgotten that they lived upon 
 the earth. 
 
 Behold how, through the long, struggling ages, thou 
 hast not left thyself without a witness and a people ; and 
 thou hast still a witness in thy people to thy power 
 both to forgive sin and to deliver the soul from it. More 
 than we can remember, thousands and tens of thousands, 
 thousands upon thousands innumerable, filling and still 
 augmenting the vast multitude ; more than the stars, or 
 the sands upon the sea-shore, are they who by faith of 
 Christ have subdued the world and triumphed over it, 
 and mounted to glory. In heaven they know thee and are 
 known. They are thine own beloved ones. Forth from 
 thy soul issues that glorious welcome of love which for 
 every one is food and inspiration. With thee compan- 
 ionship never grows dull; with thee love is perpetual 
 and forever new. It neither wastes, nor expires, nor 
 grows old, nor knows weariness or shadow of turning, 
 but is sweeter with every growing year, and more full 
 of wondering transport, ministering to whatever is noble 
 and divine in the soul. And they have dwelt there, 
 augmenting in taste, in love, in all the dignities of purity, 
 and in the transcending elements of the divine life ; so 
 that they would not be known by their earthly compan- 
 ions ; nor would those that sigh, and pray, and doubt, 
 and fear, and long, know them to be themselves in their 
 heavenly estate. 
 
 And we thank thee that that number of redeemed ones 
 Is augmenting still ; we thank thee that it is a heaven 
 with room for all that the earth can ever send thither ;
 
 SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OP BELIEVERS. 187 
 
 that there is a place for every one which none other can 
 take. We thank thee that there are garments and 
 palms for every single sonl, though it be hoary in years, 
 or though it be an infant of days, thongh it be washed 
 out from immeasurable corruption, or though it speed 
 without stain or contamination out of life. For all and 
 every condition there awaits in heaven a robe, a place, 
 and a God. And there, in that eternal summer; there, 
 in those innumerable joys ; there, in that great company 
 of the redeemed, whose robes are washed in blood, and 
 made whiter than the snow ; there, in ranks, in cities, in 
 nations, in races, and in multitudes without number, they 
 dwell in holy liberties and in blessed experiences. In- 
 explicable to us in the world are they. 
 
 They are monuments, witnesses of thy goodness, com- 
 panions of thy glory, full of ineffable joy. Nay, we 
 conceive not nor have we the power to conceive of that 
 which shall describe the joy of those that are with thee 
 in heaven. And it is our earthly joy, though in low 
 measures adulterated, that we have sent thither those 
 that are companioning with thee. There, are those that 
 taught us. Our parents, revered and beloved, are at rest. 
 There, are our earthly companions many that forsook 
 us in childhood. We have seen them no more since, 
 but they have seen thee, and are with thee forever. 
 There, are our brothers and sisters, that went away 
 before we could go, having finished their tasks and been 
 called thither. There, are those children, whom with 
 frowns of grief we forbade to Christ, and would not per- 
 mit to go when they heard his voice, saying, " Come 
 unto me." Mightier was their love and thine than ours. 
 And though it broke our hearts, they went ; and we live 
 to give thanks ; and we visit them again in faith, and
 
 188 BBECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 behold their royalty, and feel that we are not worthy 
 now to touch their shoes' latchet. And there, are those 
 that hare been the companions of our manhood, our 
 brothers in toil and labors of love. There, are many 
 that were the founders of this vine and church, and that 
 wrought with us early, and bore the burden and heat of 
 the day, and did not despise the day of small things. 
 They rest from their labors ; their works follow them ; 
 and they are to-day blessed. 
 
 "We give thanks to thee, Lord our God, our 
 heavenly Father, that when we look through all these 
 that are martyrs and confessors, and apostles, and holy 
 ministers, and saints, and our own kindred, and our 
 children, and those that are dear to us as our own soul, 
 that still we are conscious that rising above them all, 
 and nobler, and drawing us with stronger love, thou, 
 the pierced one, dost still stand, saying to us from out of 
 the heavens : " Peace be unto you ;" still, to our eye, 
 reaching out the hands that were wounded for us, but 
 are mighty against all our wounds. Thou, Jesus, art 
 our soul's joy and delight. Whom have we in heaven 
 but thee ? There is none upon earth that we desire like 
 unto thee. We rejoice in thee. We worship thee. 
 We follow thee, and are grieved that our steps are so 
 short and so wavering and imperfect. We strive to 
 know thee. We rrourn the past. We set resolutions 
 and barriers between us and temptation. We call to 
 mind the victories of thy people of old. We call thy 
 grace to mind. We call to mind thy sovereign power, 
 which is working in us to will and to do of thy good 
 pleasure. We are as ships upon a stormy sea ; rising 
 and falling, we sometimes lose the sight of heaven ; but 
 in spite of winds we hold on. Though, as we are tossed
 
 SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF BELIEVERS. 189 
 
 and dashed to and fro, we often lose, beneath the sub- 
 merging waves that roll over us, the sight, yet we do not 
 lose faith. Thou art still our captain. Thou art our 
 leader our triumphant Saviour. Thy death hath set- 
 tled our life. We shall live because thou dost; or 
 because thou hadst power in dying to destroy death, and 
 didst trample it under thy feet. Thou didst work 
 wondrously, and thou wert victor. Thou didst come 
 forth, and rejoice all heaven in the anticipation of those 
 victories which were wrought by tnee in suffering, and 
 dying, and rising again, and ever living. 
 
 Now this is our faith and our hope : Jesus is risen ; and 
 is our Saviour our personal Saviour. He loves us more 
 than we love ourselves. He understands us better than a 
 mother understands the babe that she nourishes. He 
 knows all our ailments. He knows our sins, our easily 
 besetting sins. He knows every temptation, and every 
 suggestion of the devil. And he has shielded us. About 
 us thou art throwing thine arm of protection. Thou art 
 surrounding thy people with holy influences. Thou wilt 
 never leave them nor forsake them. They shall be vic- 
 torious. So long as that voice sounds from the heavens, 
 " Because I live ye shall live also," so long we have presage 
 and assurance of final victory. "We take up our cross and 
 follow thee. What is the cross since thou left it ? No 
 longer a burden, but more a staff and a stay to us. No 
 longer is there death in it, but life eternal. No longer 
 wounding, and shame, and disgrace, but honor, and in- 
 fluence, and glory, and immortality. We take it up and 
 we follow thee. We mourn that it is so slowly that we 
 follow thee; but we rejoice that we follow thee still. 
 And the victory we hail it ; we wait for it. 'Tis better 
 to depart and be with Christ than to live. No matter
 
 190 BBBCHEE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 i 
 
 what are the joys of the hour ; what can they be com- 
 pared to our Father's house and the soul's home among 
 its brethren in heaven ? 
 
 And now, grant this day, we beseech of thee, unto 
 thy people, a clearer vision than they have been wont to 
 have of that rest which remaineth for the people of God. 
 Cheer thy disciples. Those that quarrel by the way 
 teach them better. And may those that fear and doubt 
 find thee walking with them, and opening the scriptures 
 to them, so that they shall feel their hearts burning 
 within them. May those that know thee not, and weep 
 for thee ; may those that look thee in the face, and think 
 thee to be the gardener, hear thee speak their name to 
 them, so that their souls shall abound with consola- 
 tion ; and may they know that it is Christ that they are 
 looking upon. Hold not their eyes any longer ; but may 
 they see him who lives forever, that they may live. 
 
 Wilt thou draw near to any that have despised thee, 
 and that still despise. May they see what they are 
 doing. May they know what is the great sin of all their 
 sins in life that Christ should live and they be dead to 
 him. And we pray that thou wilt arouse many, and that 
 thou wilt bring them by the way of sorrow and peni 
 tence to Jesus, the soul's Saviour. 
 
 Bless those that are hearing thy voice calling unto them 
 as unto little children. May they not be impatient. May 
 they rejoice that Christ hath called them to a whole life of 
 learning. Day by day may they study new fidelities, 
 purity, truth, justice, simplicity, love, and laboriousness 
 in the cause of Christ. 
 
 Shield those that are in the midst of snares and 
 assaults of the evil one. Bless the young. Bless those 
 that are in the midst of life. Bless those that are
 
 SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF BBLIEVBBS. 191 
 
 advancing and coming into the shade and shadow oi 
 their days. May all feel thy presence, and every one 
 have ministered to him, this day, according to his neces- 
 sity, some portion from the table of thy royalty. 
 
 And grant thy blessing to rest upon the churches, and 
 upon thy cause in all this land, and around the world. 
 Fulfill those promises that seem so long to have lingered, 
 and bring in Jew and Gentile, and fill the earth with 
 thy glory. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit, shall be praises everlasting. Amen.
 
 OTX)snro PRATKB. 
 
 BLESSED ^aviour, wilt thou grant by the Holy Ghost that the trutt may 
 be applied, which has been spoken to-day, to every conscience, and to 
 every understanding, and to every heart. It is thine own work and thine 
 own truth, and thine own souls are these. We beseech of thee, Lord 
 Jesus, that we may not think that we desire their salvation more than 
 thou dost for all the desires that struggle in us, and seem overbearing 
 at times are but drops which have fallen from thy great heart; and we 
 do not plead for them as those that feel more than thou dost, but we 
 plead for them because thou hast permitted us to utter our desires in 
 the form of intercessory prayer. We rejoice that we may, and we beseech 
 of thee that thou wilt hear our cry, and answer and show mercy and for- 
 giveness, for thine own name's sake. Amen.
 
 RICHES OF GOD'S MERCIFULNESS. 
 
 An Earning Service. 
 
 OTTR heavenly Father we do not draw near to thee 
 as strangers ; we are not aliens from the commonwealth 
 of Israel ; we are thy children ; and though we cannot 
 come in justice with claims, yet in the realm of love we 
 do come to claim blessings. We come not with that 
 boldness which they have who are unsullied and have no 
 fear ; but we come with that boldness which thou dost 
 command, that confidence which we have in thy love to 
 us, that confidence and earnestness which is inspired by 
 a spirit of love in us toward thee. We beseech of thee 
 that we may have the manifestations of thy presence. 
 May we not seem to ourselves as those that speak in the 
 air, but rather as those that behold thee by the inward 
 sense, and speak to the presence of a loving Father. 
 
 Our wants, we scarcely know them, because thou art 
 beforehand with thy vigilant love and care. Our 
 troubles, they are oftentimes alleviated in the very com* 
 ing, or we are lifted up after their first shock out of them, 
 BO that before we begin to pray, thou hast begun to 
 relieve. Thou art always going before; and when we 
 follow thee, we find our footsteps walking in the path of 
 mercy. And thou art always doing exceeding abund- 
 antly more than we ask or think ; for when we ask for 
 temporal mercies, thou givest, in addition, spiritual mer-
 
 104 BEECH ER'8 PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 cies ; and as on earth when they brought unto thee, blessed 
 Jesus, the sick and the lame, thou didst heal them, and 
 then forgive them their sins, blessing them in their spirit 
 and in their body ; so when we ask of thee for divine 
 kindnesses, thou art wont to fulfill our petitions, both in 
 the substance and in the spirit. Thou art doing more 
 than we know. Not till we stand in heaven and behold 
 the inheritance, not till we there see the growths of all 
 those things which now we are sowing, shall we know 
 what abundant mercy thou hast shown unto us. 
 
 And now we render thee thanks for the tenderness 
 and delicacy with which thou art blessing us. Thou 
 couldst take thy goodness, and thou couldst prostrate us 
 with it ; thou couldst so come with kindnesses as to make 
 them burdens. Thou art doing good in ways so gentle, 
 in ways so common to our necessities, that thy very dis- 
 position and thy manner is itself a blessing. All thy 
 kindnesses and all thy assistances to us are wonderful, 
 but thy methods are full as wonderful. Thou art glori- 
 ous in holiness; but thou art wonderful in all the 
 methods of thy thought, and feeling, and administration. 
 Thou dost not sit to control the earth by wide-sweeping 
 laws, which thou dost touch but at the point of inspira- 
 tion ; thou art thyself mingling in universal human 
 affairs. All events are thy thoughts, and all things are 
 under thee ; and as we can stand in the midst of com- 
 plicated affairs, serene, holding them all and guiding a 
 thousand intricate things, so thou, upon the greater 
 sphere, canst behold the flow of time toward eternity ; 
 and universal affairs are all simple, and plain, and easy 
 to thee. Thou bearest up creation without weariness, 
 and art not fatigued by ages, though thou slumbereet 
 not nor steepest, nor in any way takest rest.
 
 RICHES OP GOD'S MEBCIPULNESS. 195 
 
 O Lord, our God, we do feel that we are made honora- 
 ble by bowing down before thee ; this is our lifting np ; 
 this is our exaltation ; and when we humble ourselves, 
 and are abased, then most are we lifted up into glory 
 and honor. 
 
 We beseech of thee that thou wilt draw every one in 
 thy presence to thee by thy loveliness. May thy good- 
 ness lead them to repentance. Wilt thou help those 
 that are struggling to obtain a nearer view of thee. 
 There are many that obtain but glimpses and at rare 
 intervals ; there are many that complain that they can- 
 not find thee in thy word, nor do they behold thee in 
 daily affairs, nor do there come to them those moods and 
 meditations in which other men find thee revealed. 
 Now we beseech of thee that thou wilt hear the prayer, 
 whether uttered or thought, of such ; and as thou hast a 
 blessing sent forth and never revoked for them that 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness, so grant we 
 beseech thee that they may be satisfied of thy fall- 
 ness. 
 
 And if there are any that are troubled with doubts, or 
 are baffled, that are driven hither and thither, that come 
 almost to the port of peace, and then with contrary and 
 adverse winds are driven off again, O Lord we beseech 
 thee that thou wilt rise where thou seemest to sleep. 
 Let them behold that thou art in the ship, and that they 
 may not be afraid of the elements ; speak to them that 
 they may be at peace. Draw near to all those that seem 
 to themselves almost forsaken of God ; lift them up out 
 of the lower plain of selfishness in which they judge thee 
 in relation to the occurrences of life, that they may see 
 that the events of this life do not center in them or in 
 their selfish views, but that they themselves are compos-
 
 1^<J BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTION*. 
 
 ing a part of the great history in which thon art adminis- 
 tering for the good of all, for each and for all. 
 
 May we not sink away and droop into faintness and 
 weakness by reason of thy dealings with ns ; may we feel 
 that we are more beloved of God than our children are of 
 us ; yea, that thy regard for us is infinitely greater than our 
 own regard for ourselves. "We that are full of selfishness 
 and ignorance, we that are nursed in conceits and follies, 
 we that do not know how to love ourselves wisely and 
 well, how much more are we beloved by thee that 
 knowest altogether what we are made of, that knowest 
 all our career in time and in eternity. "We rejoice that 
 thou dost administer upon the great circles of thy 
 wisdom and goodness, and not upon the petty marks 
 which we make for ourselves. Go on and deal with us 
 as thou wilt : THY WILL BE DONE. 
 
 O Lord, our God, thou dost sometimes bring us to the 
 point of vision where we can see thee, at least dimly and 
 distantly, and then it is not difficult to say " Thy will be 
 done ;" but we long to wear this spirit as a garment, we 
 long to sanctify common events and experiences by 
 learning to feel that they are of God. We long to know 
 that there is a wisdom under us that is better than our 
 own, that there is a controlling power and a divine love 
 beating like blood through all the veins of life and time. 
 We long to know that all things are fashioned and 
 directed by our Father's hand, so that we may meet 
 every new combination and every change of affairs with 
 the feeling that it is best and wisest because divinely 
 guided. S.o make it easy for us every day, in every 
 thing, and every where, to accept the revelations of thy 
 Providence as the teachings of thy thought and of thy 
 wisdom.
 
 ETCHES OF GOD'S MEBCOTJLirESS. 107 
 
 We pray that thou wilt help us in our various situa- 
 tions of life to bear the burdens that thou dost caL us to 
 bear ; and though we may ourselves be instrumental in 
 bringing those burdens upon us, thou art employing 
 them as moral instruments, thou wilt by them help us in 
 the end. May those that are weak be helped of God, in 
 those troubles that spring from weakness, whether of 
 mind, conscience, or affection. May all those that are 
 in the midst of sickness, of troubles and pain, find thee 
 a present help in those necessities. May those that are 
 bereaved, find that 'God is an able physician for this 
 trouble ; and may those who desire to get rid of their 
 difficulties understand the sweetness and depth of the 
 promise : " My grace shall be sufficient for thee ;" and 
 may they more and more find out the sacred lesson of 
 bearing. 
 
 May we, O Lord, find strength in enduring things 
 which at first we utterly despised and hated. May we 
 know how to make our lower nature serve faithfully, 
 cheerfully, and gladly, our higher; and in all things may 
 we accept the overrulings of our lower experience, of 
 our physical sensations, of our earthly connections, and 
 of our time interests, in behalf of generosity, magnani- 
 mity, purity of life, spirituality, and the hope of God 
 and heaven. And we beseech of thee that thus we may 
 be led every day as in a Sabbath, finding rest every 
 hour, and every where a sanctuary, and our heart a 
 perpetual altar, and every affection sweet incense. 
 
 We beseech of thee for those that are in our midst 
 this morning, strangers to us ; grant that they may be 
 made welcome as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ in 
 this household of faith, since they have found here their 
 Father. May we look upon them as brethren, and may
 
 108 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 we rejoice together in sacred song, in the communion of 
 the truth, in fellowship one with the other of prayer and 
 of praise. May they feel that in this wilderness of life 
 thou hast appointed this home for them, this strange 
 place of meeting with their kindred, and may they go 
 hence blessed. May all the desire of all our hearts rest 
 upon every one of them, and may they have the blessing 
 of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and the people of God upon 
 them ; and if they are strangers in a strange land, full of 
 home-sickness, remember them and comfort them. O 
 Lord, if they look back to those that they scarcely dare 
 name or think of for heart-yearnings, both sanctify their 
 affection and its affliction, and bless them for whom 
 they desire blessings. 
 
 Be with any, native or foreign, who may consider 
 themselves wanderers, that scarcely know father or 
 mother, or brother, or sister, or friends, or kindred, and 
 who account themselves driven as the idle seed in the 
 air of summer. O Lord, we beseech thee that they may 
 find themselves connected by Christian faith and love 
 with those that are the children of God, and we shall 
 become brothers and sisters to them. Reclaim those 
 that are wandering from rectitude. If any are beginning 
 to step aside, thou seest it, though no other eye in the 
 universe knows it; there is not one that escapes thy 
 vigilant gaze. Throw thine arms of protection around 
 them at the beginning of evil, and turn them back in- 
 stantly, and give them a firm determination to do evil 
 no more. Rescue those that are gone down apace in the 
 evil way, and bring back those that are nearly helpless 
 and hopeless, and to human instrumentality quite given 
 up. 
 
 And we beseech thee to be with the poor and the
 
 BICHES OP QOD*8 MERCIFULNESS. 199 
 
 ignorant, and with all those that are oppressed by 
 avarice and position. Be with all those that are suffer- 
 ing from the bondage of civil laws and dynasties and 
 governments ; and we beseech of thee that this race of 
 man, that for so long a time has groaned and travailed 
 in pain, may at length emerge and go forth into the joy, 
 light, and liberty of the children of God ; and the earth 
 see thy salvation. And to thy name shall be the praise, 
 Father, Son, and Spirit Amen
 
 CLOflWQ PRATOL 
 
 WILT thou follow with thy blessing the word spokes, our heavenly 
 Father. May it be a word in time ; may it be a word of excitement, a 
 word of relief. Grant, we beseech thee, that divine power may rest upon 
 every heart and conscience, by which they shall be set free from fear, 
 and deliver us all from bondage. May we love men, but not fear them ; 
 may we have that sovereign fear of God that shall set us free of all other 
 lower fears, and so bound to thee may we be able to go in perfect har- 
 mony with heaven, though surrounded by all the defects of earth and 
 time ; and may we have that contentment which they well may have who 
 have the Spirit of God with them, who have the testimony of their own 
 conscience that, with sincerity, diligence, and singleness of purpose, they 
 are seeking to fulfill the law of God. Wilt thou bless us as we go from 
 this place of worship ; go with us to our homes ; deliver us from all 
 thoughts that are inappropriate to the rest and joy of this day, and at 
 last bring us to thy kingdom in heaven, which we ask, for the Redeemer's 
 aaka. Amen.
 
 PATERNAL CHARACTER OF GOD. 
 
 AS EVENING PBAYEB. 
 
 thank thee, our heavenly Father, that thou hast 
 not ordained it that they that approach thee should come 
 with a perfect heart and a perfect utterance ; then only 
 those that are ripened in the very light of thy counte- 
 nance and in the everlasting summer of heaven could 
 ppeak to thee. But what do they need of prayer? 
 Why should they call out who are without temptations, 
 without sorrow, without any weakness, without infirmi 
 ties and trials ? It is those that are tossed below that 
 need to speak to thee, and if thou wouldst accept no 
 offering of our lips but a perfect offering, we should be 
 dumb. Blessed be thy name ! thou dost hear with thy 
 heart ; thy pity listens, and thy compassions, that mercy 
 which has spared and spares still, that goodness that 
 loves to find a way of excuse and release and relief, that 
 grandeur of divine paternity and a father's pity for an 
 erring child, thou hast for every one of us. And we 
 draw near to thee to-night, encouraged with this thought. 
 Lord, thou hast taught us in the very first word of that 
 uttered prayer, to say, " Our Father," and in that way 
 to forget the dreadfulness of a monarch's unapproachable 
 augustness. 
 
 So we come to thee as to our Father. "We know not 
 ourselves, nor the way of our own lives. In the things 
 
 9*
 
 202 BBECHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 where we have knowledge we stumble and fall, but like- 
 wise we stumble and fall for lack of vision. We are walk- 
 ing in a strange and unknown world ; thou hast not been 
 pleased to let us see what there is in to-morrow ; thou 
 hast obliged us to steer oftentimes upon the troubled sea 
 amidst tempestuous influences, and we are perpetually 
 falling into trouble by reason of our ignorance or our 
 very limited sight. We thank thee that thou dost look 
 upon all this and share what we are, and that we are 
 ourselves under the vigilance and sleepless care of thine 
 own watching and providence. Thou dost take our 
 thoughts and feelings and their resulting actions, and all 
 of them are compared again by thee, so that all things 
 work together for the good of them that love God. 
 Thou art not weary with us when we fall by reason of 
 our own sin, which is daily ; thou knowest how to spare 
 that thou mayest heal. We are ourselves witnesses to 
 thy sparing mercy ; if thou hadst been just in thy indig- 
 nation, as thou mightest have been, we should have been 
 cut off long ago and no longer cumbered the ground, but 
 thou hast had mercy, and thou dost delight in mercy, and 
 those that might justly be cast off from thy care thou 
 dost cherish with wonderful patience and love. 
 
 Lord, we thank thee for thy kindness, for thy 
 patience, for all thy wonderful forgiveness, and for thy 
 unwearied love that nourishes whom it might destroy. 
 Now we pray that a sense of God's goodness may lead 
 us to repentance ; may we not be willing to receive all 
 bounties and requite all ingratitude? may we not be 
 willing that God should surround us with ten thousand 
 mercies unnamed and unmentionable, and that we should 
 walk amidst them all only to grow more selfish and 
 proud. May we requite thee according to thy mercies
 
 PATERNAL CHARACTER OF GOD. 203 
 
 and goodness, and though we cannot measure with any 
 thought or feeling of ours, the bounty of our God, yet 
 may we love thee, and seek by loving obedience for com- 
 placency in us. Turn us to thyself ; let the light of thine 
 own image shine in us, and behold thine own lineaments 
 developing in us, and carry on the work until its con- 
 summation and our victory. 
 
 "We pray, O most merciful Father, that thou wilt 
 have mercy upon those that are weak. "We need to be 
 born as little children, and borne with; teach us pa- 
 tience, and teach us how to edify one another. "We pray 
 that thou wilt give light to all that are in perplexity and 
 darkness. Open a way for those that find themselves 
 shut up and know not whither to turn ; that seem alone, 
 with none to whom they can go for counsel ; be thou 
 more than friend or friendship to them, and may they 
 feel that there is one ear that always hears and one mind 
 that never forgets. Thou that dost bear time in thine own 
 heart, thou that dost wear out the spheres with the 
 freshness of thine enduring youth, O do thou teach them 
 that thou art always a refuge and a friend, and an ever- 
 lasting protector. Are there any declining in life ? Do 
 they feel infirmities come upon them outwardly ? "We 
 pray that as the outward man perishes the inward man. 
 may be renewed day by day,* and as they leave in their 
 advance earthly things behind them, may they be to 
 them as to those that draw near, after long being upon 
 the sea, to their native land, and all the sweet odors of 
 the earth come forth upon the deep to meet them, and 
 all the mingling influences of growing things open to 
 those that are drawing near to heaven ; if they are 
 coming upon the shore in the darkness of the night, may 
 
 * In presence of the paator's aged father, Dr. Ly man Becher.
 
 204 BBKCHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 there be a sense of what is coming ; may they have fore- 
 tastes and sweet-wafted influences that shall cheer them 
 and comfort them. 
 
 Glorify thyself in the lives of all thy people; make 
 them more and more holy that they may be a 
 blessing to men. Deliver them from vanity and osten- 
 tation, from spiritual pride, and from all things that are 
 offensive and untrue before God or men. Make them 
 full of all kindness and gentleness ; may thy people love 
 one another, and so with a spirit of unfeigned love bring 
 on that final day of glory, when all thy church on earth 
 shall be one, when there shall be no more divisions, 
 where the heart shall be united and sanctified by the 
 Spirit of God. Wilt thou hear us in our petitions, and 
 answer us for Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 TRIUMPHS OVER SIN AND DEATH. 
 
 Sabbath Homing. 
 nrvooATioK. 
 
 OTTB heavenly Father, thou hast invited us by all the words of persua- 
 sion that stand from age to age unexhausted in thy word; and thou art 
 inviting us by our own wants recurring every day, and by all the smiling 
 prospects of this morning in which thou hast sent forth the sun to repre* 
 sent thee, the Sun of Righteousness risen with healing in thy beams. 
 And we draw near to thee, made welcome by thy Spirit to rejoice in thy 
 presence, to receive from thee those gifts which every hour we need. 
 And now we pray, since thou hast opened the doors of thy temple and 
 made us welcome here, that thou wilt grant us the evidence of thy favor 
 in the enlivening of all our gracious affections. May we find that our 
 feelings and thoughts and imaginations are lifting themselves up to greet 
 theo, and bearing witness that thy Spirit is here. Sanctify to our use thy 
 word. Bless us in the holy communion of prayer; bless us in singing 
 the sacred song; bless us in our meditation and speaking and listening; 
 bless us here and at our several homes, and may the whole day be a day 
 of advancement heavenward. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE BEEMON. 
 
 THOU dwellest in light and glory, O onr Father ; we 
 dwell in darkness; our light has not yet come, and 
 although thou hast sent some beams to guide us, we 
 walk in the twilight yet, and wait for the rising sun of 
 our salvation. Thou art surrounded by the whole estate 
 of the blessed. What are their joys, we know not; what 
 are their glories and dignities, doth not yet appear. "We 
 know that we shall never reach the circuit of heaven by
 
 20C BEKCHKB'S PirLprr DEVOTIONS. 
 
 our imaginations thereof, and that nothing that is high 
 and noble and pure can be exaggerated. We know that 
 when we behold that which now our mortal and fleshly 
 eye cannot see, it will be more glorious than we have 
 thought; not less. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 oor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the 
 things which thou hast reserved for them in the blessed- 
 ness of heaven. 
 
 We are glad for those that go, going forth by per- 
 mission by the door of life and death. We are glad for 
 those whose work is completed ; who rest from it ; whose 
 life is purified upon this sphere, and begins to blossom in 
 the other. We rejoice likewise for those that remain, 
 whose work being done, they tarry only till thy conve- 
 nience sends for them. How many are there whose vaca- 
 tion is at hand, who know that erelong the welcome sound 
 shall come, " Child, thy Father sendeth for thee !" We 
 rejoice that in this company are so many that themselves 
 think not of it. Now is their salvation nearer than when 
 they believed, or than they now believe. We rejoice 
 that thou art taking from out of the company of sinful 
 men, and from the midst of troubles in this life, one and 
 another into the dear delights of their Father's kingdom. 
 They that sang here are to-day singing more sweetly 
 above. We thank thee that redeeming power and grace 
 are not exhibited alone in the final consummation and in 
 the uplifting exhibition which thou wilt make to all the 
 world ; thou art exhibiting day by day, to those that have 
 a heart to understand and an eye to behold, the triumphs 
 of redeeming love. We behold round about us thy work 
 beginning, and thou art showing thyself to be the author 
 of faith. 
 
 We rejoice that so many among us are beginning to
 
 TRIUMPHS OVEB BIN AND DEATH. 207 
 
 dawn into the kingdom of God's glory, and into the com- 
 munion of the invisible world, and into the life that 
 stands upon these eternal and invisible things ; and thou 
 art also consummating thy work. We behold on every 
 side those who are growing in grace and in the know- 
 ledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and who are 
 becoming more lovely, in that they are showing to us 
 more and more what Christ is, by their sweet self-denial 
 that glows with all the glories of piety and blessedness, 
 and teaches us how joyful it is to deny ourselves in love 
 for others. By their patience, by their meekness, by their 
 love, by all the things that they do like their Master, 
 they are teaching us of him. And we thank thee that 
 there are so many of them, and that thou hast planted 
 them in so many families. 
 
 We thank thee that thou hast appointed the Gospel to 
 be preached in so many ways besides the exposition of 
 the letter. We rejoice that thou hast living epistles 
 borne about in every part of human life, and everywhere 
 declaring the truths of God. We rejoice that even the 
 root is so fragrant and sweet, growing upon the earth 
 and blossoming only in heaven ; we rejoice that the very 
 beginnings of gracious affections and true Christian 
 character here are so noble and so satisfying. 
 
 And now, O Lord, we beseech of thee, that thou wilt 
 make every one of us put before us the glory of Christ 
 Jesus. May we look upon him as our model ; may we 
 take him as our Saviour ; may we rest in him and receive 
 the power of God through our faith. We beseech of 
 thee that every one of us may look for the coming of 
 that glorious day of deliverance from sin, and perfection 
 in holiness. May we live, not only as seeing him who is 
 invisible, but may the world of glory never be below our
 
 208 BEBCHKB'S PULPIT DBvonoira. 
 
 horizon, and may it always shine as the guiding star. 
 
 Teach ns every day to measure the things of this world 
 and of time, by the thought and the measure of thy sanc- 
 tuary. Deliver us, from despondency and doubt, and 
 may we become strong in the Lord. Deliver us from 
 overweening conceit and from vainglory. May we glory 
 in our God ; may the life that we live in the flesh be the 
 life of Christ in us ; may we rejoice more and more in 
 the nutriment of sweet affections and in all the graces 
 which are brought forth in us by the divine Spirit. "We 
 beseech thee that not only we may thus live, but may 
 we be able by our affection, and sympathy, and labor to 
 bring others with us. May every one of us be able to 
 carry with us bright bands of friends, marching together 
 with one step along the same road to the same hope, and 
 to the same forelooking. 
 
 "We beseech of thee that we may feel every day that 
 we are growing richer. May we every day feel that age 
 is not deprivation ; and that all the signs and tokens 
 which come of weakness the failure of one sense and 
 another, the weakening of one part of this mortal body 
 and another, are but the premonitions of the strik- 
 ing of the tents in the camp of the wilderness ; and may 
 we see in these things but the preparations for going for- 
 ward to cross the Jordan into the promised land. 
 
 May we look less and less wistfully upon the things 
 that are and are taken hold of by our senses ; and more 
 and more may we rejoice in the things that are not to 
 other men, and are to us by faith. May we not be afraid 
 for those, around about whom are the everlasting arms, 
 and for whom is an eternal salvation. May we look forth 
 from out of all things, saying undauntedly, " If God be for 
 us, who can be against us ;" and so established and con-
 
 TRIUMPHS OVKB SIN AND DEATH. 209 
 
 firmed, may we approve ourselves before thee and rejoice 
 thee. Give it to us to make our Father glad ; and we 
 beseech of thee, that thus, day by day, we may live in 
 this divine communion and in the fruition of these 
 spiritual things. 
 
 But, Lord Jesus 1 Divine Saviour ! this must be thy 
 work. To will is present with us, but how to perform 
 we know not. We are very weak, we are very ignorant. 
 The things even which we know, we do not do; the 
 things that are good we do not realize, and the things 
 that are evil we perform, and we exceedingly need thy 
 forbearance, thy grace, thy sustaining help. And this 
 morning we take hold of thy promises; thou hast de- 
 clared that thou wilt abide with us ; thou hast declared 
 that thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us. . Thou hast 
 sent thy servants to declare that, having given thine own 
 life, thou wilt with thyself give freely all needed things ; 
 and therefore, out of our weakness we lift ourselves up, 
 still crying, Forget us not, O our Father ; neither leave 
 us in our sins, nor forsake us in our iniquities, but draw 
 us with sweet forgiveness, with all blessed promises, with 
 all brighter and brighter shining hopes. Draw us toward 
 thee, and being quickened, may we help each other. 
 
 May we not live among our fellows steeling ourselves 
 more and more, and growing harder and harder by the 
 experience of worldly want, but may we grow more and 
 more like God and heaven ; and to the end grow more 
 gracious, helpful, and sweet-minded ; and, when at last 
 thou hast served thyself by us, may we fall asleep in 
 Jesus and find it no sleep, but ey.erlasting waking in 
 Jesus. And when we stand before thee to see ourselves, 
 that we are wearing thine image, and that we are like 
 unto thee, when we stand before thee at last satisfied,
 
 J10 BEECHEB'S PIJLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 after all restlessness, tossings, and yearnings unutterable, to 
 know the full meaning of that word satisfied^ we will give 
 the praise of our salvation to the Father, to the Spirit, 
 and to thee, O faithful Saviour, evermore. Amen. 
 
 CLOSING PRATER. 
 
 OCB Father, we beseech of thee, add the blessing of thy spirit to the 
 word spokeii, and grant that it may not be in vain that it is spoken. May 
 we all of us take heed. May we search our hearts and our motives. 
 May we look into our desires and aspirations and ambitions. May we 
 examine everything that is active within us, to know whether it is in the 
 way of right and duty and purity, and whether it is tending upward to- 
 ward God, or whether it is tending downward and growing stronger in 
 selfishness and pride and wickedness. that we may hasten, by repent- 
 ance and reformation, to escape from the results of sin and from sin itself. 
 
 Grant that those in thy presence who are in much peril the young, 
 and those who are hi the midst of the whirl of giddy life may be 
 apprized of their danger. that the immortal truth of the moral 
 government under which they live might come down upon them. make 
 them feel what is the blessedness of purity and virtue and faithfulness in 
 the service of God and his cause. Make them to fear the awfulness of 
 temptation and sin. that there might be reformation among those that 
 are wicked. that those that have begun to reform might add to theii 
 speed and to the earnestness of their endeavor. 
 
 Lord God, revive thy work in the hearts of men. Prepare thy servants 
 to labor for thee and their fellow-men. Wake up all that have the faith 
 of Christ in their souls. May they be shining lights in the world, that 
 others seeing them may be led to thee. Hear these our petitions, and 
 answer them, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHALL BE. 
 
 Sdbbafh Morning. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE thank thee for more mercies than we can number, for thou, God, 
 art a Father, and we know that we are thy children, because on every 
 side we have the tokens of thy love, thy patience, thy care and faithful- 
 ness. And we desire to recognize thee more perfectly in thy gifts ; and 
 since we are weak and thou art strong, since we are poor and thou art rich in 
 all excellence, since we are feeble and undiscerning and thou art clear and 
 penetrating afar off, knowing the end from the beginning, we come to thee, 
 that we may receive something of thy fullness, for the promise is that 
 thou wilt give liberally wisdom and all good gifts to them that ask ; and 
 we believe the promise, and we come with unfaltering faith asking thee to 
 do that for us which we need. Prepare us for the reading of thy word ; 
 prepare us to take from it all the fullness and sweetness of its meaning ; 
 prepare us to speak it ; and to enlarge and apply its truths to our actual 
 want ; prepare us to accept it. Grant us nearness of approach to thee in 
 prayer ; may we take hold, not of the hem of thy garment but of thine 
 outstretched hand ; yea^peradventure, there be some that thou wilt take to 
 thy very bosom like the favored disciple, that they may rest their head 
 there. Prepare us to sing thy praises. "We rejoice before thee ; we thank 
 thee that we can sing and praise thee together in the sweet fellowship of 
 mutual love and of love to God. Help us to approach thee in prayer ; 
 make the way easy, and inspire us with right thoughts and right words ; 
 and so may thy bountiful blessing rest upon the exercises of the sanctuary, 
 and follow down hence through all the hours of the day wherever they 
 may be spent. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOU hast lifted up the light upon the earth and 
 caused the day to know the time of its going forth. We 
 thank thee that thou hast also lifted the clear light of the
 
 212 BBECHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 sun upon our earthly way, and hath revealed unto us 
 both the darkness and the light, so that we no longer 
 are dim, as they that dwell in twilight. To us that 
 sat in darkness hath arisen a great light. How short our 
 life is, if we have no life but this ! How are we spent 
 before we are ready to begin ! How, in all our early 
 need, .do we grope for knowledge, and find ourselves 
 possessed of skill, and experience, and some discipline of 
 affection only when our faces are begun to be veiled in 
 age, and we are treading down to the grave ! 
 
 Our life is too short for much of labor ; and since the 
 world began, each man has but thrown his mite into the 
 treasury, nor knew where it went ; nor lived to see 
 where it should be placed in the great temple which 
 God builds in time. We are not permitted to live for 
 ourselves, and to say : " Eat, drink, and to-morrow die." 
 We are not permitted to forget that we have powers that 
 should call for our highest exertion, and yet we come so 
 slowly to any skill and power. The period of working 
 is so short, and freighted with so many interruptions, and 
 broken into too many times before it is at all used. We 
 are so like tapers that burn at longest but for the hours 
 of the night, but are blown out by rude winds that strike 
 , through at any hour ; we are so weak in our individual 
 selves, and they with whom we associate so uncongenial 
 often, that our life seems a strange mockery. 
 
 We wonder why we were born into such a fate, and 
 being born, why things were not better why there was 
 not more impulsion for good, and less drawing toward 
 inevitable evil. And if there was no light but that which 
 our own minds could bring, we could cheer ourselves 
 with but little that would be worthy of a thought, and 
 our life itself would be our sadness ; and death good, only
 
 WB KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHALL BB. 215 
 
 as extinguishing sorrow. But now life and immortality 
 are brought to light ; now, this whole life is but the gray 
 morning, and not the day itself. 
 
 Here it doth not even appear what we shall be. Here 
 we know not our own leaves, nor blossoms, nor fruit. 
 This is not our soil ; for, as the things that are sown in the 
 winter, to be transplanted when the summer shall come, 
 do not know their own home, nor recognize what they 
 shall be, confined and shut in; so, we are but being 
 brought forward, to be turned out into full soil and branch- 
 ing room when thou shalt give us planting in heaven. 
 Now, though we take the wings of the morning and fly 
 to the uttermost parts of the earth yea, though we wing 
 ourselves with faith and imagination, and, touched of 
 God with sacred inspiration, go like flames upward, and 
 think into heaven itself, it doth not yet appear: yea 
 though we take the sweetest assurances of affection and 
 augment them by the power of our imagination, and sur- 
 round ourselves with the returning virtues of all whom 
 we loved, with the glorified friendship of those whom 
 our hearts have touched in life, though we kindle on the 
 altar of our heart by imagination all high and generous 
 purposes, it doth not yet appear what we shall be. 
 
 "We know not our glorified faculties ; we know not 
 what this sense of right, this conscience that gropes 
 so darkly on earth, and punishes more than it gives 
 reward, what it shall mean when thou shalt give liberty 
 and sweet fruition and comfort of good. We know 
 not, when the tide of God's nature shall roll divine 
 beneficence through our faltering feeling of benevolence, 
 what shall that life be then. We know not, when all our 
 tastes are quickened ; when all that is in our worship 
 and rejoicing therein shall have been purified and lifted
 
 214 BEECHEK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 up, ancl we ensphered among influences every one of 
 which touches for purity ; every one of which, touching 
 with joy and music, rises yet to blessings more and more ; 
 we know not what that life shall be in all its amplitude 
 and in all the infinite richness of its details ; but this we 
 know, that it will be enough, and that we may well bear 
 the discomforts of life. What to us, now is groping in 
 darkness, who know that the morning shall come? 
 What to us are burdens that seem to crush us to the 
 earth, who know that we shall not go down to the earth ? 
 What are sorrows that vex and interfere with the fair 
 pictures which our fancy paints here, who know 
 that we shall be lifted up above all tears which God 
 shall wipe from every eye ; and that we shall not walk 
 in terror, despised, oppressed, outcast, pursued with 
 varied misfortunes, but in the serene beatitudes of heaven, 
 kings and priests, where the king shall be without power 
 of oppression and the priest shall be without circumscrip- 
 tion and limitation ; where we shall be sons of God, 
 standing in the joint inheritance with him ? 
 
 Most precious Jesus, Our Saviour, we turn again, we 
 have looked into these things ; we take comfort even as 
 watchers that look toward the growing East to go back 
 to our tasks. We will let the day rise, nor trouble our- 
 selves how fast its hours come. We stand in our lot. 
 We thank thee for our birth. There are no troubles too 
 heavy ; there are no cares and sorrows too many ; they 
 are all sent of God. Thou that dost clothe the summer, 
 and take care of the very weeds ; thou that dost permit 
 the things that are noxious to us, but are wholesome to 
 themselves, to grow ; thou that dost take care of all the 
 insects that sing swarming in the endless multitudes of 
 creation ; thor that dost watch for the very birds ; thoa
 
 WI KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHALL BE. 215 
 
 that art the lover of the very minutest things, and with 
 vale and mountain dost muse and care for that which 
 thou dost create ; why should we be afraid since we are 
 named with thy name, since we are marked with the 
 signet of thy grace, since we have given our life into 
 thy hand, since our souls are in thy hands, since we 
 dwell in thy house, and are consecrated to thee, why 
 should we trouble ourselves and plough the furrows of 
 distress ? 
 
 Oh Lord our God, we beseech of thee that thou wilt 
 cause us to be full of joy as we should be ; to lift up the 
 eye of inspired faith ; to take hold of the hope by which 
 we are to be saved. Grant, we entreat of thee, that we 
 may walk henceforth more erect ; less bent as men that 
 carry burdens; less sordid and more and more stately, 
 for we are dependent upon the care of him that never 
 wilt leave us nor forsake us. 
 
 Are there any that have come up hither with burdens ? 
 Already have not they begun to relax ? Let the burden 
 roll off from every shoulder, at the foot of the cross ; may 
 they find rest where thou foundest burdened man wait 
 ing, and may we find nothing but lightness and joy. 
 We beseech of thee, if there are those that are called 
 hither this morning with great trouble of heart, great 
 afflictions, O may they find how bright even storms are 
 when the sun can but once reach them ; may they know 
 how to take their griefs, though they come like great 
 drops of rain and fall down like showers. O may they 
 know how to carry all their trouble to Christ ; or rather, 
 in the midst of the cloud and darkness may they discern 
 the form of another near them, and feel how rich they 
 are in poverty and sorrow by the side of whom Christ 
 etanda.
 
 216 BEKCHEE'S PULPIT DKVonoire. 
 
 O, Lord Jesus, what wondrous condescension ! O, what 
 is there in us, that thou shouldst take such pains to love 
 is ; that thou shouldst be willing to punish us ; that thou 
 fchouldst be willing to take the part of father or mother 
 and watch over our outgoings and incomings, reproving 
 us and teaching us the right way ; and that with many 
 experiences thou shouldst enforce thy rules, still follow- 
 ing after us to deliver us from our troubles ! How sacred 
 is this care of God over us who deserve nothing ; who 
 have no claim ; who are less than the least before the 
 mightiness of God; yet how dost thou make thyself 
 humble like us to dwell with the heart-broken. 
 
 O Lord ! thou art revealed in the majesty of thy 
 greatness, but more in the fruits of thy humiliation than 
 any thing else to our thought ; that thou shouldst weep 
 with us in our distresses ; that thou shouldst bind up our 
 broken hearts ; that thou shouldst cheer us in the midst 
 of fragmentary hopes ; that thou shouldst make the dis- 
 asters of this world reflect from so many faces of diamond 
 stones, each face a vision of heaven ; that thou shouldst 
 make us to see in our darkness ten thousand suns shining 
 afar off in the heavens ; that thou shouldst continue thy 
 way and never be weary, not forgetting more than the 
 mother her sucking child ; that this should be God 
 eternal, and everywhere, spreading abroad, filling 
 heaven and overflowing the earth; our God, in 
 whom we have a right, and whom we call Father ; who 
 lays sacred hands upon us day by day ; who numbers our 
 sleeping hours and watches our waking hours, who is 
 before us and behind us, and all round about us with 
 thoughts of grace and mercy ! O what wealth, what un- 
 deserved riches, what grace beyond all conception, is 
 thine to us !
 
 WE BLNOW NOT WHAT WE 8HAIX BJB. 217 
 
 And now, Lord God, thon doest not these things for a 
 reward. It is not that we can pay thee back with glad 
 thoughts and grateful affections, yet, for our own sake 
 may we love thee, and not to pay thee any thing. Thou 
 art too generous to think of return, for thy grace is a 
 gift, absolute and divine. O may we be unable to think 
 of such things and not have our hearts melt. May there 
 be such honor, may there be something like thee in us, 
 that shall be touched with all this grandeur of grace and 
 various divine mercy. May we feel after thee ; still 
 calling out in the darkness, as children waking in the 
 night call father, so may we call out for God ; and at 
 times, even if we do not hear thy voice, may there be a 
 form of a hand resting upon us, and that shall be enough ; 
 for we shall take hold of it, though it be in the dark, and 
 it shall guide us to the growing light ; for the day shall 
 come, and the release and triumph. Therefore, with this 
 firm hope and faith may we now go forward, not caring 
 what men shall do unto us. Ours is God, and we can 
 dispense with every thing else ; we fear thee, and there- 
 fore we fear no other one ; we love thee, and are un- 
 speakably rich therefor, though there were no other love 
 for us. We desire, therefore, O God, that we may be 
 upheld in our duties one toward another. Make our 
 households more like an altar, an offering, a church of 
 God. 
 
 We beseech of thee, O God, that thou wilt have com- 
 passion upon all those that do not know thee. Help us to 
 spread the blessings of this Gospel knowledge to those 
 that are without it. Look abroad upon this whole land ; 
 we believe it is thine ; make it a mountain of holiness, a 
 habitation of righteousness. O, thou that dost laugh 
 when kings confer how to despise thee, when rulers join 
 
 10
 
 218 BBECHEB'S PULPIT DBYOTIOXB. 
 
 themselves together, and wicked men make counsel and 
 confederation, thou that dost laugh at them, and smile 
 upon such in our time that do not deserve even derision 
 in their infinite feebleness have compassion upon them 
 that seek to make chains stronger than the law of God ; 
 that seek to bind those that are already hopelessly 
 crushed ; and that seek to make highways of iniquity 
 where God has cast up with sacred enginery the high- 
 ways of salvation. 
 
 O thou that in justice art full of love, overrule the folly 
 as well as the wickedness of men. Bring forth thy bright 
 decrees, and let righteousness begin to be glorious in the 
 sight of men, and rebuke every kind of wickedness. May 
 all the iniquities of injustice and oppression, may all the 
 misrule and untruth, may all selfishness and hardness of 
 heart, all arrogance, all avarice, and every thing 
 that has opposed thee, be rebuked both by thy provi- 
 dence and by the church of God ; and we beseech of thee 
 that thine own people may not be the last to recognize 
 the glory of holiness in human alfairs, but first and 
 chiefest. 
 
 Call forth witnesses, call thou forth those that shall 
 stand in human affairs for God, and may we be of their 
 number. May every one of us in his place be anxious, 
 and bear witness, not for the truth, nor for himself, but 
 for the God of truth and the cause of God in the church 
 upon earth. May thy kingdom come everywhere ; may 
 all nations see the salvation of God. The earth hath been 
 stranded ; and for want of water hath not been able to go 
 on its voyage. O thou in whose hands are the floods, 
 send down those waves that shall lift up thy ship and 
 give it channel and voyage again; and may the day 
 hasten when all around the earth, in the midst of light
 
 WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE SHALL BB. 219 
 
 and knowledge, the light of virtue and true civilization, 
 in Christianity ; when all around the earth among the 
 many-tongued people of this globe, there shall be but one 
 thought of peace, of gladness, of purity, of justice, of love 
 toward God and toward men, and the word of the Lord 
 fulfilled, that was uttered ages ago and is yet unfulfilled, 
 and the glory of the Lord fill the earth as the waters fill 
 the sea ; and to thy name shall be the praise, now and 
 evermore. Amen.
 
 PRATIR. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father, we beseech of thee that thou wilt grant thy 
 blessing upon the word spoken. Grant that we may have cheer from on 
 high. May we not look down into dungeons for daybreak, but away over 
 God's hills. May we look up where the stars are, and there, discerning 
 the signs of the morning, may we begin to rejoice. We beseech of thee 
 that thou wilt fill us with patience. Grant unto us open-eyed visions of 
 faith, and give us courage. Help us to say to doubt, " Get thee behind 
 me, Satan 1" and may it obey. And grant, we beseech of thee, that by 
 thine own royal power this land, suffering and bleeding, may be lifted up. 
 blessed God, as aforetime thou didst send angels to minister to him 
 that was bowed down, so send angels, we beseech of thee, to put to the 
 lips of this expiring land that heavenly wine which shall fill her again 
 with life, and with power to suffer more, if need be, that through suffer- 
 ing she may conquer. Lord, we leave this country in thine hand. It is 
 thine more than ours. Our love for it was lent by thee. If with our 
 little hearts we still do surge with such desires, 0, what must be the deep 
 desire of the great ocean of thy nature ? Why then should we lift our- 
 selves up to implead thee who art stirring us up with new zeals and new 
 desires ? We trust thee. Our hope is in thee. 
 
 0. thou who was the God of our fathers, and who art our God, we 
 plead for thy cause ; we plead for the cause of the poor and the father- 
 less, and the oppressed; we plead for the degraded of the common people; 
 we plead for the ignorant ; we plead for our enemies ; we plead for our 
 friends ; we plead for ourselves. Come, O Lord Jesus, long delaying, 
 pluck that veil from thy face which hides thy light; draw that hand 
 forth from thy bosom that covers the beating of thine own heart ; reach 
 out thy hand, nail-pierced, and show mercy to this land. Lead us through 
 judgment at last to redemption. And to thy great name shall be &L 
 praise and honor, for ever and for ever. Amen,
 
 GOD CUR REFUGE HEAVEN NEAR. 
 
 AN EVENING PRATES. 
 
 THOU, O God, hast made thyself a refuge for thy 
 people since the world began, and unto the end thou art 
 and shalt be a God full of tender compassion. Because 
 thou art strong, thou art not forgetful of the weak ; 
 because thou art pure, thou dost not despise the sinful ; 
 because thou art wise, thou dost not lightly esteem us in 
 our ignorance ; but the boundlessness of thy nature ia 
 addressed to us as a universal supply of our want. Thou 
 dost throw round about us the protection of thine own 
 being. In thee we live, and move, and have our being 
 and, although at times thou seemest to forget, thou never 
 dost fbrget ; and although at times thou seemest cruel, 
 thou dost not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of 
 men. Although thy yoke is harshly placed upon our 
 neck, and thy burden bound upon our shoulders, what 
 time thou pleasest thy yoke becomes easy and thy burden 
 light. 
 
 O God, we bear witness to the bounty of thy grace and 
 to its sufficiency ; as our day hath been so has been our 
 strength. Thou hast ministered to us. Thou hast not 
 taken sorrow away, for then we had lacked grace ; thou 
 hast not taken away from us weakness, for then we had 
 no longer been human ; but thou hast given thine own 
 shining self^ thy guidance, thy infinite patience, thy
 
 222 KEECHER'S PULPIT Dxronoire. 
 
 sympathy, by which we are drawn onward through all 
 ways of trouble. Thou hast given us to lean upon thee. 
 When faint, thou hast held us up; when fallen, thou 
 hast lifted us, even as a mother her little child ; when 
 wandering alone, it was thy step that sounded in the 
 wilderness thou didst come forth to seek and to save 
 the lost ; when famished, thou hast been the bread of 
 supply and sustenance; when sick, thou hast been 
 medicine to us and the physician ; thou hast nourished 
 us with a care exceeding all the tenderness of parental 
 love for what is there that is known under the name of 
 earthly relationship, what depth of love and continuance 
 of it, what variation of love to which men have put names, 
 that is more than a spark that has fled from the great orb 
 of thy being ? Thou art love, and all the fullness of thy 
 being comes forth to us, thy children, and in thee we are 
 strong and safe both now and for evermore. For if we 
 behold thee, Invisible One, then we can live; if we 
 behold not thee, then we die. With thee we are strong 
 for all things, but without thee weak. 
 
 We thank thee, thou blessed Saviour, for thy patience 
 with us, for the gentleness of thy being, for all the 
 encouragements of thy word, for all the remembrances 
 which thou hast caused us to have of thy faithfulness. 
 We take shame to ourselves for our ingratitude, our self- 
 ishness, our pride, our unspirituality and indifference to 
 God. We are ashamed of our fractious disobedience, that 
 we have rebelled again and again ; we are not worthy 
 to call ourselves by thy name, nor to abide in thine 
 house, nor to be as children in the presence of a father 
 but thou hast not heard and will not hear the word of 
 our renunciation. What time we plead our poverty, 
 what time we come abjectly to ask for the lowest place,
 
 GOD OUB REFUGE HEAVEN NBAS. 223 
 
 them dost throw about us the royal robe of forgiveness ; 
 thon dost put sandals upon oar feet and a ring upon our 
 hand ; thou callest for the preparation of the feast, and 
 we are received again in the estate of children in our 
 Father's house. "We thank thee that thou art giving thy 
 dwelling to every one of us. And now we make men- 
 tion in the assembly of thy faithfulness. We praise 
 thee, we adore thee, we worship with rejoicing in thy 
 presence. Our sin has been common, our weakness 
 common, our want and likewise our experience of thy 
 supernal bounty; and we have a common reason for 
 standing together in gladness to-night. "We express a 
 common want in our sinfulness and weakness, and a 
 common gladness in our thanksgiving and praises. Thou 
 hast not dealt with us according as we deserved ; thou 
 hast caused mercy to abound and superabound beyond 
 our desert. 
 
 Our chastisements have been fewer than our sins, and 
 when thou has mingled bitterness in our cup, thou hast 
 still forborne ; thou hast watched our need, ever taking 
 counsel of the generosity of thine own heart thou hast 
 dealt according to the measure that was in thee, and 
 not according to the measure of desert in us. Our souls 
 are glad in thee; thou shalt live forever, and because 
 thou livest, we shall live also, and all our way is plain 
 and smooth. We behold salvation waiting for us ; we 
 reach over by faith, we take hold of our crown of 
 victory. There remaineth a rest for us if by unbelief we 
 do not forfeit it. Ere long we shall take it. None shall 
 ha 7e our crown ; none usurp our place ; all the flowing 
 in of infinite numbers doth not fill up the places of 
 heaven. There is room for all ; room for us there is and 
 shall be.
 
 224 BKBCHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 We thank thee that thou art planting more and more 
 the tokens of its coming. As they that draw near to 
 populous cities see the swelling evidences thereof on 
 every side, beholding the throngs that come and go, 
 all the tokens of thickening habitation, so, thou art 
 causing us to behold the near approaches to heaven in 
 every day and on every side. The things that come to 
 us and the things that depart from us, the weaknesses 
 showing the giving out of strength and the taking down 
 of the tabernacle, the dimness of sight, the dullness of 
 hearing, the slowness of motion, the growth of pains 
 and infirmities, the weariness of life itself, the cessation 
 of more active duties, what are these but signals which 
 thou art giving to us, the yearning for rest, the longing 
 for those that are gone out from us, the sympathy with 
 the general assembly and the church of the first born 
 what are these but sweet and golden cords let down that 
 are drawing us in thine own pleasure, and we are drawn 
 of them toward thee ? Even so, come Lord Jesus, come 
 quickly. Thou art coming thou art drawing near to 
 us. 
 
 Aye, many of us thou art warning by thy very presence 
 in our dwellings ; thou art taking those from out of our 
 midst near to us, thou bringest them yet nearer to thee. 
 How can we help seeking God when his bosom is the 
 cradle of our children? How can we but know heaven, 
 when with tears and heart-achings we walk all round 
 about it to seek those that earth hath not any more but 
 in memory ; thou art making the way familiar, thou art 
 making it joyful. We are following in the path of those 
 that sang and prayed and labored with us, whom we 
 taught, whom we baptized, whom we led in life. Behold 
 how numerous and familiar is the population of heaven.
 
 GOD OUB BBFUGB HEAVEN 1TBAK. 225 
 
 since thou art taking it so much from around about us ! 
 Thus thou art making it easy to die ; thus thou art mak 
 ing it sure that we shall live again; thus thou art 
 changing sight to faith, which is far better. 
 
 O Lord, we beseech thee that we may not be as brute 
 beasts, nor insensitive to all the dealings of God with us. 
 May we not turn away with a cold philosophy from those 
 events of thy providence ; but may we grow riper and 
 richer and sweeter in affection, more heavenly in every 
 inflection of our life. O that the work were done and 
 that grace had complete victory! But thou knowest 
 when, and we do not. We scarcely understand our 
 own life nor its relations at all to the other world ; the 
 secret is with thee. But what time thou seest we are so 
 tempered, so cultured, so prepared that this dawning of 
 the life of the soul here may effulge and brighten in 
 heaven, then take us that there we may find ourselves 
 when we find thee, with that life which is hid with 
 Christ in God, then may we appear when he shall appeal* 
 in glory. 
 
 Bless as in our coming together again to-night. "We 
 thank thee for this Sabbath, we thank thee for past 
 experiences ; we would not let die the summer with the 
 going out thereof. We remember how thou hast com- 
 forted us, instructed us, given us growth. We remember 
 all the wondrous mercies that have at other times made 
 our hearts soft and moistened our eyes with tears. We 
 thank thee for the past, and wilt thank thee for ever- 
 more. We take courage ; we believe that thou wilt be 
 as thou hast been, only more abundantly, and we will 
 trust thee. Yea, though thou slay us, yet will we trust 
 thee, for thou art the living God, and all our life proceeds 
 from thee. Thou wilt quicken us, thou wilt uphold us, 
 10*
 
 226 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 even in dying ; and ont of death we shall come forth 
 more alive than ever before. 
 
 And now, we beseech thee, O Lord, that tliou wilt bless 
 not us alone. Remember all for whom we should praj 
 Semember the friends of our youth, our earthly instruct- 
 ors ; remember our parents, our brothers, our sisters, all 
 the dear friends that we have on earth ; and grant that they 
 may participate in the exceeding abundance and grace 
 of the blessings of our God. We thank thec that thou 
 hast sanctified our hearts, so that we can live with the 
 thought of immortality in every throb. We beseech 
 thee, bless us in the Sabbaths that yet remain ; may every 
 one of them be days of transfiguration, unobscured days 
 that we shall behold the eternal city, until at last the 
 sabbath of rest shall dawn that knows no sun-rising noi 
 sun-setting, the light of which shall be our God ; and we 
 will give the praise of our salvation in that eternal rest 
 to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 OCCASIONAL PBAYEKS. 
 
 NEW TEAR'S DAY. 
 
 INVOOATIOH. 
 
 Otra heavenly Father, we stand in this place consecrated by ten thou- 
 sand gifts of grace from thine hand. "We cannot look back; our way is 
 hedged up with mercies, and we stand upon the beginning of another 
 period of time, desiring to take encouragement from the past and to look 
 down into the future with full assurance of faith. Be pleased this morn- 
 ing, thou that art the head of the church and the Father of this household ; 
 be pleased to grant that this may be a year made happy indeed to every 
 one of us; may ours, we beseech thee, be all that wealth and benefaction 
 of mercy which is in Christ Jesus ; and hi the opening services of the day, 
 may we feel that thou art with us. May disturbing thoughts fly away 
 that the sweet composure of faith and love may steal upon us. May we 
 be filled with holy impulses and begin to spell that divinest name of 
 Father. May we know that thou art here because we are drawn out to 
 thee in loving aspiration and holy desire, and may thy word begin to shine. 
 No longer art thou the Infant of Days. We come not to thee as a babe, 
 but as a Prince and a Saviour. Thou art giving gifts from heaven. Grant 
 unto us gifts of grace to-day. Bless all the exercises of the sanctuary ; 
 help us every one to receive as from the hand of God, and so to improve 
 as becomes the children of God. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE rejoice, O thou that dwellest in heaven, that thon 
 art not confined in thy wisdom, in thy power, in thy 
 goodness, nor in thine administration, to the heavenly
 
 228 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 host. Throughout the whole domain, thou art the living 
 God, and thy wisdom and thy power are felt wherever 
 thou hast created. Nor art thou ever weary of thy 
 work, and the least thing that had the sovereign touch 
 of life remains forever before thee, and all the wants of 
 all the creatures that thou hast made rise up before thee 
 for perpetual supply. Thou givest liberally ; thou art 
 inexhaustible in thy nature and resources. We cannot 
 by searching, find out the nature of such an one, that 
 dwells in unslumbering care, that knows no variableness, 
 nor shadow of change, that outlives the passing genera- 
 tions of men, himself never old, forever young ; full of 
 goodness. And yet it is not so strange that thou 
 shouldst be so, though we cannot understand the fullness 
 thereof as that thou shouldst be a God of such tender 
 mercy, a God of such divine love. We cannot under- 
 stand how thou couldst bear us and carry us with such 
 longing affections, and find in us reason for thy love ; 
 how thou canst see that which is desirable in the midst 
 of so much pride and selfishness, so many passions, and 
 the hurtful ways to which they give rise. This is the 
 wonder and the love of Christ to sinful men. .The 
 mystery hid from ages, is an unsolved and unfathomable 
 wonder yet ; but we rejoice in believing that it is so, and 
 that the divine grace of love that fills the heavens is to be 
 the salvation of the earth. This is our hope. 
 
 It is not that we are strong, nor wise, but that thou art all 
 this for us. It is thy righteousness and not our own that 
 surrounds us ; it is thy love to us rather than the love 
 which we have to thee that encourages us; it is thy 
 faithfulness and not our own perseverance that lays the 
 foundation of our courage. We trust in God who is all 
 in all, for thou art, O Blessed One, first and last, includ
 
 NEW YEAR'S DAT. 229 
 
 ing all between ; thou art Alpha and Omega, and the 
 whole alphabet. All grace and mercy and truth is in 
 thee; and we rejoice in thee, not in ourselves, not in 
 aaan, not in institutions of religion, not in any thing that 
 .8 upon the earth. O, we rejoice in thee, that art the 
 fountain of all excellence, the Father of mercies, and the 
 God of all grace and goodness. We have had abundant 
 occasion to prove thee, and have put thee to proof, and 
 we bear witness that thou art he that doeth exceeding 
 abundantly more than we ask or think. Thy promises 
 are never so large as thy performances, thou art before- 
 hand with us ; and when we think that we are walking 
 in a desolate way, behold the footstep of God is before 
 us ; thou hast been there and prepared our way. 
 
 We rejoice to find thee on every side of us, and to 
 find that our life is hid in thee ; the secrets of it, the 
 duties of it, and the duration of it, are of thee. We 
 rejoice that we have such a friend, so gentle, so patient, 
 so persevering. And this is the wound and the shame 
 of our sin, that it is a disobedience and an unwilling ser- 
 vice of one so gracious and so full of all noble excellence. 
 We are ashamed when we reflect how little we have 
 requited thy love with our love; thy reasonable com- 
 mand with our filial obedience; we have sought each 
 one his own way ; we have had our own will and pur- 
 pose aside from thine and contradicting thine. O Lord, 
 we are unworthy of thy name or of thy favor ; we only 
 plead thy grace, saying, "God be merciful to us sin- 
 ners." 
 
 And now thou hast completed the mercies and the 
 history of another year ; thou hast advanced us to the 
 first day of this year upon which we are entering. We 
 would call upon our souls and all that is within us to
 
 280 BXECHBR'B PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 bless and to praise thy name for the goodness of the year 
 that has gone. Our record of it may have been of sin ; 
 our record of resolutions broken ; our record of time mis- 
 spent, of powers not legitimately used but turned aside 
 against our secret convictions, against our own con- 
 sciences, against the call of God's voice in us powers 
 not employed to their vast purposes and to their highest 
 ends. 
 
 Our record is indeed sadly blotted ; and tears and sor- 
 rows, hopes not fulfilled, and aspirations not met by 
 any adequate realization, fill our remembrance ; all on 
 our side is human, weak, and wicked. If we look only 
 to the year as we have marked it, it is not a year to be 
 remembered nor sighed after as something to be brought 
 back again ; but when we look at thy way with us, it is 
 a year robed in mercy, growing with every day, and 
 waning not one single hour. Thou hast made it a year 
 of divine love, of pardoning mercy, of gracious guidance. 
 Thou hast held us up and carried us in thine arms 
 even as a mother carries her little child. Thou hast 
 counseled us; thy rod and thy staff they have com- 
 forted us; thou hast whispered to us in the hours of 
 dullness and discouragement ; thou hast inspired us in 
 our wayward moments, and brought us back again by 
 ten thousand tokens ; thou hast showed thyself indeed 
 a guiding God and a Father. 
 
 "We thank thee for the ministration of the year. It 
 ias past and gone to the judgment, and hangs there 
 waiting our coming a record that we must yet again 
 know and read. And now we beseech thee, O Lora 
 God, by the patience which thou hast manifested, by the 
 gentleness which we have proved, by the grace which is 
 revealed of thee, and by all that is of goodness in thyself,
 
 OTBW TBAB'S DAT. 281 
 
 we beseech of thee, take charge of us for the year upon 
 which we have now entered. We are strangers to it ; 
 we do not know one single path ; we are pilgrims and 
 wander up and down in our several ways. Thou only 
 seest the light and the darkness alike ; thou only seest 
 the end from the beginning. Thou alone art perfectly 
 wise, and all things are in thine hands for merciful 
 administration. 
 
 We commend ourselves and families to thee for the 
 year upon which we are entering ; and we beseech thee 
 that thou wilt be gracious to us in our ordinary estate. If 
 it be thy rich pleasure confirm to us life, a life of labor and 
 usefulness. Bless us in our households ; bless us in our 
 social relations, and all our affections, and to one another, 
 and sanctify our love ; make it purer, nobler, and more 
 heavenly. Bless us in our several secular duties. May 
 we go abroad into all the relations of this life, carrying 
 the savor of the Gospel with us, sanctifying whatever 
 we touch, bearing about the name not only, but also the 
 disposition of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt bless us in our individ- 
 ual experiences. Some thou art just calling out of dark- 
 ness into light, and they are this year being bathed 
 with new hopes. Be gracious to them, and sustain them, 
 that no trouble may overtake them mightier than their 
 strength; that with every temptation they may have 
 rescue ; and that they may know that they have entered 
 this year with God the Father for their guide, Christ for 
 their Saviour, and the Holy Spirit for their enlightener 
 and sanctifier. 
 
 Confirm those that have been already some way ad- 
 vanced in the divine life and have had occasion to 
 prove thy mercies. We beseech of thee that they may
 
 239 BXECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 not be discouraged, nor turn back, nor refuse to beat 
 willingly such burdens as are needful for their culture. 
 May those that have been for a long time in thy service 
 and are ready to lay down their burdens, have still that 
 same nourishing care which has never left them from 
 their cradle until this day. 
 
 We beseech thee that they may already taste that 
 heavenly joy which is so soon to be theirs. Thou hast 
 taken from us not a few during the past year ; they rest 
 from their labors ; they are divided by the sense and by 
 the flesh from us that we cannot see them nor speak 
 with them any more; but they are not divided from 
 us in faith, nor in love, nor in joy. We tarry yet a little 
 longer; thou art translating this church, thou art aug- 
 menting the ranks of those in the heavenly state that are 
 glorified. O we thank thee that so many departing 
 leave behind the savor of a holy life and the testimony 
 of a triumphant death. We are comforted as we draw 
 near, believing that the same grace that gave them 
 victory, will give final release and victory to us. We 
 beseech thee, if there be any of us appointed unto death 
 in the year on which we have entered, may we not be 
 afraid. May we know what is the meaning of that sound 
 death; may we always hear the word Christ when it 
 is pronounced ; may we know that it is but that divine 
 presence calling ue home ; and may we feel every motion 
 of death to be but the throbbing of the heart of God. 
 May we long to depart to be in his bosom. 
 
 If any are sick, wilt thou graciously sustain and com- 
 fort them; visit them with thy salvation, and make 
 to-day their sick-chamber to be as light as the temple of 
 God. May they feel that thou art present, and may 
 Jieir joys be as choiring angels to them ; and may they
 
 JTEW YEAB'S DAT. 233 
 
 have occasion for thanksgiving even in their sick-chamber 
 and in their hours of seclusion. 
 
 Be with those that belong to us who are far away 
 Wherever they may be to-day, may it be a Sabbath- 
 God's rest in their souls. If there be any present that 
 are strangers among strangers, cause all heart-sickness 
 and home-sickness to fly away quickly as they are in the 
 presence of God, of Christ Jesus, and their brethren. 
 May the joy of thy house banish all sad thoughts, and 
 here may they renew their strength ; here may they 
 taste the bread of life ; here may they renew their cove- 
 nant, and here may they see that this is a gate of heaven. 
 Be with us in the things we ask for, and wilt thou do 
 for us all that we need. And thine shall be the praise, 
 Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 CLOSING PR1.TKL 
 
 WHO, God, is sufficient for these things? Why hast thon sent us to 
 preach, and withheld the power ? Why hast them sent us to the human 
 soul, that rolls in depth and majesty as the ocean rolls? And what can 
 we do but stand upon the shore and hear its waves beat ? Thou that art 
 the pilot, and that in the storm canst command the wind and the waves 
 thou must quell the passions of the human heart. Thou must change 
 the mind, and make it willing in the day of thy power. 
 
 We beseech of thee that thou wilt by thy Spirit follow the word of 
 exortation that has been given to-night. Thou hast solicited and called 
 how long, and how many I And how hast thou been sent away from the 
 doors of hearts that needed thee, and to which thou hadst brought 
 treasures more than man can imagine I We pray for those that have 
 ceased to pray. We pray for those that need prayer more than ever, that 
 have fewer and fewer seasons even of thought, that grow hard with 
 years, that are less and less troubled by sin, and that are more and more 
 irreverent of religion. We pray for the children of Christian parents who 
 sometimes weep at the memory of father and mother, but who never 
 have thought of God. Lord, are there not those here who have looked 
 at themselves as castaways, and who have reckoned themselves given 
 over, but who are not given over, and who are not castaways, though 
 they count themselves as unworthy of eternal life? Hast thou not pur- 
 poses of mercy in thy sovereign will ? Hast thou not yet reserved arrows 
 in thy quiver with which to smite the heart that has been long dead ? 
 Wilt thou not bring forth answers of prayer in a strange and wonderful 
 manner ? Are there not those present that have hovered upon the very 
 verge of joys, who have longed and delayed, and resolved and hesitated ? 
 Wilt thou not put thine own arm around them, and lift them over their 
 indecision, and bear them forward to unspeakable happiness ? 
 
 Wilt thou not, Lord God, revive thy work in the hearts of thy 
 people, and in the hearts of this church ? Wilt thou not gather in many 
 of such as shall be saved, and edify them, and build them up into true 
 and holy Christian life, for the honor of thy name, and for the glory of 
 thy cause T And to ttee shall be all the praise, now and for ever. Amen.
 
 RETURNING FROM THE SUMMER. 
 
 Sallath Morning. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU that art love, thy works do manifest thee. Every hour comes 
 \adeii with thy blessing. We are ashamed to ask thee for mercies as if 
 hou needest to be entreated. Thou knowest, before we ask, what things 
 we have need of; and therein is thy condescension, and thy great mercy, 
 that thou dost make it so pleasant to us to come, and so needful to our 
 connection with thee and our joy through thee, that even the things that 
 are inevitable come better when we have asked them at thine hand ; and 
 thou makest those things special gifts to them that ask, that otherwise 
 would come as diffusive bounties. Be pleased then this morning to accept 
 us, as we come to recognize thee as the source of all our good, our life and 
 all the springs of our daily joy, our hope hi the future. Lord, what ia 
 there in m ; what hope we for hi tune or in duration that is not quickened 
 by thee ? And now, this morning, grant unto us this chiefest of blessings, 
 such a disclosure of thyself that we may see that thou art the great all in 
 all ; and that we may recognize our relations to thee, and love thee and 
 adore thee and praise thee. Bless the reading and the interpretation of thy 
 word, bless us in the songs we shall offer ; bless us in our communion 
 of prayer and fellowship therein ; bless us in every exercise of the day at 
 home. May our houses be as sanctuaries of God; and may it be a 
 heavenly day in all its parts and experiences to us. We ask it for 
 Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 WE draw near to thee, thou that art the fountain of all 
 good, the source of all blessing : not because we feel the 
 pressure of want so much, for the abundant mercies of 
 thy providence have made us almost unconscious of out- 
 ward want. It is not for us to say, " Give us this day
 
 S3C BBEOHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 our daily bread," for our loaf fails not. Thou art so 
 surrounding us, thou art so enriching us, thou art so 
 making thy mercies intrusive, that we continually have 
 more than heart could wish. And yet, the best gifts are 
 unsanctified, and have lost their best flavor and pleasure, 
 if they do not bring thee to us. It is not so much the 
 things which we have, and those we love, as the love 
 which they mean that gives us joy ; and it is thy bless- 
 ing upon blessings; it is thy thought upon the things 
 we daily need and have, that makes them seem to us 
 inexpressibly dear. We rejoice in the very earth itself 
 because it is thine. We rejoice in all the things that 
 live and grow; because they were thy thoughts, and 
 because they are the objects of thy care. What is dear 
 to thee becomes dear to us; and what concerns thy 
 thought and thine honor and thy glory, concerns us most 
 intimately. And we draw near to thee this morning, 
 more expressly to thank thee for our immortality ; that 
 we have a heritage which is worthy of our paternity, 
 knowing that we bearwithin immortal spirits. May we be 
 satisfied with nothing that shall not have in it something 
 of immortality. While we partake of the pleasures of 
 life and the duties of to-day, may we stretch infinitely be- 
 yond all these things, and hold in full survey the grandeur 
 and the glory of that estate which is reserved for thy 
 people in heaven. O grant that we may not sell our 
 birthright for a mess of pottage ; grant that we may not 
 be bribed of our heavenly estates by the pitiful bribes of 
 wealth, or be bewildered by the fantasies of honor, or 
 any of the sources of pleasure ; but grant, we beseech thee, 
 that we may live in this life with a constant sense of sym- 
 pathy with the life that is to come ; and that it may be 
 more and more real to us, that it may be brought nearer
 
 BETUBNING FROM THB SUMMBB. 287 
 
 and nearer, that out of it may be ministered food for the 
 soul, bread for the hungry, and the water of life for the 
 thirsty. 
 
 We beseech thee to bless us this day, gathered to- 
 gether after the separation of the summer; thou hast 
 permitted us a church, a pastor, and a people, again to be 
 united in exercises of devout worship before thee. We 
 thank thee for all the mercies that have befallen us ; we 
 thank thee that we come again in common faith of 
 Christ Jesus, that we have fellowship of joy, of faith, and 
 aspiration that we travel the same path for the same 
 blessed heaven. May this common relation which we 
 bear thee sanctify our affections ; may we feel our oneness 
 in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Wilt thou bless the experience which each of us has 
 had, the individual history and experience, and all the 
 collective experiences of this congregation. Where thou 
 hast brought sorrow, be pleased also to bring consolation. 
 Where thou hast set up before any visibly the power of 
 mortality, there reveal the glorious truths of immortality. 
 WTiere thou hast given joy and gladness, sanctify it ; 
 where thou hast brought disappointment and losses, 
 sanctify them. Grant, we beseech thee, that every thing 
 of every kind may be held consciously as from the hand 
 of God, and may it bring with it a blessing. Whether 
 thy mercies come in light or in shadow, whether they 
 are of the day or of the night, may we accept them as 
 from God, and so inevitable blessings. 
 
 Unite us together more and more in the work of 
 the Gospel. We feel that our sun is setting, our day 
 is shortening ; that which we do, we must do quickly ; 
 the night cometh when no man can work. Grant, then, 
 that we make haste, that we may chide every idle way ;
 
 238 BEKCHBB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 that we may unite with -more fervent purposes, more 
 earnest zeal, purer lore, and devouter faith in God, to 
 establish in our day that part of thy work on earth which 
 may here fall to us. May thy Gospel be preached with 
 more simplicity, with more direct earnestness, and may 
 it bring forth more abundantly than it has formerly, the 
 fruit of the Gospel. Grant that this church may be 
 reared up more and more to be a praying church, a 
 laboring church ; may it be sanctified, and weaned from 
 pride and worldly ambition. May it be established in 
 the faith of the Gospel of Christ ; and grant that to the 
 end of our lives we may thus serve thee ; and when at last 
 the summons shall come to us, may it not be the surprise 
 of sorrow, but rather of joy, and may we hear in the voice 
 of death the call of God, " Come up hither." May we 
 find at last our home ; and find there, safe and glorified, 
 awaiting us, all that have been called from our side, all 
 whom we have loved and lost. And may we find them 
 again with eternal salvation, and there, ourselves safe, 
 we will cast our crowns before thee, and give all the 
 praise our salvation to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Spirit. Amen.
 
 THANKSGIVING DAT. 
 
 DTVOCATION. 
 
 OUR Father, we ask that them will make this to be a day of gladneu 
 and joy to us. We have turned aside as for some new-found Sabbath, to 
 give thanks to thee, not as those that only thank thee in the sanctuary, 
 but because it is sweet to hear each other's voice, and in fellowship of 
 love to lift up our obligations and expressions of gladness ; and now 
 help us, for thou shinest, and light is from thee. Grant, then, that we 
 may be illumined to discern from thy word that we may discern in all 
 things the presence of God ; and may we be helped to speak, to pray, and 
 to praise. And may this whole day be an offering of gladness, joyful 
 indeed to us and acceptable to thee, which we ask for Christ's sake 
 Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 OUR heavenly Father, we thank thee that thou hast 
 made thyself known to us that we may perceive thee. 
 We are glad toward each other and thankful ; and yet 
 such is the multitude of mercies and such at times our 
 gladness, that when we have thanked those around about 
 us, the argument is but begun, and there is nowhere 
 that our souls can turn themselves and be satisfied with 
 thanksgiving but toward thee ; and then thou art no 
 longer a God afar off, to be evoked with tears and strong 
 crying. Thou seemest very near to us, and what time 
 we find our words exhaled in gratitude and in love, we 
 know that thou art drawing us as the sun draws the 
 flowers. We speak thus silently to thee and rejoice in 
 thee with ineffable joy. We are glad to believe that we
 
 240 BEECUEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 make thee happy, thou that dwellest in an undisturbed 
 security, and canst sweep by thy power around about 
 this line, so that no man, if thou choosest, can rise up 
 and disturb the harmony of thine own thought; yet 
 thou art one that bendest from thine own height thou 
 dost come down by all the yearnings of thy nature ; thou 
 dost both stir us up and teach us also to stir thee up. 
 Giving and taking thou hast made to be the law of life, 
 and art thyself chief participant in it. It is more blessed 
 for thee to give than to receive, and yet it is blessed even 
 for thee to receive. And thou rejoicest over us and thou 
 art glad for us, and thou dost make thyself glad in the 
 contributions of thy people in praise ; in those things that 
 make them like thee, they bring to thee again. 
 
 And we desire this morning to thank thee for our 
 being, for all the hope that is in it, any dawn ungrown 
 and scarcely showing by its life yet to what we belong ; 
 yet we believe that thou hast destined us to an immor- 
 tality of which on earth there are no sufficient significant 
 interpretations. It doth not yet appear what we shall 
 be, but we hail that great and glorious, though undis- 
 tinguished future. There is laid up in it enough, and 
 our whole souls reach out after it ; when we are weary 
 and discouraged seeking earthly things, we reach out and 
 feed upon that future. Thou givest us as by an out- 
 stretched hand something of the bread of heaven, that 
 we may have strength to reach the journey's end and 
 rest there. O, we thank thee that our journey is not a 
 wilderness, though sometimes our feet are in a rocky and 
 precipitous way ; but in the main thou hast caused our 
 lines to fall to us in pleasant places. "We have been 
 sheltered by the sacredness of home ; we have known 
 what were all the sacred teachings of love ; thou hast
 
 THANKSGIVING LAY. 241 
 
 shined upon us even as our father and mother ; thou 
 hast sent thine angels to teach us through brother and 
 sister ; thou hast revealed thy most inward nature to us 
 through our own child/en and our experiences toward 
 them. Our house has been our sanctuary, and God has 
 been our teacher there. 
 
 We thank thee for the mercies of the family ; for the 
 discipline, for the things which we have had to suffer, 
 for the things which we have had to enjoy. What are 
 we that we should not suffer ? What are we, O blessed 
 Jesus, that we should not take the baptism that thou dost 
 take, and be crowned, as thou wert crowned, with thorns, 
 yet hoping to be crowned, as thou art, with glory. We 
 thank thee for trials, for care, for trouble, for the yoke, 
 for the burden, and for the fulfillment of thy word, that 
 thy yoke is easy and thy burden light. We thank thee 
 for all our relationships together in society, especially as 
 a church and congregation. We thank thee for our 
 fellowship here, for the days of peace, for the Sabbaths 
 that came to us evidently as doves flying from the very 
 heavens, bringing peace and purity to us. 
 
 We thank thee for all our joys, which we pray and 
 yearn for again ; aud especially, O Lord, we thank thee 
 that thou hast permitted so many to taste and see that 
 the Lord is gracious ; for our own and for their expe- 
 riences of thine immediate presence and the outreaching, 
 teaching, and power of thy Holy Spirit upon the word ; 
 we render thee thanksgiving. 
 
 How many have found each other in Christ Jesus that 
 were unknown before, though always living together !* 
 How many now stand on a foundation that neither time 
 
 * After a revival 
 It
 
 242 BKECHBR'S PUXPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 nor death can shake ! how many have defied death and 
 fear it no more ! O, we thank thee that thou. hast sur- 
 rounded the things that make other men tremble of such 
 sweet joy and such sacred understanding now in the 
 light of the sanctuary, that we are lifted up by the 
 things that cast down other men, that we come some- 
 what near that divine and sacred experience of the 
 Apostle and are able, if not to rejoice in our infirmities, 
 yet to see how we may rejoice in thee. 
 
 "We thank thee for all those things which we can so 
 far utter, and for those glances ; for those experiences in 
 the communion, of God in secret, for all those sudden 
 and short and blessed wide-reaching visions that we have 
 had, for all the revelation and hope. "We thank thee for 
 those things that are forgotten by us and must be name- 
 less before thee, because thou readest the intent and not 
 alone the words that we speak. 
 
 We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast knit so many of 
 us together in the bands of a holy and nourishing friend- 
 ship, and that thou art causing the tree of life to have 
 roots in our heart, and we are finding that in love the 
 fruits are enough, the bread of heaven the very leaves 
 feel disease and are for the healing of the nations. 
 
 Now we beseech thee that thou wilt accept our thanks- 
 givings as citizens of this place, because thou hast shielded 
 us in so great a measure, because thou hast given us such 
 prosperity. Thou hast caused the doors of the sanctuary 
 to swing wide open from Sabbath to Sabbath ; thou hast 
 blessed us in our schools, and in all the various institu- 
 tions of beneficence. We thank thee that there has been 
 to so great an extent a year of abundance, that the poor 
 have not cried. We thank thee that thou hast not 
 ravished our borders with the angel of death sent forth
 
 THANKSGIVING DAT. 243 
 
 in judgment, or by mercy veiled in darkness and judg- 
 ment. We thank thee for all the commercial prosperity, 
 for the abundance of the field, and for the abundance of 
 the sea. We thank thee that thou hast caused laws to 
 be so wisely observed, that thou art purifying the spirit 
 of law and the administration of institutions. We 
 thank thee that in all these conflicts victory must come 
 to the truth in so great measure, and that freed from 
 bitter contention, thou art causing us more and more to 
 know how to bear witness for the truth in the spirit of 
 love. 
 
 We thank thee, O God, that thou art causing the way 
 to appear by which we are to be led out of bondage. 
 Teach this great nation how to discharge the duty of the 
 day in which we live how, everywhere clothed in the 
 spirit of divine justice, in the spirit of meekness and of 
 love to go forth and purify the things most difficult in 
 the name and by the authority and with the spirit of 
 the Divine Master. Remember, we beseech thee, in the 
 hour of our gladness those who this day are in prisons. 
 In their prison may they feel that they have abundant 
 occasion of thanksgiving ; may they see through their 
 walls as through a lens the very city of God ; may time 
 not hang upon their heels as shackles ; may they feel that 
 days are God's steeds, and that they are being borne as 
 in a chariot homeward. We thank thee that disturb- 
 ances are signifying that the heart of the world is more 
 and more manifestly toward the millenium. We thank 
 thee for all signals and portents, and we believe that thou 
 art causing time more and more to represent the eternal 
 purity of heaven. O Lord God, make haste. Employ 
 such as thou wilt; work as thou wilt; lift up, cast 
 down thunder. O speak in those whispers that thou hast,
 
 244 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 by silence or by sound, by invisible things or by the 
 powers that appear, in all ways at home and abroad, and 
 round and round the world. O God, advance thy cause ; 
 remember thy family, the family of mankind, bring us all 
 into one blood-beat again ; may we feel heart to heart 
 the world around, and in the same electric connection ol 
 iove may the whole world experience at last the consola- 
 tion of thy redemptive power, and stand disenthralled 
 and united before God, a blessed brotherhood, baptized 
 into purity, and then at last make those break forth 
 accordant with heaven and responsive to its choral utter- 
 ances, a voice of joy the world around, giving the praise 
 for its salvation to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 
 Amen.
 
 NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 Sabbath Evening, 
 
 BKFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOU art for evermore God infinite and God over all 
 the earth. Thou hast created all things, and thou gov- 
 ernest what thou hast created ; and though thou dost in 
 counsels of infinite wisdom permit in the realm of men 
 things which we cannot understand, thou hast taught us 
 by the mouth of thy servants, that clouds and darkness 
 are around about thee, even when justice and judgment 
 are the habitations of thy throne. 
 
 We are not in haste to learn thy counsels, but desire 
 rather to know our duty. Breathe upon us that spirit 
 of sympathy with thee, that true and earnest desire to do 
 that which is right, which shall itself interpret our duties 
 to us. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may have a 
 reverent fear of thee ; thou art greater than we ; thou 
 art immaculate, of purer eyes than to behold evil with 
 permission or with indifference ; thou art the Judge, 
 knowing all and judging all. And we beseech thee 
 that we may never forget that thine eye is upon us; 
 thou knowest our thoughts and our feelings, and thou 
 art searching the ways of our life. We rejoice that it 
 is so ; we would not flee from thy presence, but whither 
 could we flee if we would? Neither heaven above,
 
 246 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 nor the earth beneath, nor the waters, nor the space 
 beneath the earth, nor hell itself, could hide ns from 
 thy presence ; thou art everywhere the All-beholding 
 and the All-judging. Grant that we may not have 
 that fear which is despotic ; may we have fear that works 
 together with love, that we may trust thee while we 
 revere thee. Grant, we beseech thee, that we may be 
 quickened in the performance of every duty by the love 
 which we bear to thee; may we be willing children, 
 grateful for thy kindness, full of fidelity, and desirous 
 above all things to please thee. 
 
 We thank thee, our heavenly Father, that the lines 
 have been cast to us in pleasant places ; we have indeed 
 a goodly heritage ; we stand upon a shore unshaken, to 
 look out upon the nations of the earth that are rocked 
 and tossed as a ship upon the sea bestormed ; we are 
 in peace, while they are in tumult ; we are without blood 
 or revolution, while they are in revolutions, walking in 
 garments rolled in blood.* We rejoice in believing that 
 their trials tend toward emancipation and glorious vic- 
 tory. We believe that the footsteps of God are in the 
 earth, that the shakings of the people are the signs of 
 his coming for justice, for the deliverance of the poor 
 and the needy. How long are the hoary prophecies 
 waiting for a fulfillment ; thou art arousing them from 
 the slumber of ages, and that which seers desired, that 
 which by their mouth was put upon record, now thou 
 art bringing it forth into glorious truth. We rejoice in 
 thee, and when we compare our privileges with those of 
 nations abroad, we have occasion to humble ourselves ; 
 we have not deserved an estate so much better than they ; 
 thou hast doubtless for our fathers' sake blessed us ; we 
 
 * Commotions in Europe Battle of Solferino, 1859.
 
 NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. 24? 
 
 are the inheritors of prayers, of tears, of struggles, of self- 
 denials, that in ages past thou didst inspire in our heroic 
 fathers ; grant that we may be worthy at last of the 
 heritage of their faith. Let us iiot cast our birthright 
 vilely away ; may we stand in our places not simply to 
 luxuriate and gratify ourselves in the riches of our inherit- 
 ance, but to understand them, to rejoice before God in 
 them, to consecrate them, to perpetuate them, to trans- 
 mit them to our children, and our children's children, 
 through many generations. Be pleased, thou God of 
 nations, to speak unto this people. Command justice 
 and righteousness ; lay thine hand upon this people to 
 restrain the wrath of man, and to cause the remainder 
 thereof to praise thee. Establish churches throughout 
 all our bounds, and put therein a true and testifying 
 Christianity, establishing, ordaining, and multiplying the 
 number of thy ministers after thine own heart, who shall 
 not fear man, and who shall fear God ; and may they 
 speak not the things that shall win favor, but the things 
 that shall make purity. 
 
 We beseech of thee that thou wilt unite the hearts of 
 men together in common citizenship; may they be 
 inspired with a common desire for purity, for upright- 
 ness, for integrity in civil things. As thou wilt not per- 
 mit us to stand drooping and dwarfed, grant that the 
 rains of righteousness falling upon this great land, 
 watering it upon the top and at the root, may cause it to 
 come forward in blessed growth. 
 
 May there be progress in civilization ; may there be 
 progress in all religious things ; may this nation spring 
 forward and develop a nobler justice, a truer humanity, 
 a better wisdom of Christianity, than has ever yet been 
 Been in our midst ; and if there are throes and struggles
 
 248 BEECHER'S ?TTLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 of birth yet, grant that we may be willing to take the 
 Son of God, born more i dustriously into the world, though 
 it costs sighs and groans. By the laying down of thy 
 life, Christ, thou didst lift eternal life upon the world. 
 Grant that we may not shrink at sacrifice and suffering, 
 which are to bring forth yet a part of the glory of the 
 time to come. And we beseech thee that thou wilt fill 
 us all with a sense of our responsibility to God ; may we 
 not feel that we are called in trivial things, but may we 
 feel that thou art putting upon us the weight of ages ; 
 may we confront the face of God ; may we stand as men 
 that know they must ere long give an account of their 
 deeds before the judgment-seat of Christ ; may we live 
 and perform our whole duty as seeing him who is in- 
 visible. 
 
 Grant, we beseech thee, that the word of instruction 
 which we shall speak this night may be inspired of God's 
 spirit ; may it come to the understanding, and approve 
 itself before the conscience of every one that shall hear 
 it. Prepare us for all the further duties of this day, and 
 for the week upon which we have entered. Grant, we 
 beseech thee, that nations beholding the spectacle sublime 
 indeed that shall transpire, may have occasion to marvel 
 and wonder, and to bless God for the integrity of those 
 institutions that stand in peril, that stand in battle, and 
 that stand after battle, inexpugnable and eternal. 
 
 Grant that in this great nation there may be none that 
 shall shrink from duty, none that shall fear to speak and 
 act for truth and for liberty, none that shall retreat in 
 the day of conflict, or stand indifferent, while heaven 
 and earth are commingled. Grant that at last the issue 
 may come which thou hast, as with a rising tide, urged 
 Bteadily from year to year upon us, and from which we
 
 NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. 249 
 
 may not shrink any longer ; grant, we beseech thee, that 
 in this great day of conflict, when thou thyself hast 
 swept the circuit, and commanded thy servants to do 
 battle before heaven and earth, grant that the cause of 
 righteousness may be lifted up, and inspired with all the 
 heroism of God, and may evil be smitten down and 
 pierced through and destroyed, and God be honored, 
 and justice re-established, and purity in the place of 
 corruption stand forth, and all nations see the beginning 
 of the salvation of God in the midst of this people. We 
 ask these things, not because we are worthy, but we 
 know thee, thy greatness, thy magnanimity, and we ask 
 them for thine own naire's sake ; and to the Father, the 
 Son, and the Spirit sha 1 be praise evermore. Amen.
 
 3LOSINQ PRATER. 
 
 Otrn Father, we beseech of thee that thou wilt follow with thy blessing 
 the truth spoken. We thank thee that thy word burns as an unquench- 
 able fire ; and that when all the stars are hidden from our sight, there 
 shines the light of thy teaching, which no storm can blow out and no 
 cloud can obscure. We thank thee that when there is rude winter with- 
 out, we may enter into the sweet tropics of thy revelation, arid find 
 blessings innumerable therein. Nothing can pluck away from us the 
 sweet fruit of the tree of life in the garden of the Lord. We cling to 
 thy precious Bible, which hath in it the liberties of the people. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, teach us more and more to sympathize with 
 thine own poor, and to take si'des, for thy sake, and for the sake of love 
 and justice, with all those whom men would use, and abuse, and spoil, 
 and destroy. 
 
 Be pleased, almighty God, to appear for the nations of the earth. 
 Have they not waited long enough ? How long must that choral misery 
 continue, that has chanted sadly and sorrowfully through ages? As a 
 dreary sound of storms that disturb the sea, and rock the forests, haa been 
 the cry of nations despoiled by war and oppression ; and how long wilt thou 
 listen to this sad melody? When, crowned Jesus; when, loving 
 Saviour ; when, patient and just Judge when wilt thou come forth 
 from thy hiding, and change tears to smiles, and groans to joys ? When 
 shall that choral song burst forth, sweeping through the air and circLng 
 about thy throne, which shall proclaim the redemption of the world to 
 the Lord God ? Awake, we beseech of thee, from thy sleep. But thou art 
 aot asleep. What time thou risest the storm shall flee to the heavens, 
 and there shall be a calm. Be pleased, then, to keep us from fear, and 
 from the disaster of unfaith. May we, so long as thou art in tb ship, 
 leave thee, sleeping or waking, to control as thou wilt the storm, and not 
 give way to impatience or terror. And when we have, with confidence, 
 waited on thee, give us the unreserved reward of a blessed translation 
 into the Heavenly presence. And we will give the praise to the Father, 
 the Son, and the Spirit Amen.
 
 FILIAL MEMORIAL. 
 
 Sunday Morning, January 11, 1863. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU eternal God, we rejoice in thy infinite power, and strength, and 
 goodness. Thy wisdom is over all the works of thine hand, and thy love 
 is infinite as thy wisdom. This morning grant the rising of that sun that 
 shall cast light inwardly in the soul. May we draw near to thee in faith 
 and -in supplication. May we also be able to draw near to thee by thanks- 
 giving and praise and sacred song. May we draw from thy Word lessons 
 of instruction indeed, day by day. May we, in all the services of instruc- 
 tion or worship, be divinely inspired and guided, that thy name may be 
 honored, and our souls profited. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFOEE SERMON. 
 
 WE rejoice, our Father, that thou art more to us, and 
 nearer and dearer than any earthly parent can be. Thou 
 hast taught us to love ; but we have been poor scholars. 
 We know not how to love wisely. Our life is an experi- 
 ment in its best parts, and it is altogether a failure in 
 much that belongs to it in its human relations. But 
 thou art perfect in loving, and thou dost descend with 
 the glory of thy nature around about us, and art our 
 Father more fully and more gloriously than it hath en- 
 tered into the heart of man to conceive. And although 
 thou hidest thyself, and we marvel ; and art silent to our 
 cry, and we wonder and despond, yet we believe that 
 thou art, and that thou wilt reveal thysel Not to the
 
 252 BEECHBR'S PULPIT DEVOTIOITO. 
 
 bodily senses, but to the spirit, thou wilt make thyself 
 manifest when the time comes, and we are prepared to 
 behold the King in his glory. Grant that we may have 
 patience and faith during our exile from home ; and 
 while thou art preparing us to return with joy and honor 
 and glory, O grant that our hearts may evermore tend 
 upward, and that we may make it the happiness of our 
 life, and the strength of our household that we are 
 journeying together toward the bright and promised 
 land. , 
 
 Bless us in our endeavors to rear our children for bet- 
 ter things than this world can offer them. We thank 
 thee that there is so much stored here that is good, for 
 which our heart should be grateful to thee ; but forbid 
 that we should be misled to think that this is the only 
 portion that thou hast given us. May we not be left to 
 suppose that what we have on earth is the only food and 
 drink which thou hast provided for our thirst and hun- 
 ger. Grant that we may behold the better land, and 
 realize the more glorious promise which we cannot now 
 understand. And may we aspire to bring our children, 
 and all whom we love, with us through the perils and 
 the mistakes, and the sins, and the disappointments of 
 life, to that bright and blessed sphere where there shall 
 be disappointments, and sins, and mistakes, and perils no 
 more for ever. 
 
 "We beseech thee that thou wilt especially look upon 
 thy servants who have this morning stood in the midst 
 of their brethren to signify publicly that they will rear 
 these their children according to the spirit and the truths 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. O God, be merciful to 
 them, and strengthen them. Give them wisdom, and 
 patience, and gentleness, and firmness, and fidelity in
 
 FILIAL MEMORIAL. 253 
 
 what they have undertaken. And may these children 
 live, by and by, to comfort and sustain them. 
 
 And we beseech thee that thou wilt remember all who 
 aforetime have here presented their children before God, 
 and solemnly dedicated them to his service. May they 
 never forget the vows of these sacred hours. And may 
 those feel rebuked who tarry behind in 1;he duties that 
 they have assumed, and in the purposes that they have 
 formed. O teach every heart on whom thou hast be- 
 stowed the gift of such little children as these, that it is 
 a call of God to higher purity, to truth, to fidelity, and 
 to Christian manhood. For who of us is fit to rear chil- 
 dren for thee ; to be teachers of thine offspring ? Grant, 
 O God, that we may be strengthened to do our will 
 toward our children, not by earthly love, but by the 
 inspirations of a heavenly faith. 
 
 And now that the fathers are going, may the sons be 
 prepared to make their places good, and more than good. 
 We thank thee that thou art making heaven more and 
 more desirable as we draw nearer to it. Gathering 
 there, with soundless tramp which they only hear, are 
 innumerable hosts, upon whom sin hath no more power, 
 and death hath no more dominion. They are God's, 
 and they are children of joy and hope for evermore. 
 Thou art calling from out of our midst one and another, 
 and some from every household. 
 
 Thou, most merciful God and Father, that dost bend 
 over us with thy bosom of love as the blue heavens bend 
 over the earth with the sweet influence of light by day, 
 and with stars of guidance by night, how can we speak 
 to thee of all the mercies which thou hast made manifest 
 to us and to ours ? We thank thee above all things for 
 the revelation that thou hast made to us of the love that
 
 254 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 there is in heaven. The great Heart that suffered yet 
 lives and beats for us. We are wanted in heaven. We 
 are longed for there. Not only do hearts yearn for us 
 on this side, but there are those, of whom thou art the 
 chiefest, O God of our salvation, who desire us in heaven. 
 And while we wait, we are glad that thou dost experi- 
 ence some yearning to have us go. Thou art taking 
 many. For each one there is an opening of the gate of 
 heaven, which on this side men call death, but which on 
 that is called life. Lord, teach every one who is called 
 to yield children, or friends, or companions, to do it as a 
 Christian should ; looking through the sufferings and 
 trials of this life to the glorious effulgence of the life that 
 is beyond. We wait for it. We long for it. Living or 
 dying, 'it is that we may reign with thee in heaven. 
 
 We thank thee that thou hast granted us the teaching 
 of thy sacred truth from childhood, and that the name 
 of God has been made venerable to us by being twined 
 about the venerable names of our own parents. We have 
 learned to love thee by learning to love them, as well as 
 by the counsels with which they instructed us in loving 
 thee. We thank thee that thou hast been pleased to call 
 our father,* who has labored according to his strength, 
 and whose work on earth is accomplished, to his rest, for 
 which he has sc long lingered, wondering why he went 
 noi. Bless his memory. And may that work which he 
 began, go on still ; handed from one to another. Grant a 
 blessing to rest upon the churches that he ministered to, 
 that he loved, and that loved him. May his teachings 
 to them bear abundant fruit. Thou art gathering to 
 thyself precious souls from among them, and heaven 
 grows rich. But earth is not poor, for when thou takest 
 
 * Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., aged 87.
 
 FILIAL MEMORIAL 256 
 
 one thou raisest up another to take his place. And thy 
 work shall not stop. Thou, O God, art not shaken by 
 Btorms as we are. Clouds do not overshadow thee as 
 they do us. Go on, then, and fulfill thy purposes, bring- 
 ing forward one generation, and removing another, 
 according to thine own sovereign will, thou that art 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords. And at last bring us 
 with exceeding joy, through the infinite mercy and love 
 of Jesus Christ, cleansed and made meet for the heavenly 
 society to thyself, that we may walk with the ransomed, 
 and take part in that praise with which we will surround 
 thy throne, giving to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, 
 praise for evermore. Amen.
 
 I'RAYEB. 
 
 Otm Father, wilt thou blesa us in this word of truth. We beseech of 
 ihee that thou wilt make the power of it to be more and more felt through- 
 out this congregation, throughout the whole land, and throughout the 
 world. May we not be led astray by any device of the human under- 
 standing; may we not, by the subtilties of intellect, be left to put our 
 trust and faith in the things that men have. Reveal thyself to us so that 
 our life shall be love. Reveal thy spirit in us so that our life to each 
 other shall be love. May we love our enemies ; may we quench them by 
 our love ; may we love one another ; may love abound more and more ; may 
 it be the blessed gift of God to every denomination, and may we awaken 
 to see the fulfillment of the long unanswered prayer, and may Christ see 
 of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. We ask it for Christ's Bake 
 Amen,
 
 RETURN FUOM ENGLAND. 
 
 Sdblnth Morning, Nov. 22, 1863. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 WE draw near, thou that art never far from us, that in thy light and 
 influence we may know our sonship, and be able, with all thine, thia 
 morning, to call thee Father. Rejoice us with thy light invisible, in which 
 our souls are clothed when we are near to thee. Help us to read thy 
 word. Help us to sing thy praises. Help us to make a confession of our 
 Bins, and to aspire with all fond desires toward holiness. Help us this day 
 to give thanks. And in communion and fellowship with thee, make this 
 Sabbath memorable for the bounty of thy grace. We ask it in the name 
 of Jesus. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 OUR Father, we are this morning drawn to thee by 
 thine own nature. Thou art present with us even in the 
 asking, and that which we ask is of thy presence ; for 
 thou, in the greatness of thy fatherhood, art breathing 
 that love upon us, and our unknowing hearts are taught 
 of thee to say, Father. And this morning, thou dost 
 shadow to us, faintly, what are the riches of that love 
 which thou hast toward us, and which thou art begetting 
 in us toward thee. Thou art unfolding thyself to our 
 thoughts, not in the greatness of thine outward power, 
 which the heavens declare and the earth manifests, but 
 in the more wonderful treasure of thine inward disposi- 
 tion, where thy glory dwells,,and where thou art promised
 
 258 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 God, in thine ineffable, in thy wondrous power of Bacri 
 fice, in thy tender mercy and loving-kindness. 
 
 "We desire to be made to feel that all things are ours 
 Christ, and God, and the realm where they dwell ; that 
 we are beloved as the children of the living God ; and 
 that no good thing shall we lack upon earth, and none 
 for ever. We have trusted thee blindly in days gone by ; 
 and as little by little thou hast taught us more intelli- 
 gently to trust thee, we have proved thy promises and 
 thy nature, and never found thee wanting. And we, too, 
 may entitle thee the God who dost exceeding abundantly > 
 more than we ask or think. 
 
 O God ! our burdens have never been heavy enough 
 to crush us. Though they be ever so heavy, when thine 
 arm is underneath us, all troubles are not able to pierce 
 us unto death. When thou that didst wear the crown 
 of thorns art near us to sustain us in our grief, all our 
 wrestling with our guilt and its fears, and our abase- 
 ment and anguish and distress have not been able to 
 overcome us. Since we are bound to thee by faith, 
 nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ 
 Jesus neither things present nor things to come, nor all 
 the wealth of trouble that the world has for us, nor all 
 the things which we fear in the great invisible future. 
 Since we have thee, and consciously have thee, we are 
 armed on every side, not against suffering, which is our 
 right and baptism by which we take hold of thee and 
 become thy disciples, but against its evils in over measure, 
 so that it doth not destroy us. Yea, we can, like thyself, 
 give our life and still keep it. Having power to lay it 
 down, thou hadst power to take it up, and thou hast said, 
 " Because I live, ye shall live also." And so we are 
 bowed down in a death anguish, and yet lifted up into
 
 RETURN FROM ENGLAND. 259 
 
 newness of life every day ; and every day, through cruci- 
 fixion, we grow strong with the power of Christ, and are 
 borne up by it. 
 
 So thou art teaching us the wondrous lore of thy king- 
 dom within. And its mystic truths are unfolded through 
 our experience, and not through our thought. Things 
 which we may not understand by the book and by the 
 letter, little by little thou leadest us as by the way, and 
 behold ! they are written in our hearts and we understand 
 them. O God, thou hast laid up themes for gratitude 
 for life eternal in our experience ; and we desire this 
 morning to accept all thy mercies to us through Christ 
 Jesus. With expressions of gratitude, we desire, this 
 morning, to recognize our dependence upon thee. Our 
 great unworthiness is illustrated by thy great glory and 
 goodness. We are witnesses, our father, for thee to-day ; 
 and in the presence of thy people, and before the great 
 congregation, we desire to join hands and hearts again, 
 invoking thee as our God. Thy service shall be our life. 
 Our hearts are temples of the living God ; and though 
 idols have been set up there, thou, O God, dost not desire 
 the temple, but the idol only. And in great mercy thou 
 wilt make all things that are dear to us, dearer by depriving 
 them ,of their power in undue measure over us. Thou 
 wilt lead us through humiliation to exaltation ; thou wilt 
 lead us downward, that we may stand not far from thy 
 throne. Thou wilt make us like thyself. Knowing the 
 baptism and knowing the cup, we still say, " Let us not 
 sit far from thy right hand and thy left in thy glory." 
 >We, better instructed than the children that came unto 
 thee ambitiously, knowing what it is to follow Christ, 
 desire still to follow. Though it be a crown of thorns, and 
 the road to the cross, we desire to keep thee company.
 
 260 BKBCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 And be pleased to accept this morning our consecra 
 tion. 
 
 We have hung heavy upon thee ; we have been chil- 
 dren that drew backward and wandered incessantly from 
 the right way. Thy patience, had it been other than di- 
 vine, would long ago have been weary with us ; and yet 
 we adore and admire that patience that has not been 
 weary. And we cast ourselves now, unworthy as we are, 
 upon thine hands and upon thy heart. Do thou, dear and 
 loving God, love us, and teach us to understand thy love, 
 and to return it ; and give us augmented affections, by 
 their being purified, till we may, day by day, live more 
 in this divine atmosphere. And while we are in the 
 world, taking part in our necessary duties here, may we 
 still live incessantly in the spirit of Christ, and for the 
 things that are dear to the heart of Christ. May we be 
 able to consecrate our business, our ambitions, our plea- 
 sures, our inmost affections, our households, and all that 
 we have, to the service of the Lord our living God. 
 
 Our Father, we thank thee that we are again in thy 
 presence. The desire of our heart is fulfilled, and we 
 stand again in thy courts, where we have prayed and 
 longed to be. Thou hast been gracious to us in distant 
 lands and upon the sea ; and thou hast returned us again 
 to those who are dearer to us than life itself to our own 
 people and to our own home. And we desire, O God, 
 this morning, to recognize thy goodness, which we can- 
 not speak ; and we desire that thou wouldst be pleased to 
 accept the residue of our life, that thou wouldst make it 
 more and more efficient in thy service, that nothing may 
 win us from Christ, that nothing may win us from hia 
 work, or from the sacrifices that he requires ; that we may 
 become more and more simple, and truthful, and humble,
 
 RKTTTBN FROM ENGLAND. 261 
 
 and consecrated to our duty among men. And we be- 
 seech of thee that thon wilt accept the gratitude of this 
 congregation, and their affection. And we pray that 
 they, too, this morning, with their first and sweetest 
 exercises of worship, may give themselves anew to God 
 in the highest consecration, and for the service of God in 
 the midst of their fellows. May they not seek selfish 
 advancement. May they be delivered from all pride 
 and vanity of disposition. And we beseech of thee that 
 this church, now united again pastor and people may 
 be more holy, more full of the Spirit of the living God ; 
 that out of this church, as from the temple of the Lord, 
 there may go forth more gospel of love, that shall be for 
 the regeneration of the world. 
 
 And we beseech thee that thou wilt bless all the 
 families of this congregation all that are in thy presence 
 this morning. Thou hast dealt sorely with many, but not 
 hardly. Thou hast given them to be united with Christ 
 in suffering, and art holding for them the fulfillment 
 of the promise, that if they suffer with him here, they 
 shall reign with him hereafter. Put thine arm round 
 about those who are still weak with trouble ; those that 
 wander, calling their Father and finding him not ; those 
 that cannot subdue the natural feelings that spring up 
 under the chastisements of thy providence. O God, thou 
 art the Teacher, Guide, and Comforter. Be with those 
 that must yet walk in the darkness or in the fiery furnace, 
 and sustain them in all thy dispensations, that their faith 
 may not fail, and that thy work in them may be per- 
 fected in thine own time. And upon those who are 
 struggling under cares, and burdens, and griefs, and 
 disappointments, lift, we beseech thee, the quickening 
 light of morning. "We are yet walking in the twilight,
 
 202 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 but now, when sunrise is at hand, how near to us is the 
 coming of that tranquil kingdom from whose sky is 
 banished cloud and storm and trouble. And let the 
 vision of the near future overcome the present, that we 
 bear our cares and drink our cup, and, with joy and songs 
 in the night, show forth the power of God to sustain his 
 afflicted people. 
 
 And, we beseech of thee, remember not only this 
 church and congregation, but all that are gathered in 
 the sabbath-school and in classes for instruction in thy 
 word. Those that teach may they be taught of God ; 
 and those that learn may they learn the veritable love 
 of thy Spirit 
 
 "We beseech thee that all the churches gathered to- 
 gether to-day may be filled with thy light and presence. 
 
 Remember our whole land, thou that art guiding us 
 in a way that we know not of. We commit ourselves 
 to thy paternal care. Give wisdom to the State and 
 National governments. May the President of these 
 United States continually be inspired and led by the 
 Spirit of the living God. May those that are his coun- 
 sellors have the light of purity, and truth, and faith 
 And grant that our armies may be prospered, and that 
 victory may at last come when we shall have been pre- 
 pared to use victory in consistence with our own princi- 
 ples. Unite this people more and more. May they 
 come faster and nearer than they themselves think to 
 those great essential truths on which also they can stand 
 in firm prosperity. 
 
 Have compassion upon the nations of the earth. lie 
 member the people with whom we have sojourned. 
 Grant, we beseech of thee, a blessing upon all that are 
 in authority there ; upon all there that love thee, and
 
 BETTJBN FROM ENGLAND. 26S 
 
 call upon thy name ; upon all those there that are in 
 ignorance, struggling in their distress upward, and seek- 
 ing a place to stand on as men. And grant that all the 
 nations of the continent, and all the nations of the world, 
 may begin to march, hearing the sound of thy trumpet 
 and warning. And, turning their faces toward the 
 bright light of truth, may they begin to come forward, 
 until the whole earth shall be in procession, and God 
 shall be their leader. 
 
 Hear us in these our petitions, and answer us foi 
 Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 <XUrjT<J PRATER. 
 
 THOU that hast bowed down thine head for us, thou that art * Prince 
 and a Saviour, but wert despised and rejected for our sake, blessed be thy 
 name that thou hast not forgotten in all thy glory our poverty, our trouble 
 and temptation ; thou art with us yet more than thou wert in Jerusalem 
 with thy disciples. No bodily flesh separates between thee and us ; no 
 hindrance ; now, thou canst enter in and dwell with us. Be pleased, then, 
 thou that sendest light and truth, to enter into every heart and fulfill the 
 promise that thou wouldst come and abide and sup with them, that thou 
 dost become a friend in all the offices and intim icies of friendship. We 
 bseeech of thee that thou wilt so search us. so try us. and teach us to see 
 what things are evil, to strive against sin, and to resist it to the uttermost 
 Teach us to be true before God, and not mock thee with a lie ; teach us to 
 be true before the power of our own consciousness, and not fall into that 
 serious delusion. Grant, we beseech of thee, that we may be strong in all 
 the things that are right, and manly, and fearless, and open, and that we 
 withdraw ourselves utterly from the secrecies of iniquity ; that we may 
 utterly abhor transgression, and turn from it ; but in this struggle, hi this 
 whole conflict, in all the way of our imperiled life, through all the valley 
 and the shadow of death, be with us, that we may not trust ourselves 
 alone, but that our strength may be inspired by thine and our wisdom 
 made sure by the inspiration of thine, that we may work out our salvation 
 with fear and trembling, because it is God that worketh in us to will and 
 to do of his good pleasure. And if we appear in Zion before God, we will 
 give the praise of our salvation to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 
 Amen.
 
 FAST DAY IN WAR. 
 
 April 30, 1863. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 BE pleased, Almighty God, this morning to smile upon us ; for we are 
 drawn hither by thy Spirit, moved, we trust, to repentance and to con- 
 fession before thy great and reverend name. Prepare our hearts, then, 
 for the offices of this work. Withdraw our thoughts from things that 
 shall hinder. Lift up our minds to that sphere where tliou dwellest, that 
 we may take the measure of human judgments and of human wants from 
 thy inspiration. And may the exercises of the sanctuary to-day, and the 
 exercises of our homes, be acceptable in thy sight. We ask it for Christ's 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 ALMIGHTY God, give us thy divine influence, by which 
 we shall reach forth to thee and find thee. Let us not 
 to-day take counsel of our weakness, nor of our sins, nor 
 of our passions. Raise us by thine own inbreathing, that 
 we may think of thee from our own conscience, from 
 love, and from that in us which is higher and diviner, 
 that we may come to the knowledge of God indeed. 
 And grant that we may be BO separated from our own 
 sympathies and self-pityings, that we may for the time 
 stand by thy side and look back upon our life, indi 
 vidually and collectively, and measure it, without shrink- 
 ing, as thou dost measure it, and pronounce sentence 
 upon it, as thou, from out of the law of righteousness, 
 
 12
 
 i:u6 BEKCHER'S PULPIT DICTIONS. 
 
 shall judge it. Deliver us, we beseech thee, from the 
 delusions of sin, and from that blindness which we bring 
 upon ourselves by self-flattery. Deliver us from a dis- 
 position to defend our misconduct. Let us not seek to 
 extenuate or palliate it. Grant that we may behold oui 
 delinquency, or our complicity with others that have 
 sinned, and that with simpleness and singleness of heart, 
 and true contrition, we may confess them all before thee ; 
 and may, with full purpose of heart, covenant to forsake 
 our transgressions. 
 
 Grant that every one of us may this morning review 
 his own state. Reveal to us by the Holy Spirit what we 
 are. Grant that we may have some estimate of how we 
 stand in the presence of our God. And help every one 
 of us with secret thought and with silent fidelity to 
 measure and estimate and confess his individual sins be- 
 fore thee. Whatever there has been of selfishness, of 
 guile, of hardness, whatever of pride and vanity, what- 
 ever vagrancy of imagination, whatever of neglect of 
 things that were incumbent upon us, whatever of unper- 
 formed duties, O Lord, help us to confess it with con- 
 trition of heart. They are sovereign delinquencies, for 
 they are against thee. Our sins are buffetings, and we 
 have smitten him whose patience bears with us and gives 
 us the very power to sin. We pray that we may feel to- 
 day how hateful it is to take advantage of God's good- 
 ness that should lead us to repentance, and build upon 
 it an argument for carelessness and continuance in wrong- 
 doing. 
 
 O God, may we be melted by thy love, and drawn away 
 from the wish to sin. May we have that ingenuousness 
 and frankness of heart which shall, when we detect or 
 even suspect our wrong, fill us with sorrow, and bring ua
 
 FAST DAY IN WAR. 267 
 
 speedily to thee for confession and for strength against 
 easily besetting sins ; for only thon canst cleanse us. We 
 have not the power to cleanse ourselves. We can in 
 each case discern the wrong, for we may separate it, and 
 resist special temptation, and know that we are responsi- 
 ble ; and yet life flows, not with single drops, but as a 
 flood, and we are caught, and whirled, and whelmed in 
 the multitude of its events. We cannot find out all 
 sinful tendencies nor waive them. Every day we find 
 that we have been inspired by things not suspected ; that 
 we have over-measured or under-estimated ; and con- 
 tinually our judgment is against us, and we know that 
 unless there is given us that sovereign inspiration of God 
 which shall cause us to dwell in that higher atmosphere, 
 and that holier moral disposition which temptation can 
 scarcely shoot so strong as to hit, we cannot maintain 
 ourselves nor please thee. Grant, then, that we may 
 have the divine help to be lifted above the region where 
 temptations mainly roll and dash, that we may be secure 
 and pure. 
 
 Grant, also, that we may look into our households, to 
 see what is wrong there, and that with an inspired hand 
 we may put that right which is wrong. Deliver us, we 
 beseech of thee, from that wickedness of pride which 
 shall make us unwilling to do that which is right, because 
 we have done that which is wrong. Grant that we may 
 examine the law of our lips and see if we have sinned 
 there. May we examine our hearts, and know if tb j law 
 of love or unkindness is there. May we see what 
 fidelities we have meted out on every side. Ma) it bo 
 our honest and earnest purpose to serve God more 
 faithfully in our households than ever we have done 
 before.
 
 208 BEECHEE'S PUIPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 And, O God, grant us heart-searchings and strivingd 
 of the Spirit in regard to the whole sphere of duties that 
 have lain so lightly upon us in respect to our neighbors 
 and our fellow-men. How have we sought chiefly our 
 own good! How hard have been our affections! We 
 have not been easy to be entreated. We have not 
 counted it better to give than to receive. We have 
 come to be ministered unto, and not to minister. We 
 have refused to be servants of others, that we might 
 thus be chief. We have sought our own glory, and 
 walked in the light of our own interest. We have 
 been of the world, worldly. We confess our trans- 
 gressions. We see the better way, O Lord God ; and 
 how shall we walk in it? The purpose is with us, 
 the law is holy and just and good, and we do approve 
 it after the inward man ; but how, in the seductions of 
 the world, in the allurements of the feelings, shall we 
 walk according to the lordliness of thine example ? 
 Grant, O God, that, with a sense of our misconduct and 
 sinfulness, and of the hatefulness of it grant that, with 
 a sense of the beauty of holiness in this sphere of action 
 and duty, we may have from this time forth grace 
 ministered to us to do better than we have ever done 
 before. 
 
 And we beseech thee that thou wilt also help us to 
 review the sins that lay upon as a burden, in view of 
 our connection with this great civil estate into which 
 we are born. We cannot withdraw ourselves from it& 
 care and responsibility. It is ordained of God, and our 
 duties as citizens are a part of our duty to thee. We 
 are called of God to frame laws ; we are called of God 
 to appoint officers to execute those laws ; we are called 
 of God to determine all the policies of this great na
 
 FAST DAT IN WAB. 269 
 
 tion ; and we look upon our life to see whether we 
 have served this nation according to its desert, accord- 
 ing to the purpose that God had in its establishment, 
 and according to all that it was sent to do for this poor 
 sin-smitten world ; and we behold how, through our 
 negligence, it hath been tampered with, poisoned, cor- 
 rupted, and diseased; how, while we have slept, the 
 enemies of God have been wakeful and jubilant ; and 
 how iniquity hath stolen the march of goodness. 
 
 We mourn over our past delinquency, our guilty 
 silence, our culpable indifference, our selfishness in 
 security, our fear of reputatioja, that held us back from 
 faithful testimonies in the days of trial. We look at our 
 indifference toward those that have been wronged, and 
 bear our part of the guilt of wickedness and oppression 
 in this land. O Lord, we pray that thou wilt hold thy 
 people in the hollow of thy hand, that they may look at 
 the oppressions of those who have suffered a thousand 
 times more than they. When they rush to war to vindi- 
 cate their own rights, may they not be deaf to the out- 
 cries of the oppressed. And may we remember that if we 
 have not ourselves put the yoke upon them, we have 
 helped to lay that burden on them which they have 
 been yoked to bear and draw. If we have not inflicted 
 the suffering, we have stood consenting, and bearing the 
 clothes of those who were stoning and beating them 
 down. We have known that, our brethren suffered, bone 
 of our bone, blood of our blood, children of redemption, 
 heirs of Calvary, God-thought-of, angel-watched, con- 
 voyed by sweet and blessed messengers from the throne 
 of the universe, and tending to the same heaven to which 
 we are tending ; and we have been indifferent to their 
 great trouble. We have suffered our land to be overrun
 
 270 BEKCH^B'S PULPIT DBVonoirs. 
 
 k 
 
 by injustice ; the ways of government to be perverted 
 
 and, from interest, from a sense of our own security, and 
 from a most unrighteous indifference to the wrongs of 
 others, we have allowed this great evil to come upon the 
 nation. 
 
 And now, O God, thou hast come down to hear the 
 cries of those that have pleaded long, but whom we would 
 not hear. And we are suffering beneath thy blows. 
 We cannot help it ; and we rejoice that thou art a God 
 that will hear the oppressed, though we are their op- 
 pressors. Thou, O God, wilt vindicate the poor and 
 needy. If they are dumb, they need not speak to be 
 heard ; if they are utterly helpless, the right hand of 
 Omnipotence is theirs. And all the reasonings of men, 
 and all their glozings of deceit, and all pretentious ex- 
 cuses are in thy sight as the dust of the summer's 
 threshing-floor ; and when thou shalt breathe thy winds 
 upon them, they shall be swept away utterly and for 
 ever. 
 
 We adore thy throne of judgment, that stands unmoved 
 iu the midst of war and confusion ; and we humble our- 
 selves before thee to-day, not attempting to discriminate 
 between our sins and others, but asking thee to accept 
 the confession that we make for our unmeasured trans- 
 gressions. We discern and feel that as members of this 
 great nation we have most grievously sinned against light 
 and knowledge, against the truth of thy word, against 
 every principle of our own laws and institutions, against 
 our own education, against the generous sentiments of 
 every unperverted human bosom. We have sinned 
 against examples. We knew that we were doing wrong ; 
 and our briberies have been the goods that perished in 
 this world. And we have been brought into this exigency
 
 FAST DAT IN WAB. 271 
 
 because we have taken a mess of pottage for our birth- 
 right of liberty. 
 
 May we not add other sins to the past ones. Let us 
 not seek anew to deceive thee as we have deceived our- 
 selves, and sought to deceive thee in times past. Let 
 there be a thorough work wrought in this people. "We 
 thank thee for any signs and tokens of remembrance, and 
 we pray that thou wilt restore us to the love of simple 
 justice, and that the rights of men as children of God 
 may become precious in the sight of this great nation. 
 And prepare it for that mission for which we trust it is 
 now passing through the fire. 
 
 Be pleased to remember all that are in authority. Be 
 with the President of these United States. We thank 
 thee that thou hast given him so much of wisdom ; and 
 that thou hast been pleased to guide him so safely and 
 so prudently thus far. Yet uphold him. Augment his 
 wisdom with gathered experience. Make him more and 
 more simple and single for justice and righteousness. 
 May all those that are his counselors be themselves coun- 
 seled of God. And may this nation, by its government, 
 be led in a way that it knows not of. May the generals 
 that command our armies be more and more men that 
 shall love the principles of that government for which 
 they contend. Grant unto them victory. Grant unto 
 our armies the power to cope with those that are in 
 battle array against liberty and its constituted govern- 
 ment. Overthrow rebellion. Change the minds of those 
 that are now involved in its mischiefs. Restore them 
 again, we beseech of thee, to the love of union as the 
 instrument of liberty. And we pray that thou wilt not 
 give us peace, until thou shalt have prepared this nation 
 to be the champion of human rights and liberties. Still
 
 272 BEECHEB'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 stir us up ; and, if need be, chastise us again and again, 
 tuitil by our suffering we shall come into sympathy with 
 those that suffer. Then may our righteousness be as the 
 morning light. Then let the choral testimony of the 
 multitudes of this land be heard rolling as the anthem of 
 salvation all around the world. Then may they that sit 
 in darkness, wondering that the sun hath risen in the 
 west, rise up. Then may the nations that are oppressing 
 their common people be overthrown in their dynasties, 
 and the rights of men be established everywhere. Then 
 may there speedily be heard that glorious song, that shall 
 fill all the heavens above, announcing that the cause of 
 the nations in this world has become the cause of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that he shall reign 
 on the earth. And the praise shall be given to the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 MOURNING BECAUSE OF WAR, 
 
 Sabbath Morning, Jan. 24, 1864. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU Eternal God, out of the infinite fullness of thy love breathe fortfi 
 the supply of life for us ; for in thee we live, and move, and have our 
 being. With gratitude for the past, and believing that thou art more 
 pleased to give than we are to receive, we come imploring a continuance 
 of thy mercies. Give us the illumination of thy Spirit, that we may read thy 
 word with understanding hearts, and that we may join in sacred ascrip- 
 tions of praise by prayer and by singing. Grant unto us the moving 
 power of thought, that we may know what are the things of truth, and 
 that we may ponder them for our good. And may all the services of the 
 sanctuary give evidence of thy presence, and bless us. We ask it for 
 Christ's sake. Amen 
 
 BEFORE 8EBUON. 
 
 UHTO thee, O God, shall all flesh come. For the whole 
 world hath sighed for thee. This creation, that hath 
 groaned and travailed in pain until now, not knowing 
 what it needed, needs thee. For in thy bosom only is 
 consolation for all that are afflicted ; is strength for all 
 that are weak ; is healing for all that are sick ; is forgive- 
 ness for all that are sinful. Thou, O wonderful God, 
 hidden from our outward sight, sittest in the center of 
 creation, reaching forth the arms of love and of succor, 
 to nourish, to nurse, to create, to sustain ; to annihilate 
 and utterly sweep away evil. Unapproachable and in- 
 comprehensible, thou nearest the cries of thy creatures ; 
 
 12*
 
 274 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 thou knowest their wants, and in thine own invisible 
 and mysterious way thou art eternally active, giving 
 endlessly forth from thine own self the stores of being 
 and of succor. 
 
 "We rejoice before thee ; and since thou hast been 
 pleased to reveal thyself to us, representing imperfectly, 
 and yet sufficiently, what thou art, in all fhe sweet and 
 familiar images of love, and in all the blessed relation- 
 ships of human" life; since thou hast come into this 
 world, not alone manifesting thyself in the person of 
 our Saviour, but giving ua our language, our institu- 
 tions, and our customs, whereby to represent thyself to 
 our dormant and uncomprehending mind ; we discern, at 
 last, the beginning of thy being. O God, we desire to 
 hush every fear and all repining. Thou art supreme 
 We need not tell thee any thing. Thy wisdom is all-corn 
 prehending. The end from the beginning thou knowest 
 Every hair of our head is numbered. Not a sparrow 
 shall fall to the ground without our Father's notice. 
 
 The coming of winter and the going thereof the pro- 
 cession of the seasons, and all their variations, are before 
 thee. Man and his wants, nations and their wants, 
 thou dost behold. We rejoice that all things are naked 
 and open before him with whom we have to do. There 
 we have succor where best we are known. There we 
 have consolation where most there is purity, and know- 
 ledge, and wisdom, and power. But, O Lord, we cannot 
 but wrestle with the questions of life why thou art so 
 long in coming ; why nations so long sit in darkness ; 
 why wars and their cruelties march in such gigantic pro- 
 cession over the earth. When, O God, when shall the 
 fires go out ? When shall thy kingdom be established in 
 all the earth ? When shall men, forsaking their animal
 
 MOUBNING BECAUSE OF WAB. 27? 
 
 nature, rise up and begin to live in that which is God 
 like ? We beseech of thee, thou King of ages, look forth, 
 and delay not thy coming, for the earth doth wait for 
 thee. The cries of the poor have they not come up into 
 thine ears ? And tne oppressions of the strong has not 
 thy heart felt them ? Thou that art the refuge of the 
 afflicted, how populous must thou have been, if all 
 that have been in affliction in every age have taken 
 refuge in thee ! Be pleased to advance thy kingdom, 
 and to make haste, in these latter days, to fulfill the pre- 
 dictions and promises which respect thy kingdom through- 
 out the world. 
 
 We beseech thee, O God, to help each of us in his 
 place to advance the kingdom of God in his own dispo- 
 sition by patience, by humility, by self-abnegation, by 
 love in a true benevolence. May we lay the foundations 
 of God's kingdom in ourselves, seeking others' good even 
 at the expense of our own, waiting patiently one for 
 another, as thou hast waited for us. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt grant that thy king- 
 dom may come in thine own church. Again enter the 
 temple. Again drive out the money-changers, and those 
 that sell oxen and doves therein. Make thy house every- 
 where a house of God. May justice, may truth, may 
 love prevail ; and may the power of the gospel that is 
 preached in thy churches in all this land awaken us to a 
 a sense of our guilt because of our delinquency ; because 
 we have left thee without a witness ; because so largely 
 thy people sympathize with the oppression of the poor. 
 
 Thou art afflicting this nation, and thousands and 
 thousands are shaken out of their places. O God, is not 
 the time of suffering enough ? Has there not been blood 
 enough ? Thou that didst shed thine own ; thou that
 
 276 BEECHEK'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 didst wrestle and pray for release, and that yet didst take 
 the cup which might not pass, we pray that our cup may 
 pass. Yet, thy will, and not ours, be done. We are 
 cast down ; we are smitten to the ground ; we cannot look 
 upon those that are blood of our blood and bone of our 
 bone, and know their wretchedness and misery. We 
 cannot think of children suffering ; we cannot think of 
 the innocent being driven to the mountains, and through 
 the secluded and wintry way ; we cannot think of the 
 groans, we cannot think of the tears, we cannot think ot 
 the heart-breaking anguish that has desolated so many 
 and not believe that the day of thy wrath is upon us. 
 
 Thou art making inquisition for thy poor. Thou hast 
 come to judge this nation because it has been a slave- 
 holding nation, and thou art punishing it. Yet is there 
 not mercy with thee? Shall there be utter wrath? 
 And shall the cup be mingled with the wine of thine 
 indignation ? And shall we drink it to the very dregs, 
 and swoon, and pass away ? O God, have mercy. Turn, 
 we beseech thee, the hearts of those in rebellion from 
 their wickedness. Break down the power of those mis- 
 guided men that lead rebellion with an armed host. 
 Give wisdom, and skill, and victory to those that are 
 maintaining government, and justice, and now, tardily, 
 liberty. And that this terrible scourge may not go on, 
 wilt thou give those poor and ignorant men, that seek, 
 by their counsels and compromisings, yet again to wind 
 about us the death-bond of slavery, to know that our 
 sufferings are from this iniquity, and that our hope is in 
 repentance of our injustice, and it ^od's mercy to us. 
 
 Look in compassion upon all that mourn. How great 
 is the company 1 In almost every household are those 
 who have lost near and dear ones. God, have mercy
 
 MOURNING BECAUSE OF WAB. 277 
 
 * \ 
 
 upon them. And, we beseech thee, that in all their 
 hours of darkness, in that pilgrimage of sorrow through 
 which they must walk, they may at least have the light 
 of thy countenance, and thy consoling presence. For, 
 Lord God, out from thy justice and thy government we 
 behold shining with sweet effulgence the name written 
 on thy breast, in letters that shall never die, THE COM- 
 FORTER. O Comforter, behold how many need thee. 
 Behold thy desolate ones. Behold the little children. 
 Behold the enslaved and the beaten down. Behold 
 \vidows in their anguish, and the fatherless. Behold how 
 many are wounded and sick, that suffer night and day, 
 and know no relief. Behold the perplexed counsels and 
 the distress of heart of many that are well-nigh turned 
 to stone. 
 
 O God, have compassion upon this nation. Pity it, 
 and forgive it, and restore to it the light of thy counte 
 nance and the joy of thy salvation. Yet, in the midst of 
 all our trouble, and in the sense which we have of our 
 national suffering, thou still dost give us grace to say, 
 " Let not thy hand be lifted till our sins be purged away." 
 Make us a pure nation. Make this a nation that shall 
 fear God and love man. And may the sacredness of 
 manhood rise among this people as it never has risen in 
 any nation on the earth, to show something of the final 
 fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 We beseech thee, O God, that thon wilt look upon 
 the members of this congregation in their several neces- 
 sities. Are there any of them that sit in darkness? 
 May their night be one with stars. May it be morning, 
 with the Sun of Righteousness therein. Grant, we pray 
 thee, that they may know their way to thee. And may 
 every one that mourns know that there is an ear that ia
 
 J78 BBBCHEB'S PULPII DEVOTIONS. 
 
 never closed, and that there is a heart that is ne^er less 
 than full of love for them. And though, groping in the 
 darkness, they find no way, though all seems to them 
 cold and heartless, may God's Spirit show them how to 
 become sons of God, that they may be sure that there is 
 a Father near to them. And we pray thee that all that 
 are burdened may know that secret way whereby 
 burdens are removed from the shoulders, that all that are 
 troubled may be led into the path of peace. May all that 
 need God find thee and be found of thee. 
 
 O strengthen every one against temptation. Open 
 the way of escape to all that are in peril. Give light in 
 their secular affairs to all that need the guidance of thy 
 providence. Raise up friends for those that are friend- 
 less. Draw near with comfort to all those that are in 
 suffering or in sickness. Bless all that would fain be in 
 this congregation to-day, but that only by wistful thoughts 
 can be. Wilt thou be pleased to be with the parents 
 that assemble here from time to time. Bring nearer to 
 them the immortality of their children. And by the 
 love that they bear those children in this world may they 
 be able to guide them, as by the light of thy face, to that 
 sphere where love shall be immortal, and where troubles 
 shall be no more for ever. 
 
 And O extend thine influence to those who teach the 
 young in our midst. Give them wisdom ; and may they 
 be enabled to exert more power upon the heart and con- 
 science of such as are under their charge. And grant 
 that our children may grow up from the beginning of 
 life, loving and trusting the God of their salvation. Are 
 there any among us who are imperiled in their youth ? 
 thou, that art a covenant-keeping God, the faithful 
 one, remember their parents, and the vows of their
 
 MOURNING BECAUSE OF WAR. 279 
 
 parents, and the prayers offered at their dedication, and 
 the frequent supplications offered in their behalf. For 
 these parents' sake, as well as for thine own sake, succor 
 their imperiled ones. And if there are any that have 
 come hither from Christian families in distant places, 
 who have felt in our midst that they were strangers in a 
 strange land, may they feel to-day that God has called 
 them here for a blessing ; may they put their trust in 
 their fathers' God ; may they resist the devil that he may 
 flee from them ; and may they be girded with strength 
 to do the right to the uttermost, and to shun that which 
 is wrong. 
 
 Revive thy work in our hearts ; make us more diligent 
 and faithful in every place in life ; and guide us through 
 the experiences of this world. And when our course is 
 finished here, take us to our own home, where our apart- 
 ments Wait for us, where our names are written, where 
 we are longed for. And to thy name shall be the praise, 
 Father, Son and Spirit, evermore. Amen.
 
 CLoenro PRATER. 
 
 OUR Father, wilt thou bless the word spoken. May it be a word like 
 seed that shall come up more than it has sown, and may we search and 
 ponder whether these things be so. We commend to thee our own selves, 
 our households, our children, dear to us, but not so dear to us as to thee. 
 We commend to thee the State in which we dwell, its cities, towns, insti 
 tutions, and men. We commend to the nation that spreads abroad beyond 
 all the outreachings of our thought, all its institutions and its gradually 
 unfolding histories. We commend them all to thee, and grant that we may 
 prove ourselves encouraged in simple fidelity to duty, in unfeigned manli- 
 ness and Christian love, worthy of the time in which we live and the 
 nation which has given us birth. Lead on this people through trials, 
 yea, even through faults and sins, and through disasters that come in con- 
 sequence ; through all experiences lead them forward to that bright con- 
 summation when they shall be as the sword of the Lord brought forth 
 from the forge and furnace, beaten upon the anvil, ground upon the stone, 
 and made sharp and bright, flashing vengeance against iniquity, and 
 advancing for justice the world around, and to thy name shall be the 
 praise, Father, Son and Spirit, evermore. Amen.
 
 EASTER SUNDAY 
 
 Sunday Morning, Jfarch 27, 1864. 
 
 THOU eternal Father, upon this name we hang all out 
 hopes ; and we rejoice that yet thou shalt make the world 
 understand what is the greatness, and the glory, and the 
 grandeur of fidelity, and how within it is ensphered not 
 only all the royalty of love, but the majesty of justice 
 Thou wilt yet make us to understand what is the true 
 and full worship of love. We rejoice that thou art lifting 
 the world step by step, by thine own power ; and though 
 the space which must needs be passed requires ages, we 
 believe that thou art carrying forward the work, and 
 that the earth is growing toward the heavenly state 
 toward it, though it is yet far off. We believe that thou 
 art making this more and more manifest, and that thou 
 art employing the instrumentalities of men's devices 
 that thou art employing all organizations of every kind. 
 But by them thou art bringing men back to the original 
 revelation of God in nature ; and thou art, by the livea 
 of thy holy servants of old, and by the truths that were 
 inspired through their living, and revealed to us through 
 their experience, teaching us what is the hidden mean- 
 ing of the creation itself. Thy work in the structure of 
 the human soul, and thy government that is established 
 beyond and out of sight, are wrought out here. Here
 
 282 BKECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 thou art bringing forth the stones for the building ; here 
 is the sound of the hammer and the chisel; here is all 
 confusion, and here are all waste and noisome things ; 
 but here is but the ground where thou art shaping. 
 Yonder is where thou art building ; and there they that 
 stand around thee behold the perfectness of all thy work 
 which thou hast had in hand since the beginning of the 
 world. 
 
 We rejoice, O God, that we may have faith when we 
 cannot have sight; and that we may have sure confi- 
 dence in thee and in thy kingdom, and believe, even 
 against sight, that it is growing, and taking possession of 
 the earth, and that it will yet so cleanse it and redeem it 
 that the heavens shall descend, and Christ shall reign 
 again, and the heavens and the earth shall be as one. 
 Bat though that far-off time lures our thought, and 
 charms our vanity, it is for us to labor in this sin-smitten 
 earth, that groans and travails in pain until this day. 
 On every side we hear the groaning ; but how little in the 
 world is heard, lifted up in the midst of storm and tumult, 
 the holy joys, the rejoicings of thine elect, 'that in every 
 part of the earth do, day by day, sing forth thy praises ! 
 And yet, in the growing storm, the voice of thy witnesses 
 still gains in power. And year by year, more there are 
 that join it, and more and more there are voices attuned 
 to the divine melody ; and yet, one day shall come when 
 the voice of thy ransomed people shall outbrave the 
 storms of depravity and all the harsh, discordant sounds 
 that are now filling the earth, and there shall break 
 forth yet triumphant the music of the sweet gospel of 
 Christ, and all the earth shall be filled with it. This 
 world, that hath swung a choir of sadness and of sorrow, 
 groaning and weeping, shall swing aiound about the
 
 EASTER SUNDAY. 283 
 
 throne of God, full of blessed sounds of gladness, and 
 with music fitting the high estate and majesty of thy 
 kingdom. 
 
 O Lord, our God, thou, thyself invisible, art doing 
 this invisible work. Thou that dost work art showing 
 the fruit of thy skill and power, and yet hiding the 
 instruments of thy work. And we beseech of thee that 
 thou wilt grant to every one of us more and more joy 
 of faith in the promised participation of the invisible 
 kingdom and life. Grant that we may follow our Mas- 
 ter, nothing doubting. And let us not be dissuaded by 
 reason of the greatness of the way, nor by reason of our 
 weakness. And if we stumble, let that not be a reason 
 why we should still lie where we fall. May we lift our 
 selves up again and again. Establish our goings. If 
 we waver to the right or to the left, O thou blessed 
 Saviour, grant that we may be recalled to the straight 
 and the narrow path again. And grant that none, because 
 of the wickedness that is in them, because of the deprav- 
 ity which they feel, because of their shortcomings, may 
 cast away the congdence of hope which hath in it great 
 reward. 
 
 O God, may we by faith, by penitence, by a holy and 
 renewed daily consecration, by pleading of thy promises, 
 and by the sweet tests and experiences of thy pardoning 
 love, more and more earnestly every day, seek for the 
 welfare of our souls, and for the establishment of thy 
 kingdom. May we love thy people. May we be joined 
 to them. May we cast our lot with theirs. May we go 
 with them to bear shame and abuse. May we know 
 nothing so dear to us as the triumph of the cause of God 
 among men. And where justice, and humanity, and 
 truth, and purity, and righteousness are, there may
 
 284 BEBOHBB'S murr DBVOTIONS. 
 
 we seek evermore to be, not daunted by the scowl of 
 power, not seduced by the attractions and flatteries of 
 men, not won nor bribed by any of the promises of 
 riches promises broken and never fulfilled. Grant that 
 we may take sides with thee, even in times of weakness, 
 in times of discouragement, in times of shame. May we 
 rejoice to suffer with Christ. May we esteem it more 
 than all the treasures of Egypt. And, Lord Jesus, make 
 us worthy to suffer for thee, and make us worthy to have 
 our names cast out for righteousness' sake. 
 
 And grant, O God, that there may be more and more 
 heroic natures growing up from among our youth ; more 
 and more that shall feel that the body is but the instru- 
 ment, and not the end, of life, and that the world is but 
 the vehicle and the way towards the accomplishment of 
 the true purposes of life; more and more that shall 
 know how to live saintly lives lives of true heroism. 
 And, we beseech thee, that thou wilt inspire this nation 
 and the age in which we live. Lift up all nations higher 
 and higher. Cause the knowledge of thy word to go 
 from land to land, and the power of thy truth to be 
 experienced in heart and in conscience. And may all 
 the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord and Saviour, Christ. 
 
 We thank thee that thou dost grant unto thy people 
 days of benediction, and in the sacred suggestions and 
 memorials of this day, that celebrates, in the usage of so 
 many thousands of thy people, the glorious shining forth 
 of life again from death ; grant that we, too, may have, 
 amid all its associations, the blessings of contemplation. 
 And grant that the word of truth on this day may do UL 
 good. May we have resurrection. May our hope flame 
 again our love and our zeal. Grant that we may to-daj
 
 EASTEB SUNDAY. 285 
 
 feel that we have left in the grave its garments, its mor- 
 tality, its sins. May we stand on the thither side with 
 blessed spiritual resurrection of purpose and hope and 
 love, and begin to-day with renewed seals and covenants 
 the higher and beatific life. 
 
 Are there any that mourn the hidings of thy face? 
 O, thou that rose out of the very sepulcher, bringing 
 light to the world, canst thou not, out of the heavenly 
 glory, bring light and life ? Draw near to any that are 
 ready to perish, whose thoughts chide thy delay. O 
 thou Father, find thy children to-day, and speak peace- 
 able words to them. Comfort any that mourn over sin, 
 and may their mourning do them gocd. Speak forgive- 
 ness to any that scarcely dare to look into thy face, and 
 may they glance there to behold it, not as the darkness 
 of life, but as the glowing morning, full of hope and 
 promise. And grant, we beseech thee, that thy grace 
 may lead all hearts, both in outward trouble and in 
 inward afflictions. Under all exercises and experiences 
 may thy grace lead all men to praise thy name, to cele- 
 brate thy goodness to others ; that man may be brought 
 under the testimony of thy people, into a more blessed 
 attitude of life. 
 
 Grant, we pray thee, our Father, as one and another 
 are passing away, that life may not be less rich. "We 
 thank thee that the dying who die nobly enrich life more 
 than they impoverish it. Then, when they are dead, 
 there spring up a thousand powers ; and being dead, 
 they yet speak. We cannot mourn them that depart 
 who do not go out in darkness, but rather rise into light 
 unapproachable. We thank thee for the witness, for the 
 example, and for the faithful labors of so many as are 
 gone *nd are going. And we beseech of thee that there
 
 286 BBECHBE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 may be found those who shall be worthy to follow them, 
 and to take up the work which they have finished in their 
 labor, and prosecute it to higher and yet more glorious 
 heights. And we beseech thee that thy kingdom, in 
 which dwelleth righteousness, may at last override all 
 war, all suffering, all ignorance, all superstition, and 
 that the glory of the Lord may fill the earth as the 
 waters fill the sea. And the praise shall be given to the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
 MISSIONARY OCCASION 
 
 Sunday Evening, 1864. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 THOTT hast taught us, our Father, to pray, " Let thy 
 kingdom come, and thy will be done upon earth as it is in 
 heaven ;" and we have gazed as we prayed, and learned 
 to long, with growing desire, for the fulfillment of this 
 inspired prayer. And generations have prayed and slept, 
 and others have taken their places, still desiring and 
 petitioning. And yet, O God, behold, the earth is dark 
 and full of habitations of cruelty. Behold how the race 
 are scattered, and how few know even the twilight, and 
 fewer the light of the glory of God as it shines in the 
 face of Christ Jesus. And yet they are our brethren. 
 The most ignorant and the most besotted ; the poor 
 heathen that worship idols, which their own hands have 
 made ; and those that follow, gazing and wondering, the 
 stars, to worship them ; and those that mingle their devo- 
 tion with utter cruelty ; and those that offer their pas- 
 sions as so many services to thee ; and all that are in 
 gross darkness, are they not still of our human kind 1 
 And are they not children of Q-od ? And are they not 
 the subjects of thy promises, and of thy providences ? O 
 Lord God, how dost thou, with infinite compassion and 
 ove, such as no man can have, bear to look forth upon
 
 288 BRECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 those ever-growing generations that make no progress ? 
 Thousands of years have come and gone, and they are 
 the same. O Lord, we understand not the mystery of 
 human life. It is dark and trying to our faith. But we 
 believe help our unbelief; we know that thy kingdom 
 is as heaven, and it increases silently and secretly, and is 
 advanced beyond what we suspect. "We know that the 
 power of Christ's gospel shall be felt everywhere, and 
 that there is a silent leavening of the whole world. How 
 long shall these preparatory stages be required? And 
 when, O Lord, shall we begin to see the clouds rise, and 
 the darkness sweep away, and the sun set in the latter 
 day. We desire with faith and with patience to prepare 
 ourselves for the coming of the Lord. We desire still 
 steadfastly to teach and to spread the power of the truth 
 as it is in Jesus. And to thee we commit the mystery 
 of human life. 
 
 Grant that every one of us, in our own place, may let 
 our light shine, and may remember that we are the salt 
 of the earth, by which, if at all, it is to be kept in holi- 
 ness. May it be a matter of conscience and of daily duty 
 how we can cast the most saving truth into the ever- 
 fermenting public mind, and how most we can so bestow 
 our lives that they shall be as was Christ's, given up for 
 the people. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt look upon our own land. We 
 have utter trust in thee. If we were to go by sight, we 
 should fail. There is no measurement that we can take 
 that would give us consolation. Our trust is in thee. 
 Nor are we turned back from confidence in thee because 
 thy way is mysterious. It has ever been so. The mys- 
 tery of God is only our ignorance. And as events go 
 forth, we behold how wise are the things that are the most
 
 MISSIONABY OCCASION. 289 
 
 threatening, and how strangely our fears were deceived. 
 Grant, we pray thee, that we may have more and more 
 unfaltering trust in God. May we cling to thee. May 
 we purify our hearts for closer communion with thee. 
 May we put aside every weight, and let every sin go 
 that easily besets us, and evermore cling to the simplicity 
 of the truth as it is in Jesus, and become more just, more 
 true, more kind, and more earnest in labor, praying in 
 season and out of season for the fulfillment of the promises 
 of the gospel. 
 
 Grant, we beseech thee, O God, that war may cease 
 when its purposes are accomplished. We would not be 
 impatient ; we see the fiery bolts ; we hear the sound of 
 thunders ; we know that men are cast down, wounded, 
 and destroyed ; we turn our face from the spectacle ; but, 
 O Lord, we believe that all things are guided by thee, 
 and that thou miuisterest them in final mercy. Thou 
 art punishing us. Thou art persuading the people, by 
 by the strokes and chastisement of thine hand, to give 
 up their wickedness. Thou art awakening them to more 
 sensibility of conscience. Art thou not preparing this 
 people to wear the robe of righteousness ? Art thou not 
 raising the conscience of this nation higher than ever it 
 was before, that thereupon thou mayest build a truer 
 spirituality ? Even so, Lord, go forth. We follow, and 
 implicitly trust. We will not fear, though the waves 
 roar, though the sea is darkened by storms, though the 
 air is clouded. Clouds and darkness are around about 
 thy throne, but justice and judgment are the habitations 
 thereof. 
 
 Grant, we pray thee, thy blessing to rest upon us to- 
 night, in all the exercises of the sanctuary, in singing 
 thy praise, and in speaking for edification. Make us 
 
 13
 
 290 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 grateful for the privileges of the Sabbath. It has been 
 rest to many and many a wearied one. Give forth to all 
 the portion yet needed. Fortify every one by spiritual 
 truth for the temptation and danger of the coming week. 
 And grant that we may be educated thus from week to 
 week, until at last our labor is done, our journey is over, 
 our sufferings are finished, and our probation is ended ; 
 and then may we stand in Zion, and before God. And 
 we will give the praise of our salvation to the Father, 
 the Son, and the Spirit. Amen.
 
 DEATH OF LINCOLN.* 
 
 BEFORE ADDRESS BY REV. DR. STOERS. 
 
 ALMIGHTY GOD, them art our fathers' God. They 
 trusted in thee, and were not put to shame. In times of 
 trouble we have proved thee, and found thy promises 
 yea and amen. None that put their trust in thee in a 
 just cause shall fail. For, though "clouds and darkness 
 are round about thee," justice and judgment are the 
 habitation of thy throne. And we rejoice that thou art 
 now making the dark clouds to part. We see the bright 
 shining of justice bet ween. Yet thou hast reached thine 
 hand forth, and plucked from the highest place in this 
 nation, and from the highest place in our admiration and 
 affection, thy servant, the late President of these United 
 States ; and we are as a tree whose branch the storm hath 
 wrenched off. We know our loss ; and we believe that 
 thy providence hath chastisement and condemnation. 
 
 Yet thou hast, in thy wrath, remembered mercy. 
 Thou didst ordain him to be thy servant of justice. Thou 
 didst temper his heart to integrity, moderation, and love. 
 In a stormy time, between a divided people with strong 
 passions, turbulent and deadly, thou didst plant him, and 
 to the end maintain in him temperance, fortitude, self- 
 denial, patience, meekness, gentleness, justice, and love 
 And thou didst accomplish thy work by him, and didst 
 
 At the Academy of Music. Brooklyn, Fast Day, Jane i, 1865.
 
 292 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 leave his name an honor and a glory to this people, 
 shining out brighter and brighter every day hitherward, 
 and yet shining out bright as the stars thitherward. 
 
 And now, O Lord, our God, thou hast, in thy provi- 
 dence, by the voice of our chief magistrate, convoked us 
 to-day, that we might repent before God of our sins, con- 
 fessing them ; and that we might improve this day as a 
 day of humiliation and prayer. Vouchsafe, we beseech 
 thee, to this great nation, a profound sense of their 
 sinfulness. Give life to the national conscience; give 
 honesty to this people. May they sit in judgment on 
 their past, and be sterner in judgment upon themselves 
 than can any other people be upon them. 
 
 We confess that we have been a people puffed up by 
 prosperity. We have been made arrogant by our strength. 
 We have been corrupted by the readiness and abundance 
 of our wealth. And those favors that have been meant 
 for our nourishing we have prostituted to luxury, and 
 made to serve as instruments for our degradation unto 
 selfishness. Nay, we have been willing to employ our 
 strength for oppression ; we have heeded not the cry of 
 the poor ; we have contented ourselves with securing 
 our own exceeding great prosperity, not only in in- 
 difference to those that suffered, but in contempt of 
 them. 
 
 We confess the sin of the Christian ministry, and of 
 the church. They have not been faithful to the trust 
 committed to them. They have not stood as perpetual 
 judges and condemners of wrong in the midst of this 
 people. We confess that the gospel hath had its light 
 hidden. We confess that there has not been that testi- 
 mony which there should have been. Nor do we seek 
 to excuse ourselves. We confess that the North, which
 
 DEATH OF LINCOLN. 293 
 
 loved liberty, hath hidden its love of liberty, loving better 
 other things. We, too, have taken gain of oppression, 
 and we, too, have sought quiet at the sacrifice of prin- 
 ciple ; and we confess that in these thunderous strokes 
 and dark days of storm we are receiving punishment. 
 For we have been guilty concerning our brother. The 
 blood that cries from the ground cries in part against us ; 
 and blood hath atoned for blood. 
 
 Now, Lord, our God, we beseech thee that thou 
 wilt grant that this whole people may confess their sins. 
 May we acknowledge that we have been false to the 
 principles of our government ; false to the truths of our 
 faith ; false to our manhood, to our Christianity, to 
 God and to man ; and may we understand that thou hast 
 been angry with us, though now thy face is clearing 
 away, and thou art tempering judgment with mercy. 
 We desire to be penetrated with a sense of pur deserving, 
 and desire to confess that our judgments have been fewer 
 than our sins. And we beseech thee that we may be 
 more anxious to confess our own sins than to charge their 
 sins upon those that have sinned grievously. And we 
 beseech thee that the time past may be sufficient. May 
 this people, out of the judgments through which they 
 have gone, see this truth of God, sublime as the throne 
 of eternity, that God loves justice. And may we not 
 seek any further to deceive. Thou art not mocked; 
 and whatever a nation sows, that shall it reap. May we 
 not seek to sow inequalities, and injustice, and dominance 
 of strength over weakness. May we sow righteousness, 
 and justice, and liberty, and truth throughout the whole 
 of this land, and may they spring up and bring forth 
 fruit an hundredfold. 
 
 Be pleased to bless the President of these United
 
 294 BEBCHKE'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 States, and all that in authority are associated with him. 
 Grant that his mind may be illumined from on high . 
 May he see what things are just and right ; and what 
 things are merciful. And wilt thou give him such 
 counsel that he shall ordain judgment and mercy ; both 
 of them in the fear of God, both of them in accordance 
 with thy Spirit. 
 
 And we beseech of thee that thou wilt grant thy 
 blessing to rest on the army and navy of these United 
 States. We thank thee for the fidelity of our men. We 
 thank thee that so many live, though so many have 
 afflicted our hearts in death. Be pleased to bless those 
 that are wounded and maimed, those that are sick, those 
 that are among strangers. Grant, we beseech thee, that 
 all their afflictions may be blessed to them spiritually and 
 temporally. 
 
 Remember, we beseech thee, all those that lately 
 have been enslaved, but that now are free. We thank 
 thee for their good conduct. Thou hast had thoughts of 
 mercy toward them. Wilt thou still, in thy providence, 
 ordain industry, and honesty, and frugality among them. 
 And grant that they may prove their worthiness to be 
 citizens, and be established immutably on the ground of 
 citizenship. 
 
 Be pleased, we beseech thee, to bless our enemies. 
 May those that of late have been in arms against us 
 come up in remembrance before thee. How great are their 
 sufferings ! How great have been the desolations of war 
 in their midst ! Lord, may their mischiefs be repaired. 
 Grant that their prosperity may be rebuilded once more. 
 And may bretliren begin to call each other by names of 
 love, and not by inimical names. And grant that the 
 hands already beginning to reach across the wastes of
 
 DEATH OP LINCOLN. 295 
 
 war may be clasped not only in compact of friendship, 
 but in the fealty of justice and liberty. And grant that 
 the whole citizenship of this great nation, now reunited, 
 may never be severed again. May this great people be 
 one ; with no mischief in their bosom ; with no cause of 
 fermentation ; with no taint or tendency to decay. May 
 all love each other, because all love God supremely. May 
 the weak be strengthened by the strong, and the ignor- 
 ant be illumined by the wise. 
 
 And may all mankind come up in remembrance before 
 thee. And to-day may we feel the bond that connects 
 us with our fellows in all the earth. And may this 
 nation, strengthened, repaired, made great, be great, not 
 for rapine and selfishness, but for justice ; and may the 
 influence which it exerts among the nations of the earth 
 be for liberty, and truth, and purity. And may all men 
 learn to love this people, because God is in their midst, 
 and they are clothed with the beauty of holiness. 
 
 And now, grant thy blessing to rest upon thy servant, 
 who has been called by his fellow-citizens to speak in 
 their behalf this day. Clothe him with power. Make 
 his words mighty. Grant that a blessing may go forth 
 with them, and that they may shake down, as dew from 
 perfumed shrubs, joy and profit upon us. 
 
 And grant that through life we may have thee for oar 
 God ; and, dying, we may find thee near. And, when 
 no longer we can see thee, may we reach out our haods 
 and find thee leading us through death to immortaM? 
 and glory. For Christ Jesus' sake. Amen.
 
 num. 
 
 OUB heavenly Father, wilt thou grant a blessing to rest apon the word 
 spoken. Grant that we may not turn away from thy truth, nor seek to 
 cast it from us, as the rain is cast from the roof, that it may sink into the 
 Boil and disappear, and be fruitless. May it be ours to take the seed into 
 good ground, and to have it spring up and bring forth fruit a hundred- 
 fold. Bless us in the remaining hours of this service. Give us rest 
 Prepare us for that rest which remains for the people of God. And. by 
 thine own boundless love and infinite grace, bring us thither, iad then 
 receive our praises, Father, Son, and Spirit Amen.
 
 RESTORATION OF PEACE. 
 
 Sunday Morning, October 22, 1865. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 SINCE thou hast been pleased, almighty God, to pro- 
 claim thyself our Father, and to call us thy children, we 
 would lay aside fear ; we would lay aside those mysteri- 
 ous dreads of guilt which lie in our path as mists to chill 
 and to hinder, and would come to thee in full hope. 
 And we come not so much to make mention of our ill- 
 deserts as of thy goodness. If we should speak our own 
 sense of guilt, and if we should hold argument of our 
 wickedness and unworthiness, how sad would be the 
 offering that we brought ! But dost thou not know ? 
 Art thou not the Physician of the soul ? Are we sick of 
 heart, not before thee who knoweth us more perfectly 
 than we know ourselves ? And why should we again and 
 again recite in thy presence our manifold transgressions 1 
 We will rather make mention of thy name. Thou art 
 glorious above all that are on earth and in heaven. 
 There art thou whom we love and praise. Thou dost 
 not stand as an idol to be loved, or to receive praise ; 
 but thy wonderful action, the outflow of thine end- 
 less thought, the currents of love and sympathy which 
 go forth from thine heart, the stretching out of thine 
 hand in execution, the endless works of beneficence 
 which thou dost perform, thine industry, far surpassing 
 
 13*
 
 298 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 the reach of human thought or computation, thy trana- 
 cendant grace and majesty these inspire the hearts o* 
 those that are around about thee with noble sympathy 
 and generous enthusiasm. And they are workers to- 
 gether with thee. They labor and rejoice, and love, and 
 praise, not from a sense of duty, but because their over- 
 flowing hearts must find some way of expression. And 
 thou dost lead forth thy laborious bands in eternal 
 activities, which bring neither weariness nor want of 
 remission. For when thou shalt have cleansed us from 
 the body, and brought us into our pure and spiritual 
 estate, then there shall be no night and no sleep ; no 
 hunger and no need of food ; no toil and no drudgery. 
 Unwearied we shall go forth in all the rounds of duty 
 and tasks of joy ; for ever singing, for ever rejoicing, the 
 partners of those that sing and rejoice for ever. 
 
 To this high estate, and to this blessedness, we aspire. 
 And though, as they that travel in the wilderness, catch 
 and lose again perpetually the objects by which they 
 guide themselves, we at times see before us that toward 
 which we are pressing forward, and at times lose sight 
 of; yet, by faith we walk, and not by sight. "We believe 
 that thou art conducting on earth a government. "We 
 believe that thou art calling thine own elect, that they 
 do hear thy voice, and that they do follow after thee. 
 And when they cannot behold thee, when even faith 
 itself is dun, we believe that thou knowest how to draw 
 them. As thy disciples could not disband, nor go asun- 
 der after thy death, though, notwithstanding they thought 
 thee gone for ever, they still by memory, by love, by a 
 thousand tender associations, were clasped one to another 
 and to thy sepulcher ; so, O Lord Jesus, when thou art 
 dead to us, when we are drifted so far from thj hear*
 
 RESTORATION OF PEACE. 299 
 
 that we cannot behold it, when we have lost the savor 
 of thy love, when we have ceased to be quickened by 
 the Holy Spirit, when we have cast away our crown, and 
 the fine gold thereof has become dim, still thou knowest 
 how to hold us. And though there be but a thread left, 
 by that thread how many souls have been held back from 
 their wanderings 1 
 
 Now, Lord, we beseech thee, look with grace and 
 benignity upon this congregation. How many are there 
 here who have thanks that they should offer to thee. 
 May their hearts open, and may they exhale gratitude 
 to heaven. There are those that ought to make mention 
 of wonderful deliverances which thou hast wrought for 
 them, or for others. We beseech that they may not 
 withhold the tribute which is thy due. How many are 
 there that this morning are reminded of vows and 
 promises which they have made ! And thou hast heard 
 their voice of outcry, and hast performed by thy provi- 
 dence that which they desired 
 
 Wilt thou hear thorn that draw near to thank thee for 
 those who have been restored from dangerous sickness ? 
 And, we beseech thee, hear those that in their very heart 
 supplicate thee for the sick. O Lord, thou dost know 
 what the mourner's moaning is ; and though thou dost 
 tarry, the sisters shall not plead in vain. Nor are they 
 dead that seem dead. Thou canst by thy voice and 
 providence call them forth and set them free. We be- 
 seech of thee, that thou wilt do exceeding abundantly 
 more than any ask or think. 
 
 We beseech thee that thou wilt bless all that are in 
 our midst who desire to know more of thee ; and while 
 they seek thee in prayer and meditation, may they go 
 vhere thou hast so often been on earth among the poor
 
 800 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 and needy. There reveal thyself to those who seek thee 
 in works of mercy and charity. Open the hearts of those 
 that are enlightened and educated, toward those that are 
 groveling in ignorance. And take away from us the 
 remains of the old man ; of hardness and pride; of that 
 spirit of hatred which divides man from man. And since 
 life is short even but a hand's breadth and we are 
 hastening through it, all of us living together, breathing 
 the same air, lighted by the same sun, spared by the 
 same mercy, redeemed by the same Saviour, and loved 
 by the same God, grant that we may look upon one 
 another as brethren. Though divided in estate, though 
 different in lot, though separated in endless ways 
 one from another, still may we find in Christ, and 
 in the hope of immortality, a bond of union and sym- 
 pathy, that shall bind us in one brotherhood, the world 
 over. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt bless our land. Thou hast 
 blessed it. How shall we ever return the thanks due to 
 thee? When the foundations were removed, and the 
 heaven and the earth conspired to destroy us, thou in 
 the midst of the waves wert King sitting on the flood. 
 And now thou hast commanded it to peace, and the 
 winds have gone down, and the black and roaring tides 
 are known no more. Forbid that we should forget the 
 mighty debt that we owe. We humble ourselves before 
 thee. We wonder at and adore thy goodness. 
 
 And since thou hast caused peace to come again in all 
 our land ; since our arms are laid aside, and our great 
 armies are disbanded, Lord God remember, we pray thee, 
 all that suffer. Those that are sick, and those that are 
 wounded may they not be forgotten. May they in 
 peace find that the memory and the gratitude of those
 
 RESTORATION OF PEACE. 301 
 
 about them are greater than they have been wont to 
 believe. 
 
 "We pray that thou wilt bless those that institute and 
 lead on enterprises of instruction and succor. Remem- 
 ber those that were late in slavery, but now have 
 come forth with multiplied labor-pains into the new .birth 
 of liberty. And grant, whatever they may suffer, that 
 by suffering patiently borne, under the guidance of thy 
 providence, they may attain to their perfect and full 
 citizenship. 
 
 And grant, we pray thee, a blessing to rest upon those 
 who lately were our enemies, but who now are our 
 brethren again. More and more teach us to love them 
 as brethren, and to forget their wrongs and infelicities. 
 May we learn to put ourselves in their places, and ask 
 ourselves whether, if we had been tempted as they were, 
 we would have done better than they have done. And 
 may we be more ready to forgive than to demand strict 
 justice. And grant, we pray thee, O Lord, that there 
 may be a firmer concord, a growing respect, and the in- 
 terchange of offices of reciprocal love and confidence. 
 And grant that this great nation may be banded together 
 again. Now, its sins cleansed away, its iniquities taken 
 from it, may we begin that glorious progress which shall 
 culminate in a conscience purified by a true Christianity. 
 And may we not be strong for rapine, or for avarice, or 
 for ambition, or for godless rule over the weak. May it 
 be ours to raise men, to preach the gospel to them, and 
 to send abroad to the ends of the earth that civilization 
 which Christ inspires. 
 
 Wilt thou, O God, remember our rulers. Be with the 
 President of these United States, whom thou hast called 
 in a troublous time to great and onerous duties. Thon
 
 302 BKKCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 hast led him, and art leading him, as thou didst him that 
 went before. And we beseech of thee that thou wilt still 
 be his God; and may he be guided by that wisdom 
 which descends from above; and may he seek those 
 things which make for peace and concord. Strengthen 
 his hands and heart. And grant that those who counsel 
 him may be pure men. May the legislatures of the 
 States that assemble, and the National Legislature be 
 imbued with the Spirit of God. May thy spirit dwell 
 in the midst of this people. Thou hast done great things 
 for it. Thou hast opened a way for us when we knew 
 not what course to pursue. When all was dark, and it 
 seemed as though midnight had settled for ever upon us, 
 thou didst send us light. And thou that hast done such 
 wondrous works in times past, shalt not sleep nor forget. 
 Thou wilt yet be our leader in our troubles. And we 
 will overcome them all by faith and holy trust in God, 
 who shall carry us through to the end of our lives, and 
 then receive us home to glory. We ask it for Christ's 
 Bake Amen.
 
 BAPTISMAL SERVICE. 
 
 Sabbath Morning, May 14, 1865. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 INTO the bosom of thy love, O thon eternal Father, 
 from whom we have learned to love, from whom we have 
 borrowed parentage itself, we bring back our children, 
 and are glad to hear thee say, " Suffer them to come 
 unto me, and forbid them not." For these are the least 
 things that there are, and the most helpless. And glo- 
 riously do we understand the nature of all loving in thee, 
 when thou, the highest, and the mightiest, dost conde- 
 scend to think of and to embrace in thy providence and 
 thy grace, these our offspring. We rejoice that they are 
 not left alone to our ministration, nor to those laws 
 which, in their nascent life, struggle feebly for them. 
 There is above all thought the Father of thought ; and 
 there is above all law the Father of law ; and to thy 
 sovereign care we commit our children, rejoicing that 
 now with thy promises, thy sympathy, and thy help, we 
 are stronger, and wiser, and more hopeful. We are able 
 courageously to look upon the world in which they must 
 live, with all its temptations, with all its needful strug- 
 gles, and the great cloud of its sorrows, and the storms 
 that beat upon so many ; and we commend to thee our 
 children as they come, step by step, into the experiences
 
 304 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 which we have had, and they must have, with a confi- 
 dence firm as thy word. Thou wilt take care of them, 
 for thou hast the argument of care in thine own soul 
 thou dost love them. 
 
 And be pleased, Almighty God, to bless the parents 
 that have brought hither their children to-day. Let it 
 not be an unmeaning ceremony in which they have en- 
 gaged. May they understand that they have covenanted 
 with God and with their brethren here, as have these 
 brethren with them, to rear these children in the knowl- 
 edge and in the spirit of Christ. Grant that they may 
 be able to set apart and understand the true life of Christ 
 in distinction from that of the world ; and may they be 
 able not only to inspire these children with knowledge, 
 but from the very morning of their life, to train them so 
 that their first dispositions shall be Christian dispositions, 
 and their earlier aspirations shall be toward Christ, and 
 things of truth and purity ; and teach them, when older, 
 to come back with their conscience and faith and over- 
 come the realm of wickedness in them, as well as to set 
 themselves victoriously against that which is eyil in the 
 world. 
 
 And grant, we beseech thee, that this solemn scene 
 may not die from the memory of these parents, and when 
 these children grow up, may they accept this consecra- 
 tion, and ratify it ; and may they themselves go forward 
 in that Christian life for which these parents stand spon- 
 sors. Grant a blessing to rest upon all the parents that 
 are here, whose hearts are drawn out toward these sweet 
 little ones. Remember those who have their dear ones 
 with them still ; and also those who search in sad memo- 
 ries for dear ones that are no longer with them, because 
 God has taken them. Give them consolation for their
 
 BAPTISMAL SEBVICE. 305 
 
 departed. Give them more Lope and comfort. And if 
 there are any whose hearts are as an open grave to-day 
 be pleased, O God, that didst show angels to those that 
 saw angela in the grave, to show angels to them. May 
 they not mourn as those that have no hope, but may 
 they be strengthened and comforted in their sorrow, and 
 made wiser and purer and holier thereby. 
 
 And may all of us that hold our treasures of heart by 
 so frail a tenure, which may give way in a day or an 
 hour, and bankrupt us in home and in heart, so accustom 
 ourselves, day by day, to view things as they are, that 
 we shall be beyond the reach of surprise, though death 
 should come at any time ; though husband, or wife, or 
 child, or friend, or brother, or sister, or all of them, should 
 be taken from us. Grant that we may know that heaven 
 is above us, that God waits there for us, that the earth is 
 the Lord's and the fullness thereof; and that neither 
 time nor chance can befall any, except by thy permission. 
 Grant that in the midst of trouble we may be steadfast 
 and immovable, trusting in God, as other things fade 
 and fail and pass away, with an immutable trust. And 
 so may our hearts be fixed, no more fluctuating, no more 
 changing, as the fickle cloud. 
 
 Grant, we beseech thee, thy blessing to rest upon all 
 who are gathered together for worship. Accept the 
 vows of those that have come to enter into covenant 
 with God. Accept the thanksgiving of hearts that this 
 morning are laden with gratitude. O Lord, how much 
 have we to be thankful for ! How many of us have great 
 joys unutterable ! Thou hast caused the storm to pass 
 away. Its bolts are sped, and they that must fall, have 
 fallen. And how many of us receive back again our 
 children that have been set apart unto death. They
 
 306 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 were sealed and stamped with covenant consecration, 
 bnt thou hast been pleased to find otherwhere a victim, 
 and they are loosed and are coming home again. And 
 to how many households is it more than to the harp ia 
 the touch of the harper's hand. And how many hearts 
 there are that shall not know how to speak their thanks- 
 giving and their gratitude. For the sorrow which 
 thou hast caused, we thank thee. And now, since the 
 rain is over and gone, and the sun shines again, we thank 
 thee for the joys that thou hast sent us. And onr prayer 
 is that both joy and sorrow may be sanctified, and that 
 this great people may be made more humble, more pure, 
 more just, and more true, by the dealings with them of 
 God in providence. 
 
 We beseech thee, O Lord, our God, that thou wilt be 
 very near to those that are sick ; to those that are in 
 prisons ; to those that are maimed ; to those that seek or 
 find their homes only as a quiet place to die in. Lift 
 upon them the light of thy countenance, and give to 
 them all the joy of thy salvation. 
 
 Thou hast been pleased to afflict this people by taking 
 away the head and father thereof.* We thank thee for 
 his example. We thank thee for the savor of that name 
 which shall be a blessing to our children, and to our 
 children's children. We have saved, and put into the 
 calendar of influence another power that shall teach men 
 manliness and purity. We thank thee for that guidance 
 of thy spirit and thy providence which made him to us 
 what he hath been, and what he shall be. 
 
 We thank thee, O God, that thou art still farther 
 exhibiting thy ways of mercy. How utteily hast thoa 
 
 President Lincoln.
 
 BAPTISMAX SERVICE. 807 
 
 overthrown rebellion ! How utterly hast thou marked 
 the guilt and wickedness thereof ! And one and another 
 of those that have borne high part in infamous wrong, 
 thou hast brought low, and art holding. And, O Lord, 
 our God, grant that we may remember that in enume- 
 rating thine attributes to us, thou hast declared that 
 vengeance is thine, and that thou wilt repay. And 
 grant, we beseech of thee, that we may seek justice in a 
 frame of mind that shall befit the seeking thereof. An<? 
 let us not stumble on passion, and call that justice ; noi 
 upon hate, and call that justice ; nor upon wicked feel- 
 ings of any kind, and call them justice. May we listen 
 to the voice of God, and with a heart of love and mercy, 
 receive the intimations of justice, that then it may be 
 executed purely and truly. 
 
 Lord, we beseech thee, that thou wilt be pleased to 
 grant thy blessing upon all that part of our land which 
 has been ravaged or despoiled. We cannot ask that suf- 
 fering shall not do its mission ; but we pray that suffer- 
 ing may be remedial, and not destructive. Build up the 
 waste places ; turn the hearts of those that are dissevered 
 to each other again. Inspire industry. Grant that with 
 increasing prosperity and allegiance, fidelity may have 
 a new birth, and that there may spring up a better Chris- 
 tianity and a truer patriotism than was ever known there 
 before. And may this land, reunited, sit at the feet of 
 Jesus, speaking thy praise, acknowledging thine author- 
 ity, and speeding thine errands in all the earth. 
 
 Bring in Jew and Gentile. Bring in those that are 
 lost, and those that are in darkness and have wandered 
 out of the way ; and make manifest thy right hand and 
 thy power, which yet shall govern all the earth. 
 
 Hear us, we beseech thee, in these our petitions.
 
 308 BEECHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 Answer us, not for our much speaking, but for thine own 
 name's sake. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost, shall be praises evermore. Amen. 
 
 GLOBING PRATER. 
 
 BE pleased, Almighty God, to draw us by thine own persuasion, and to 
 help our imperfect arguments with ourselves, that we may be able to 
 come toward thee yea, to enter into that tabernacle which thou hast 
 builded for us and find rest. Thou hast promised to hide thy people in thy 
 pavilion. Thou art our tower, and from the face of our enemies we run 
 in and are safe. Thou art the shadow of a rock in a weary land. "We 
 cool ourselves from the untempered sun beneath thy sweet shade. 
 Lord Jesus, thou art our garment, and we put thee on. Thou art our life, 
 and we desire to enter into thee that we may find ourselves. Our life i 
 hid with Christ in God. 
 
 And now we pray that thou wilt bless the word of exhortation to each 
 one of us. May it quicken our faith. May it encourage us in the divine 
 life. Take us by the hand, for we are orphans, and we need a guide, and 
 thou art that One whom our soul elects and desires. And at last, after 
 the scenes of this turbulent life are over, bring us to that rest which 
 remains for the people of God. And to thy name shall be the praise, 
 Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 BAPTISM OF THE WHITE SLAVE. 
 
 Sunday Morning, May 10, 1863. 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 THOU eternal God, grant unto us that life which shall stir the sources 
 of life in us. Shine upon us, that we may reflect something of thy glory. 
 Speak to our thoughts and to our feelings that slumber, that they may 
 know that this is the Lord's morning ; and, as Christ arose, may all Christ- 
 like things in us arise with blessed sympathy. May we aspire to the 
 full rejoicing of sonship this day, made thine by redemptive love. Grant 
 that we may be able to take hold of thy feet, to look adoringly in thy face, 
 to speajk. vith thee as children with a parent, and to hear what thou 
 eayest to us from out of thy holy word. And if our hearts are kindled, 
 give us utterance in sacred songs and hymning oij earth, that we may join 
 the choral services in heaven. And may every part of our worship 
 enrich us and honor thee. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFORE SERMON. 
 
 O LOED, our God, thou that beholdest the earth, and 
 all its secrets, we wonder and adore at that long-suffering 
 and patience with which thou hast nourished it, cherish- 
 ing the good that it might spread abroad its branches 
 and fill the earth. When we behold iniquity in such 
 aspects as bring it within our sympathy and raise against 
 it all the forces of our spiritual nature, we are full of 
 feelings of impatience that seek to destroy with thunder- 
 bolts of wrath. We marvel at that wondrous patience 
 of the divine love that, abhorring evil with infinite 
 grace, more. than is possible to us, prolongs the day of
 
 310 BKECHKR'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 grace and overtures of mercy, and by other rejected and 
 long refused methods, seeks salvation for mined men. 
 O teach us to hate evil somewhat as thou dost. O teacb 
 us so to love while hating evil, as to follow in, the foot- 
 steps of our Saviour, and be patient with evil-doers, 
 seeking by all methods to restore them. God of all grace, 
 cleanse our hearts from evil thoughts and from evil feel- 
 ings ; from all those passions which in other men run 
 riot, and which, if the banks and dikes of thy providence 
 and grace were cast down would overflow our souls and 
 destroy our lives. O be pleased to teach us humihcy, and 
 meekness, and gentleness, and love that waits long, that 
 suffers long, and is kind. 
 
 We beseech of thee, O Lord, that thou wilt grant us 
 so to rear our offspring that they, from the morning of 
 life, shall have the divine art of restraining tempestuous 
 feelings and passions, and that they shall grow up into 
 the sweetness and majesty of divine love. 
 
 Bless those dear children whose parents have presented 
 them before this congregation for holy consecration in 
 baptism. Grant that their lives may be precious. Grant 
 that they may grow up to cheer and comfort their parents. 
 And as they educate them, may they consciously be led 
 of God into all truth, and into all Christian feelings. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt grant thy blessing to rest upon 
 all those that aforetime have been offered up in baptism 
 here. As they, many of them, are growing to years of 
 discretion, may they answer to the covenants and wishes 
 of their parents. Trained by the influence of thy good 
 Spirit, may they become wise, and give evidence before 
 men, by a godly walk and conversation, of the truth 
 of Christ in them, the hope of glory. 
 
 Be pleased, Almighty God, to remember that dear
 
 BAPTISM OF THE WIIITE SLATE. 311 
 
 child* that hath been under such strange circumstances 
 brought hither to-day, redeemed from bondage, plucked 
 as a brand from the burning, and now solemnly conse- 
 crated by its adopted mother as a Christian child, 
 restored at last to the human race, and born again into 
 human rights. O be pleased to grant that its life may 
 be spared, and that it may be taught how great is that 
 goodness of God which has been displayed toward it. 
 And may it grow up in maturer years to teach and to 
 rescue its own sisters from the degradation and bondage 
 of ignorance, from the ways of passion, and from all 
 things that are evil. 
 
 Bless thine handmaid whom thou hast privileged to 
 take this child from Egypt, and bring it hither to the land 
 of promise. Grant that her years may be spared, and 
 that she may be prospered in this labor of love; and aa 
 she is watering thine own branch, let heavenly dews fall 
 on her, that she may reap her reward day by day as she 
 goes to the heavenly land. 
 
 And grant that all who have beheld this wondrous 
 scene to-day may have, by the Holy Ghost, written in- 
 visibly in their souls, a horror and a hatred of oppression 
 and wrong which thus grind the people of God and his 
 little ones. O Lord Jesus, what art thou doing ? How 
 many parents there are who would fain bring their chil- 
 dren to thee, but who dare not bring them ! How many 
 thousands shed tears of sorrow because they are not per- 
 mitted to worship thee according to the desire of their 
 hearts ! How many prayers go up to thee at night an<l 
 by stealth ! And yet thy decrees seem immutable, and 
 no mercy appears for them. Art thou not, O God, 
 coming for the salvation of this whole people ? Art thou 
 
 * A little white girl, that had recently been a slave.
 
 812 BKKCHER'S PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 not preparing, by the Btern blows of battle, to beat dowi 
 the doors of oppression, and to raze the foundations of 
 it even to the ground ? Even so, Lord Jesus, come 
 quickly. 
 
 And bless, while thou dost tarry, thy servants, and 
 those that are saints before God in oppression the aged, 
 that have prayed long and fainted not, those who are in 
 the midst of a pure life, and the young who aspire to 
 goodness according to the twilight of knowledge which 
 they receive. While we are preaching the gospel to re- 
 mote nations of the earth, O that there might be a heart 
 given to us to bear the tidings of salvation and the 
 fullness of its meaning to those that are in bondage and 
 heathenism in our own land. 
 
 And we pray that thou wilt break all bonds throughout 
 the world, and hasten that glorious day of prediction 
 when from the rising of the sun to the going down of the 
 same there shall be only justice, and truth, and liberty, 
 and peace ; when every man shall sit under his own vine 
 and under his own fig-tree, and the earth shall be filled 
 with the glory of the Lord, as the waters fill the sea. 
 "We ask these things in the adorable name of Jesus, to 
 whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, shall be 
 praises everlasting. Amen.
 
 YOUTHFUL ACCESSIONS. 
 
 S^^nday Morning, March 7, 1866. 
 
 INVOCATION. 
 
 LIFT upon us the light of thy countenance, Lord our God ; and aa 
 thou art making the sun to shine forth this day to illumine the earth, so, 
 Sun of righteousness, bring day and brightness to us. May we leave the 
 Bordid cares, and the troubles, and the fears of the week, its burdens and 
 griefs, behind us ; and, emancipated, may we walk into thy sanctuary 
 this morning as the sons of God in their Father's house. And vouchsafe 
 to us that meeting of the soul with thee that shall assure us of thy pres- 
 ence, and of thy welcome. Bless the reading of thy "Word. Bless our 
 endeavors to draw instruction from it. Bless us, we beseech thee, in 
 singing, in prayer, in meditation, and in all the rejoicing services of the 
 sanctuary, and of the day. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 BEFOBE SERMON. 
 
 BLESSED be thy name, O God, that there is a new and 
 living way opened up for us in Christ Jesus between the 
 spiritual and invisible world and this mortal and visible 
 one. The way is obscure, and our wandering thoughts 
 are bewildered and lost as we seek to find it. So far it 
 seems so different from our accustomed senses, so strange 
 and intangible, that doubts and fears roll over us like 
 billows. But when thou art presented in Jesus our 
 Master, when we behold the heart of God radiant with 
 love, and hear thee call us thy children, and thy breth- 
 ren, and thy friends, and know that all power that cen- 
 ters in the eternity of the universe is wielded by wisdom 
 
 14
 
 314 BEKCHBB'B PULPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 for mercy and for love, we feel that we have found a 
 way, and no longer do our poor thoughts stumble over 
 the stony wilderness. Now in Jesus Christ we find our 
 God, and we come boldly to the throne of mercy. 
 
 O Lord, we rejoice in this way of approach to thee ; 
 and we thank thee that thou dost manifest thyself to 
 those that seek thee and find thee in a way that thou 
 dost not to the world ; by evidence such as we cannot 
 have in worldly things ; by our own consciousness ; by 
 the up-springing of the feelings of the heart ; by that 
 love in us which calls out to the love which is in thee, 
 and by which we say " Abba, Father." "We bless thee, 
 that thon dost shine into the soul, and grant unto thy 
 people a witness of thy presence, and fill them with joy 
 unspeakable. We rejoice that thou dost teach them that 
 thou art, and that thou art a rewarder of those that dili- 
 gently seek thee. And we thank thee that there are so 
 many that are seeking thee ; that there are so many that 
 in silent thoughts are seeking thee ; that there are so 
 many that with avowed purpose are seeking the way to 
 thee ; that there are so many tha' from backslidings and 
 wanderings are returning to thee; that there are BO 
 many that have had a long night and troubled dreams, 
 that are coming to the dawn, and are waking. Thou 
 Star of the morning, shine out for those that watch and 
 wait, to tell them the way from which the light comes. 
 Thou Sun of righteousness, rise with healing in thy 
 beams ; rise to drive away darkness and all its works of 
 wickedness ; rise, that the children of light may come 
 forth and bear witness of their God. 
 
 Accept, we beseech of thee, the consecration which 
 thou hast inclined these thy servants* to make of them 
 
 Jnst received into the Church.
 
 YOUTHFUL ACCESSIONS. 815 
 
 selves to thee. We thank thee that they are beginning 
 BO early to serve thee. "We thank thee that it is not the 
 fragments of their life that they bring with them. We 
 thank thee that they do not come to Christ only to be 
 insured against death. We thank thee that they have 
 consecrated the dew of their youth to their God, and that 
 they mean to live a life of purity, of love, of truth, of self- 
 denial, and of activity for others. And we pray that the 
 generous and godly purposes which have been inspired 
 in their hearts, and have ripened into convictions and 
 decisions in them, may be nourished by thy grace, and 
 perpetuated by thy spirit, which gave them birth. And 
 may they never be ashamed of Christ or his cause. May 
 they never be weary of well-doing. May they begin at 
 once to do all the duty that is made known to them. 
 And may they have manifested in their hearts the truth 
 of thy word, that thy yoke is easy and that thy bur- 
 den is light. May they have victories. May they have 
 hope and courage inspired from the very beginning, by 
 victories over easily-besetting sins. 
 
 Unite husbands and wives by a purer, a sweeter, and a 
 more heavenly affection. Grant that there may be to 
 all of us this background of immortality. There may 
 we plant ourselves. There may all noble aspirations 
 find their source. There may we live together in the 
 hope of glory in a realm where sorrow, and tears, and 
 separation, and death, are known no more. 
 
 Grant, we beseech of thee, thy blessing to rest upon 
 the labors of all thy servants ; upon the efforts of those 
 that teach in the Sabbath school and in Bible classes. 
 And we pray that thou wilt bless the pupils under their 
 charge. And may there be those that shall gird them- 
 selves, and go forth and preach the gospel to the ungatb
 
 310 BKBCHER'S PITLPIT DEVOTIONS. 
 
 ered, the scattered, the ignorant, the vicious, the crimi- 
 nal. May there be an anointing of the Holy Ghost day 
 by day in them, and may the work be its own reward 
 May they rejoice that they are counted worthy to do 
 anything for the name of Christ. 
 
 We pray that thou wilt bless all the churches ; revive 
 thy work in them more and more powerfully. And 
 grant that the time for the visitation of Zion may come 
 in all the land. May we hear tidings of the glories of 
 thy salvation on every side. And as war hath broken 
 out and rolled its lurid clouds of darkness over the land, 
 now let there be poured out streams of the light of thy 
 kingdom clear across this continent. And we beseech 
 of thee that the dwellers on the sea, and those in wilder- 
 nesses, and those scattered through mountains and mines, 
 may hear the tidings of thy salvation. And everywhere 
 may man begin to love man. Everywhere may man be 
 precious in the eyes of his fellows for Christ's sake. 
 And, we beseech of thee, overturn and overturn in all the 
 nations of the earth, and bring in that latter day, that 
 glorious time of appointment that surely marches on, 
 when all the earth shall see thy salvation. 
 
 And to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and 
 Spirit. Amen.
 
 SOCIAL OR LECTURE-ROOM PRAYERS. 
 
 Friday Evenings. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 THOTT that art the Highest, we rejoice in thee. When separated 
 from thee, the inspirations of our life are lost, and our joy is but 
 as color in darkness ; but when we are joined to thee, our hearts 
 sing, and all oppositions cease ; sorrow itself is luminous, and the 
 plainest things are most beauteous. Joy is unspeakable then and 
 full of glory. Thy way is wondrous. That which thou canst do 
 for thine own, though we know it not all, we know it in some 
 measure, and we adore thee for thy grace ; we adore and love thee 
 for all that makes thee God. Thy power and august dignity we 
 recognize ; but oh ! thy heart, thy love, thy beneficent wisdom, thy 
 tenderness are past all comparison. The gradations of thy mercy 
 will never be known. Thou lovest to be a God of mercy. This is 
 thy delight. We rejoice, since we need it in infinite stores, that it 
 is poured endlessly abroad ; and that all our wants are met. Our 
 necessities are known to thee before they are known to us ; and 
 thy supplies are waiting for us. 
 
 We thank thee for the past. How many memories of thee that 
 come to our hours of musing are full of sweetness, as things are 
 that come from a garden of flowers. We rejoice that thou art 
 making heaven to us as a garden ; and that the influences wafted 
 thence are so full of fragrance, and have in them so much to make 
 as patient here ; so much to make us willing to live ; so much that 
 inspires humiliation and divine ambition ; so much that makes us 
 content to submit to thy will. Do with us as thou pleasest. We 
 leave ourselves in thy hands, and, living or dying, we desire to be 
 the Lord's. O that we might understand what is the glory of our 
 calling in Christ Jesus, and what is the riches of the inheritance
 
 818 BBKCHKli's SOCIAL, OB 
 
 of the saints in glory ! Why should we go, made dingy by care t 
 "Why should we he drudging in life ? Why should we spend our 
 time, and employ all our nohler powers in the service of things 
 mean beyond comparison ? We who are called in heaven ; we 
 whose names are written there ; we upon whom is passed the bap- 
 tism of the Spirit we are the beloved of God, around about whom 
 wait his ministering angels; for whom Providence moves; who 
 are dear to the heart of the Redeemer ; whose wants time and eter- 
 nity are made to serve. Lord God ! we beseech of thee that we 
 may live worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called. May 
 we put aside fear ; may we throw away sorrow ; may we be rid 
 of care ; may we cast our burdens on thee. They are no burdens to 
 thee ; and they cease to be burdens to us when we cast them on thee. 
 O Lord, think of us; think for us; provide for our daily wants. 
 Give us not only a place where to lay our head, but a place likewise 
 where we can lay our heart even upon thine that we may have 
 that peace which passeth all understanding. Why should we starve 
 when there is meat enough in our Father's house ; or grieve when 
 there is joy waiting for us ; or despond when everlasting hope is lifted 
 up upon us, and it is proclaimed that we are saved by hope ? We 
 desire to make more of our salvation by Christ. We desire to have 
 more comfort and more strength in thee. May we know how to 
 use thee more. May we know how to put thee on as a garment ; 
 how to take thee as a Saviour; how to feed upon thee as the bread 
 of life ; and how to behold thee as the Sun of Righteousness, 
 shining upon all, and filling all with the glory of thine own excel- 
 lence. 
 
 Grant a blessing to rest upon us to-night. Already it is coming. 
 We thank thee for these meetings ; for the fellowship of saints ; 
 for this rest given to us in the intervals of care and trouble ; for 
 the privilege of praising thee, and praying to thee. We thank 
 thee for the unnumbered evenings and days that have gone by ; 
 for the fellowship of years ; for the memories that eternity shall 
 not efface. Bind us together to-night. Give us joy and profit in 
 this our meeting. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen.
 
 LECTURE-BOOM PRAYEBS. 319 
 
 No. IL 
 
 PREPARATORY LECTURE. 
 
 O, ASCENDED Redeemer, then art ever in the presence of thy 
 Father, unforgetting, and forever loving. After having loved 
 thine own, thou didst love them unto the end. To the end of the 
 world, and through eternity, thon wilt be the loving Saviour. And 
 now the evidences of thy affection and faithfulness are in us. We 
 are severally witnesses of thy goodness, in enlightening us when we 
 were in darkness ; in searching us, and causing our sins to rise up 
 in order before us. We are witnesses that thou didst call us when 
 we were raised with an effectual calling ; and that we were made 
 to know that God was gracious. And since we have recognized 
 thine authority and called ourselves by thy name, thou hast not 
 forgotten to do us good no, not for one moment. In our way- 
 wardness, in our forgetfulness, in our backslidings, in our wicked 
 worldliness, in doubts and fears and retrocessions, thou hast 
 been full of goodness. Yea, when we have been unfaithful, thou 
 hast been faithful. Thou abidest, God, and never changest. 
 Thou dwellest without variableness or shadow of turning. It is 
 man that changes and passes away. 
 
 We rejoice, O God, to acknowledge thee, to call ourselves by 
 thy name ; and we rejoice that we are gathered into thy visible 
 church, that we have been made to take the vows and covenants 
 of God upon us ; and we desire to be known as thy disciples, and 
 never to draw back from the consecrations that we have made. We 
 desire to be aided by thy holiness and love, so that the world 
 may see Christ in us. May we be able so to maintain thy testi- 
 mony, that thy word shall be revived in its living form in us ; and 
 we may go forth epistles read and known of all men. 
 
 Be pleased to bless us as a church. We beseech thee grant to 
 every individual member of this great body thy saving presence. 
 And as we cannot enumerate all their wants, we commend them 
 to thee. Be pleased to find out the want of every one, and to 
 relieve it from thine own infinite grace and fullness. There are 
 many that are discouraged ; but thy strength is as abundant for 
 them now as it was in days that are past. There are many that
 
 320 BBBCHBB'S SOCIAL, OB 
 
 ay, "What shall we eat! what shall we drink? and wherewithal 
 shall we be clothed ?" And thou art saying to them, " Yonr heavenly 
 Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." There are 
 many that sit despondent; there are many that have been be- 
 reaved ; there are many that are Buffering ; there are many who 
 have friends that are sick ; there are many who have lost friends 
 from their earthly estate. Be pleased, O thou comforting One, to 
 comfort them severally, according to their need, and thine infinite 
 mercy and goodness. 
 
 And now thou art preparing thy people to come together, with 
 vows and faithful promises, to celebrate thy dying love. O may 
 they never forget thy love. May the sun and the stars disappeai 
 from the heavens before any heart that has known the love of 
 Christ shall forget it. And may we mourn over those sins that 
 make us unworthy to call ourselves by his name. May we seek 
 more and more to resist the enemies of Christ, and to fortify our- 
 selves that we may be faithful in his cause. And wilt thou prepare 
 us for the celebration of thy dying love. May all that come together, 
 come called and baptized by the Spirit of God. 
 
 Remember any that are scattered abroad, dispersed, and that would 
 fain come together with us. Lord, may there still be borne out 
 to them a communion of the Spirit ; and if they turn their thoughts 
 toward this Sabbath that is approaching, and yearn for thy sanc- 
 tuary, be pleased, O God, to cause that, wherever they are, the 
 ministration of thy providence and grace may abound to them. 
 
 Thou hast withdrawn many from our midst. Thou art giving 
 them the privilege of standing up for the maintenance of right in 
 this great national struggle upon which thou hast permitted us to 
 enter. Be pleased to strengthen them in the day of battle. May 
 their hearts not fear. "When other men fear and melt away, may 
 they feel, as it were, the glory of God standing around about them, 
 and carrying them wherever they go. In sickness, in suffering of 
 wounds, or in the last passion and anguish, Holy Ghost draw near 
 and abide with them. And we beseech of thee that thou wilt 
 make this church rich, not so much in the number of its members, 
 as in their heroism, in their spiritual loveliness, in their earnest 
 fidelity to duty. And may Christ have many witnesses from out 
 of the midst of this people.
 
 LECTURE-ROOM PR A. Y BBS. 321 
 
 NO. m. 
 
 WK thank thee for thine exceeding bounty and love, Lord 
 Jesns, our Redeemer. We thank thee for our souls' own expe- 
 rience. What to us is the heaven around us, and the earth filled 
 with tokens of thy love and kindness ; what are food and raiment ; 
 what are all the blessings of the household, compared with the 
 glory which thou dost bring to the soul in the assurance of thy 
 love to-day. For the earth fades and passes away. At longest, 
 we are here but a little time. In our Father's house eternity 
 dwells. But when thou dost disclose thyself to us, and call us 
 thine, speaking our sins forgiven, and giving us the promise of thy 
 life as the assurance of ours, saying, "Because I live ye shall live 
 also," then, O blessed Savior, with what transport do we hail the 
 gift of immortality, and all its blessedness, with thee, with thine, 
 with ours. Cleansed from every sin, redeemed from every weak- 
 ness, knowing as we are known, we shall forever and forever, in 
 thy presence, in thine own immediate love and care, hold on our 
 exalted being through endless ages of blessedness. Eye hath not 
 eeen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive, what thou hast laid up for those that love thee, and 
 whom thou dost love. 
 
 Now, we beseech thee that thou wilt manifest thyself to all that 
 are here. Break through the settled gloom, if there be those that 
 are in darkness which shrouds their mind. Though they are not 
 worthy of thee, make thyself glorious to them. And wilt thou be 
 full of all those noble benefactions which thou art wont to bestow 
 upon the undeserving. Are there any in thy presence that are 
 mourning because of their sins ? While thou callest them to arise 
 and forsake the evil of their way, and turn to thee by newness of 
 life, Lord God, grant that there may be a heart given to them to 
 feel thy call. We beseech thee that thou wilt grant that if there 
 be any in thy presence that yearn for better knowledge and higher 
 disclosures of God, they may be satisfied. Show thyself to them as 
 thou dost not to the world. May the Spirit of God be with them. 
 May they feel that they have an indwelling Saviour. May they 
 have that perfect peace which passeth all understanding ; which 
 not the dread of their own sin can disturb ; which not all the 
 14*
 
 322 BEECHEIi's SOCIAL OB 
 
 clamor and confusion of the world, nor all the changes that come 
 upon the human race can mar, and which is promised and given 
 freely, flowing as a river of life. 
 
 Are there any in our midst that desire, because of their sick 
 ness, to be remembered before thee ? We beseech thee be near to 
 them in their trial and trouble. Bless them with the disclosures 
 of the truth of God in Christ Jesus, and make their way toward 
 the heavenly home a sure way ; and as birds forsake the winter 
 in the north, and fly through the liquid air, singing as they fly, to 
 seek warmer climes, so may they, when they go homeward, sing 
 as they fly all the way thither. And hearing their joy, knowing 
 their witness, may we be encouraged to follow them, and live with 
 trust in Christ, knowing that he will not forsake us in the hour of 
 weakness ahd dying. For what soul, Jesus, ever put its trust in 
 thee, and was forsaken ? Who ever leaned upon thy bosom, and 
 was cast thence ? There is blessing yet for every one that comes 
 seeking with a childlike disposition, and willing to take. 
 
 "We beseech thee that if there are any that are without hope 
 and without God, suffering in sickness and gloom of mind, and in 
 a dark and troubled way, thou wilt be pleased to bring upon their 
 night the morning of hope. May the Sun of Righteousness arise 
 upon them with healing in its beams. 
 
 Grant, we pray thee, a blessing to those that are of us, but 
 not among us, detained by various errands in thy providence. 
 Some we know are far from us in circumstances of labor, and 
 danger, and great trial. Give them courage, fortitude, and fidelity. 
 May they to the end endure as good soldiers of Christ, and 
 approved through faith of Christ, by their good works. And 
 grant that there may be a Gospel in the camp. May a fire be 
 kindled in every single regiment of our army by those that know 
 Christ. And hasten the day when all over the world the power 
 of Christ's religion shall be felt, and when nations shall make war 
 no more. And grant that thy glory may fill the earth, as the 
 waters fill the sea. Even so, Lord, come quickly. And to thj 
 name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 4ZCTURE-BOOM PKAYERS. 32) 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 THOU blessed Redeemer, everywhere thine eye of love and mercy 
 dwells, aiid wherever thy looks are, there is light and joy. Who 
 can wander from thy presence? and who that consciously is in thy 
 presence can be much in sorrow or in sadness ? For thon hast 
 tanght us to sanctify affliction. Thou hast taught us its meanings, 
 and all its blessed fruits and remunerations. And though for the 
 present it is not joyous, but grievous ; afterward it worketh the 
 peaceable fruit of righteousness. Be pleased, Lord Jesus, to 
 bring us into such communion with thee, that all things shall b 
 relatively indifferent. Grant that we may have such a sense of oui 
 riches in Christ's love, such a sense of power in the communica 
 tions of divine grace, such an ascendancy over time and circum- 
 stances, such a sense of the shortness of life and the nearness of 
 the eternal life, and such premonitions of its glory, of the fullness 
 of its joy, and of its interchanging andunwasting blessedness, thai 
 we shall not be moved from our constancy. Deliver us, we pray 
 thee, from all looking forward with pain and apprehension. For 
 why should we bear the burden that belongs to the infinite One T 
 Why should we carry that which thou wilt carry for us? For 
 cares and troubles do not vex thee, while they oppress us, and 
 weigh us down to the ground. May we learn how to cast our care 
 upon him who careth for us ; how to trust in the Lord and do 
 good ; how to go day by day, fearing no evil ; how to be in that 
 perfect liberty which love gives. Children of the Highest, brethren 
 together through Jesus Christ grant that we may feel that all 
 things are for us ; that our Father owns the earth, with its seasons, 
 with all its possessions ; that the earth is the Lord's, and the full- 
 ness thereof; and that therefore it, and all things that are in it, 
 are ours. Grant that we may feel the largeness of that calling to 
 which we are called ; that it may give us joy, and peace, and in- 
 spiration, and gratitude, and love. 
 
 Be pleased to bless thy servants that are gathered together to- 
 night. To each one grant the spirit of needed help according to 
 thine insight and wisdom, and not according to the wisdom of our 
 asking. Grant that if any are in trouble, they may be succored 
 therein. If any are in darkness, may they find rising a star over
 
 324 BBECHBB'S SOCIAL OR 
 
 the horizon of their night. If any are perplexed, bo pleased, 
 Lord, to guide them out of their doubt into the plain path of duty 
 Lighten the burdena of those that bend beneath their load. And 
 grant, we pray thee, that every one may feel and know that the 
 Spirit worketh in him, and may have the earnest of his promised 
 possession. We pray that thou wilt accept our thanks for these 
 hours of communion, and for all the memories of the past in con 
 nection with them. How rich has our life been, beyond all meas- 
 uring of our own ! How full have been thy mercies ! And because 
 they have been so many and BO continuous, we have lost the reck- 
 oning, so that we scarcely know how much thou hast done for us. 
 "We thank thee for the past. We humbly trust thee for the future. 
 Be pleased to preserve us, and to fit as more and more for the work 
 of thine earthly kingdom. And at last, through riches of grace in 
 Christ Jesus, take us all to our heavenly home, and there we will 
 praise the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit. Ameu. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 GHANT, O God, now that we have entered on another year a year 
 of the revelation of the right-hand of thy glory ; a year that thou art 
 making wonderful among all the years of time grant that, for the 
 Bake of the truth, and for the sake of holiness, we may lift ourselves 
 up to a higher life. May we be called to act from nobler motives. 
 May we endeavor to take a clearer and truer conception of duty. 
 And may we, for Christ's sake, and for the sake of his cause, conse- 
 crate ourselves afresh to thee. Thou, God, canst lift us up ; and 
 only thou canst do it. All our courage will be in vain, and all our 
 good resolutions will sleep as sentinels over- wearied at their post, 
 and we shall be surprised and destroyed if thou art not vigilant 
 for us, and thy grace is not exercised in our behalf. We stand 
 importuning, not because thou needeet to be importuned, and art 
 reluctant to bestow mercies upon us. We know not why \ve do 
 it, except that thou hast told us to ask for such things as we 
 desire. 
 
 We beseech thee to grant to every one in thy presence that 
 blessing which cannot be mistaken ; that voice which can come
 
 LKCTUBE-ROOM PEAYBES. 825 
 
 only from Him that speaketh to the inmost consciousness. Grant 
 to every one the incoming of thy Spirit. Grant to every one a holy 
 joy, a heavenly gladness. May every one in thy presence to-night 
 feel that he has been the guest of God himself. And grant that all 
 our offerings of song, and prayer, and meditation, and instruction, 
 on this occasion, may be acceptable in thy sight, and beneficial to 
 us. Wo ask it through Jesus, the Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 WE rejoice, thou Forerunner, that thou hast entered into rest for 
 thyself and for thy people. The world has no more dominion over 
 thee, and thou hast dominion over all the earth. Sorrows are 
 under thy feet. Thou dost tread them down as the grass. We are 
 encompassed by them : thou no more forever. We are driven to 
 and fro by the forces yet in conflict: thou, supreme Victor, dost 
 Bit serene, knowing to the very end of thine administration that all 
 things are working together right and well. And we need the 
 surety of God. We need to rise up above ourselves. There is no 
 strength of will, no settled ness of purpose, no achievement in times 
 past, no sense of knowledge, nor of power, nor of goodness, nor of 
 skill, that can give us quiet. Nor is there anything that we can 
 lean upon on earth that is sufficient. We are too weak to lean 
 upon each other. All is mortal and fallible in this lower sphere ; 
 and only when we lift ourselves by faith into thy presence, and 
 behold thy face of love and infinite wisdom ; only when we feel 
 thy heart beating through all changes and revolutions with the 
 same love, do we find peace thy peace. Not as the world giveth 
 dost thou give. Not that peace wuich comes from desires fulfilled ; 
 not that peace which comes from petty victories here, dost thou 
 give. Thou, God, dost overspread the soul with thine own 
 divine Spirit. Thou dost brood upon it, and only its divine feel- 
 ings lift themselves up to thy call, and enjoy thee ; and we have 
 rest indeed. In thee we inherit all things. Without thee we are 
 orphans ; poor and naked and miserable. 
 
 And now, O Lord Jesus, accept our thanks for our past expe- 
 rience. How often, when hungry, have we run to thee and been
 
 320 BE EC HER' s SOCIAL OB 
 
 fed. How often, when disgusted, and filled with shame, and 
 remorse, and tempestuous and conflicting feelings, have we turned 
 from the world and from ourselves, and from every thing but thee, 
 and gone to thee, and found balm and consolation. 
 
 And we beseech thee that thou wilt look upon any that may be 
 in thy presence who cannot look up to thee, who smite upon their 
 breast and say, " God be merciful to me a sinner ; " and who are 
 deeply penetrated with a consciousness of their unworthinesa 
 before thee. Oh, thou canst smile away the sorrow even of 
 remorse. Thou canst bind up those that are wounded hi their 
 very conscience. Thou, in the greatness and the wonder of thy 
 love, canst heal the broken in heart. And we beseech thee, 
 to-night, that thou wilt draw near to any such who are in thy 
 presence, and give them joy for sorrow, and health for sickness of 
 soul. Manifest thyself a Saviour ; and may sin-sick souls find now 
 their Physician, and be healed, and go forth to tell what the Lord 
 hath done for them. 
 
 And wilt thou look upon thy church ; upon thy cause in this 
 land ; upon thy people, divided and striving under tempestuous 
 winds that cast up mire and dirt. Is not this the time for the 
 sovereign to come? All thy messengers that go forth are but 
 men. Now we need the great Jehovah. Thou, Prince of salva- 
 tion, make bare thine arm in the midst of the people. Speak, that 
 men may obey thee. Cast down thine enemies in confusion. May 
 the righteous begin to take heart and courage again. And may all 
 men behold, and cry out, "The Lord hath oome to judgment 1" 
 
 And we beseech thee that thon wilt look in compassion upon all 
 the nations of the world. Oh, how long shall the earth be as a 
 cup filled with wrath, and overflowing? When, Lord Jesus, 
 hall thy wondrous power of death give life to this world, and 
 cleanse it, and establish it in righteousness? We long for thy 
 coming ; and if we may not see it here, yet grant, through thine 
 unspeakable grace and love, that each of us, going forth in due 
 time from our labor, may rise to that blessed land where we shall 
 see the salvation of God. And to thy name thall be the praise, 
 Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
 
 UK7TUBE-BOOM PBAYKBfl. 827 
 
 NO. vn. 
 
 O LOED our God, lift us out of our low thought and carnal 
 understanding, and bring us up into that eternal peace and calm 
 where thou dost dwell, loving and blessing with everlasting bene- 
 ficence. All around about thee is bright with purity, with thoughts 
 of justice, and with acts of mercy. There is no wasting the infinite 
 abundance of God. Thou dost send forth streams of blessings that 
 flow and never cease ; and yet the fountain is not diminished. We 
 rejoice in thy fullness. We rejoice that thou art the same yester- 
 day, to-day, and forever ; loving still, and giving still. We rejoice 
 in thy power and wisdom which follow upon thy life. And shall 
 we be afraid to ask thee for mercies T We bring our own wants ; 
 we bring the anxieties of our households ; we bring our cares and 
 distractions; we bring our sorrows and sadnesses and despon- 
 dencies, and ask that they may be taken away from us. We ask 
 that our burdens may be lightened ; that our heart-troubles may 
 be healed. Grant, also, that we may bring our solicitude for thy 
 cause, with confidence that thou dost love to be gracious. Thou 
 wilt remember Zion. Thou wilt build up the waste places. The 
 walls of Jerusalem shall not for ever be thrown down. Thou wilt 
 rebuild them. And the temple which thou wilt yet build shall be 
 more glorious than was the first. 
 
 We beseech thee, remember our own land. O Lord God, behold it, 
 and have compassion upon it. And if it be needful that thy work 
 of fire should go on, burn fiercely, flame of the Lord, that the end 
 may soon be consummated. And then, when thou hast wrought a 
 work of righteousness, give us peace. 
 
 We beseech thee to hear our prayer for those that have offended 
 thee; for those that, for the sake of oppression, have gone into 
 rebellion. Turn them back. Overthrow their banners in the day 
 of battle. And have compassion upon them. And grant, O God, 
 that all the manifold sufferings which they have endured may be 
 salutary in the end. And grant, we pray thee, that when we shall 
 be united again, the strength of this great land may be exerted 
 Invariably, and for evermore, for justice, for equity, for religion, all
 
 128 HEECHBB'S SOCIAL OB 
 
 over the world. Let thy kingdom come, and let thy will be done, 
 throughout the whole earth. We ask it for the Redeemer's sake 
 Amen. 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 July 1, 1864. 
 
 ETERNAL GOD, them sittest unchangeable in eternal youth, in 
 eternal love. That same law which made us, and made as moral 
 beings, prevails in heaven and upon the earth. And right is the 
 same, and wrong. Justice and judgment, love and mercy, all 
 divine attributes, and all our duties under them are stable. And 
 though human-made things change, the qualities of man, and mind, 
 and government do not. Thou sittest supreme arbiter ; and what- 
 ever may be the confusion of things, all things are moving around 
 about the stated laws of thine empire. And we rejoice that in this 
 confusion there is form ; that in our helplessness there is help ; and 
 that over against our ignorance and apprehension there is perfect 
 wisdom, and no fear nor uncertainty. 
 
 And now, O Lord, our God, we desire to be caught up out of the 
 fever and turbulance of the times in which we dwell. We desire 
 to find thee a very present help in time of trouble. Lord, thou 
 hast promised to make thyself a refuge. Thou art a mountain and 
 rock in a weary land. "We remember in days gone by, when we 
 have gone up out of the city and troubled vale unto the tops of 
 mountains, and found, while it was heated and full of summer 
 burnings below, that there it was more than cool and transparent, 
 that there no sound was heard, and every thing dwelt in eternal 
 calm and purity. Be pleased, Lord, to grant, since thou art a 
 rock in a weary land, lifted far up above toil and heat and turbu- 
 lance, that we may be able to find thee, and to refresh ourselves in 
 thy presence. O make thy love sweet again to the souls that have 
 known it once. O make thy presence joyful to those that have 
 learned to joy in thee. O grant that we may feel that nothing can 
 help us nor enrich us that leaves thee out, and that nothing can 
 hurt us nor harm us that includes thee. More and more may out 
 life be hid in thine. May we be willing to give up every thing oi
 
 IJiCrrURK-EOOM PBAYEBS. 321 
 
 our cherished plans. May we be able to say, as it is evolved day 
 by day, and made known to us, " The will of the Lord be done." 
 
 "Grant, we pray thee, a blessing to rest upon thy dear people 
 that are here. May every one have a portion in due season of the 
 mercy and the grace which he peculiarly needs. Some arc in 
 special trouble. Some are in perplexities. Some are in doubts. 
 Some are in sorrows. Some are in heart-sickness from hope de- 
 ferred. Some are cast down with grief. Some are burdened. 
 Lord, thou knowest every heart. Draw near to each one and say 
 as thou didst of old to thy disciples, " Peace I will give thee my 
 peace." 
 
 And grant, we pray thee, a blessing to rest upon all that are to 
 unite themselves with this church upon the Sabbath that is coming, 
 and upon such as shall to-night accept the sacred profession and 
 vows of baptism.* Lord God, we pray that they may rejoice. 
 May they rejoice that they have an opportunity of professing the 
 power of God upon their souls. 
 
 And now we pray, O Lord our God, that every member of thia 
 church all that have walked in our midst, and with whom we 
 have had sweet counsel may be kept unto everlasting life. And 
 when we rise at last in the other and better land, may we meet 
 each other there. We that have worked together, and wept to- 
 gether, and rejoiced together, on earth, may we hold on together 
 for ever and for ever. And to thy name shall be the praise, Father, 
 Bon, and Spirit. Amen. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 THOU helpful One, before thee are all the sorrows of mankind. 
 Thou hast borne sorrow and carried it since the world began. 
 Everlasting Father, not only is the government upon thy shoulder, 
 but thou art Counsellor. Thou dost counsel with the afflicted. 
 Thou art the wisdom-giving and the strength -giving God; and 
 thou hast from ag to age succored thy peopie, and art faithful, 
 and wilt be unto the very end. We commend to thy fatherly care 
 
 At DM loe of thi meeting serenU persons were to be baptised by immerHou
 
 330 BEBCHKB'S SOCIAL OB 
 
 all that are in affliction, all that are cast into darkness of bereare- 
 ments sore and trying. How are we unprepared against ten thou- 
 sand warnings! Still we go heedless, with a knowledge that w 
 are open and exposed to every trouble and aLment that afflicts our 
 fellow-mortals. We still never think that we can suffer till the 
 trouble comes ; and then we are dismayed and cast down, and all 
 our confidence departs. Lord God, teach us by thy friendly 
 hand of affliction that love in thee is as love in us; but purer, 
 nobler. As we do not willingly afflict, but chastise for the good 
 of our dear children, so whom the Lord loves he chastens. Are 
 any under thy hand? We cannot ask that thou wouldst lift thy 
 hand for thou wilt do what is best ; but we pray for those that 
 are pressed down, that thou wilt bear the knowledge of Jesus unto 
 their wounded souls. Bring near to them the sense of thy quick- 
 ening presence, and, above all, of thy sympathy, thy yearning love, 
 for them. O, help them to bear what must be borne, and remove 
 what may be removed. 
 
 We pray, O Lord, that thou wilt comfort with a bright vision of 
 the coming glory, those that are called to separate from earthly 
 friends. It is but a few days. Like the weaver's shuttle, like the 
 swift arrow, like the eagle's flight, is the passage of men through 
 this world ; and all our troubles will soon be over. A few days 
 more of patience, a few days more of endurance, and we shall have 
 endured unto the end, and inherited the promises to patience and 
 fidelity. Grant, we pray thee, to every one of us, and to all espe- 
 cially that are tried and oppressed and burdened, the reality of 
 drawing near to thee, of the shortness of the time that remains, of 
 the nearness of the unsetting sun, and of that fadeless day that is 
 before us. We are walking already on the evening time of life. 
 We are drawing near to the morning time of immortality. O that 
 we may rise, and awake, knowing that the day is at hand. And 
 may we rejoice in its tokens, and be prepared to hail it, invoking ancl 
 receiving its sunrise the Sun of Righteousness that shall never set. 
 
 And now, O Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing from this place, 
 and grant that all the services of the evening may be sanctified by 
 thy Holy Spirit, and be made nutritive to our spiritual nature ; 
 which we ask in the Redeemer's name. And to the Faturor, the 
 Son, and the Spirit, shall be praises evermore. Amen.
 
 LKCTUBE-EOOM PRA.YE3S. 981 
 
 NO. X. 
 
 THOTT, Jesus, didst forsake thine heavenly company, and of 
 mere love didst bow down to the earth, and take the form of man, 
 and bear all his sorrows and troubles. Thou didst bear the weary 
 lot of life, made in thy case most burdensome. Thou didst bear 
 the pangs of Gethsemane and the anguish of the cross, and lay 
 down thy life. Greater love hath no man than that he lay down 
 his life for his friends ; but thou didst lay thine down for thine 
 enemies. And thou hast set up before us this living example. A1J 
 the power of thy nature went forth for others. And though thou 
 wast made happy in thine own conduct, it was not for thyself that 
 thou didst live, but for us. And now thou hast left thy command- 
 ment that we are to walk in thy steps. "We are to live, not to 
 ourselves, but to thee, and for the sake of thy disciples, and for the 
 Bake of others about us. 
 
 Behold, O God, our groveling conceptions; the dead and dull 
 down-pulling of selfishness. Behold how we run each one for his 
 own good, and by sympathy and imitation go in companies, and 
 strive to build each himself or his own. See how little we have 
 sociality in disinterestedness, how little we have company one with 
 another for others, and how yet we are of the earth, earthy. 
 Lord, if thou dost love us, inspire us by thine own Spirit with 
 thine own example. May there be the desire burning in us day by 
 day to live for the welfare of thy kingdom, for the glory of our 
 God, and for the benefit of our fellow-men. Thou hast given ua 
 some experiences. Thou hast taught us to live, not for our own 
 good, but for the welfare of the country, for the welfare of thy 
 church, for the welfare of our kind ; but how to carry it out hour 
 by hour, in all things, and toward all men, in honor preferring one 
 another, in pleasure preferring one another, in all things preferring 
 one another, this we have not learned ; this we have scarcely studied. 
 
 Grant, God, that there may be the help from on high without 
 which we labor in vain. Pour in upon our minds some sacred con- 
 ception of Christian life. Give us help in executing it. And may 
 we have the witness, at last, of our conscience, that by the grace 
 of God we have obtained, step by step, better things, and are liviug 
 nearer both to the spirit and the example of our Master.
 
 32 LBCTUEE-BOOM PKATKRS. 
 
 Now, we pray that them wilt give us thy hlessing as we g 
 hence. O Lord Jesus, there is a blessing that makes rich, and that 
 sings in the heart. There is a blessing that is as a well of water 
 springing up. We need not to draw it. It comes up of itself, and 
 overflows, and comes down as streams down the mountain. Grant 
 us that blessing. O thou Spirit that dost promise, fulfill, that men 
 may behold that thy people are made happy by thee, and that 
 thou art with them, and dost abide in them. Thus honor thyselfj 
 and draw men to thee. We ask it for the Redeemer's sake, 
 Amen,
 
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