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A SERMON

['REACHED TO THE

CHURCH AT HARRISON SQUARE,

DORCHESTER DISTRICT, BOSTON, MASS.,

September 3, 1876.

•f- J
By C. D. BRADLEE,

THE PASTOR.

CAMBRIDGE:
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON.
1876.

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A SERMON

PREACHED TO THE

CHURCH AT HARRISON SQUARE,

DORCHESTER DISTRICT, BOSTON, MASS.,

September 3, 1876.

By C. D. BRADLEE,

THE PASTOR.

CAMBRIDGE:
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON.
1876.

SERMON.

"Before the mountains were brought forth." — Ps. xc. 2.
"\T 7HEN we return from a visit to scenes where
" ™ Nature has lavished her choicest beauties, has
spread her glorious garments, and consecrated her
deepest teachings, we cannot fail to speak to others of
the lessons that we have learned ; and we cannot help
suggesting the Christian principles that ought to be
gained from such a privileged communication with God,
through His works.
Since we last met, it has been my privilege for a
long while to be engirdled by the mountains ; and, oh,
how eloquently they have preached of sublimity, pa
tience, faith, charity, immortality, and eternity, as they
have stood sentinels over my body, and ambassadors
to my soul ! So, too, as I have gazed at those sub
lime heights, with the mellowed light that they have
cast upon the astonished eye, with the varied colors
that they have exhibited like a panorama from God,
and with their drapery of clouds that, like coquettes,
they have fancifully arranged for an ever-changing
dress, — sometimes veiling themselves completely in
white, and then revealing their splendors by degrees,
as the sun came with its genial blessings, — as I have

looked upon God's magnificence poured thus sublimely
upon the earth, I have thought of Jerusalem, for the
mountains stood there as a body-guard ; and I have
thought of Jesus, who so often ascended the hills that
he might commune with God ; and I have also thought
that there ought to be spiritual mountains round the
soul, up which all good thoughts can climb, around
which all rich virtues with their varying beauties can
be spread like a carpet of celestial green, and out of
which holy habits can flow, like cascades of rushing
spiritual waters from the fountain of everlasting life, —
so that all, thus surrounded, can breathe the choicest
and the clearest air, right from the Kingdom of
Heaven. Let us consider what should be ever the teachings
given to us by these pinnacles of the Almighty, that
almost touch the gate of Heaven.
First, we are bathed in the idea of sublimity, as
we — like dwarfs — stand before these giants of so
many centuries. Common life is too tame, too even,
too hurried, and too worldly to allow for much upward
looking, or inward gazing, or far-reaching thought.
The dust of the street, the thick brick walls, the hot,
stifling air, and anxious cares bend the mind down,
keep the soul bound, and throw large coverings over
the spiritual eyes ; so that the loftiness of Nature, the
grandeur of Heaven, and the higher spiritual wants
are quite set aside and smothered.
Yet, brethren, when we leave these dusty pave
ments ; when we part from this stifled air ; when
a while we bid farewell to these crowded streets ; when
we 'go miles away from the metropolis to the places

where God has left clear signs of His greatness and
power, where He has planted his forests so thick as
to be almost impenetrable, where He has spread His
waters in so many shapes, with such wonderful beauty
that a century would be too short for the study of their
loveliness, and where — praise be to His name ! — by
some volcanic agency, He has lifted up from the earth
monster monuments of His omnipotence and omni
science, — then, engirdled by such scenes, where the
poet is lost in wonder, and the artist is entranced, and
the Christian adores, we at once learn what sublimity
means, in a way that no city, though it were built in
gold, and though its streets were paved with diamonds,
could possibly teach us. Such grand scenes cause us
to feel our own insignificance, make space a splendid
reality, whirl time away with indescribable swiftness,
and lift into glorious prominence the giant kings that
they so gorgeously enthrone. One would suppose that
he had fallen into some enchanted land, such as the
fairies alone describe ; and he would think that his
penance was simply the benediction of gazing until
his eyes ached, and his frame quivered with weariness,
and his whole heart was convulsed with joy.
Again, we learn, in such secluded spots, patience.
How these stern monarchs have waited thousands of
years in the same place, whilst millions of those who
have gazed at them have been called away from earth ;
and how they have stood engirdled by the pelting of
storms, assailed by the changes of seasons, and yet
have "made no complaint, have displayed simply a tri
umphant trust and a magnificent meekness ! . Thrones
have tottered, nations have disappeared, and all the

6

world has trembled ; yet they have stood undisturbed,
and have given their solemn witness to the majesty
and the mercy of the Infinite Father. No matter what
earthquakes may have shaken their rock-ribbed sides,
no matter what tornadoes may have rooted up hundreds
of their trees, no matter what strange fires may have
bleached whole forests under their keeping, — yet they
have stood — praise be to the Almighty ! — waiting for
and meeting and doing God's will.
So they speak to us, and so they bid us do like
wise ; and so they tell us how beautifully and calmly to
endure the varied visitations of Heaven. They tell us
that though storms may rend our hearts, and tornadoes
desolate our homes, and strange fires whiten and blast
our prospects, still unmoved we are to go on and fill
up the whole round of our duty. They speak of faith ;
for by their fidelity to their position, and by their act
ing well their part, they evince a perfect obedience, a
holy trust, and a reverent humility. They speak to us
of charity ; for they are always giving nourishment to
the sun through their waters, and at the same time
drink for the rivers and for man. So, too, they yield
timber for ships, buildings, and fuel ; leaves for the
ventilation of the air and the enriching of the ground ;
rocks for the strengthening of our roads, and for all
the varied purposes to which they are applied ; minerals
for ornament and use, little flowers for beauty, splendid
scenery for the culture of the soul, and thousands of
gifts for the clearing of the atmosphere, for the invig
orating of the body, and for the improvement of the
affections : so they urge us to be like them, and to give
liberally with all our soul. They are an eternal rebuke

to the miser ; for they stand as perpetual pleaders for
and loving invokers of our generosity, and they would
never let us alone until they have drained us of every
mean thought and every unholy deed ; until they have
upheaved all closeness from our breasts, and made us
like themselves, — rich benefactors, and noble, gener
ous givers.
Again, in such sacred spots, we "learn of immortal
ity. As we converse with these pyramids of past ages,
these hoary patriarchs who have come down to us from
a former generation, in some mysterious yet grand way
eternity opens upon our wondering hearts.
If the hills last so long, what of Man, who is made
but a little lower than the angels ? If they can count
by their thousands of years, why may not the child of
God count by his millions of years ; and why, indeed,
may he not think of eternity ? Will the Creator care
more for rocks and trees and soil, than for the soul that
can think and act of itself, that is made after the Di
vine likeness, that was pronounced living when it was
first born, and that longs for immortality as one of its
inherent rights? No, this cannot be; for the endur
ance of these earthly structures through so many cen
turies protest against it, and our own souls rebel ; and,
what is better, Revelation lifts up its awful and grand
yet tender voice of denial, and speaks of a being that
has no end, whilst it labels dissolution, when applied to
the affections, as a monstrous falsehood.
Our Master, in his own history, justifies us in a high
appreciation of the mountains ; for he often ascended
these stately eminences to pray, and he spent whole
nights on their summit. He resisted the Evil One on a

mountain ; he was transfigured on the mount. Ay, we
often find him away from the crowd, in these high
.places, meditating and worshipping. And so we know
that he would teach us to gain consolation, power, and
grace in a similar way ; and so we feel that he would
tell us to withdraw sometimes from the world, to climb
upwards out of the reach of the valley into the very
summit of the hills,"there to speak with God, and there
to renew our faith.
The Jews also were continually speaking of these
earthly structures : " The mountains melted from be
fore the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord of
Israel." "The hills melted like wax at the presence of
the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole
earth." " He toucheth the hills, and they smoke."
" Oh that tho.u wouldst rend the Heavens, that thou
wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow
down at thy presence ? " " The mountains quake at
Him, and the hills melt." " Who by His strength
setteth fast the mountains, being girded with power."
" The mountains shall bring peace* to the people, and
the little hills, righteousness." Thus we might con
tinue to quote, were it necessary, in order to show
that the Jews appreciated the mountains, gathering
out of them, by serious reflection, material for the
building up of their spiritual life ; and we shall always
find that the Bible urges us with all its eloquence, with
all its pathos, and with all its sweet and sacred beauty,
to seek knowledge and purity and power from these
monarchs of Nature.
So, too, by these reflections, we are led to this
thought : If we can ascend these earthly mountains, is

there not a mount of holiness to be climbed, a ripe
Christian character to be attained, and an elevation, sub
lime and grand, that must be reached by the mind and
the soul of us all ?
Vacations are given to us not merely for physical
rest, — that the body may be braced, that the muscles
may be toughened, that the mind may be relieved, —
but also that we may obtain spiritual refreshment and
sacred culture. We go away from home for a change
that shall fortify the affections, that shall rouse faith,
and make us stronger Christian men and women.
Our eyesight is given to us for a special use on these
excursions ; not merely that the retina may be the
receptacle of glorious views, but that insight may be
quickened, and that there may be a swift transmission
of the outward glories into an inward reservoir of
truth and of holiness. Our ears are given to us, not
merely that we may be charmed by Nature's music, —
the babbling of brooks, the roaring of cataracts, the
¦ rushing of cascades, the hum of insects, with a myriad
of other sounds, — but also that there may be a vibra
tion in the soul, by which these outward notes shall be
freighted with heavenly intimations ; so that there shall
be a chorus in the heart, as if there the strings of a
celestial harp made music in the air, by the touch of
angelic fingers.
In these seasons of rest, judgment, reason, and affec
tion are to be developed. We meet fresh people in
our absence, we come into contact with novel thoughts,
we behold new customs, and we notice varied methods
of action ; we ought, therefore, to obtain a wider range
for the unfolding both of the head and the heart. Our

10

richer experience and observation give us a power to
judge more accurately, to think more acutely, and to
feel more earnestly : we cannot honestly then be one
sided any more, or bigoted, or exclusive in any way ;
for we learn that there are more people in the world
than ourselves, more places than our own homes ; that
we do not know every thing, that our opinion is not of
so much consequence as we supposed, and that after
all we occupy but a very small spot in God's world.
Thus self-conceit melts away, individuality is terribly
contracted, and we learn to unlearn much that we have
learned before.
I care not where you go, whether to the mountains
with their invigorating atmosphere, their splendid, land
scapes, their rugged constitution, and their wonderful
heights ; or to the ocean with its clear expanse, its
tidal waves, its ripplings and its heavings, as it woos to
its embrace or sternly forbids familiarity ; or to some
pleasant country town, where the inhabitants are noted
for their simplicity, where the houses are plainly built
and rough in look, where food is simple, and tastes are
few, and primitive customs are universally followed : I
care not where you go, — to city or country, to moun
tain or valley, to sea-coast or to the remotest interior, —
everywhere you may, if you will,- learn something use
ful, by which you shall be made happier and holier.
God hides His secrets everywhere, and all you have to
do ^is to search ; for all localities are resonant with
Heaven's intonations, and we must all be on the alert to
catch the deep mysteries that are so thickly set around
us. So also, as we extend this truth, we find that those

11

who are detained at home in the summer months, who
cannot go away from work, have still a sacred duty to
perform. And to such we should say, You cannot go
away and be embraced by the mountains, and inspired
by their presence ; yet always around your path God's
spiritual mountains stand, and they engirdle your soul
and ask for your recognition, for your climbing, and for
your strict and holy search. You cannot look at. the
ocean, or calculate with awe its changes, when, un
hedged by harbor lines and unguided by human laws, it
acts in accordance with its own stern will, and defies all
guidance ; but you can witness the ocean of life right
around you, of which your life forms a drop, — and
you can see the surgings there, the foam, and the ter
rible collisions, and the rattling of the clashing waves :
you can see all these things, and learn through Script
ural aid and constant invocation how to understand
them, and how to convert them into a rich instruction.
You cannot go to some quiet rustic home, and live
a while in perfect simplicity, unshackled by custom, and
at complete liberty as to what you shall eat and drink,
and as to wherewithal you shall be clothed ; but you
can at home establish for a while antique habits, restrict
ing your table and your habiliments, banishing fashion
and pride, and thus learning lessons of sincerity,
humility, and trust. There is a work for all of us to
do, at home or abroad ; whilst the true hero and heroine
meet gladly the requisitions that press on all sides, for
gracious recognition.
" Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, — from
everlasting to everlasting thou art God." There is,

12

then, some power greater than the mountains and the
earth and the waters, anterior to them all, the Governor
of them all, and the Creator of them all, — even God !
He is everywhere, and He is all-wise and all-merciful ;
He demands of us a constant service wherever we may
be, and He gives to us His son as teacher of the varied
suggestions that lurk on all sides, and tempt our study.
Look, then, to Jesus Christ as the interpreter of Nat
ure, of Revelation , and of God ; and then rest quietly
under his safe-keeping, wherever you are, and whatever
you do.
My dear friends and parishioners, these have seemed
to me to be thoughts appropriate to this Sunday, when
we meet after a long vacation, refreshed in body and
mind and soul, and full of hope for coming days, in a
temple that has been so beautifully adorned by careful
hands. It is well that this " holy building " has been
invigorated and strengthened and enriched during our
DO O
absence, for it is the " Temple of God ; " but much
better will it be, if also these souls of ours, that are
really His abiding place, become frescoed with holy
thoughts, re-covered with splendid virtues, and cleansed
from all sin. Then, truly, will "Zion be within us
evermore." " Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the
city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness."
"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is
Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of .the
great King."

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