Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-03-11
THE SECOND ADAM.


Sermons TO Young Men-N0. 3.
Rev. T. A. Hoyt, of the First Presbyte-
rian Church, preached the third of his
series of sermons to young men, Sunday
evening, taking for his text the As, 46, and
At verses of the fifteenth chapter OF First
Corinthians:
"And SO 1t is written, The first man
Adam was made living soul; the last
Adam was made quickening spirit.
"How be it that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and al
terward that which is spiritual.
"The first man is of the easth, earthly the
second man is the Lord from heaven"
Last Sunday night we considered tie
history of Adam; but there were two
Adams-the first Adam and the second
Adam-the first man and the last man.
speak tonight of the second mantle
last Adam. We closed last Sunday night
with the ruin of the fall; we left Adam
banished from Eden, with bowed head and
broken heart, but there was given at the
time an intimation of some future deliver
ance. Time passes; centuri roll by;
mighty events occur; the great deluge
sweeps from the face of the earth it's in
habitants. At length there came to be ia
timations given of the coming of
Christ, and when we came
to ask when and where this promise was
fulfilled, we come to strange scene. We
are taken TO stable and we see lying in
the maDger and helpless an infant. This is
the fulfillment of the worlds promise. We
see that infant growing up in the far off
country of Gallilee, in the wretched town
of Nazareth. A carpenters son-Himself
carpenter, we see him, at thirty years of
age entering upon his ministry. We
see him prosecuted from place to
place; betrayed by one brother, de-
MED by another and forsaken by all
until, at length he is taken and crucifed
between two thieves, amid the SCOTS and
jeers of the multitude. We see him laid in
the grave, and his disciples thought that all
was over. The world thought this was the
end of this Jesus of Nazareth. The Devil
thought that was the end Of him who had
come to break up his Kingdom on earth;
yet, strange to say, although nearly two
thousand years have passed since then, there
is no name in Heaven or on earth
50 honored, so loved, as that name
The great Napoleon noticed this, as he said
on the rock of Helena, as he sat looking out
upon the desert waves, reviewing his life
and the life of all the great ones of earth
gone before him, ''this name of Jesus has
more power among the children of men
than any other Iame. Who loves Alexsn-
der-who loves Julius Caesar, those great
heroes of antiquity, and, in few years,
who will love me? Affection for
all of us will die out in hu-
man hearts, but it has not died out
in no;, WI tnuvor1o Iacr1o - do
you account for 1t my brethren, that from
that day to this, the name of Jesus is ever
increasing in its power and influence over
the hearts of men? Consider in how many
churches in this city, in this State, in this
country and over the earth, this day, which
is called His day, the air has been vocal
with the sound OF His beloved name?
There is no language spoken where his voice
is not heard-where His name is not
spoken. II we should strike from
our literature all that been said
of Him, what would remain? What
has history been since that day-that mos.
glorious day, but the working out of that
which was then begun? His church stands
immovable, while everything else perishes.
Nations rise and fall. Mighty kingdoms
sweep over the earth, and go down wreck
ed in the ruin of time, but this church con-
tlnues to increase and spread itse.f over the
whole earth.
"The first man is Of the earth, earthly,
the second man is the Lord from heaven"
The first experiment was made with |
man, and it was proven that mere man
could not maintain his incorruptibility be-
fore God. Christ came to earth because of |
the fall of Adam, and ever since that time |
there has been a siruggle-the divine |
against the human. This is the exact dis
tinction which divides us one from another. |
Are we leaning upon the divine arm?
Have we realized the failure of our |
first parents-our own repeated fail
ures? Are we satisfied that we |
cannot keep His law of ourselves? He is
able to save unto the uttermost all who call |
upon Him. There is no hops without |
Jesus. Blank despair is before us without
Him. Jesus is ever saying to US "now,
now is the accepted time, the day of saliva
.ion." The solemn question each must
ask is "will l accept the Lord; will | sd-
nit this heavenly stranger and bid him
welcome ?" God grant that each OF US may
low accept an invitation so gracious-so
rec to ali of us.