New-York tribune., 1874-05-18
EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.


EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
m, Rsr tjoorgs H. Chserer, b. d.. at dissolution HlL
The Rev. George b. Cheever, ID. d., deliv-
cred the third lecture OF hs series on the Evidences oi
Christianity" at Association Han, last evening.
We arrived III the last lecture, said DR. Cheeycr at the
narrative Of the pilgrimage to Emmaus. and tho CON-
rniups and reasonngs of pilgrims in regard to the
crucd xion and Resurrection They went in much darS
ness toward their home, In great grle agitation, ana
excitement of mind. Amidst It all one thing was mani
fest-their deep love for Christi and this 1t was that
laid the foundation for the after correction OF their mis-
takes concerning Him. They had expected temporal
deyerer; and though that expectation had been much
pnrided from its grossness by their long abode with
christ yet all the instructions Of our Lord could not
disabuse their minds OF this expectation They clung
IN if with such pertuacity and fOndness that it as
blind to prevent them from seeing anything III
,ts true l,gnt Even after the forty days still
spent by Christ earth. and at the very last
noment lust as lie was be received up Into Heaven,
shay rrono,ed - HIM this question, Lord wthou at
III , ostore again the Kingdom to Israeli" Ii was
mn thr Understandings thus vailed apd clouded that
thc two disciples travelingt To Enmaus me whOe
fabric OF their hopes had been a,hlleu'or oirt hai
died And vet they loved their SAVIOR nor was IT. a.
mere temporal deliyerer that thcy oVed i our bprd
~ n.y., 81, tbcm by the infinite lOyness Of HIS charac
tsr win such power Of attachment lhat no tAulptloh
Vi jd over nave excited sustained. But Instead
f glory He bad promised them huullatoh; lhstedl o
rcIa
self-enjcyment, trDuiailoA instead vi sonVr III ts ,
world disgrace aud cOntempi lh,teau OF thouc Tue
prison. instead OF rGa1Srsabs phenomeno4! They
mad been with HIN by nlght anu oy uay' anl
,hev cnnld not help loving Him. They loved Him in
me of themselves in spite OF their own ambition In
spite OF all assurances OF persecuon au uSttes''
m ~ te of ali Ills repeated denial and destruction of
Tm They loved Hin indeed with deeper love, the
more He their mold ON the plans ana Things OF TINS
World line more He severed them from all that as men
and "a Jews they held dear The more He chastened
their spirits an1 taught them lis grdhd lesson o Io"i
ness mi sefienia the more they loved HIM Ihrre Is
sometbng infinitely beautiful IN thls eXhOltOn OF the
noyer OF our Lords character For this reason they
Could not be imposed upon ant they were chosen as tue
should have received it, proof Tue dscpes had thls
SUSTAINING love- they had not as yet
f1th or hut very little OF IL. Aud when Jesus died,
their love itself seemed to have been changed into
hopeless unbeevng sorrow grief without faitn Ihey
cohd moi penetrate the future could not understand
our Lords plan. EVerythln seeuie p,ohen up, inter
rapted destroy forever. When He died. they were
Overwhelmed, An impossible gulf seemed TO have
opened AT their feet and they cOul not cross over III
inarinaiion and when the bridge hal been thrown
nver IT, connecting past the present and the future
in our Lords resurrection, ana taxing up dd renewing
s" ,4s the ronld not at first believe their eyes,
much les, understand tho wonderful uansacuon.
FOO suddenly into heaven. and terrifying IN its
lofness they dared not trust themselves upon t
IL was in this state OF mind that Cleophas aud his fellow
dscinle sci out for Emnaus As they cOmmuned and
reasoned stranger overlook them Win tones OF sym
pathy and He inquired the cause OF their sorrowiu
and earnest communications. And then, in the simple
ty OF their asonishment that any person should thhK
that any other subject than Jesus OF Nazareth could
their attention they took for granted that he
must be stranger in Jerusalem, or ne woi1 not nave
dreamed OF their talking about anything else
and so, with their hearts won py Ms DeneVO,
ence, they poured out all their soF1ows ana
chen ne broke out az master Of the whole subject Oh
fools slow Of heart TO believe an nat se prophets
have spoken Ought not Christ to suffer these things
and 10 enter into glory Should you not have known
with the slightest M n, oi Rour Ea Is tgpv Sopy
led through suffering and death ana then AT once ne
opened to their MINIS sIcn M , me" % anu
scrpures as made the Bible seem to them new reyela
Ion With what sweet and gracious power and cearness
dad he lead them through his various eras ana vast olds
of thought presenting explanation after explanation OF
ts mysteres Then they first began 60 comprehend the
reign of the Messiah, and the scheme OF the redemption
We'll might their hearts burn within the Is not My
Tora a. the me preacher Well might their hearts burn
within them when all unknown savior was expoundlng
unto them all the Scriptures, the things concerning
An now we come to the great center Of thought
Significance and argument the great hinge and stand
The things concerning Himself! This is central
and being gravtates. How mighty is this sentence
cOmprehendng all the appointed pathway OF the Scrip
and nfalhbe certainty all that is needed To be known
for the accomplishment of Gods designs for human sal
sSsat sentence "it is written with which, in the
opening Of His ministry, Christ confronted aud
S ana here at the close Of His mn
istry, IN committing ITS completion 10 tue hands
liza
their sewarishIp with divine truth this wholesale
on earth, Christ and Him cruced This
was what made the Scriptures interesting ana gave
them their power The Importance OF the Old Testa
ment rs OF the New, consists IN It's revelation
~ ess Christ Nothing else IN II made the subject
of exposition by Blessed Lord TO the two favored
Disciples External things were all passed Dy-the
traditions elders and the learned rubbish OF the
synagogues philosophy and speculation Beginning at
Moses and all prophets he e1pounded unto them IN
ali the SCRIPTURES the things concerning Himself
There was "a divine order aud sequence;
ngic OF eternal pursued by HIM VINO was the way
.I,fa lR frzf 1alI
the scriptures In their light Tney were perfectly
wei. known and indsputable quantity and quality;
te very and others, or that divine rcvea
tion ont OF which His mind from childhood unto man
hood grew and nourshed iu the cOnpletest full-
mont of the condition OF perfect life that by every
word that proceedeth out Of the mouth OF God shall
man live The very Scriptures ana the books OF Scrip
ture IA regard which, at the ago or twelve years Ho
conferred with doctors of the law IN the temple
hoth hearing them and asking them questions, aud
Of which through all HIS ministry He had
been teaching the people. lie knew what
those books were, aud His hearers knew the
same but they knew by distinct personal
mir alton and enume ration from Christ There
uncertainty There was not one book about which there
tbe DOUBT that 10 was the Word OF God All the
things i'm that volume OF the book covered and governed
Inv te words OF Christ TO the tempter In the Wilderness
II is written known ceraintes OF divine rove
atop AS aXioms OF geometry the quantities and
Laws OF science and the Scriptures, they
had them aud Christ referred to them aud eXpouuded
them have them and know them, the very same
Scriptures truly indlsputaby the planets that
upon the Judcan landscape the planets that
now shine upon our globe. The books that Christ
referred To and taught were tho 1nfallbe
word OF God Moreover lie u being bear
ING witness from the other world He had gone into His
eternal glory and returned. lie had entered the grave
and risen from II, lie had entered heaven and carried