The Portland daily press., 1877-04-04
THE RESURRECTION.
Easter sermon Preached at WiIlisfon
Chapel by Rev. Frank f. Clark.

I Cor KY: XVII. And If Christ be not
raised, your faith is IN rain
We have been passing through week
crowded with solemn memories. Volumes of
Church history were. once compressed into few
hours and the anniversary of those hours has
come around to US: again. Monday of last
week was the anniversary of day of parallels.
On that day our Lord recounted the teaching
of the man who had two sons,one of whom re-
fused at first to go to work in the vineyard but
afterward repented and went the other of
whom promised to go but never fulfilled his
promise. On that day also, he spoke the para
BILE of the rebellious husbandman, and also of
the marriage of the Kings son in which the
invited guests matreat and even murder the
messenger who invited them-all these para
bes foreteling the treacherous Jews of their
base conduct which was then so near ar
hand, to the Son and Messenger of the King of
Kings, and of the ruin which should overtake
them in consequence.
Last Tuesday was the anniversary of nota-
BILE day in our Lords ministry. On that day,
the Herodians, that portion of the people who
basely truckled to the Roman power, sought to
ensnare him in the meshes of Caesars tribute
money. The Sadducees tried their hand with
the fable Of the seven fold widow, and the young
lawyer enquire1 about the heaviest command
ment of the law. On that day the gentle Jesus
branded forever with his scathing "woe unto
you,' the supercliOus ruling sect; made Pnari-
see forever synonymous with hypocrite and
ostentatious morality forever detestable.
Tuesday evening in the high Priests
house it was decided that the Lamb must be
slain. Ga that same evening, Satan entered
into Judas; on that same evening
the arch traitor stole fuItivey from
the disciples seated on the slopes of Olivet, he
entered into the palace of Caiaphas; haggled
for blood-money; decided how much the life of
the Son of God was worth; the accursed coins
were counted out to him and he SUNK back to
Bethany with the blood money in his bag.
See how pregnant is every minute OF these days
with the events of the divine tragedy. o, the
world lived many years and filled up many
volumes Of its history in those few days.
Wednesday was day of quiet. Where
Jesus was then we know not; not in the tenn
Pile; not in Jerusalem. The people waited for
hend him as they desired. On that night says the
chronicle, "He lay down for the last time on
earth, on Thursday morning, he woke never to
sleep again; aw0ke to day crowded as no day
had ever been before with mOmentous deeds;
crowded with last events. On this day was the
cred. Christ washed his disciples feet, and
then he goes out for the last walk with them
and leads them to the dolorous garden of Geth-
semane. 1t is still Thursday. The remaining
events of that night are more familiar to the
world than ary scene that was ever enacted.
Every Christian heart has its own picture
which it sees as plainly as you could see PAN
oramic chart could unroll one before your
eyes. There is The solitary form alone with
its agony. alone wrestling with the sins of the
world; there is the little group of disciples
doing while their master is praying
The scene changes. Other characters are intro
duced. Silence no longer reigr in this moon
lit garden. A confused murmur of suppressed
voices we hear, and 10, the same man that on
Tuesday we saw at the house OF Caiaphas, ap-
sv,% nic A hto hoal ta nuw6 Of
hirelings from the chief priests with swords and
slaves. We see the serpent-like kiss of the
traitor, his base and treacherous salutation,
"Hail, Master the calm words of the victim,
Friend, wherefore art thou Gomez Then the
panorama changes and the ignominious pro-
cession takes up its march to the high priest.
Still the hours Of this momentous night have
not made up their full tale. They had yet to
hear the stories of the false witnesses; the
blasphemies and denial and bitter, bitter re-
morse of Peter, they have yet to see the scourg-
ings and mockings and spittings upon him who
was led forth as lamb to the slaughter.
Friday morning dawns On the previous
day crime had been added to crime, blasphemy
to blasphemy but on this day, this mountain of
wickedness was to be overtopped by the sin OF
sins. AS fitting prelude to the his
tory of this day the anguish smitten
Judas meets terrible suicidal fate, then PLATE
makes a vain and puerile attempt to free him.
self from the blood of one whom he is convinced
Is b JuSG mdu. L H6 weak anu guilty hluR
sent for water: he washed his hands before the
multitude; he said II am Innocent Of the
blood of this just person. See ye to il" 'Did
he think thus to wash away bis guilt" an elo.
quent writer has asked. "He could wash his
hands, but could he wash his heart?' Might
he not far more truly have said with the muir
derous king in that splendid tragedy,
Can all old oceans waters wash this blood
Clean from my hand? Nay, rather would this hand
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
1t may be that as he murdered his conscience
suoh thought flashed for one moment across
his miserable mind. But if so the thought was
awful, the most hideous. the most memorable
that history records, ''His blood be upon US
and our children" Then PLATE finally gave
way. The fatal IBIS ad crucem was uttered
with reluctant wrath. He delivered him
unto them that he might be crucfied."
Noon of Friday comes, and with it darkness
settles down over all the land. For the last
time the soldiers revile, for the last time the
thieves mock him, for the last time the exult-
ant Jews wag their heads and then amid the
yawnings of the graves, and the rending of the
veil and the quaking of the rocks, the pure
spirit is yielded up with the cry OF triumph,
SIT is fnished'-a cry which means NOR Q
than any other and all other words that were
ever uttered, cry whose meaning could not
be condensed into all the books that the libra
rleS OF Ln6 WOrlu ever cOHJ uueu Il lnlSDeu
was his holy life. with his life his struggle,
with his work the redemption with the redemp-
ton the foundation of the new world.
But that Friday whose anniversary we have
Just passed, saw still more than this. 1t saw
the mutilaton of that body by the Roman SOL
the new tomb-the only day that saw the Lord
of life subject to the King of Terrors-the day
that witnessed the brief reign of death. Brief
indeed was this reign. Its hours passed, and
Sunday came, the day whose hours are now
passing-the first Easter Sunday, the day
which gives significance to the words Of the
countless choirs who to-day chant "The Lord is
risen'', the day which yearly comes with new
Joy to a constantly increasing thropg of hearts
who all re-echo, THE Lord is risen." Angels
first gave voice to this cry. HE is risen !,
said they as they stood by in shining raiment,
to the two Marys who first peered into the
darkness of that tomb. "He is risen" repeated
the Marys to the wondering disciples. s con
these disciples received indubitabe proofs that
this was even so and they took up the strain
and proclaimed He is risen to an inoredu-
lous world. And to-day not only do the angels
and two feeble women and eleven disciples an
nounce the glad news, but the whole world
from the Mississippi to the Ganges and from
the Ganges back to the Mississippi has caught
the echoes of those words and sent back the cry.
"He.is risen, He is riseH."
Let us consider the significance and the i'm
portance of the event which is commemorated
this Easter Sabbath. Its whole significance is
that of 10y and gladness A few weeks ago on
the anniversary of the Saviour's birth We heard
th herald angels say, Behold, bring you
glad tidiDgs of great joy," to-day they bring US
Sado er tdings of greater joy. This Joy and hope
fullness is the very essence Of our religion,
dear frie nds If you are Christians, do not be
sombre aud gloomy this day, whatever private
grief and sorrows weigh down your spirits
We remember the joy that used to pervade the
whole country during the late war when the
news of great victory was flashed over the
wires. Sick men forgot their headaches and
dyspepsia, lame men forgot their crutches,
slight reyerses in business were over looked by
the merchants, and for the time all minor
grlefs were swallowed up in the great JOY that
salvation was wrought out for the country.
So dear friends drown all your grieis and sor-
rows this day in the flood OF Joy whlch rolls
over our souls when we realize that ne IS risen.
'If in this life only we had hope, says the
apcstle Paul, I'VE are of all men most msera.
his, bnt now is be risen from the DEAD" and
NOT in this life only have we hope but in the
life to come as we'll. This hope changes this
w orld from charDel house into garden in
VIII ieh the bodies of the saints are waiting to be
tran splanted to a SUMMER clme This hope
trans forms yOnder burial place from a grave
yard il,to cemetery. A graveyard is place
of ditches where corpses lie. A cemetery
means originally sleeping place and in the
resurrection of Christ it retains this signifi-
Canee liz is not grayeled walks and beds ol