The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-04-04
Easter Sunday at Trinity.
Floral Offerings to the Risen Lord
THE WORK OF WOMAN, TIE LAST
AT THE CROSS, THE FIRST
AT THE sEPULCHRE.
TIE SERMON..THE MUSlC--THE
AT TENDANCE.

AoSG INV ""S
Episcopalians, on the day previous,
beautifully decorated their church pre-
paratory the celebration of the resur-
rection of our Saviour. The day was
beautiful and Spring-like and the at
tendance was full.
The Episcopalians eve fail to COM
memorate this occasion with o or
less zeal and fervor, the pleasure OF
which is always heightened by the
presence and participation of their
brethren Of other denominations.
Whenever their own church is closed
the Episeopalians never fail to attend
other houses of worship, and if for no
other reason, they are always glad to
welcome their brethren of the other
churches into their temple which has
been dedicated to our Father.
The Rector, Rev. John kersllaW,
preached from I Cor. XIV: part 20
"But now is Christ risen from the
dead ,"-with more than his ordinary
earnestness and animation and with
his usual c~learness of thought and
beauty of expression. The full text OF
the morning sermon is rs follows:
"CuR1sr Is RISEN - Such is the glad
shout that encircles the earth to-day.
Wherever the sur looks down-from the
r.----. NV~~klx 30 $hn 1yurno onH Ipnnlll
South, from England to Australia, from
Russia to Japan-it witnesses to-day the
celebration, by nearly three hundred
million people, Of the resurrection Of
the Saviour of. the world from the dead
70 those who have been brought uE
under tho sacred influences OF this
holy Church, it needs not that l shoulo
speak of the reasons which induce US tc
honor this day Of days to all CHRIS
tians, which commentaries the supreme
fact of their redemption from the power
and dominion of death, by the resurrec'
ton of Jesus Christ from the dead. Fol
his rising again is at once the pledge ant
promise that "as we have in Baptism Deer
planted in the lik of his death, We
Shall also be in the likeness OF his resur'
rection''-for as you have heard to-day
$50 many OF us rs are baptized lnte
Cnrlst jesus, were paP.|"ca
death which he died to SIM and so We
being baptized into q belief i'll the saving
and redeeming power of that death rs 9
propltiatory offering unto God for ourslns
being baptized into that death so as tt
partake of its benefits, which we do ny
the grace of God impaired to us IN the
Sacrament-being baptized, moreover,
into conformity to that death, so We, In
Christ, in his Church, are dead to SIN Du'
alive unto God-death hath no more 40
minion over us, we are "new creatures.
partakers of Christ's resurrection life
and Gods grace. Our former man has
been cruciied with Christ, in order thai
this sinful body might be destroyed-thal
hcnceforth we should not be slaves To
sim but children Of the living God,
heirs of immortality. Oh! adorable
mystery OF the
INCARNATION AND PASSION,
the mystery hidden from ages and gener
ations-thiugs which the angels have de-
sired to look int0-now made manifest 70
his saints, ITO whom God has made
known what are the riches Of the glory
of this mystery" which is "Christ in us,
the hope of glory The Passover 9
slain, the lamb Of God which taketh
the sin Of the world, cruclhed Blu
risen from the tomb, the 1ncarnate zoo
now by his spirit in all his faithful people,
the life Of their life, the soul of their soul,
the hope of their coming glory. God
has made him who knew no gin. to be Sin
for us. that we might be made the right.
eousness of God in him-our sins laid
upon him-his holiness impaired to us
VIZ dead in sins but made alive again GU
of the fulness and life of the Eternal Son
of God. "Jesus and the Resurrection!
the same theme upon which the Apostle
preached to the Athenians more than
eighteen hundred years ago. Jesus, the
hope and saviour of sinners, the eXpla.
ton for our sins, the Mediator between
God and no 1ntercessor and Adj
yocate in heaven, who through death has
opened the kingdom Of heaven to all be-
licyers-this is the grand, immortal
theme which to-day we dwell upon.
HOW DIFFERENT NOW
the s.ene, and circumstances from wha,
thew were when the Nazarenes were but 6
dcspised sect. See how the tender shoot
has taken root downward and borne trui,
upward-tAen, christianity numbered it,
adherents by tens-n0p, ~one-fourth o.
earth's inhabitants own its sway-hen,
the christians met at night in an upper
room and with closed doors-to-day ten
thousand temples are crowded and tor
thousand affairs spread, while million
voices chant "Christ our passover issacrl.
feed for us, therefore let us keepthe feast
The church of Christ goes on ~conquerlne
and to conuuer-she may be hated now by
some. but She is no longer dospiscd-fol
to-day. she is the greatest OF all powers
upon the face of the earth. Look back ii
the small band Of simple, ignorant fisher
men who had confessed belief in Christ
as God, waiting in doubt and fear. for the
rcsurrcction-see them whom thirty years
afterwards they had convinced almost the
inhabited earth that Jesus who had beer
crucifed. lad risen from the dead: they
maintained that testimony with the sacrl-
flee of every worldly interest, through
suffering. persecution and. death itself
they proved the reality of his resurrcc'
ton by the supernatural ana miraculous
power which they exercised in attesta.
ton of it and by which they established
the christian religion throughout tho
world. And yet, men would have us be-
lieve that these despised refuse OF the
people, forged the strange unnatural story
of their Lords resurrection that they
conceived the bold and hazardous plan q
attacking the religion of their toreiathers
and Of the whole world, by forging the
SCOfV Gn:lG lLClT p1uSVCI "Ao ioo USSi
crucifed for high treason, between two
thieves, had risen from the dead.
FANATICS AND ENTHUSIASTS
have encountered the most severe suffer
ing in defence of their errors and belief
but the world may be challenged to pro
duce an instance in all its history of mer
encountering persecution and death in
defence of a story which they knew to bt
false and which They could havo no CON
ceivable interest in maintaining. 1t il
mere trifing to say hat they were deceiv'
ed into believing it to be true, for there is
absolutely no reasonable ground for sucl
a subterfuge. He was seen too often
handled, heard, and seen to eat by his de-
ciples-by over five hundred brethren Al
one time and afterwards. from the midst
of the Apostles he assembled up to Heav'
en-. II human testimony can establish {
fact, the fact of the resurrection is estab'
lished. It was not II person who sa"
him after the resurrection, but many
they saw him not separately but together
not only by night, but by day-not at s
distance, but face to face-not once, bu1
many times-thcy not only saw him, bu1
touched him, conversed with him, ate with
him examined his person to satisfy theil
yNl.,, D,~f;,,lnr 20 ora In<scsS,n