The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-04-14
THE PULPIT.
From the Cincinnati Daily Gazette. March IS.
THE RESURRECTION.
DR.. Pratts Easter Sermon in Music Hall
Another Surprisingly Large Congrega-
ton in Attendance--Men and Women
in Equal Acknowledgements of Every
Denomination--The Text of the Ser

Denominatien--TheT Text of the Ser
mon.
Rev. DIR. Pratt's sermon at the Music
Hall meeting yesterday afternoon was
appropriate to the day, and was heard by
the wonderful congregation of thousands
that has given these meetings national
fame. The composition of these vast
gatherings has been an interesting study
from the beginning, and several persons
interested in the undertaking have spent
hours watching the people as they crossed
the vestibule to enter the hall There is
a purpose in the inquiry, for it enters
largely into the question of the accom-
plishments of the phenomenal mission.
There are features that are distinctive in
the character of the congregation, not the
least striking being the large number of
men. Usually the proportion of men to
women in attendance on divine worship
is one to about three in the Music Hall
congregations, however, the sexes seem
equally divided, with the advantage, if
any, in favor of the men. There is pal
pable significance in this fact. Every
Sunday thus far, large number of reli-
gious people of prominence, including
clergymen of all denominations, have
been present, but they and the known
church goers have been outnumbered over
and over again by multitude who at
test by appearance and action that hith-
erto they have been strangers to religious
worship. All classes and creeds furnish
Observation-Disclosures Professionals
Roman Catholics, Freethinkers, and
Israelites, and all listen with profoundest
reverence and respect, and the participa-
ton in the singing seems general. The
full text of Br. Pratt's sermon yesterday
is as follows:
The power of His resurrection-Ph iii: 10.
The resurrection of Christ is the best
authenticated fact in the history of the
world. The proof of this fact demon
strates the truth of the Gospel history.
And it is because its proof is essential to
the absolute demonstration of the truth
of Christianity that God in His provi-
dence has so authenticated it, that the
man who doubts it, after examining the
evidence, is incapable of estimating the
force of proof
What is the power of His resurrection"
mentioned in the text? Not the power
by which it was effected. That. we
know, was the mighty power Of God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost The re-
ference in the text is to the resurrection
itself as a source of power,
The way of getting an idea of the
power of any force is to imagine what
would have been the case if that force
had never existed Thus one of the
greatest English poets gives in his
Dream of Darkness a conception of the
power Of the sun by picturing the oondi-
tion of the earth, the light of the sun be-
ing extinguished. So we may form a con-
ception of the power of the resurrection
by imagining what would be the present
condition of the world if Christ had re-
manned in the tomb of Joseph and never
risen from the dead
If Christ had not risen from the dead,
the Gospel would have been demonstrated
to have been false and His mission a fail
ure. His claim Of being the Divine Son
of God would have been exploded. The
hopes which living Jesus had kindled
in the bosom of those who looked for
Messiah would have been extinguished
in the tomb Of dead Christ who had not
the power to burst the bars of His grave.
If the resurrection had failed, His death
was the death of mere man, and not of
a great God and Saviour. His life and
death, so far we are concerned, would
have no more interest or value than the
life and death of Socrates unless they had
been followed by His triumph over death,
to prove that greater than Socrates had
been crucifed The resurrection of
Jesus was the keystone in the arch of re-
demption. If it had been wanting, the
whole structure would have tumbled into
a shapeless ruin. Hence St. Paul stakes
the life Of Christianity upon the literal
truth Of the resurrection. He says: of
Christ be not risen then is our preaching
vain, and your faith is also vain. Jesus
Himself submitted all His claims to the
same test The Scribes and Pharisees
came and said 1--WE would see a sign
from Thee. He said He would give
them but one sign /" AS Jonas was three
days and three nights in the whales
belly, so shall the Son of Man be three
DAYS ou1 fb~oo Al, of