Litchfield enquirer., 1881-10-13
IN MEMORY OF. RRESIDENT
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 A. SERMON RPReAoHED AT WAsHINGpoN .CT. 5i SEPT 26th, h,oBYrTHE RBV. G-5S sTHRALA

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 l A SERMON pPRsAoHED AT WAsHFNGToN Or, idi. SEPT. 26th, ,aBYrTHK REV! G.S- sVHRALA. 7 t,B:a 4sIiEf sid vdd A---5il ci 1si4aa eI9t'Ts Il saga sth 9Est yiao T5hIkid -dJ Hf saofS AjtH q. esqua MATT. 26 :As--.fRise. let s.usbs going
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 Jesus uttered these words just after coming from the wonderful prayeEs afa GetlIsemane. 70 my Father if it be possiblesf let this cup lpass from me 2 nevertheless not as will, but as thou wilt. If ever prayer that has asaa aris CD from earth to heaven has moved deeply the heart of the Divine Father, this prayer Of GethsemaHe esmast have done. For think in f the first place who offered the prayer. It was the divine and sinless son of God We are told that '.tbe prayer bof the .Eighteons man ayaileth much. rs Bat how mnchI theus must the prayer of tue holy Jesus Christ have availed. What influence must, it have had up- on the heart Of God !., But notice again how much there was outside of the prayer itself that would tend to move God to grant au an swer Not to grant it was to give up his on- ly begottensSen to san fgnominious death. Not to grant twas to allow the greatest injus, ltice the world could ppssib lXs see, to be done by sinful men And then look at the terrible le earnestness as the world had never witnessed before, and never could witness again. It was offered smid dsseaeing ssI it were, of great drops Of blood falling to, tbe, ground" |" And then again, see the perfect submission that pervaded it. which is another element that greatly strengthens prayer 1tNot N my will but thine be done, "a was breathed7 all through it.lr And finally consider with what wonderful faith the, prayer must have been offered, or rather in what divine oneness with the Father that transcends the power of the highest faith as sight transcends poor blind feeling And SO what tremendous enginery of petition; if I may sd Speak, was brought te bear upon the Divine Heart of the uniSerse in that wonderful prayer of 'Gethsemane! And yet the. prayer was not answered. The cup
 did not pass. but was drained to it's very bit Itterest dregs. Death was not even delayed.
 The Son of man went directly from His prayer to His cross. can imagine a modern philos:,: opher standing by with his prayer guage and with a sneer upon his lip, as the strong Son of God arises from tue earnest petition to meet at once the death which He had 30 earnestly aud, repeatedly prayed that He ssmight not
 meet. But it was not with a single shadow
 of doubt or miagiving on the part of Jesus in the eternal goodness and governing power of God that. He uttered tue, words of my text,
 with the bloody agony of that unanswered prayer still upon Him. s.Rise, let us be gos ing. for he that betrayed me is at hand" That is, as interpre. the words, Rise, let us go forth to meet and do the will of God,s for l he that betrayed me is at hand, There was g part of the prayer of Jesus which could not l be answered without oYertnrning the eternal and gil. sll.benefcept, designs of thes Almighty ''Let this cup pass from mel And there was part, though to Jesus an exceedingly bitter part, which could be answered. 'tNeverthe- l less not my will tut thine be done" And so Jesus>weIit forth to meet and do that will.
 He not only prayed the prayer, Nevertheless not my will but thine be done," but He show ed His perfect willingness to have Gods will by going forth to do it, by exclaiming, Rise, klerus bs gong" us go forth to msef and l t9 9do Gods will; for he that bestayeth ne is
 at hand. ;
 And now in these words, find the lessons of the hour for our nation as she arises from
 her unanswered prayer-from her Gethsema- lne. 4 Rise letsns go forth to meet and do the IwiII ofGod think we oaglt to approprlate this direction and this example of our Lord to
 ourselves, in the first place, because like Him
 we have done all we co,Adin the past. Christ
 had prayed earnestly and faithfully to avert
 what seemed to Him an evil, eapd now 1that
 the evil has come what is left Him but. to go
 forth and make the seeming evil an everlast.
 ing good by meeting it in fhelsfira of resigna
 tion and obedience And 80 Iwith;our nation.
 Never has there been such and earnest, impor-
 tunate, and united petitioning at the Throne
 of Grace in behalf of one object as went up from the hearts of the American, people fol the recovery of our beloved President. The
 interest of the people csuldnot have been more
 intense, nor their prayers more earnest had
 the walls of the sick-chamber been transpar.
 ent, 80 that all the people could have. watched
 every expression of the sdfferer 'sface. As has
 beep said, it was as though therbed of the na- q tfons beloved were in the centre of broad
 and vast pisteaa and all the people like one
 great family were kneeliag about It. not, only
 in the form ,bntin, the reslity efearnest peti,
 tion.- It seemed for the time as though the
 great prayer test was being at length forced
 upon us asa peopleby the providence of God
 as though if there were any such thing as an- l swer to prayer our President must .be saved t For there was such unselfishness and self.for
 getrul intensity on the part of all in prayer
 there was such lunboundedH and wonderful
 confidence and faith on the part of 80 many
 that the goodness of God would ,apd mus,
 sase. e.him ;Ithere assueh heast-fe6diBg earn
 estness, importantly and perseverance ir
 prayer. And to complete it alto make the
 c61dfionsfa ahawer aseemiSgiy peFfecH SC
 nanysnillieps of people wee so -peffecay
 united in the prayer, with not single persor
 to offer prayer upon the other side. that il
 seemed as 1.-the petition must De heard. Had
 we not Christ's promise, "lf two of you shsl
 agree on earth as touching anything that y,
 ask it shall be edone forEyoa9s implying tha
 the prayer of two is stronger than the praye
 of one. But here was the perfect agreement
 and the united prayer of millions for one ob
 ject. There was no such lack of condition s3sfonthe nsxersefpsaverasDr. Bushnell men
 lions and where. he says, prayers most com
 monly fail-that they are solitary, as if some
 ote should be praying for fair weather whel
 everyone else want rain. For the united hear
 and voice of the entire nation was uplifted |.
 tothe Throhe of Grace in this one petition
 and the world was praying with Us Nor |