The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-05-14
y ASCENSION DAY.
An Eloquent Sermon by Rev. Y.
De Witt Talmaee, DID JU
blow Christ Left His Disciples on Mount
Oliyst--EIls Last Gesture ~ He Left
the Earth, a Iienediction on
~ the world. G r


Music recently, from the words Lift
up your heads, o ye gates, and be ye
lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King Of Glory shall come in."-Ps. "a, Z:
In olden times when great conqueror
returned from victorious war, the peo-
pie in wild transport would take hold OF |
the gates of the city and lift them from
their hinges as much as to say: This
city needs no more gates to defend 1t
since this oonqueror has got home. OF
from the hinges with the gatesl" David,
who was the poet of poets, foretells In
his own way the triumphal entrance OF
Christ into Heaven, after His victory
over sin and death and hell. 1t was as
II the celestial inhabitants had said:
"Here He comesl Make way for Him!
Push back the bolts of diamondl Take
hold Of the doors Of pearl and hoist them
from their hinges of gold! Lift up your
heads, ye gates; and be ye lifted up,
ye everlasting doors; and the King OF
Glory shall come in"
Among the mountains Of Palestine no
one is more uplifting than Mount olivet-
1t was the peroration Of our Lords min
istry. On the roof Of house In Jerusa-
lem asked, (Which is 0livet?" and the
first glance transnxed me. But how
shall describe my emotions, when,
IIpear the close Of o journey, in which
" We had for two nights encamped amid
4 lthe shattered masonry Of old Jericho,
~ and tasted Of the, acrid waters Of the
u Dead Sea, that crystal sarcophagus OF
the buried cities of the plain, and waded
down into the deep and swift Jordan to
baptize man, and visited the ruins OF
the houses Of Mary and Martha and
Lazarus, we found ourselves in stirrups
and on horse, lathered with the long
| and difficult way, ascending Mount Oil
\ vet. o, that solemn and suggestive
ridgel 1t is limestone hill, mile in
4 length, and three hundred feet high,
and twenty-seven hundred feet above
N tho level OF the sea. Over 1t King David
N fed with broken heart. Over 1t
Pompey led his devastating hosts. Here
she famous Tenth Legion built their
batteries in besiegement The Garden
OF Gethsemane weeps at the foot
Of II. Along the base Of this hill flashed
the lanterns and torches Of those who
came to arrest Jesus. From the trees on
this hill the boughs were torn of and
n thrown into the path Of Christs tri-
4 umphal procession. Up and down that
road Jesus had walked twice day from
Bethany to Jerusalem, and from Jerusa-
y lem TO Bethany. There, again and again
H he had taught His disciples. Half way
n M this mount He uttered His lamenta-
tion: 20 Jerusalem, JerusalemW From
It's heights Jesus took fight homeward
II when He had finished His earthly mis-
n s}saon. There is nothing more for Him to
IA lao. A sacrifice was needed to make
4Iipeace between the recreant earth and
land the outraged Heaven, and He had
81 Ioffered IL. Death needed to be con-
. Iouered, and he had put His isresurrection
loot upon It, The thirty-three years Of
. voluntary exile had ended. The grand.
Acst, tenderest, mightiest goodbye ever
llll heard was now to be uttered.
IlR On Mount Olivet Jesus stands In
group Of Galilee fishermen. They had
| been together in many scenes OF sad
ness and persecution and had been the
more endeared by that brotherhood o.
M suffering. They had expected Him u
stay until the day Of coronation wher
He would take the earthly throne ant
wave q scepter mighter, and rule do
IN minion wider than any Pharaoh, thar
VII any David, than any Cesar. But nov
HI ali these anticipations collapse. Chris
IL has given His last advice. He has OF
II n fsred His last sympathy. He has spokel
A His last word. His hands are sprea'
III apart as one is apt TO do when he pro
II nounces benediction, when suddenl,
N the strongest and most stupendous la'
II Of all worlds Is shattered. 1t Is the la'
(which, since the worlds we're created
IN holds them together. 1t is the la'
~ (which holds everything to the earth OF
temporarily hurled from earth, return
n Il; the law which keeps the planet
n 1 whirling around our sun and our sola
Al1 system whirling around other systems
A and all the systems whirling around th
w throne Of God-the law OF gravitatior
|l That law Is suspended, or relaxed, G
III Il broken, to let the body Of Jesus g
II That law had laid hold OF Him thirt,
tl Iihroe ydars before, when He descended
|tl 4 II had relaxed Its grip Of him but onc'
N and that when 1t declined to sink Hi
. from tho top of the waves on Lake Gal
" les, on Thic no walked, TO the botto
Of the IKE. That law Of grayitatio
must now give way TO Him who mad
IN law. IL may hold the other stars, b'
''lI A can not longer hold the Morning ST.
Of Rsdena ption. II may hold the moo
~ dsy sun, but II can not hold the Sun
Rirhteousness. The fingers Of thatlawa
about to open to let 60 the most illustriol
|V4 being the world had ever seen, 81
w whom II had worst maltreated. II
1 N strongest law OF nature which philos
piers eyof weighed or measured mu
at last giye way. It will break b
/ tween the rock OF 0livet and the he
Of Christ's foot. Watch 1t, all ye dis
plosl Watch II, all tho earthl Watch
III the heavonsl Christ about 70 lea
,this planet How9 His friends will n
1 consent 70 have Him 60. His enemi
.eatching Hin would only attempt
another calvary, 10 put Him into sor
II other tomb will tell you how ~
chain Of tho most tremendous natur
Illaw is unlinked. The sacred footof o
ILord and Che limestone rock part p
hart forever. IN = -. u
Leaning back and With paliid che
ma uriifted eyes the disciples soc the
lord iising from the solid earth. The
nshing forward. they would grasp |
let to hold Him fast, but they are :