Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-05
A DAY OF RELIGIOUS ZEAL.

Church-Many Present to Partake
 of the Communion - An Enrolled
 Membership of over a Thousand-
 A Powerful Sermon Ely the Pastor.
 Services yesterday at Trinity M. E. church were of the most enthusiastic nature. The first service of the day was New Years love feast held at 8:30 a. m. At the 10:30 service Dr. McChesney bap- tized twenty-t two converts and adminis- tered tho Lords Supper to more commun- icants than was ever known before in the history of the church. The chancel rail was filled fifteen times by those seeking the sacrament. One noticeable feature occurred when the entire choir numbering about thirty, including organist, cornetist and organ blower, all came down to the altar rail to partake of the rites.
 The present enrolled membership of the church is 1,047.
 At the evening service Dr. McChesney preached a sermon of telling power. The text was:
 ssGather my saints together unto me, those | fce."
 Tae central fact of true religion is that God and man are in covenant relations with each We trace this idea back to the dawn of credi- The word Religion" means to "bind back','- to bind man back to his God in covenant reia-
 Upon the basis of reason alone we conclude Go Such a covenant must be, absolutely G) Designed to be permanent in its results: ! (3) It's violation on mans part must be \ fraupht with extreme peril.
 ! 19 It's faithful observance must lead to the grandest results attainable in character and use- ! Solomon, David, Moses, Abraham, Noah and | Abel were in covenant relations with God. ! Abel's sacrifice was the outward sign of the ! covenant.
 The permanence of animal sacrifices in a ! world of vicissitude is an enormous fact; Those sacrifices constituted a. sign language | declaring covenant relationship. | Circumcision was the chosen sign of the Hebrew ! The tables of tho law were called the tables of | Tho ark which contained the law was called the
 After ths law was given Moses held conse- | He buils an altar and offered sacrifices Half ! with tho other half he sprinkled all the people ! present.
 Tho word covenant, sometimes used fgurative- Jas where the wicked are represented as having ! made a covenant with death, God says their GOV l A husband is one who lives in faithful cove nant relations with his wife. He covenants to protect, to provide, to cherish. It is a covenant
 God says of ancient Israel: My covenant they l broke, although was a husband unto them. | with God He comes more than half way God, the all holy, enters into covenant rela tions with man, the unholy, only when man gives
 No man of Old Testament times more fully ! comprehended the value of such covenant than | in his last hours David said: "He hath made ! with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all
 things and sure: for this is all my salvation and
 that imply that the old was imperfects II
 chant had restrictions. fhe privileges of the new
 5e is 1Psa the
 promises-hss better ministry. Jesus is the | mediator of the new covenant. Moses is dead
 but the external Christ is alive forevermore.
 Moses sprinkled the people with the blood o1
 animai sacrifice which forshadowed the sprink
 How does Christ sprinkle penitent souls tt
 make them cleanS The holy spirit is the admin
 istrator of redemption. The spirit converts
 his own work.
 The original idea of annual sacrifice wa.
 that a man offered himself by substitution. l. When he offered the f1rstlings of his flock
 that sign language meant offer these to repre- ! sent me, and so I give myself to the God. When Israel became formal he offered his ami | mals and withheld himself. God says all tn,
 beasts of the forests are mine.---,
 n1were hungry would not ask thee . God desires not dead animals, but living men
 Paul saysI beseech you therefore by the mercie of God that ye present yourselves a living sac l ridce.
 The text is command to gather such together ! That is tho root idea of the church. an "as
 sembly" of those who have covenanted to b, ! the Lord's.
 At last there will be final gathering of al those who were faithful to Gods covenant.
 God will send forth his angels to attend to tn, How fitting that on this first Sabbath of tn, ] new year we should avow our covenant.