The record-union., 1892-04-18
KNIGHTS BEFORE THE ALTAR.
The TempIar Service at St. PauI's
Last Evening.
A Brilliant Assemblage and an Inter.
esting Seryice-Templar Sermon
by Rev. G. A. Ottmann.

There was very large attendance at st.
PauPs church last evening, and the
Easter service was very impressive one.
The church was decorated with a choice
profuslon of flowers, and many ex
pressed admiration for the tasteful and
beautiful array of lilies about the altar
and the garlands hung from the organ.
All were particularly delighted with
large Maltese cross of white roses, with a
passion cross of red roses in the center,
constituting the emblem Of the order of
Knights Templar.
AT quarter to o'clock the Knights of
Sacramento Commandry, No. 2, arrived.
under Commander r. P. Burr, sixty-two
in number, and, preceded by a choir of
twenty choristers, marched down the
aisle to seats at the front.
The Knights were in service uniform
chapeau, baldric, belt, sword and gloves,
and carried the silken banner OF their
commandery. The chapeaus were re-
moved at the door and carried upon their
right shoulders as they entered the
church and marched in a body to their
seats.
The Templar service for Easter was
then conducted by the rector, Rev. G. A.
Ottmann, the Sir Knights and the congre-
CATION joining in the responses. The
service was long and interspersed with
psalms, anthems, confession OF the
Apostles Creed and solemn litany of
commemoration. 1t was conducted
throughout in dignified and impressive
manner, ending with requiem.
Then followed a hymn, after which
came the sermon and the final benedic-
ton. After the services the congrega
ton remained seated until the departure
OF the Sir Knights and chorlsters.
MR.. oTTMANN's SERMON.
Rev. Mr.. Ottmann preached from the
text: ST Christ be not raised, your faith
is vain."-1 Cor. XIV, IL. Addressing his
congregation he said:
Is it boldness or foolhardiness to hazard
religion upon such claim? On all sides
we hear persons talk about the simple
gospel" And it appears to US that, in
the majority of cases, the expression
means nothing more than a few crude
notions which the speaker has received,
or possibly formed, about the gospel.
Some mems "simple gospel is an otfense
to reason, dishonor TO God and curse
TO Christianity.
Christianity is based upon historical
facts. 1t is not founded upon human
reason-upon any of it's primitive axioms
or logical conclusions. 1t is not founded
upon human Imagination; it is neither an
ingenious hypothesis TO account for any
phenomena, nor poetic myth to adum-
brate any truth. 1t is based on facts.
These facts are personal. They are con-
nected with person, and that person
is not Plato, Caesar, nor Moses, but
one whom Paul calls Christ. 1t
is founded upon the personal his
tory OF one, and but one, individual,
and that is Christ. These facts are few
He died." He was buried" and He
rose" These facts are compendious
facts, they imply many more, and may
he reduced even to less. The resurrec-
Paul uses it as such. These facts are well
attested. After His resurrection. st. Paul
tells us that He twas seen of Cephas,' of
1.-THE twelve" then of five hundred"
and then of "me also.' No facts on
record are better attested than these.
Christianity is designed for the removal
of evil. Why did these facts take place?
What is the aim of the whole? He died
tor our SINS" The great end of Christ
ianity is to put away SIM from the
world. to put it away from our hearts,
literature, institutions, customs and gov
ernments of mankind. Let sin be put
ava, and all evil is put away; natural
evil is but the effect of moral. Philo-
sophically, there is no system
on earth suited to destroy mans
sinful disposition and to change his
heart but Christianity. and historically
nothing else has ever done it. Let the
fact ring louder and louder through the
world that the grand end Of Christianity
is not the formation of creeds, however
correct; nor the organization of societies,
however scriptural; but it is to put away
sin. We thank God for such system as
this-a system built not on propositions,
but on facts-personal, few in number,
but well attested. Such facts are most
palpable and attractive; a system which
cures the evils of the moral world by
taking away its sins, and boldly pro-
claims mans Immortality.
Upon what does our hope of future life
depend Ordinarily the question does
not press hardly upon men. This life
can keep the energies so employed that
hope of a future life depends upon re-
ceives little consideration, and little time
is spared to it. But there come times
when it is almost forced upon us. Some
times transient resemblance to one
loved long since, and lost awhilev; or a
twinge of pain which bodies of death; or
still hour brings it to us. Always at
Easter we are set to face the question, if
for one minute the thought comes, "What
is the meaning of Eastern" And, then.
how it battles one!
Who telleth a tale of unspeaking death?
Who lifteth the veil of what is to come?
Who painteth the shadows that fit beneath
The wide winding shades of the proped tomb?
Or united the hope of what shall be
With the fears and love of that which we see?
In plain words, why do we expect i'm
mortality?
Here are some of the usual answers !:
First, ''men have always believed it.u
This is not true. One here and there has
suspected it, and that is ALL For ex-
ample, Job, Plato, Marcus Aurelius.
These suspected that it would be mans
portion to live forever, but no more. In
every case they only looked for existence
a little prolonged, not prolonged through
out all time and eternity. 1t is not be-
lieved outside of Christendom now. The
adherents of non-Christian faiths hope
and long for immortality, but they do
not believe in and expect it.
But suppose that it always had been
believed; upon what does that belief
rest? Truth is not found by plebescite.
What proof would there be in the fact, If
it were a fact, that men have always be-
lieved in immortality?
4 second answer is, THAT it is an in
stinctive yearning of the SOUL" So is
the yearning for ease, for wealth, for
health, for love and many things more.
But the yearning is no proof of its ulti-
immortality is no proof of Immortality.
1t is but the evidence that man would, if
possible, live forever; that he does not
want this life to be all, and death the end
y third answer is that there is clear evil
dence OF 1t in nature" Among the things
given as examples are sleep and waking,
when, the senses having been dormant,
they arouse to new lie; winter and
spring, when the earth puts off its dry
ness and deafness and dons its new garb
OF green and many tinted flowers; the
caterpillar and butterfly, the caterpillar
having entered into the chrysalis
state emerges in all the beauty of
tie many colored butterfly. And
these examples are urged as natural ev-
licences of immortality But these all