The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-30
AT THE TABERNACLE
REV. DIR. CHAPMAN breaches A
THANKSGIVING NIGHT SERMON.
The Agony of Christ In Gethsemane
Furnished the Subject for His
Talk-The Crowds.

Cold, sloppy and altogether miserable
though the weather was last night, it did
not keep the people away from the Taber-
nacle Church where fell the words Of DIR.
Chapman, who has already endeared him.
eIf to the hearts of the church people Of
this city by his fervor and earnestness and
peculiar ~eloquence with which he appeals
to the people to take heed Of his warning
and that Of his assistants. The pe~s of the
church had been rearranged so as to ac-
commodate the visitors, some of them be-
ing turned to the east so that every person
in the house could see the speaker by very
slightly turning their heads. He spoke
from the pulpit at the east side of the house.
Everything seemed to be just a little better
than at any of the previous meetings which
have been held in the various churches of
the city. This started with the singing and
continued through the whole meeting. 1t
seemed that the hymns selected were just
the ones that fitted at the particular time
when they were sung.
The text was a part of the twenty-second
chapter of St. Luke "And being in an agony,
He prayed more earnestly" The text has
reference to the time when Christ was
praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just
before his betrayal into the hands of his
enemies. and the scene was most graphi-
cally pictured by DR.. Chapman. He spoke
in substance as follows:
81 believe you would appreciate the text
more il 1 should read the entire verse to
you, some of you are familiar with it.
earnestly: and his sweat was as II it were
great drops of blood falling down TO the
ground.' unbelievers read this section of
of it's truth and doubt that the Saviour
sweat blood when he prayed in the Garden
of Gethsemane.
zone of these once said to me, in refer
ense to this section, that If he could show
that a part OF the story was false, .he had
succeeded in showing that the whole was
unworthy of credence. He then said that il
was q physical impossibility that a man
talking to one of the prominent ministers
of Chicago and he told me of having been
talking 10 a man of his acquaintance when
he received a telegram concerning a son
who was then in the West. The father had
supposed that his SON was doing well, as
it is said of the world. He tore open the
telegram and there was an awful change
came over his countenance. He crumpled
the. telegram in his fist and with a shrek
sank to his knees and exclaimed oh, my
Cod The minister told me that huge
drops of blood sweat stood out upon his
trickied OWN across his breast. The tele.
gram was about the absent son and told
him that he had been convicted of murder
srime. was b slDnt t IL q pc fs saseate viii Tor sw sse
blood for q. son so could the Son Of God
when he became sin bearer for the world.
/ believe in the possibility OF the literal
fulhllment OF the text
This prayer was after the last supper
when Christ, with his apostles were gath
cred together in that little room when the
Saviour told them that before morning one
of them should betray him.. Bishop Brooks
says that he knows that each of them
must have said, Lord, is il IL Do you re-
member the word says that a hymn was
sung on this occasion. Never before or
after that time is there any mention Of
singing. That is the only place that Christ
and his apostles are reported to have sung.
His life was a life OF agony, because on
him rested the sins OF the World. After this
supper and the singing OF the hymn We are
told that Jesus and his apostles went out.
and Bishop Parker says there never was,
before or since, such a going out as this.
What a scene that must have been, the
journey of the Saviour TO the garden with
his followers! You remember il was on
this journey that Peter said he would not
dery his Lord. Then when they neared
the garden, He told the three that were His
favorites 10 tarry for awhile, and He went
into the garden to pray. He had prayed be-
fore. Up in the mountain He had prayed
/ can see Him when He was asked by His
followers TO teach them how TO pray, and
Bs said to them 80 pray after this manner