The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-02-08
NTH EVANGELIST GALES
iE breaches A SERMON ON COL. NIGER
SOILS SUBJECT.
freedom Comes to Those Who Embrace Gtdi
Law. Marvellous Power Of God to
Transform Men.
Savannah Morning Ncws.)

II II w tl1lp IIlG aIulpICC at iAAC 'i'N"bSl LdSt
| night was entertained by the crystalline
eloquence of Col. Robert G. Ingersol
| On THE subject, Liberty of Man, Woman
and Child" the same subject was being
| discussed by Evangelist Weston H.
| Gales at the First Presbyterian church
but from an entirely different stand
point. Mr.. Gales's discourse was from
Christian standpoint.
The church probably never had Its
seating capacity so thoroughly taxed
| with people eager to hear what the
| evangelist had to say. Some were prob
| ably a little, disappointed in what they
heard The impression gained circula
| ton in some quarters that Mr.. Gales
was to answer Col. Ingersol. The truth
was quite the reverse The liberty of
men, women and children. as presented
from Christian side, was to be dis
| cIlssed with no particular reference to
| Col. IngersOlrs lecture Thinking prob
| ably that some such reference might he
made and that Mr.. Gales might spring a
| sensation in an attack on the lecturer
| discussing the topic from another view.
| many were doubtless prompted to at
| tend. This class did not predominant
| however The attention given the evan
| gelist was very close. and not one left
| before the sermon closed, with the ex-
| ception of those will could not obtain
| seats.
| The dominating thought in Mr.. Gales's
| discourse was the liberty men. women
| and children enjoyed by embracing the
gospel of Jesus Christ. The liberty they
| receive is a sweet. consoling, lasting
| peace. he said. which brings Joy and
everlasting rest to the soul. The SER
mon was embelliehed with illustrations
which did not fail to make a lasting i'm
| preston on the minds of the congrega-
| ton.
nineteen hundred years ago." said
| Mr.. Gales. in opening his address. lib
erty in it's truest sense was the thought
and hope of the few, but was not exper
| fenced in the lives of the many. Cen
| turtles came and went-the race was en-
shaved: stupid in superstition, ignor-
ance and moral turpitude. History and
the long buried, but now uncovered
ruins of ancient cities, tells us of art as
well as luxury and excess. hut the few,
though wealthy. were enslaved by sin.
and the masses of their fellowmen We're
| in AFFECT and pitiless bondage to Them
Now and then some noble soul. longing
to know Him who alone could lead men
out of the slavery and gloom of sin,
sought and found light and liberty. but
the heart of the race craved that which
God was preparing to give it.
Eighteen hundred and seventy-one
years ago" the evangelist continued. sin
the synagogue of Nazareth. at Galilee,
a young man about 30 years old stood
up and proclaimed: 1.-THE spirit of the
| Lord is upon me, because He hath an
nointed me to preach the gospel to the
/ poor; He hath sent me to heal the brok-
| en-hearted to preach deliverance TO the
captives and recovering of sight to the
| blind. to set at liberty them that are
| bruised As He spoke, the dawn of
! liberty began to appear, and the light to
| illuminate the gloom. Three years are
| gone, and that same young man, cruci-
| fed on Calvary, is lying in yonder seal
| ed grave. and befort it was rolled Il
great stone affixed with Roman seal,
| and before it stood a body of soldiers to
watch it. That decaying body, the I'M
| broken seal, the unmoved stone, proclaim
| the failure of His mission, the folly of
| his claims. But the stone is rolled away,
the sepulchre deprived of it's occupant,
and the only answer that Roman Gov
ernor. or Jewish high priest, or unbeliev-
ers Of every century from then until now
can give to the question, 'Why the emp
ty tomb, the broken seal, the risen
Christ? is that the soldiers slept y
company of Roman soldiers set to
watch every precaution to prevent in
| reference used, and yet few frighten-
ed. scattered, despairing men and women
broke the SEAL moved the body, folded
the napkin. rolled the ponderous stone
away, while every soldier slept, though
set TO guard the tomb!
Forty days more pass in the inter
VAL" he continued. HE has mingled
with. talked to and instructed His dis
ciples. He leads them out to Olivet, and
visibly glorifed, He ascends from among
them until lost to human vision on His
way to the right hand of the Father.
There are no facts in history more thor
oughly proven than the resurrection and
ascension of Jesus Christ.
Il received a communication a few
| days ago from some one in your city.
said the evangelist, asking me if it
were not true that no one confirmed the
miracles of Jesus, but His deluded fol-
| lowers who were looking for a tenn
p0ral kingdom and under the spell of His
hallucinations' If the writer had been
| sufficiently acquainted with the word of
| God, he might have turned and read of
| the declaration of one who was not Il
| follower Of Jesus during His life upon
| earth, and who on the contrary, was for
| years the relentless foe of Christianity. |
| Converted at last, he records that Jesus
was seen of above 500 brethren at once
a few of whom had fallen asleep, but
the most of whom were alive when Pau
wrote twenty-six years after the acscen- |
sion.
'T'he Jewish ecclesiastical power
would have rejoiced to have blOtted the
resurrection of Jesus from the page OF
history. The Roman power would have
been glad to have seen it done. why
did they not summon the witnesses
| Why not demand their names! here
stood the converted Pharisee proclaImlhs
this truth and enumerating his WITNESSES
to establish, and the only reason gwen
for the risen and the assembled Son Oh
God is: The soldiers slept
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