, 1900-01-30
SUNDAY SERMON
DEAN COPE SPEAKS ON CHRISTG
POWER OVER THE INVIS-
IBLE WORLD.
Perhaps No Subject Has Causal so
Much Earnest Thought and Dis
cussion as the Personality of the
Devil, Yet the Personality of Sa-
tan Cannot be Set Aside"

Following is the sermon delivered
by Dean Cope at st. MATHEWS cathe-
dral on Sunday morning:
st. Matthew, viii, 81, 80. The devils
besought him, saying, If thou cast lis
out, suffer us to go away into the herd
of swine.
He said unto them, go and when they
were come out, they went into the herd
of swine; and behold, the whole herd
of swine ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, and persisted in the
waters.
This portion of st. Matthews gospel
narrative is no doubt familiar to most
of you. And those of you who have
given the details any thought, have
thought it a strange proceeding, and
calculated to produce incredibility.
Some perhaps have copied the profani-
ty of Huxley, who sneeringly called
this the Swine miracle" They may
ho'' SUM- ilHCl, dHu HCdlllls lluOlS-
ed his statement, which l quote you:
He says, he does not believe a word
Of it, but that all he knows of truth and
equity teaches him, that the wanton
destruction of peoples property is a
m~isdemeanor of evil example,
This is a superficial criticism, as we
shall find on a closer examination Of
the narrative.
Follow the statements made of Jesus
Christ, by himself, by others. He claim
ed for Himself the highest possible au-
thority, that He was the son of God, that
His purpose in coming into the worln
was to redeem the human race, and to
raise 1t to a higher and nobler life.
N man cometh unto the Father, but
by Me-" is the authoritative state
ment of the worlds redeemer. His
whole life, His whole teaching and
dealing with humanity, was The en-
phasizing and bearing witness to this
truth.
This emphasis and witness followed
two lines of proof, one the spiritual
and exalted character of his teaching;
the other His lordship and supreme
power. over the world of matter, and
the invisible world of spirits. He
healed disease, opened the eyes Of the
blind, and the ears of the deaf, restor-
ed withered limbs and raised the dead.
Even the winds and waves obeyed Him,
and became suddenly calm. By walk
ing on the water, He caused gravitation
to recognize in Him its master.
AS to His power ove the invisible
world demonstrative proof was more
difficult. 1t is true our Savior cast out
devils at other times, but in those
instances they lacked that proof, which
compelled those who saw them to ad-
init beyond question the reality of the
miracle. When a blind man had been
healed, his friends could see what had
been done. When the daughter of
Jairus was restored to life, her parents
and others could see her, talk with her,
VAIN WI lei dlu Dc SuIS Sue WdS
alive. But when devils were cast out,
there was no evidence that the per-
sons from whom. they were said to be
expelled were afflicted with anything
worse than an acute attack OF mania,
complicated with epilepsy. An import
ant link was missing from the chain
of proof. This omission was supplied
by the occurrences on the shores of the
lake of Galilee. There is nothing re-
markable, in a lunatic's addressing
Jesus as he did, nor in his asking per-
mission to enter into the swine. Re-
ducing all to the plane of an ordinary
transaction, and regarding Jesus as
only a man, it would not be strange
that He should humor the strange crea-
ture, and give the permission sought.
But here explanation on such a theory
must stop, for as oon as Jesus gave
leave to go into the swine something
went from the man, and left him sit
ting in his right mind. A case Of in
sanity, it is conceivable, might sudden
ly cease. But no insanity, no form OF
mental disorder, no bodily disease,
could pass through the air to a herd Of
swine, which had up to this time been
quietly feeding "a good way on" What
went out of the man was invisible, yet
it was an influencing agency. 1t had
power to move from place. 1t asked
for and waited for permission. 1t had
exercised its faculties in wrecking the
unfortunate man, and 1t desired to des-
troy the swine. In short it was a COM
pany Of evil spirits.
The charge cannot be sustained, that
Jesus was guilty Of a wanton destruc-
tion of other peoples property, but that
in order to demonstrate a truth of val
lie infinitely ~trascending any number of
herds OF swine. There is no necessity
to discuss the ownership of the swine
in the presence of Him, who is the Son