The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-14
DR. MurayS Sermon at Church
Of The Advent Yesterday
THE LORD EVER PRESENT
Perpetual Evidence of the Masters
Glory in Nature and in the Elk
perience of Men and
of Nations.

A large congregation attended services
ut ,h4 Church Of tie Aa"ai yest'i day
at IL o'clock. rhe Rev John G. Murray
delivered the sermon which follows:
Neither is there salvation in any other;
for there is none other name under heav-
en- given among men, whereby we must
! be saved Acts Alp.
We have in these words the conclusion
OF one of the grandest and bravest argu-
ments of defense recorded in history.
This positive declaration regarding the
supremacy of the haIne of the Lord Je-
sus Christ, coming from Peter. as it did.
after his repeated population of that
name is worthy our special consideration.
The circumstances under which the de-
claration was made, you will remember,
We're somewhat remarkable. After the
Pentecostal fulfilment of the Divine prom
Use. Peter, John and ether disciples of
Jesus tarried In Jerusalem, adding to
the church daily such as should be saved.
One morning upon entering the gate
! of the temple called beautiful going up
to pray, as was their wont, they were
intercepted by an impotent man, lame
from his mothers womb, who was daily
carried and placed there that he might
ask aims. Peter, In response to the re-
quest for charity, spoke to the man and
said: Look upon us; silver and gold have
none; such ~ | have, give / unto thee.
III the nnme of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
arise and walk" And he cook the mans
haud and lifted him up. and Immediately
his ankle bones received strength and
he walked and leaped and praised God.
This wonderful cure very naturally at
traeted the attention of the people. I'm
agine It happening in our midst today.
Their establishment then was no doubt
great as would be ours now. For years
had the temple worshippers been accus-
toned TO see this man laid at the gate,
day after day, and so familiar had they
become with his presence and condition.
that the possibility of his cure never for
one moment occupied their thought A
matter of acceptance with them it was
that death. and death only, could bring
relief from affection to him But here
and now he stood among them whole, a
living, walking, talking testimony to the
exercise of some wonderful miraculous
power. What this power? What its ma
ture? Whence its source? This was the
| question of the hour.
Peter, seeing their bewilderment and
noting their inclination to regard himself
and John mysteriously, enlightened them
as 1olloWs: I'VE men of Israel why mar
vel we at this? Or why lo,xt We so
earnestly on us as though by our own
power or holiness we had made this man
to walk? The God of Abraham and of
Isaac and Of Jacob the God OF our
fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus and
hath raised Him from the dead and His
name through faith in His name hath
made this man strong"
The Sadducees.
This unequivocal declaration at once
attracted the attention of the Sadducees.
| Hitherto this sect had manifested. II NOT
| total indifference, at least but little out
ward opposition to the teachings of
Christ and His Apostles. The rebulxes
and sscathing denunciation with which
jesus had, in discussion, discounted the
self-righteous Pharisees, had ever minis
tered to the enjoyment of this sect in on
position; but this present affirmation of
Peter regarding the resurrection of the
dead; this plain denial and deliberate ar
raignment of the Saddueean doctrine
and teaching, at once aroused their en-
NIFTY and fired their wrath, and they i'm
mediateiy hastened TO the rulers with in
formation and charges against Peter and
John which caused their arrest and put
them on their defense before the Sanhe-
drim, the court of the Jews
And here ii was that he who had for
merly oeen as reed in the story of the
worlds wrath against the Savior of man
manifested that courageous loyalty of
/ heart fr,fV
ever after characterized him the rock.
denant and ffnpregnable in every assault
upon the divinity of our Lord and the
eternal purpose of His church With nm
daunted front and strong and confident
faith, Peter presented his cause which
cause was that of his master and using
the writings and prophecies of the nation
OF his very accusers and judges them
selves, as the basis of his argument. his
plea soon changed from one of defense To
one OF accusation, and in conclusion
thereof, referring to Jesus, whom thev
had crucified and who was now the risen
Savior of the world he said: This is
the stone tnat was set at naught of your
builders, which is now become the head
of the corner. Neither is there salvation
IN any other, for there is none other
name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved
Great Crisis.
Great crises have ALWAYS nroduced
great men. This has ever been manifest
In affairs of state. History records it no
less true in the life of the churcn. And
so opportune has ever been the appear
ance of the man, or men, needed for the
occasion, that the providence of God has
ever been as discernible in the accom-
plishment of 1t all, as His presence is
ever clearly evidenced in every move
ment Of the heavens and the earth. The
exercise of implicit confidence in Gods
love, and complete surrender and resig-
nation to the divine will are ever re-
warded by satisfactory revelation of the
fact of the Creators eternal guidance of
every one of His creatures. Redolent is
creation with the aroma of the truth
that responsible for it. and ever careful
of 1t, is an all-wise, intelligent eternal
loving omnipresence. Manifest is God IN
the experience of man. the song of bird
the rush of wind and the roar of water
Evidenced Is His glory by the perpetual
shining of the sun which He balances
upon its axis; imaged is His majesty in
the steady reflection of that suns light
by the moon which He holds In it's
orbit; and emphasized is the continued
and continual exercise of His power by
the regular march of the stars which He
directs in their courses. Supreme Ruler
of the day, and final arbiter of the night
is God. and never yet has there been day
in which His rule has not been made
manifest, and never yet has there been
night in which His government has not
been left. Such is the Creators place in
the universe Of nature. Not of 1t in a