The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-05-28
CHRIST IS RISEN"
OUR REGULAR SUNDAY SERMON.
"Christ Arlsen," the Subject of a
Touching Discourse on the Resur.
rection.

SSnrfSt AriSen, the SUBJECT VI
Touching Discourse on the Resur-
rection.
New YORK CiTY.-Dr. Henry &. Swent.
eel, rector OF ST. Lakes Church, preached
Sunday morning on The Gospelof the Res-
direction. He took his text from Acts
xvii: is: He preached unto them Jesus
and the resurrection" Dr. Swentzel said:
With what noble confidence did the apos-
tolic church set out to serve Its worldwide
mission. 1t had new religion to proclaim,
glorious message from God for all the
races of mankind. 1t was not provincial,
but catholic. 1t began i'll Jerusalem. bat it
looked forward to comprising the whole
earth. Wherever it went il encountered
beliefs and rites which were venerable. i'm
pressive and upheld by the prestige OF
wealth, rank and culture. but it was none
the less devoted to its huge work. What a
hopeless task it seemed to be TO convert
the human family to the gospel NJ Jesus
Christ. The Master OF this latest nit was
jew. He had been disgraccd by c;ucifiX-
ion. and there was now scarcely i"'.Tc than
handful of disciples to tell the story cf
His career. When We consider ne over
wEelming odds against which these iren
struggled as they proceeded to evangeliZe
| founi!y impressed with the confidence with
| which they took up the more than hercu-
| lean labor The magnitude OF the effort 20
which they were called did not deter them.
persecution could not alright then, the
| oDpoS' t;rnS or Indifference OF the better
| classes could not discourage them. On
| they went. from city To city from country
| to country, preaching the religion OF which
| they were gladly the earthly champions.
| Not always lad they Eeen OF this temper.
| The migEtieSt amoaG them. the rocE-man
| himself, had utterly collapsed in the high
| priests palace. and after the fateful dav OF
| the cross they all accepted the plight
| OF those who had served Il lost cause. But
| now all this is changed. The towards are
| the bfavest OF the brave. and each of the
| apostles is ready to face every peril and to
| meet death for the message OF love and sa.
vation which burned upon his iiDs.
Nor is tie reason for this radical change
difficult to account ior Those timid and
laundering men had received divine af-
| fiatus-tEey had been revoutionized in
direction from the dead. To the gifts of
the Holy Ghost which they received was
added the irdomitable assurance OF the
triumph of their divine Mester over death
and the grave. The Lords resurrection
was the dominant doctrinal note in their
thinking and their teaching and wherever
they went they bore the witness OF eve
witnesses to the fact which they so boldly
declared. Although they had known Jesus
and had companied with Him rs intimate
associates for several years. their spiritual
perceptions were dull until the last. and
they understood not Hi, oft repeated say
ing that He would rise from the dead But
rs soon as ther are satisfied OF His resur-
rectio2 they all come to the front. ready
for the fray, eager for the honor OF repre-
senting Him in every land and willing to
endure every hardship for His cause.
St. Paul on Mars Hill is IN illustration
of the temnar OF the Apostolic Church He
is thoroughly imbued with the certainty o:
the Faster story and hesjtates not to
preach it throughout the missionary jour-
neys when he so sH.erdidiv served his Office
as the apostle 10 the Gentiles As we think
of him IN the Gr2cian capital. we can on,y
wonder at the calmresS ard courage with
which he net inc ordeal which he had de-
iberdtelv sought. What striking picture
be is rs nc stands on !Areopagus. facing tho
chief inte!lccts OF the classic metropolis and
sDca!liGg with undaunted Eoidness of The
risen Jesus. The Drowned Traveller. q
stranger in strange land. he knows that
he IS in the centre of the very best pagan
ism. and lie IS as fearless of it's pveiudiccs
and subtlcties and ridicu,e as he had been
OF the prisons of Syria. His training hith-
erto had prepared him to appreciate the
sights on which he gaZed. In him the civil
izatinns Of Jews. Romans aud Greeks met.
and he had appropriated the finest things
OF each. His attainments enabled him to
sec the difficulties all the more plainly
Evidently Hebrew. his nationality would
make t harder for him to win the respect
of his hearers. Conscious OF this handicap,
hn foo1 ha H. oE L..
les and the bias which his words would
surely evoke. It was probably his first visit
TO this scat of enlightenment Its far
famed glories which he had long since de-
sired to sec we're now before his eyes in
all their bewidering splendor. He had
mastered its language and literature. and
now he walked on it's streets. looked upon
its population. gazed upon objects made
rare in interest and celebrated in epic or
in song. visited it's sanctueries and its
schools. met its thinkers and artists. and
realized the beauty and the power of its
life and thought From the time that he
diScmbarked at the pier his attention was
constantly arrested by the monuments and
shrines OF Athens. and all the tokens OF
its genius and culture.
OF monuments the new religion has yet
had scarcely one 1t was still in the days
OF its poverty. Churches and cathedrals
aaI endowments were matters of the tut.
ure What could St. Paul expect in no
sponse to his DronouncemeDt: The amhas-
sador OF Christ understood that he had
come hithcr as the legate from the courts
of heaven to the seers ard scholars oF this
seat OF learning to declare the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead He was face
to face with the clever scions OF the highest
intellectual culture known to antiquity;
hard by were the TEMPLES of Eumepides
and Theseus, the Propv)aeum of the Acrop-
oils. the temple OF victory. and. towering
above all from its lofty pedestal was the
bronze colossus of Minerva Well might
he assume that Stoics and Epicureans and
other thinkers would attempt his over
throw. but he did not finch while he al.
nounced religion as yet without influence
or art or literature. with scarcely COM
Portable resting place for its Scriptures and
its sacraments. In his manner, however,
there are no indications that he was con-
scious Of any special advantages 1t conli
not be otherwise. for he had himself seen
the risen Jesus and ne could. .Lcrcfcre,
not be more certain of the shining sun than
he was of the truth of the Gospel which he
preached. 1t was this nnaltefab,e convic-
ton which sustained MN even on Mars
Hill while he discoursel tf the redemption