The San Francisco call., 1904-04-04

Easter sermon this morning in the
First Congregational Church. There
was a large concourse of people pres
ent eager to hear the eminent
preacher. In honor of the occasion,
the church was handsomely decor
ated with palms and fruit blossoms
and an augmented choir rendered an
excellent programme of sacred songs.
DR.. j. X. Mclean, president of the
Pacific Theological Seminary, pre-
sented DR.. Abbott to the congrega-
ton. DR.. Abbott led in the prayer
and for the sermon took his text from
Corinthians 1890: Nov is Christ
risen from the dead and become the
first fruit of them that slept" In
part, he said:
The resurrection was not an extraordinary
event. 1t was simply an ordinary event that
was magnihed in the eyes of the people who
did not know. The first orange that appeared
in the groves of Southern California is an ex-
traordinary event. but when others follow in
myriads II is quite an ordinary thing.
The first impression OF man is of his
physical belnE; Eysrythins csnters about a tt,I his
life has deoayed, too. All through the pagan
ages that was the impression that men had.
1t WAS common coneeption among the He
brews Death to them was substantially the
end of all. Even in the book OF Job we find
that this opinion prevails.
But grew. after the teaching OF
Christ, they came to that there was more
hope. 1t became the custom to keep the bodies
OF their dead in seDulchers and cellars so
that upon the day of promised resurrection
the spirit would know where TO find the body.
They thought the soul. when it separated from
the body. went to some underground world and
remained until God came to raise it,
Christ taught the immortal nature of the
soul He taught that the body merely
transtory. the mere instrument for the tran
sition OF the spirit. He gave striking illus
tration OF this when he raised up Lazarus.
Martha thought the resurrection was to come
in the far future, but he said, Il am the res
direction and the life
Death is simply the separation OF the soul
from the body. Death and resurrection
synonymous terms. In one way we look at
the body in another after the spirit. This Is
not the onlv world for US. Christ told his
disciples that he was going To prepare the way
for his people in another world Where l am
there may ye be-" He goes to prepare place
for you He says, To-day thou shalt be
with me- not tomorrow or on the day of
Death and resurrection. as I have said, are
synonymous, simultaneous. The spirit is al
ways there even as II is IN sleep No one
knows where TIE soul goes in Sleep yet It is
always there at awakening. Sleep is the par
able of death. Christ demonstrated this when
he hack TO his disciples. 1t was an IL
lusiration that his body might be killed. but
not his spirit He demonstrated that he lived
and triumphed over death
What we call death is the simple passing
OF the soul. The body In the ground is the
end OF it. but the soul goes upward When
we plant q seed of wheat the seed does not
come up. but the stalk and the rest of 1t. a
child develops into youth. then manhood. then
declines with age ana tnen ufOps OIL. Duf 6ou
gives this new body and takes ii to him,
The relations of the spirit to the body are
manifest in three ways. First the body min
listers TO the snirit: that is. the inner life of
the spirit develops the bodily organs Second,
the bodily organs are the means Of communi-
cation between different spirits. between men
and men. Third after the body decays and is
cast of by the spirit God receives it in an
other world.
Christ Is here to-day just as well eight
cen centuries ago. 1t is for us not impor-
tant that he was raised up from the dead
eighteen centuries ago as ii is that he lives
to-day He is the living Christ OF this day
and age.
DR.. Abbott's first Earle lecture will
be given Tuesday evening in the First
Presbyterian Church. There will be
four other lectures on the following
dates: Thursday, April Z; Friday,
April 9; Monday. April IL, and Tues
day April 12. The general subject
of the course will be Christianity
and the Church
The Easter music at the First
Presbyterian Church to-day was
sung by an augmented choir The
following numbers were rendered:
Anthem, double quartet, They
Have Taken Away My Lord;
violin solo, Walter Manchester; con-
tralto solo, Every Flower That Bios
sons: soprano solo, ''The Dawn of
Hope: anthem, with bass solo. AS
Sleep Takes Flight" The sermon was