The news & observer., 1905-12-07

watches through the ages. In our bap-
tism we represent GnriSt in one of the
most august scenes in His life. l have
an idea that in the rending of the
Heavens from which That oVice came,
it was like throwing up the windows
that the angels might see. They were
astonished. What was ordinary to us
was extraordinary to the angels. and
what was extraordinary to US in Him
was ordinary to the angels. The truth
| is that as they followed and saw Him
with their eyes they wondered at that
Jordan seen. There was God the Faith
er not seen but heard; and there was
the Spirit not heard but seen; and
/ there was the Son, heard and SEEN
with the Father and the Spirit. When
! years ago there was talk of placing
the Passion Play upon the American
| stage, Christian sentiment rebelled
! but in baptism every man does what
| Christ did. Baptism receives scant
treatment. The great God is there,
and the Son and Spirit We stand
where our Lord stood and lay where
our Lord lay 1t is commemorative
and commemorative Of the greatest
event in the worlds history, the resur-
rection of Jesus.
"The darkest day in the worlds his
tory is when the Lord Of Glory was
crucifled Then that much berated man
Joseph of Aramothea came and gave
Him q resting place, and then Nico-
demus came. and wealth and position
administered unto dim On the third
day a new problem confronted the
world, an empty sepulchre. The sol
diers said the body had been stolen.
Mary thought someone had taken the
body. Peter doubted, but John thought
He had risen from the grave. Baptism
commentaries the event of the open
iSepudchre, the monumental memorial
| ordinance of the resurrection of Jesus
! Christ. Baptism should be taken out
of the sphere of polemics and placed
| in the sphere of Christian apologetics,
| and taken out of controversy and
made as q testimony of the resurrec-
! ton of Christ When God wrought that
wonderful event i'm the tomb of Joseph
| of Aramathea He did not leave it
without q monument. He left a New
| Testament, a new sabbath. new or
dinance and a new institutions, the
church. They all converge back to
that Jordan event. / wish that we
| had faith to look through our baptism
back to that event. Again, baptism
! expresses the union which we have
with Jesus and puts out before the
world in marvellous colors a change
that has taken place in our hearts,
the new birth, wonderful experience,
:,
that deep down in our hearts oh!
how happy; how happy! we WereS
but unable to express our feeling. And
| here God wishes TO work in our hearts
! what EIe wrought in the garden of
Joseph of Aramathea. We. We're blind,
! but now we see. There was nothing IN
the mind. heart or soul of man to
express it, and God made picture,
and held it up before the world. There
! ar ra tVgn things connected tnlS
ordinance All can not be baptized.
We need not be too quick to take peo-
pie there. The other fact is that bap-
tism is available to a class, the class
of all who believe on Christ Jesus,
whether pauper or king. Baptism is a
constant appeal in the heart demand
ing holy living, and when our lives
are not Cody we belle the act through
which we passed. II our baptism we
are brought face to face with one of
the greatest doctrines in the system
the Trinity-God the Father, God the
Son. and the Holy Spirit. / have
heard of preachers uniting marriages
in the name of the Trinity. but l
would not do it. This ordinance
baptism-alone should be performed
in the name of the Trinity. The heaven
is let down, and God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Spirit, are there.
Our baptism when we were baptized
and every baptism upon which we
look, express the largest hope upon
which we have, the coming of Christ,
and the resurrection of the saints.
The triumph over death of Christ, and
the triumph to come. The severeSt test
of faith as we look backward is the
resurrection of Jesus, and the
strongest fact as we look forward is
the resurrection of the saints We
have not made too much of baptism
as q burial, but we have made too
little of it as a resurrection. God has
set this ordinance out monumental of
the past and prophetic of the future.
1t is the only picture we have of the
resurrection The voice of baptism
of a prophetic voice, prophetic of the
redemption of the body The mar
riage of the Lamb is one of the great
events of the future, and the church
wears the engagement ring. Oh! the
beautiful symbol we wear, like the
one He wore himself. How beautiful,
that when He returns it will be un-
broken. untarnished, worn by a clean
hand We should magnify it. gloryfy
it until He shall come, the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. the Brides
Lamb and He shall lead Her in, to
Our glory but - His greater glory.
After tho sermon Prof A. G. Jack
son sang a beautiful and appropriate
solo.
Organization.
President Marsh called the Secre~
taries, MeSsrs. n. B. Broughton and
Hight c. Moore and the vice-presi-
dents Messrs f. F. Aydlett and T. M.
Arlington, to come to the pulpit.
President Marsh then announced that
they We're ready to effect the organiza~
ton. He announced the following
committee on enrolment: F. W. Han
cock. ]. ~ Holding. r. j. Bateman, J.
NJ. Pittman. c. w Blanchard. r. n.
Simms, and T. g. Pearson.
Secretary Moore read the first ar
ticle of the Constitution and the choir
sang : selection while the committee
on enrolment distributed cards to as
certain the number and names of del
egates present
$50 Delegates Present.
/ The committee on enrolment re-
ported $50 names of delegates present.
The president stated that the next
business
Nominations For President.
Row noyI,,c C9dp of Murphy