The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-08-19
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. WILLIAM ]. THOMPSON.
Subject: The Ascension.

He blessed them, He was parted from
them and carried up to heaven" DR..
! Thompson said:
Concerning the crucifiXicn the
Scripture gives month, day, hour,
northumberland minutiae. Con-
corning the resurrection no mention
is made of the first heartbeat, only
the fact of the empty tomb and the
risen Saviour. Still meagre is the
account of the ascension.
The length of these narratives In
dicates our limited knowledge. Death
so common would have fullest men,
ton. The resurrection, contrary to
all experience, would admit simply
the fact supported by 'infallible
signs" The ascension, contrary to
the one law we believe to prevail
throughout the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and the entrances into the spirit
realm which battles the imagination
of embodied spirits, would call for
the least mention.
Their Importance, however, Is in
versely as the length of the narra-
tive. Death in itself is failure, the
resurrection declares Jesus to be the
Son of God with power. The ascen-
,, sion to the right hand of God pro-
claims Him the ever-reigning SUI
preme sovereign.
The eagle-winged tyrant, death,
spreads over the whole earth, pals
Gods. last and best creation in his
Unsuitable conquest; wrenches from
the human soul the organ Of all its
intelligent and spiritual expressions
the body, and dooms it with dust
to dust" Jesus Christ, the mighty
Prince of Life, conquered this
c%onqueror!
Our loudest Easter hosannas are
to His praise for this unrivaled
achievement. This triumph, how
ever, mighty as it is, is but a part
of His life. Like the figures of arith-
metic, depending for their richness
on what follows, so the glories of
Easter depend on what follows in the
life of Christ.
Napoleon Bonaparte used Maren-
90, Austerlitz and other victories as
stepping stones to reach the dizzy
heights of military power; where he
swayed the sceptre from the Baltic
to Southern Italy, and allied contig-
nous nations as vassals or dependent
states. He stood with his armies
upon the Alps and exclaimed: Han
nibal is surpassed!" He led these
soldiers beneath the pyramids with
Forty centuries look down upon
you" France saluted him with:
"Sire, your greatness is like that Of
the universe" If Napoleon had died
before June IS, 1916, a glamor of
glory would have encircled his whole
career. But his life after this, with
the defeat Of Waterloo and five and
one-half years in exile. leveled the
summit of his greatness.
We are not without concern for
our ex-presidents, lest some i'll deed
initiate against their record in the
high office. Some grains of comfort
are extracted from our three mar
tyred presidents, all Of whom were
snatched from US in the zenith Of
their fame, a fact which shed glory
over their whole lives. Jesus Christ
disarmed death of its mortal sting
and led the powers Of darkness cap
tive. Yet some subsequent event
could detract from the glory OF this
high triumph. So the setting of
Christ in our faith hinges upon what
follows His death and resurrection.
If Jesus had remained in Jerusa-
lem, as His disciples hoped for, YES
sells from. the four ends of Christen-
dom would have congested the ports
nearest that city with Populations to
visit Jesus as judge, divider, benefac-
tor, thereby weakening their faith
and e%nervating them in working out
their own salvation. The most stall
wart fibre in Christian manhood
comes from largest faith and zeal in
self-culture, and this could not be
favorably produced everywhere with
Jesus localized. Men everywhere
should have equal divine assistance
in having right hearts, speaking &C
ceptable words, and doing Justly. To
this end Jesus must be spiritually
present in the world and consequent
ly bodily withdraw. While the lus-
ire of Jesus would have shone I'M
diminished had He remained on
earth, yet to reach His maximum
efulgence it was %expedient that He
go away. Mans complete salvation
and the glory Of Christ concurred in
this departure. Our faith is vitality
involved in His destination.
His departure. The farewell adj
dress of George Washington was i'm
portant in his estimation as we'll as
in that of his soldiers and posterity.
A farewell address would be valu-
able and fitting for all our presidents
to close their administration. Our
farewells are the utterances Of our
best selves. This Is foreshadowed
by its typical formulas. "Fare-ye-.
we'll" God be with you," abbrevi-
ated to "Good-by." The farewell of
Jesus has the same relative impor-
lance. He takes leave of the world
that clamored for His blood and had
glee over its shedding. Mark you.
He lifted up His hands and blessed
them" Thus His valedictcry is in
the same exalted level as all that pre-
cedes and our faith holds high in the
risen and departed Christ.
He departs not in darkness but in
the light Of. day; not in the valley
but from Olivet's top; not alone but
in the view of His disciples. He had
withdrawn many times before, this
time He ascends. while He blessed
them, He was parted from them and
carried up into heaven" Shortly
after Stephen, the first martyr, looked
up and said: Behold, l see the heav-
ems opened and the Son of Man at
the right hand of Cod" Some time
after Paul had a vision of Jesus in
heaven; likewise did John. Satan,
the defler, was hurled headlong from
heaven. Nothing that de6leth n
tereth therein. Elijah, a pattern of
piety, whose mantle holy men covet-
ed, the chariot of the Lord carried
thither, and Enoch, who walked with
Cod uoc toEan tbara IpSuS 1Scon6-