The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1908-07-31
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY seRMoN.BY
Or. WILLIAM J. THOMPSON
Subject: The Ascension.

| bTOOklIn, ~. 1.-lu the Sl1upsOH
NJ. E. Church Sunday morning. the
pastor, the Rev. DR.. William j.
Thompson. preached on THE Ascen-
sion" The text was from Luke
24:51: And IL came 10 pass, while
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.
participants-much minutiae. Con-
cerning 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 universe-gravitatio
| 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 10 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 it's
Intelligent and spiritual expressions
the body, and dooms it with dust
70 dust" Jesus Christ. the mighty
Prince OF Life, conquered this
conqueror!
Our loudest Easter hosannas are
TO His praise for this unrivaled
achievement. This triumph, how
ever. mighty as 1t 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-
go, Austerlitz and other victories as
stepping stones to reach the dizzy
heights of military power; where he
TO Southern Italy, and allied contig-
uous 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, 1915. 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, 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 deputations to
visit Jesus as Judge, divider, benefac-
tor, thereby weakening their faith
and enervating 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 coulo not be
favorably produced everywhere with
Jesus localized. Men everywhr~e
should have equal divine assistance
in having right hearts, speaking ac-
ceptable words. and doing Justly. To
this end Jesus must be spiritually
present in the world and consequent
ly. bodily withdraw. While the lus-
tre Of Jesus would have shone un-
diminished had He remained on
earth. yet TO reach His maximum
effulgence IL was expedient that He
go away. Mans complete salvation
and the glory of Christ concurreo in
this departure. Our faith is yitally
involved in His destination.
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
10 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 10 "Good-by." The farewell OF
Jesus has the same relative impor-
tance. 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 valedictory 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
l - -. v.fo-s 80 rIf- IF-rfrf.r