Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-04-03

A Good Friday service was held at
Park church on Friday morning. Spe-
cial music by the choir included the
anthem Fling Wide the Gates, and
the tenor and bass duet, Jesus Said,
from Stainer's Crucifxion. The two
organ selections were from Mal1ing's
Seven Last Words on the Cross
Rev. DR.. Howe's sermon was taken
from John IL: %: THE hour is come
that the Son of man should be glor-
ified." These words were spoken by
our Lord as he turned to face the
tragedy of Good Friday. The hand of
the clock is on the hour. 1t is the
hour on which His mission culrnin-
the hour of destiny to us; the hour
to which all history had been march
ing up: the hour from which all fu-
ture history would derive it's signi-
ficance. and Jesus was awake in every
fiber of His being to the crisis.
A Two-foId Emotion.
He greets the hour with a twofold
emotion. The first is a shudder of
horror. an instructive recoil. The Sec
ond is an opposite emotion that of
inf1exible purpose to face the crisis
and carry out the tragedy to it's bit
ter end. Let US consider these two
cross currents. There is His shudder
of recoil from the cross; the horror
of the pure soul getting into close
whole worlds sin; the terror of hav-
ing to drain the bitter cup which
your sins and those of all men held to
His lips.
He shuddered at His approach to
death, death so instigated by evil,
a death into which evil poured the
consequences and awful entail of hui
man sin. His life was along the via
dolorosa. 1t was not the mere act of
dying-that black spectre to other
men, who dread the enforced decree
of physical dissolution. The Greeks
in our Lords thought of His own
death a blackness Of which the Greek
never dreamed. Do not let us forget
on this Good Friday that the foulness
of the cup which our sins filled to
the brim was a nauseating draught to
Christ, who bore and bore away the
sins of the world. The same sin we
commit and forget as we go on our
way struck CONSERVATION to the soul
of the worlds Redeemer even in an
ticipation and showed itself on the
cross in the words, My God, My God,
why hast sThou forsaken me?" He
knew the night and the terror and the
destructive power Of sin. He knew
that if it got it's way it would dethrone
God and fling the moral order into
CIldioS, anu ne knew 1t WOulu vent all
its malignity and all it's violence upon
Him. And now He was standing at
last on the margin Of this grapple with
the powers of darkness. The hour
had come.
The Brighter Side.
Now let US pass on to what may
seem the brighter side. WASN'T, Father,
save me from this hour? Rather. for
this cause I am come to this hour, to
glorify Thy name. I go forward.
World service is no easy thing. You
prises for the worlds betterment with
out confronting obstacles and disheart-
eminent suited to appall the stoutest
heart. The cross currents set in upon
us and ply the heart with arguments
for the abandonment of our task. The
devil is mot going to let you have your
way easily in redeeming the world and
will pile obstacles mountain high to
defy your farther proceeding and I'M
less your heart is strong. you will
falter. This is the history of every
great spiritual movement.
But all great souls. sustained by the
great purpose of their life. go for
ward. This is the secret of power
to know the mission God has en-
trusted to us and go forward. We must
these forbidding voices. We shall
know the recoil of even the brave
soul. So Jesus shrank, but He gath
cred up His strength and went for
ward. The desperate purpose was
taken, the task assumed, the work
and will of the Father should be done.
He asked no mans help or interven-
ton or pity. He welcomed mans in
terest in what He was doing, but he
resented human pity.
Purchased Eternal Life.
His death was voluntary, as it was
vicarious, as it was sacrificial as it
was propitiatory as it was redemptive.