“His resurrection was necessary for the payment of the price of our redemption. It was to be a victory over sin, for he was to put away sin in the flesh and establish the reign of righteousness. It was to be a victory over the world; he was to have power in heaven and in earth, and hence must conquer the earth and subdue it; and his resurrection proved his power over nature, over disease, over death and over the grave.
“It was also a victory over Satan, for Satan was styled the prince of this world. The earth he claimed as his territory. He said to Jesus on the Mount of Temptation, that the world with all of its glory belonged to him, and he promised it to Christ if Christ would fall down and worship him. Christ chose to win the world by entering into conflict with Satan and overcoming him by his divine power.
“Ten years ago I stood on holy ground at the sepulchre where it is believed that our Lord was laid. And it seemed on that morning that I could hear again the message of the angels, ‘He is not here, he is risen as he said; come, see the place where the Lord lay.’ I bowed down on my knees and said, ‘Thank God this is an empty tomb; the Lord is risen indeed.’
“His resurrection was not only the stupendous manifestation of his power, but it was the exceeding greatness of his power. The Scripture gives us many exhibitions of the greatness of Christ’s power. We have an exhibition of it in his first miracle, wrought at Cana of Galilee, when he turned the water into wine; there was a wonderful demonstration of power in stilling the tempest on the Sea of Galilee, when nature heard him and obeyed—the raging, surging billows calmed down at the voice of him who said, ‘Peace, be still.’ His giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, healing diseases, raising Lazarus, the widow’s son of Nain, and the ruler’s daughter, all were wonderful demonstrations of the power of the incarnate Christ. But the exceeding greatness of his power was not even seen in his causing darkness at high noon, while on Calvary, but it was the resurrecting of himself from the grave. O, thou living Christ, thou resurrected Jesus, live on to die no more! The exceeding greatness of thy power was seen in the resurrection of thyself from the dead!”
CHAPTER XVII.
EXTRACTS FROM ORATIONS AND ADDRESSES.
In this chapter will be found some extracts from orations and addresses delivered at different times and in different places by Dr. Walker. It has not been thought advisable to publish these addresses in full in this volume. For one thing, it would make the book too large for present purposes, and for another thing, it is proposed to issue later on a separate volume of his speeches and addresses, and also a volume of his sermons. These extracts will, nevertheless, serve to illustrate the lucid style of Dr. Walker and give some idea of the scope of the subjects treated by him from time to time.
Tuesday evening, Oct. 8, 1901, public memorial services were held in Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, New York City, by the Saloonmen’s Protective Union No. 1, a benevolent association, in honor of the late President McKinley. Dr. Walker accepted the invitation to deliver the principal address. More than 2,000 people were present at the exercises. He delivered the following:
EULOGY ON PRESIDENT MCKINLEY.
“It was said of Franklin when he died that the genius that had freed America and poured a flood of light over Europe had returned to the bosom of divinity. We are here this evening to honor the memory of our late President, who reunited the American nation, was the advance agent of protection and prosperity, universally beloved and deservedly popular. It is highly appropriate that the colored citizens of the metropolis of America should, in common with all other American citizens, pay honor to the noble-hearted, high-minded, Christian chief executive of the nation, who so recently passed to the great beyond.
“President McKinley came from the common people, and was always in sympathy with the masses. It was often said that he kept his ear close to the ground, listening for the voice of the people. It may be as truly said that he kept his ear open to hear the command of his Maker, for he had triumphant Christian faith.