Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-26
NOW is CHRIST RISEN.
5000 SING EASTER PRAISES AT
THE TABERNACLE.


Rev. Talmage Catches tho Inspiration
Ofthe Day in His Salutation- Benuties
of the Floral DecoratiOns--The Grim
COnquerOr Vanquished by the Son Of
God.
BROOKLYN, n. Y, April 25.-The
Brooklyn Tabernacle was elaborately
decorated to-day, both in platform and gal-
leries. Within the church a scene of rare
beauty was presented, the platform being
covered with flowers arranged IN various
devices and breathing forth delicate
aroma. The building was so crowded
that the doors were held open by the
pressure, and many persons were turned
away, being unable TO get farther than
the iron gates on the street In addition
to the usual artistes OF the church Mrs.
Florence Rice-Knox sang twice. The
opening hymn, in which 5000 voices join
ed, was:
1--WE praise Thee, o God, for the son OF Thy
Love,
For Jesus who died and is now gone above"
Tire subject of the sermon was Easter
tide.
DR.. Talmage took his text from Cor.
XIV 20: "Now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the first fruits of them
that slept" He spoke as follows:
On this glorious Easter m0ruing, amid
the music and the flowers, ! give you
Christian salutatiOn. This morning Rus
sian meeting Russian on tie streets OF ST.
Petersburg halls him with the salutation,
Christ is risen," and is answered by
his friend in saiutatiOn, He is risen in-
deed" In some parts of England and
Ireland to this very day there is the SUI
perstitiOn that on Easter mOrnng the sun
dances in the heavens; and well may we
forgive such a superstition which Illus
trates the fact that the natural world
seems to sympathize with the spiritual.
HALL Easter morning. Flowers
FlOwersl An of them voice, all OF them
a tongue, all of them full Of speech to-day.
| bend over one Of the lilies and hear it
they grow; they toll not, neither do they
spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed as one of these / bend over "a
rose and it seems 10 whisper: II am the
rose of Sharon" And then / stand and
listen, From all sides there comes the
chorus of flowers saying: "lf God 50
clOthe the grass OF the field, which to-day
is and tomorrow is cast into the oven,
snail He not much more clothe you, .
ye of little faithY'
Flowers! Fiowersl Braid them into
the BRIDES hair. Flowers Flowers! !!
Strew them over the graves of the day,
sweet prophecy of the resurrection.
Flowersl FlOwersl Twist them iutO a
garland for my Lord Jesus on Easter
morning. "GlOry be to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy yGhost: as it was
in the beginning, is now and ever shall
be-"
Why, if a rainbow this morning had
fallen and struck the galleries and struck
the platform, the scene could not have
been more radiant. Ohi hew bright and
and how beautiiul the flowers, and how
much they make me think of Christ and
his religion. that brightens everything 1t
touches, brIghtens our life, brightens our
character, brIghtens society, DrightOns
the church, brightens everything. You
who go with gloomy cOuntenance, pre-
tending you are better than l am, be-
cause Of your righteousness, you can
not cheat me. You old hypocritel l know
you. Pretty case you are for man that
processes to be more than c0Bqueror. 1t
Is not religion that makes you gloomy, it
is the lack of It. There is just as much
religion IN wedding as in burial, just as
much religion in smile as in "A tear.
Those gloomy Christians we sometimes
see are the people to whom like TO lend
money, for / never see them again! The
women came to the Saviour's
tomb and they dropped spices all around
the tomb, and tdOse spices were the seed
that began to grow, and from them came
all the flowers Of this Easter morn. The
two angels robed in white took hold Of
the stone at the SaViCur's tomb aud they
hurled it with such force down the hill
that IL crushed in the door Of the worlds
sepulchre, and the stark and the dead
must come forth.
l care not now labyrinthine the mausO-
leum OF how costly the sarcOphagus or
however beautifully parterred the family
grounds, we want them all broken up
by the Lord Of the resurrection. They
they must come out. Husba1d and wife
they must come out. Brother and Sis
ter-they must come out. Our darling
cnildren-they must come out. the eyes
that we close With such trem bling fingers
must open again ia the radiance Of that
morn. The arms we folded in dust must
join ours in an embrace Of reunion. The
voice that was husned in our dwelling
must be returned. o, how long some OF
you seem TO be waiting for the
resurrection, waitingl And Tor these
broken hearts to-day make a soft, cool
bandage out Of Easter flowers.
SIX years ago. the nignt before Easter,
| received an Easter card on which there
was "A representation of that exquisite
flower, the trumpet creeper. and under it
the words: "The trumpet shall sound and
the dead shall rise" There was especial
reason why at that time / should have
that card sent me, and presentIhe same
consolation to-day TO all in this house;
and VINO has escapedy
My friends, this morning find in the
risen Christ a prophecy Of our own resur-
rectiOn, my text setting forth the idea
that as Christ has risen. so His people
will rise. He was the first sheaf OF the
resurrection harvest; lie 1.-The first fruits
OF them that slept" Before | etthrOugh
this morning, will walk through all the
cemeteries OF the dead, through all the
country graveyards where your loved
ones are buried. and | will pluck OF these
flowers. and ] viii drop sweet promise
OF the Gospel-a rose Of hope, "A lily OF
Joy on every tomD--tne Chiid's tomb, the
husbands tomb the wiie's tomb, the
fathers grave, the mothers grave: and
while we celebrate the resurrection OF
Christ we viii at the same time celebrate
the resurrection OF all the good. Christ.
the first fruits Of them that slept
u should come TO you this morning
and ask YOU for the names OF tue great
cOnQuerors OF the world, YOU would say
Alexander, CWsar, Philip, Napoleon I.
An, my friends, you have forgotten 20
mention the name OF greater conqueror
than all tbese--a cruel, a ghasuy con-
querOr. He rode on a black horse across
Waterloo, Atlanta, and ChalOns, the
J.. 4. 4. q