Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-03-30
THE FLOWERY FESTIVAL.
Easter and its Observances i'm Rock
Island.
Imposing services at Trinity. at the
First baptist and Other churches
"A Great Event.

Easter, the happiest, brightest festival
in the Christian year was celebrated with
imposing services ia all the churches in
Rock Island yesterday. The houses of
worship of the various denominations
were thronged and in every church EN-.
blems % the fowerY festival were dis
played, while He is Risen" was the per-
vaiding thought of all that was sung or
said. Though the festival, which in
worldly sense, is always regarded as the
time BETTING the first appearance of the
spring bonnet, come much earlier than
usual, yet at all the churches were evil.
dences that the milliner had not been ig-
| nored.
AT TRINITY CHURCH.
The four services at Trinity church
were well attended, and were very i'm
pressive. The girls choir appeared in
white vestments and the special music
was enriched by three pieces from
| Bleuer's orchestra. Rev. R. F. Sweet
preached an able sermon, appropriate
| to the resurrection festival. In the after
noon the Easter day service of Evert's
Commandery, No IS, Knights Templar
and ST. Simon of Cyreue Commandery Of
Davenport, was held in the church. The
service was according TO the order of
evening prayer of the church ritual, the
rector. Rev, Sweet, who is also prelate of
Evert's commandery, preaching a sermon
from the text, Titus lis:
Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto that
are dehled and unbeleving is nothing pure, bat
even their minds and conscience is defled.
And from ST. Matthew SIS.
Blessed are the pure il heart for they shat see
God.
After extending esrty greeting to the
Sir Knights MIR. Sweet stated that in for
mer years on occasions such as this be had
spoken concerning the order. its charac-
ter and responsibility. and also of the res
direction doctrine of the church. This
year he would choose as lis subject the
one which should be one of the most OBJ,
by the Sir Knights. He then announced
his text and preached q thoughtful dis.
course on the subject of purity.
In the evening the annual children's
Easter service of the two schools was
held. The rector delivered brief adj
dress to The children and each child was
presented with an orange, an egg and
little cake. The collection was for the
benefit of the orphsnsge of the Holy
Child at Springfield.
AT THE FIRST E.
At the First N. E. Rev. G. W. Cue
preached an Easter sermon in the morn
ing, and in the evening he chose tho
clerks movement for Sunday rest for his
subject. His text as from:
Mark 2-27 The sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath"
The term Sabbath means rest, said the
pastor. 1t is the name of holy institution
that God insugursted at the close of
the works of creation. In the
book of Genesis 2:3. you will read, And
God blessed the seventh day and sancti-
fed it, because that on it He had rested
from al His works" The seventh day
became sacred, holy, because the institu-
ton of the Sabbath was celebrated upon
that day. The observance of the Sab
bath by al people is enjoiaed by Jeho.
yah in the fourth command. Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy"
This holy institution is not an arbitrs-
~ law, but principle, founded in the
philosophy of our moral natures. We
are benefited mentslly, morally, physical
ly an9 spiritually by its observance.
Such is the nature of man, such the in
stitution of the Sabbath, and such the eff
| feet which the keeping of it will have
upon him. That if be is obedient to
God in this thing, he will obey God in
everything else. a Sabbath keeping
people are inv arisbly an obedient people
| The manner in which people regard the
| Sabbath is test of their character and
| index of their morality and religion. God
| instituted the Sabbath for the benefit of
man, for his spiritual, moral and physical
well being. As TO what you may or may
not do on the Sabbath should be mat
ter of conscience, regulated by the word
| of God. Any labor that will benefit the
moral aud spiritual nature of man and
cannot be done on any other day
is legitimate work for the Sabbath. II,
however, il requires seven days in the
week TO perform il. it will be injurious
even though it be of extreme necessity,
because of unlawful strain upon nature.
The Sabbath is the time that God has
reserved for himself A man will never
be the gamer by stealing Gods time. ]
like the advice of the woman to her hus-
band. when the railroad company re-
| quested him TO work on the Sabbath, or
lose. his place, said: We can afford TO
he poor, but We cannot afford to disooey
| God"
1t is burning shame. and an awful
sin, for corporations to arrange their bus
ness SO as to keep whole army of men
employed on the Sabbath day. Taking
away their God given right, Of day of