The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-05-04

| And the rupture Of those rocSs, and the
snap OF that Governmental seal, and the
| crash of those walls Of limestone, and the
step Of the lacsrated but triumphant 1901
Of the risen Jesus we to-day celebrate Witn
| acclaim of worshping thousands, while with
| all the nations Of Christendom, and all ths
shining hosts Of heaven we chant, "Now Is
Christ risen from the dead and become the
first fruits of them that slept"
Oh, weep no more your comforts slain,
The Lord Is risen, he lives again.
"And now may the God of peace, who
, brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great shepherd Of the sheep, through
the blood of the everlasting covenant make
you perfect in every good word and WORK.
Halleiujahl Amen.
Were your departed ones fond Of music:
What oratoris led on by Handel and Hay
den. Were they fond Of picturess What
Raphaels pointing out skies with all colors
wrought out into chariot wheels, wings Of
seraphim and coronations. Were they fond
of poetry? What eternal rhythms led on by
John Milton. Shall we pity our glori6ed
kindred? No. they had better pity us. We,
the shipwrecked and on q raft in the hurri-
cane, looking up at them sailing on over
calm sees, under skies that never frowned
with tempests, we hoppled with chains; they.
lifted by wings. ''Surely the bitterness OF
death is past.h
Further, If what I have been saying is
true, we should trust the Lord and be
thrilled with the fact thatour own day OF
escape cometh. II our lives were going to
end when our hearts ceased to pulsate and
our lungs to breathe, would want to take
ten million years OF life here for the first
installment. But, my Christian friends we
cannot afford always to stay down in the
cellar Of our Fathers house. We cannot
always be postponing the best things. We
cannot always be tuning our violins for the
out We must mount. We cannot afford
always to stand out here in the vestibule Of
the house Of many mansions, while the
windows are illuminated with the levee
angelic, and we can hear the laugh
ter Of those forever free, and the
ground quakes with the bounding
feet of those who have entered upon eternal
play. Ushers of heaveni Open the gates!
Swing them clear back on their pearly
hingeS Let the celestial music rain on US
its cadence. Let the hanging gardens OF
the king breath OF US their aromatics. Let
>,ur redeemed ones just IooK QUIZ auu give
US one glance Of their glori6ed faces. Yes,
there they are nowl I see them. But l can
not stand the vision. Close the gate. or our
eyes will be quenchei with the overpowe:ing
brightness. Hold back the song or our ears
will never again care for eartniy anbneui'
Withdraw the perfume or we shall swoon IN
the fragrance that human nostrhs was never
made to breath.
All these thoughts are suggested as we
stand this Easter morn amid the broken
rocks OF the Saviour's tomb Indeed, know
that tomb has not been rebuilt. for stood II
December Of 1889 amid the ruins OF that the
most famous sepulcher Of all time. There
are thousands of tombs in our GreenWood
and Laurel Hill and Mount Auburn with
more polished stone and more elaborate ma
sonry and more foliage surroundings, but as
I went down the steps Of the supposed tomb
of Christ on my return from Mount Calvary,
I said to myself: This Is the tomb OF all
tombs. Around this stand more stupendous
incidents than around any grave OF all the
world since death entered It,"
could not breathe easily for overnastar-
ing emotions as walked down the four
crumbliug steps till we came abreast OF the
niche in which think Christ was buried.
measured the sepulcher and found it four
teen and half feet long, eight feet high,
nine feet wide. 1t Is q family tomb and
seems to have been built to hold five bodies.
But I rejoice to say that the tomb was
empty, and that the door Of the rock was
gone, and the sunlight streamed in. The
day that Christ rose and came forth the
sepulcher was demolished forever, and no
trowel OF earthly masonry can ever rebuild