The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-18
DEATH IS AN ADVANTAGE
REV. DIR. TALMAGE'S BEAUTIFUL
BAsTER DAY SERMON.

| Beautifully Decorated With Flowers
in Celebration of the Glad Anniver-
sary.
! BROOKLYN, N. Y. April 17.-Being
Easter morning, the Brooklyn Tabernacle
congregation had been invited to bring
| flowers the night before and bank Of them
was on the front of the pulpit and wreaths
Of them over the pulpit. The word resur-
reotion was spelled out in letters Of white
| lilies. Especial music was added to the
great congregational singing. Text, 1.
| Samuel xv., 80: "Surely the bitterness of
death Is past.
| So cried Agag and the only objection I
| have TO this text is that a bad man uttered
it. Nevertheless. it Is true, and in a higher
and better sense than that in which 1t was
| originally uttered. Years ago a legend
something ike this was told me: In hut
| lived very poor woman by the name OF
| Misery. In front Of her door was a pear
tree, which was her only resource for q
living. Christ, the Lord, in poor garb was
walking through the earth and no one
| would entertain him. In vain he knocked
| at the door of palaces and of humble
dwellings. Cold aud hungry and in
sufficiently clad, as he was none
| received him. But coming one day
| to the hut of this woman, whose name was
| Y, ~
| few crusts and asked him TO warm himself
at the handful of Goals, and she sat up all
| night that the wayfarer might have pill
| low TO rest on. In the morning this divine
being ssked her as he departed what she
would have him do in the way of reward,
and told her that he owned the universe aud
would give her what she asked. All she
| asked was that her pear tree might be pros
| teoted, and that the boys who stole her
fruit, once climbing the tree. might not
be able TO get down without her con-
| sent. So It was granted, and all who
climbed the tree were compelled TO stay
| there. After awhile Death came along and
| told the poor woman she uust go with him.
But she did not want to go, for, however poor
ones lot is, no one wants to go with Death.
| Then she said to Death: "I will go with
! you IL you will first climb up into my pear
tree aud bring me down a few pears before
| start" This he consented to do, but hav-
| ing climbed into the tree, he could not again
come down. Then the troubles Of the world
began, for Death did not come. The ply
sioians had no patients, the undertakers
| no business, lawyers no wills TO make.
the people who waited for inheritances
could not get them, the old men
stad in all the professions and ocs
cupations 80 that there was no room for
the young who were coming on, and the
earth got overcrowded and from all TIA o
earth the cry went up: 20, for Deathl
Where is DeathF' Then the people came to
the poor woman and begged her TO let
death descend from the tree. In sympathy
for the world, she consented TO let Death
come down on one condition, and that
was that he should never inoles5 or take
her away, and on that condition death was
allowed to come down, and he kept his
word and never removed her, and for thai
reason we always have Misery with us.
In that allegory some one has set forth
the truth that | mean to present on this
| aota nfChg iahr kl,..,r
rection of Christ and our coming resurreoS
tion-thAt one of the grandest and might
est mercles OF the earth is our divine per~
mission 20 quit ID. Sixty-four persons every
minute step off this planet. Thirty million
people every year board this planet AS q
steamer must unload before it takes another
cargo, and as the passengers of rail train
must leave it In order to have another com~
pany Of passengers e1tsr it, so with this
world. What would happen to an ocean
steamer II a man, taking state room, should
stay In 10 forever2 What would happen to 8
rail train IL one who purchases a ticket
should always occupy the seat assigned hims
And what would happen TO this world if all
who came into it never departed from ita
The grave ls as much a benediction az the
cradle What sunk that snip in the Black
sea few days agof Too many passengers.
What was the matter with that steamer on
the Thames, which, "a few years ago, went
down with six hundred livess Too many
passengers. Now, this world is only a ship,
which was launched some six thousand
years ago. 1t Is sailing at the rate OF many
Thousand milea an hour. 1t Ia freighted
with mountains and cities, and has 10 it's
statej rooms and steerage about six
teen hundred million passengers. So
many are coming aboard, IL Is necessary
that a good many dsembark. Suppose
that all the people that have lived 81 1cs
the days OF Adam and Eve were still alive
what a outtered up place this world would
be-no elbow room, no place to walk, no
privacy, nothing to eat or wear, or If any.
thing were left the human race would, like
shipwrecked crew, have to be put on
small rations, each Of us having perhaps
only biscuit a day. And what chance
would there be for the rising generatonss
The men and women who started when tha
world started would keep the modern peo-
pie back and down, saying: "We are size
thousand years old. Bow down. History
is nothing, for we are older than history"
What O mercy for the human race was
death. Within a few years you can get
from this world all there is in it.
After you have had fifty or sixty
or seventy spring times, you have seen
enough blossoms. After fifty or sixty or
seventy autumns you have seen enough OF
gorgeous foliage After fifty or sixty or
seventy winters, you have seen enough
snow storms and felt enough chils and
wrapped yourself in enough blankets. In
| L16 OtQluhTy LeukLu Ol llto you nave
carried enough burdens, aud shed enough
tears, and suffered enough injustices. aud
felt enough psngs, and been olouded sby
enough doubts, anu surrounded by enough
mysteries We talk about the shortness
of life, but If we exercised good sense we
would realize that life is quite long enough
II we are the children Of God, we are at
the banquet, aud this world Is
only the first course of the
food, and we ought to be glad that there
are other and better aud richer courses of
food to be handed on. We are here in one
room of our Fathers house, but there are
rooms upstairs. They are better pictured,
better upholstered, better furnished. Why
do we want to stay in the ante-room for
ever when there are palatial apartments
waiting for our occupancyl What mercy
that there is q Limitation to earthly environ
ment5
Death also makes room for improved
; physical machinery. Our bodies have won~
} drous powers, but trey are very limited.
{ There are beasts that can outrun us, outlift
) US. out-carry US. The birds have both the
3 earth and air for travel. yet we must stick
! Co the one. In this world, which the hui
/ man race takes for its own, there are creat-
/ ures OF God that can far surpass US in
/ some things. Death removes this slower
and less adroit machinery and makes room