The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1893-08-31


night and part of Sunday morning. He
staid SO long In the tomb that He might fit 1t
for US when we go there. He tarr1ed two
whole nights in the grave, so that He saw
how important it was to have plenty OF
light, and He has flooded it with His own
glory.
II IL early Sunday morning, and we start
mn to find the grave of Christ. We find the
morning sun gliding the dew and the shrubs
are sweet as the foot crushes them. What
beautiful place to be buried In wonder
thev did not treat Christ as well Wnen ne
was alive as they do now that be is deao.
Give the military salute to the soldiers VINO
stand guarding the dead But bark to the
crash-an earthquake The soldiers fall back
as though they were dead, and the stone at
the door of Christ's tomb spins down the NIL,
flung by the arm Of an angel Come forth,
o Jesus. from the darkness into the sunlight
Come forth and breathe the perfume OF
Joseph's garden.
Christ comes forth radiant, and as He steps
out OF the excavation OF the rock looK O
down into the excavation, and in the dis
lance see others coming hand IL hand and
troop after troop, and find 1t Is a long pro
cession Of the precious dead. Among them
are our own loved ones-Tather, mother,
brother, sister, companion, children, coming
up out of the excavation OF the rock until
the last one has stepped out into the light,
and | am bewiidered, and l cannot under
stand the scene until | see Christ wave His
hand over the advancing procession from the
rock and hear Him cry: II am the resur-
rection and the life. He who beileyetn IN
Ne though he were dead, yet shall be live"
And then l notice that the long dirge OF the
worlds woe suddenly stops at the archangeI1e
shout of Come forth =
Oh, my friends, If Christ had not broken
out OF the grave you and Iwould never come
out Of II It would have been another case
OF Charlotte Corday attempting to STAY
tyrant, herself slain. It would have been
another case of John Brown attempting to
free the slaves himself hung. 1t would have
been Death and Christ i'll grapple and
Death the victor. The black flag would have
fioated on all the graves and mausoieums OF
the dead and hell would havs conquered
the forces OF heaven and captured the RAM
parts of God, and satan would have come TO
coronation In the palaces OF heaven, ana II
would have been devils on the throne and
sons of God i'll the dungeon.
No no no When that stone was rolled
from the door OF Christs grave, it was hurled
with such force that it crashed IN all the
grave doors of Christendom, and now the
tomb is only a bower where Gods children
take siesta an afternoon nap. to wake up
in mighty IMMIGRATION. Christ Is risen.
Hang that lamp among all the tombs OF my
dead Hang 1t over my own resting place.
Christs suffering is ended; His work Is
done The darkest Friday afternoon OF the
worlds history becomes the brightest sunday
morning OF its resurrection Joy. Inc Good
Friday of bitter memories becomes the
Easter OF glorious transformation and resar-
rection.
Ye mourning saints dry every rear
For your departed Lord.
Behold the place. He is not here.
The tomb is all Unbarfed.
The gates of death were closed in vain.
The LORD is rissn-He lives again.
give you the third cause Of PauPs e3hil-
aration. We honor the right hand more, than
we do the left. If in accident OF battle We
must lose one hand let it be the left. The
left hand being nearer the heart, We may not
do much of the Violent work OF life withAthat
hand without physical danger but he who
has the right arm in full play has the might
est of all earthly weapons. In all ages and
in all languages the right hand is the symbol
OF strength and power and honor Hiram
sat at the right hand of Solomon. Then We
have the term, rs he right hand man.
Lafayette was Washington right hand man.
Marshal Ney was Napoleon right hand man.
And now you have the meaning ofPaul when
he speaks OF Christ who is al the right hand
of God
That means He is the first guest OF heaven.
He has right TO sit there. The hero OF the
universe Count His wounds two in the
feet, two in the hands, one IN the side-hvs
wounds. Oh you have counted wrong.
These are aet half the wounds, Look at the
severer wounds in the temples. Each thorn
an excr1clatlOn.
If hero comes back from battle, and he
| takes of his nat or rolls up his sleeve and
shows yeu the scar of a wound gotten at
Balls Bluff or at South Mountain, you stand
| in admiration at his heroism and patriotism,
but il Christ should make conspicuous the
five wounds gotten on Calyary-that Water
| loo of all the ages-He would display only
lad nj
let Him sit at the right hand OF God. He has
right to sit there. By the request OF God
| the Father and me unanimous suffrage OF all
heaven let Him sit there. In the grand re-
view when the redeemed pass by in cohorts
OF splendor they will look at Him and shout
"Victory /"
The Oldest inhabitant OF heaven never saw
| grander day than the one when Christ took
| His place on the right hand OF God. Hosan-
ma With lips of clay l may not appropriate
| ly utter it. but let the martyrs under the altar
throw the cry TO the elders before the throne
and they can toss it to the choir on the sea OF
glass until all heaven shall lit it--some on
point of scepter, and some on string OF harp,
and some on the tip OF the green branches.
Hosanna hosanna!
fourth cause of Paul's exhiliration
After clergyman had preached d sermon in
regard 70 the glories OF heaven and the
| splendors OF the scene an aged woman said
know what will become OF my poor head
Oh, my friends, there will be so many things
going on in heaven | have sometimes Won
| dered if the Lord would not forget you and
EN-
Perhaps Paul said sometimes; 81 wonder
God does not forget me down here in An
tioch, and in the prison, and in the ship
wreck. There are so many sailors, so many
wayfarers, SO many prisoners, so many heart
broken men, says Paul, perhaps God may
forget me. And then l am so vile sinner
| How whipped those Christians With what
vengeance l mounted that cavalry horse and
dashed up to Damascus Oh it will take
mighty attorney to plead my cause and get
me free" But just at that moment there
came in upon Pagl's soul something mightier
than the surges that dashed his ship into
Melita swiiter than the horse he rode to
Damascus. 1t was the swift and oVerwhelm-
ing thought OF Christs intercession.
My friends we must have an advocate.
poor lawyer is worse than no lawyer at ALL
We must have one who Is able successfully
to present our cause before God. Where is
He? Who is He2 There is only one ad-
IN. 11.,ft