The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-03
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THE SLEEPERS WAKENED
REV. TALMAGE's EASTER MORN.
ING SERMON.

Thoughts of Christ and His Religion
Inspired by the Flowers-As Much
Religion in Smle es in a Tear.
Characteristics of Resurrection Day.
BROOKLYN, April 2.-The tabernacls
was elaborately decorated with flowers to-
day, and an unusually large audience as
sembled to hear Rev. DR.. TalmaRe's Easter
morning sermon. The subject was: "Ths
Sleepers Awakened - the text chosen being
from l. Cor. Xv. 20: "Now is Christ risen
from the dead. and become the frat fruits
of them that slept"
On this glorious Easter morn ing, amid
the music and the flowers, l give you
Christian salutatiou. This morning Rus
sian meeting Russian on tho streets of st.
Petersburg halls him with the salutation,
Christ is risen" and ia answered by his
friend in salutation, HE Is risen indeedw
In some parts of England and Ireland TO
this day there is the supersution that on
Easter morning the sun dances IN the
heavens; and well may we forgive such a
superstition which illustrates the fact that
the natural world seems TO sympathizs with
the spiritual
Hail. Easter morning. Flowersl Flow
ersl All OF them a-voioe, all Of them
a-tongue, all OF them full Of speech to-day.
l bond over one OF the lilies and hear 10
say: "Consider the lilies of the field, how
they grow; they toll not, neither do they
spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not
arrGyed like one of these" / bend over a
rose and it seems to whisper;
81 am tho rose of Sharou."
And then I stand and listen From all sides
there comes the chorus Of flowers, saying;
''If God 80 clothed tho grass OF the field,
which to-day is and Tomorrow is cast into
bni et. IA
you, o Ye Of little faith" Fiowersi Flows
ers! Braid them into the brides hair.
FlOwersl Flowers 9trew them over the
graves Of the dead, sweet prophecy of the
resurrection. Flowers Flowers Twiso
them into garland for my Lord Jesus on
Easter morning. Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to tina Holy Ghost; as
it was in the beginning,sis now, and ever
shall be-"
0, how bright and how beautiful the
flowers, and how much they make me think
of Christ aud his religion, that brightens
our life, brightens our character, brightens
society. brightens the church, brightens
everything You who go with gloomy
countenanoe pretending you are better than
/ am because Of your lugubriousness, you
cannot cheat me. Pretty case you are for
a man that processes 70 be more than a con-
queror. 1t is not religion that makes you
gloomy, 1t is the lack of it.
There ig just as much religion ia
a. weddingsS as 10 a burial, JUST as
much religion in a.smile as in d tear. Those
gloomy Christians we sometimes see ars
the people TO whom like TO lend money,
for ] never see them againl The women
came to the SRvior's tomb and they
dropped spices all around the tomb, and
those spices we're the seed that begaa TO
grow, aud from them came all the flowers
of this Easter morn. The two angels robsd
IN white took hold of the stone at the Saw
ior's tomb and they hurled 1t with such
force down the hill that 10 crushed Ia the
door OF the worlds sepulcher, and the stark
and the dead must come forth.
care not how labyrinthins the mauso-
leum or how costly the sarcophagus or
however beautifully paterred the family
grounds, we want them all broken UP BY
the Lord Of the resurrection. They must
como out Father and mobher-they musb
come out. Husband and wifa-theY must
come out. Brother and slster-they must
come out. Our darling ohildren-they
must come out. The eyes that We close
with such trembling fingers must open
again in the radiance of that morn. The
arms we folded Ia dust must join ours in an
embrace of reunion. the voice that was
hlushed in our dwelling must be returned.
Oh, how long some OF you seem TO be wakt-
ing-waiting for the resurrection, waitingi
Aud for these broken hearts to-day make
n
My friends, / hnd In che risen Christ
prophecy of our own resurrection. my text
setting forth the idea that as Christ has
risen, so his people will rise. He the frst
sheaf of the resurrection harvest. He ''the
6rst fruits Of them that slept" Before
get through this morning / will walk
through all the cemeteries Of the dead,
through all the country graVeyards, where
your loved ones are buried, and l will
pluck off these flowers, ana l will drop q
sweet promise Of the gospel-a rose OF hope,
lily of Joy on every tomb-the child's
tomb, the husbands tomb, the wife's tomb,
the fathers grave, the mothers grave; and.
Christ, we will at the same time celebrate
the resurrection of all the good. 'Christ,
the first fruits Of them that slept"
IL / should come to you this morning and
ask you for the names Of the great con-
qusrors of the world, you would say Alex
snder, Caesar. Philip, Napoleon /. Ahl my
friends, you have forgotten TO mention the
name Of greater conqueror than ell these
"a cruel, a Rhastly conqueror. He rode on
black horse across Waterloo and Atlanta
and Chalons, tho bloody hoofs crushing the
hearts of rations. 1t is the conquerDF
Death.
He carries black flag, and he takes no
prisoners. He digs trench acrosa the
hemispheres and fills it with the carcasses
of nations. Fifty times would the world
have been depopulated had not God ksnt
making new geneT ations. Fifty times the
world would have swung ifeless through
the air--no man on the mountain, no usan
on the sea, an abandoned ship plowfng
through immensity. Again and again has
he done this work with all generations. He
is monarch as well as a conqueror; his
palace sepulcter; his fountains the falling
tears Of a world. Blessed be God. In the
light of this Easter morning l see the
prophecy that his scepter shall be broken
and his palace shall be demolished. The
hour is coming when all who are in their
graves shall come forth. Christ risen, we
shall rise. Jesus, ''the first fruits of them
that slept" Now, around this doctrine Of
the resurrection, there are q great many
mysteries.
You come to nae this morning aud say;
''If the bodies Of the dead are TO be raised.
how il this and how is thatfn and you ask
me q thousand questions am ineompeteht
to answer; but there are q great many
things you believe that you are not able to
explain. You would be very foolish nsan
TO say: 81 won't believe anything l can'h
understand
Why, putting down one kind Of flower
seed, comes there up this flower Of this
colorl Why. putting down another flower
seed, comes there up flower OF this colori
One flower white, another flower yellow,
another flower crimson. Why the differ