Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1893-04-14
REV. DIR. rALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DiVINES SUN
DAY SERMON
Subject: "rhe sIeepers Awakened

TEXT: 'No1C IS Christ risen from the dpnd
ana Gecome the first fruits OF them that
sLepi."-L Corinthians XIV, ~.
On this glorious Easter morning, amid the
music AMI the flowers, | give you a Chris
tan salutatlOn. This morning Russian
meeting Russian on the sire It's OF st. Peters
bnrg halls him with the sautati0n, Christ
Is rlsenp and is answered By his friend in
salutation, He IS risen indeed" In some
parts of England and Ireland, to this very
day, there Is the 81 OeTscitiOn that on T. tst7r
morning the sun dances in the heavens, AMI
well may we forgive such a superstition
which illustrates the fact that the natural
world seems to sympathiza with the spirit
ual
Hail, Easter morning! Flowers! Flow
ers! All of them a-voice, all o. them
a-tOngue, all of them full OF speech To-Day.
/ bend over one of the lilies and hear 1t say:
@'Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toll not, neither do they spin,
yet Solomon in all MS glory was not arrayed
like one of these" | bend over rose. and
it seems to whisper: 81 am the rose Of Soc
rom" And then [ stand and listen. From
all sides there comes the chorus OF flowers,
saying: eff God 50 clothed the grass of the
field. which to-day is and tomorrow is cast
into the oven. shall He not much more
clothe you. . ye or little faith"
Flowers! flowers! Braid them into the
them over the graves of the dead, sweet
prophecy of the resurrection. Flowers.
Flowers! Twist them into garland for my
Lord Jesus on Easter morning. "GlOry be
to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost; as 10 IN the beginning, Is
nov and ever shall be.
Oh, low bright AID how beautiful the
flowers, and how much they make me THINK
OF Christ and His religion that brightens our
character, brightens society, brightens the
church, brightens everything! You who go
With gloomy COCntenance preten ding you
are better than | am because of your lugu-
brlousness, you cannot cheat me. Pretty
case you are for man that processes to be
more than a cOnqueror. 1t is not religion
that makes you gloomy, it is the lack OF it.
There Is just as much religion in a wedding
as IN burial, just as much religion N Il
smile as III a tear.
These gloomy Christians We sometimes
see are the people to whom [ like to lend
money, for l never see them again. The
women came 10 the SaviOrs tomb and they
dropped spices all around the tomb, and
those spices were the seed that began to
grow, and from them came all the flowers OF
this Easter morn. The two angels rObed in
white took hold of the stone AZ the Savior's
tomb and they hurled it with such force
down the hill that it crushed ir the door OF
the worries sepuchre, and the stark and the
dead must come forth.
[ care not how labyrinthine the mauso-
1eum or how costly the sarcOphaguS or how
ever beautifully parterred the family
grounds, we want them all broken up by the
Lord Of the resurrection. They must come
out. Father and mother-they must come
out. Husband and wife-they must come
out. Brother and SiSter-theY must come
out. Our darling children-they must come
out. The eyes that We close with such
trembling fingers must open again in the
radiance of that morn. Inc arms we folde /
in dust must join ours in an embrace of re-
union. The voice that was hushed in our
dwelling must be returned. Oh, how long
some OF you seem to be waiting-wating
for the resurrection waiting! And for
these broken hearts to-day [ make soft
cool bandage out Of Easter flowers
Ny friends, [ find in the risen Christ a
prophecy OF our own resurrection, my text
setting forth the idea that as Christ has arisen
so His people will rise. He-the first sheaf of
the resurrection harvest. He-''the first
fruits of them that slept" Before 1 get
through this morning 1 will walk through
all the cemeteries of the dead, through all
the country graveyards, where your beloved
ones are buried, and | will pluck off these
flowers, and will drop a sweet promise OF
the gospel q rose of hope, lily of Joy on
every tomb-the child's tomb, the husbands
tomb, the wifes tomb, the fathers grave
the mothers grave. and while we celebrate
the resurrection OF Christ we will at the
same time celebrate the resurrection of all
SOOA-
that Slept"
If should come to you this morning and
ask you for the names of the great conquer
ors Of the world. you would say Alexander.
Caesar, Philip, Napoleon |. All! my friends,
you have forgotten to mention the name of
greater conqueror than all of these
crue!, CHASTITY conqueror. He who rode on
black horse across Waterloo AID Atlanta
and Chalons, the bloody boots crushing the
hearts of nations. 1t is the conqueror Death.
Again and again has he done this work
with all generations. He is a monarch as
well as conquerOr; his palace a sepulcher;
his fountains the falling tears of q world
Blessed be Goi, in the light of this Easter
morning see the prophecy that his scepter
shall be broken and his palace shall be de-
nOllshed. The hour is coming when all who
are n their graves shall come forth, Christ
risen, we shall rise. Jesus ''the first fruits
OF them that slept" Now, around this doc.
trlne OF the resurrection there are a great
many mysteries.
GU come to me this morning and saw.
III the bodies Of the dead are to be raised.
how Is this and how is that" AMI YOU ask
me thousanI questions l anu incompetent
10 answer, but there are a great many
Lhin9s you believe that you are not able ia
expaln. OF would be a very foolish man
10 say, Il won't believe anything [ cam
understand"
1 md my strength in this passage, "AT
who are IN their graves shall come forth u
60 not pretend to make the explanation
ou can go on and say: Suppose re-
turned missionary dies in BROOKLYN Wher
he was in China. his foot was amputated
lie ilved years after in England. and there
he had an arm amputated. He is buried
today III Greenwood. In the resurrection
VIII the foot come from China, will the arm
come from England, and will the different
parts OF the body be reconstructed in the
f1TTlC -