The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-15
TALMAeE'S EASTER SERMONS.
THE DOCTOR breaches AT THE
ACADEMY AND AT A CHURCH.

One OF the BAscoufees on the N@aHttt
JubiIee--Death Is Swallowed Up
in victory His Text-How the
Date of Easter Was Decided On.
Easter the Queen I'm the Royal
Court of SabbathS.
New York. April 14.-Rev. DR.. Talmage
preached twice to-day in New Nork-at
the Academy Of Music and the West
Presbyterian Church-on both occasions
10 crowded audiences. one Of the ser
mons was on the subject of Easter Ju-
bnee" the text being taken from l. Cor.
Is: "a. Death is swallowed up IN victory
About eighteen hundred and sixty-one
Easter mornings have Weakened the earth.
In France for three centuries the alma
macs made the year begin at Easter, I'M
til Charles TX. made the year begin at
Jan. LIST. In the Tower Of London there
is a royal payroll OF Edward l.. on which
there is an entry Of eighteen pence for
four hundred colored and pictured Easter
eggs, with which the people sported. In
Russia slaves were fed and aims were
distributed on Easter.
Ecclesiastical councils met at Pontus,
at Gaul, at Rome, at Achia, to decide the
particular day, and, after a controversy
more animated than gracious. decided 1t,
and now through all Christendom in some
way, the first Sunday after the fun moon
which happens upon or next after March
q is filled with Easter rejoicing. The
royal court Of the Sabbaths is made up of
ffty-two. Fifty-one are princes in the
royal household; but Easter is queen. She
wears a richer diadem, and sways a more
5ewelled sceptre and in her smile nations
arc frradiated. We welcome this queen
ly day, holding high up in her right hand
the wrenched-off bolt of Christs sepul-
chre. and holding high up in her left hand
the key to all the cemeteries in Christen-
dom.
My text is an ejaculation. It is spun out
of halleluiahs. Paul wrote right on in his
argument about the resurrection. and on
served all the laws of logic; but when he
came 10 write the words of the text his fin
gers and his pen and the parchment on
which he wrote took fire, and he cred out,
death Is swallowed up in victory II is
q dreadful sight to see an army routed and
flying. They scatter everything valuable
on the track. Unwheeled artillery HO0f
of horse on breast Of wounded and dying
man. You have read of the French falling
back from Sedan, or Napoleon's track OF
ninety thousand corpses in the snow banks
OF Russia, or of the five kings tumDEng
over the rocks of Bethoran with their arm
tes, while the hail storms of heaven and
the swords of JoShua's hosts struck them
With their fury. But In my text is worse
discontinue. 1t seems that a black giant
proposed to conquer the earth. He gather
ed for his host all the aches and pains and
maladies and distempers and epidemics OF
the ages He marched them down, drilling
them IN the northeast wind. amid the slush
of tempests. He threw up barricades of
grave-mound. He pitched tent of charnel-
house. Some of the troops marched with
slow tread, commanded by cons un1ptions;
some in double-quick commanded by pnue-
mOnias. Some he took by long beslege-
ment of evil habit and some by one stroke
OF the battle-ax of casualty. With bOny
hand he pounded at the doors of hospitals
and sick rooms. and won all the victories
dn all the great battleields of all the five
continents. Forward, march! the conQue-
rOr of conquerors, and all the generals and
commanders-in-chief. and all presidents
and kings and sultans and czars drop
under the feet of his war charger.
But one Christmas night his antagonist
was born. AS most of the plaques and
sicknesses and despotisms came out of
the east, II was appropriate that the new
conqueror should come out of the same
quarter. Power Is given him to awaken
all the fallen of all the centuries and of
black. giant. Fields have already been
won, but the last day will see the decisive
battle. When Christ shall lead forth his
two brigades, the brigade of the risen
dead and the brigade of the celestial host,
the black giant will fall back, and the
brigade from the rtVen sepulchers will
take him from beneath, and the brigade of
descending immortals Will take him from
above, and death shall be swallowed up
in victory" The old braggart that threat
ened the conquest and demolition of the
planet has lost his throne, has lost his
scepter, has lost his palace, has lost his
prestige, and the one word written over
all the gates of mausoleum and catacomb
and metropolis, on cenotaph and sarco-
phagus, on the lonely cairn of the Arctic
explorer and on the catafalque of great
cathedral, written in capitals of azalea
and Gala lily, written in musical cadence,
written in doxology of great assemblages,
written on the sculptured door of the
family vault is '"Victory." Coronal word
embannered word, apocalyptic word, chief
word OF triumphal arch under which con-
querors return. Victory Word shouted
at Culloden and Balaklava and Blenheim;
at Megiddo and Solferino; at Marathon,
where the Athenians drove back the
Modes; at Poictiers, where Charles Martel
broke the ranks of the Saracens; at Sal
amis, where Themistocles, in the great
sea-nght COMPOUNDED the Persians, and at
the door of the eastern cavern of CHS
elled rock, where Christ came out through
a recess and throttled the King of Ter
rors, and put him back in the niche from
which the, celestial conaueror had lust
emerged Aha! when the jaws of the east
erh mausoieum took down the black
giant, death was swallowed up in vic
! proclaim the abolition of death. The
old antagonist is driven back into my
tthology with all the lore about Stygian
l.
we snail have no more to do with death
than we have with the cloak room AT n
governors or Presidents levee We stop
at such cloak-room and leave in charge
OF the servant our overcoat, our over
shoes, our outward apparel that we may
not be impeded in the brilliant round OF
the drawing-room. Well, my friends
when we go out Of this world we are
going 10 a Kings banquet. and to a
reception of monarchs, and at the
door OF the tomb we leave the cloak OF
uesh and the Wrappings with which we
meet the storms Of the world At the
close of our earthly reception, under the
brush and broom of the porter, the coal
or hat may be handed to us better thar
when we resigned it, and the cloak 81
humanity will finally be returned 10 us
improved and frightened and purified
and glorihed. You and l do not wan
our bodies returned TO us as they are
now. We want to get rid of all theil
weaknesses, and all their susceptibilitie.
TO fatigue, and all their slowness of 10
comotion. They will be put through Z
chemistry of soil and heat and cold anC
changing seasons out of which God will
reconstruct them as much better thar
they are now as the body of the rosies
and healthiest child that bounds owe
the lawn is better than the sickest pa
tient in the hospital
But as to our soul, we will cross RICH
over, not waiting for obsequies, indepen
dent of obituary, into a state in ever,
way better, with wider room and veloci
toe THH