The times., 1897-04-19

The subject selected by Z. Dewitt Tai
mage for his Easter sermon yesterday
morning was Death an Advantage"
He said in part:
Years ago legend something like this
was told me- In a 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 a living Christ, the
Lord, ia poor garb, was walking through
the earth, ald no one would entertain him.
In vain he Knocked at the door of palaces
and Of humble dwellings. Cold and hun
gry, and lnSuffICieHHy clad as he was
none received him. But coming one day
TO the hut of this woman, whose name was
Misery, she received Him, and offered
Him d few Crusts and asked Him to warm
Himself at the handful OF Goals, and she
sat up all night that the wayfarer might
have pillow 20 rest on. In the morning
this Divine asked her as He departed what
she would have Him do in the way oil r'.-
ward, and tod her that He owned the
universe ana would give her what she
asked All she asked was that her pear
ire, might bc protected, and that the boys
WHO stole her fruit, once climbing the tree,
might not be able To get down without her
consent. So it was granted and all who
climbed the tree Were compelled to stay
there.
Afier a while Death came along ana
told the poor woman she must go with
him But she did not want to go, for,
however poor ones lot is. no one wants
to 20 with Death. Then she said 10
Death Il VIII go with you if you VIII
first climb up into my pear tree and
bring me down a few pears before start.
This Ee consented to do, but having
climbed into the tree, he could not again
come down.
Then the troubles Of the world began,
for Death did not come. The physicians
had no patients, the undertakers no buSi-
ness, LAWYERS no wills 10 write. the people
who waited for inhcutances could not get
them, the old men staid in all she pro-
fessions ard occupations 80 thai there
was no room for the young who were
coming on. and the earth got overCTowdeL
and from all the earth the cry went up:
.'Oh, for Death, Where is death?'' Then
the people came to the poor woman and
begged her to let Death descend from
the tree In sympathy for the world, She
condition and that was that he should
never modest or take her away, and IN
that condition Death was aIlo wed to come
down, and he kept his word and never
renewed her, and for that reason we
always have Misery with US.
In that legend some one has set forth
the truth that l mean TO present on this
Easter morning, which celebrates the
resurrection of Christ and our coming
resurrection one OF the TTandcSt
and mChJiest mercies of the earth Is our
divine permission to quit it.
As steamer must unload before it takes
another cargo, and as the passengers OF
rail train must leave it i'll order to have
another ccnpahy OF passengers To enter
it. so with this wcrld. What would happen
to an ocean steamer if 4 man, taking
staterooln. should stay in it forever What
would happen to a rail train if one who
purchases ticket should always occupy
the seat assigned hiu2 And what would
happea to this world if ali who eaiae INFO
it never departed from II? The grave Is as
much = hene,liCJion as the cradle.
We talk about the shCrtness Of life, but
if we exercised good sense we would realize
thatlifeis quite long enough. 1--we are the
children OF God we are a banquet, and
this world is only the first course OF the
food, ana we ought 10 be glad that ther"
are other and better and richer courses Of
food to be handed on
Do not think that this body is the best
that God ca n do for us. God did not hair
t~y when he Conurivej your bodily meChan-
ism.
You see God has only Just begun Ia build
you John was right when he said: 1t
doth not yet appear what we shall be. '
Me,scd be death, for it removes all the
hindrances.
Death is TO the good. tansfcrence to SU-
perior weather; weather never tickle,
and never TOO cold and never TOO hot, and
never too light and never too dark
Why call death the King OF Terrors?
Why think of him as great spo022 Why
Sketch him with skeleton and arrows. and
standing on a bank of dark waters? Why
have children SO frightened at his name
that they dare not 60 TO bed alone, and
old men have their teeth chatter lest
some ShcrtncSs Of breath hand them over
to tie monster? All the ages have been
busy in mali gniHg death. hurlng repulsive
metaphors at death, Slanderng dearh. Oh
for the sweet breath of Easter to come
down on the earth, Right after the vernal
equinox, and when the flowers are be-
ginning to bloom, well may all nations,
with song and congratulations and gar
lands, celebrate the resurrection Of Christ
and our own resurrection when the time
is gone by, and the trumpets pour through
the flying clouds the harmopies that shall
wake the dead. By the empty niche of
Joseph's maus0leum, by the rocks that
parted TO let the Lord come through, let
our ideas of changing worlds be forever
rcvolutiOniZed.