The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-04-28


one word oftour letters, Mary: Mark yea,
Christ did not appear 70 some Bible Eliza
beth, or Bible Hannah, Or Bible Esther, or
Bible Deborah, or Bible Nashti, but 10 Mary:
not to Mary against whom nothing was
said, not to Mary the mother Of Jesus, not
to Mary, the mother Of lanes. not 10 Mary,
the sister Of Lazarus, but 10 the seven devil
ed Mary.
There is man seven devilei-ievil Of
ayarice devi! OF pride. devil Of hate, devil Of
iadolence. devil OF falsehood, devil Of strong
drink, devil OF impurity. God can take
them all away, or 20. rode over the
new cantaIever bridge that spans Niagara
a bridge 500 feet long, $50 feet ofchasm
from blUE to bluff. passed over ii without
any anxiety Why? Because - locomo-
tiycs ard - cars laden with gravel had test
ed the bridge, thousands OF people standing
on the Canadian side. thousands standing on
the American side to applaud the achieve
ment. And however long the train Of our I'M
mortal interests may be, We are 10 remember
that God bridge Of mercy SPANNING the
chasm Of sin has been fully tested by the
awful tonnage Of all the pardoned sin Of all
the ages, church militant standing on one
bank. church triumphant standing on the 9TH
er bank. OA,it was 10 the seven.deviled Mary
that Christ made his first post mortem ap-
pearance.
There is another thing that the world and
the church have not observed IN regard TO
rs resurrection, and that is, it was the
morning twilight.
If the chronometer had been Invented and
Mary had as good watch az some Of the
Marys Of our time nave, she would have
found it was about half-past 5 o'clock a. m.
Matthew says it was in the dawn. Mark
says it was at the sunr;sing Luke says II
was very early in the morning, John says
it was while It vas yet dark. In other words,
II was twilight. That was the o'clock
at which Mary Magadalene mistook
Christ for the Gardener. What does that
mean 1t means there are shadows over the
grave unified, shadows Of mystery that are
lowering. Mary stopped down and tried to
look to the other end ofthe crypt. She gave
hystcric outcry. She could not sec 70 the
other end Of the crypt.
Neither can you see to the other end Of
the grave Of your dead. Neither can We see
to the other end of our own grave. Oh, II
there were shadows overth family plot be-
longing TO Joseph Of Arimathea, is it strange
that there should be some shadows over our
family lot? Easter dawn, not Easter noon.
Shadow Of unanswered question: Why
were they taken away from Us? Why were
they ever given TO US if they were TO be
taken so soon? Why were they taken so
suddenly? Why could they not have utter
ed some farewell words? Why? \ short
question, but q whole crucifxion Of agony in
it. Why? Shadow on the graves OF good
men and women who seemed to die before
their work was done. Shadow on al the
graves of children because We ask ourselves
why so beautiful a craft launched at all II il
was 10 be wrecked one mile outside Of the
harbor? But what did Mary Magdalene
have TO DO in order to get more light on
that grave? She had only to wait After
awhile the Easter sun rolled up. and the
whole place was flooded with light. What have
you and TO do in order to get more light on
our own graves and light upon the graves OF
our dear loved ones? only to wait.
Charles V Of Spain with his servants and
torches went down into the vault Of the ne
and went deeper. farther on until he came to
cross around which were arranged the
caskets Of his ancestors. He also found a
caSket containing the body of one Of his own
family He had that cosket opened, and
there by embalmers art he found that the
body was as perfect as IS years before it was
entom5ed. But under the exploration his
body and mind perished. Oh, my friends,
DO not let US morbidly struggle with the
shadows of the sepulcher. What are We TO
DO. Wait 1t is not the evening twilight
that gets darker and darker. 1t is the morning
twilight that gets brighter and brighter into
the perfect day. preach ittoday. Sunrise
over Pere le ChaiSe, sunrise over Greyfriars
churchyarG, sunrise over Greenwood over
Woodlawn, over Laurel Hill, over Mount
Auburn, over Congressional burying ground,
sunrise over every country graveyard, sun
rise over the catacombs, sunrise over the
sarcophagi, where the ships lie buried. Half
past 5 o'clock among the tonbs now, but
soon TO be the monday of explanation and
beatitude. 1t was in the morning twilight
that Mary Magdalene mistook Christ for
gardener.
Another thirg the world and the church
have not observed-that is, Christ pathetic
credentials How do you know it was not
q gardener? His garments said he was
gardener. The fakes Of the upturned earth
scattered upon his garments said he was
gardener. How DO you know he was not
gardener? All. Before Easter had gone by
he gave 10 some Of his disciples his three Gre
dentials. He showed them his hands and
his side. Three paragraphs written in rigid
or depressed letters. y scar in the right
palm, a scar in the left palm, scar amid the
scars. That IS the way they
knew him. That is the way you and will
know him.
Aye, am sayiug this morning TOO much
when say that will be one of the ways in
which you and | will know each other by
the scars Of earth; scars Of accident, scars of
scars of persecution, scars Of hard
work, scars Of battle, scars Of old age. When
l see Christ's resurrected body having scars,
it makes me think that our remodeled and
resurrec'ed bodies will have scars. Why,
before We get out of this world some Of US
will be covered with scars al over. Heaven
will not De a bay into which float summer
yachts after pleasuring, with the gay bunt-
ing and with the embroidered sails as when
they were first unfurled. Heaven will be
more Ike q navy yard where men-of-war
come in from Trafalgar and Lepanto, men-oi
war with maSis twisted by q cyclone, men-of
war struck on all sides by Il pougiers, men
of-war with decks scorched of the shell. Old
old consultations, floating in
discharged from service to rest forever. In
the resurrection Christ creden,ialed by scars
You and Will be credentialed, and will re-
cognize each other by scars. Do you think
them now Disagreement: Do you think
them now q badge Of endurance? tell you
tie glorious thought this morning, they are
going to be the means of heavenly recogni-
ton.
There is one more thing that the world
and tho church have not noticed in this res
direction Of Christ, and that is that Christ
from Friday 10 Sabbath was Iiteless in hot
climate where sanitary prudence demanded
that burial tahe place the same day as death,
and where there was no ice TO retard disso-
luton Yet, after three days he comes uD