The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-04-22

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that when the Lord meets US at las BE will
not throw up to US what we have been. All
He said to her was, "Mary!' Msny people
having met her under such circumstances
would have said: Let me see, how many
devils did you have? One. two. thrpe, four.
five, six, seven. What a terrible piecs You
were when first met your The most OF
the Christian women in our day would have
nothing to do with Mary Mag ,alena even
after her conversion. lest somehow they be
compromised. The only thing have to say
against women is that they hav' not enough
mercy for Mary Magdaene. Christ put all
peihos and all "reminiscences AMI ali anticipa-
tion and all pardon ani all comfort and all
heaven into one word OF four letters,
"Maryr' Mark you. Christ did not appear
to some Bible Elizabeth or Bible Hannah Or
Bible Esther or Bible Deborah or Bible Vash-
ii. but to Mary; not to Mary against whom
nothing was said: not to Mary the mother OF
Jesus; not to Mary the mother OF Jxrnes; not
to Mary the sister Of Lazarus, but to seven
devi ed Mary.
There Is q man seven deviied-deyil Of
avarice, devil Of pride. devil OF hate, devil
OF Incidence, devil OF fasehood, devil OF
strong drink, devil OF imor rity. God can
take them all away. seven or seventy. Irode
over the new cantilever bridge that spans
Niagara bridge 900 feet long. $50 feet OF
chasm from bluff to bluff. I passed over II
without any anxiety. Why2 Because twen-
| ty-two locomotives and twenty-five cars
laden with gravel had testel the bridge,
thousands OF people standing on the Can
adian side, Thousands standing onthe Ameri-
can side to app aud the achievement. And
however long tho train OF our immortal in
terests may be, We are to reinamber that
| Gods bridge OF mercy spanning the ehasm
| OF sin has been fully tested by the awful tom
\ ~ oil hO par ri al nf nj IA
church militant standing on on, bank,
church triumphant standing on the other
bank. Oh, 1t was 70 the seven dsyiled Mary
thar Christ male Bis first post mortem ap-
| pearauce. =
There is another thing that the world and
! the church have not observed in regard to
this resurrection, AMI that Is, II was the
morning twilight.
If the chronometer bal been invented and
Mary had Us good a watch as soma OF the
Marys OF our time have. she would have
| found 1t was about half past 5 o'clock q. m.
Matthew says It was 10 ths lawn; MARK says
| 1t was very early in tn. morning; John says
| 1t was while II was yet dark. In other words,
1t was twilight. That was the o'clo K at
| which Mary Maglalene mis- ook Christ Tor
the gar enpr. WHAT dos that 10 an? Ii
| means there are sha lows over the grave un-
! ifted-shadows Of mystery that ara hover
X.
| to the other end Of the cryp. She gave hys-
! teric outcry. She roull not ses 10 the other
en- Of the crypt. Nrither can you sea to the
other end OF the grave OF your dead. Neither
| Can We see 10 the other rnt of our own grave.
| Oh, IL th.re were shadows over the family
| plot belonging to Joseph OF Arlmatnsa, Is 1t
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 as? Why were
they ever given 10 us II they were TO be taken
50 soon? Why were they taken 80 suddenly
Why could they not havs uttered some fare
| we'll words2 Why2 A short question. but q
| whole cruci1xion OF agony In 1t. Why4
Shadow on the graves or good men ana
| women who seemed to die heiore their Work
was done. Shadow on all the graves OF
children because we ask ourselves why so
beautiful craft was launched ut all twas
| TO be wrecked one mile outside OF the harborf
But what did Mary MagdaIene have to do In
| orier to get more light on that gr I've? 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
d. ar loved ones? Only to wait
Charles Y. OF Spain, with bis servants and
metropolis where bis ancest RS were buried.
and went deeper, farther on until he came to
cross around which were arranged tho
caskets Of his ancestors. Hs also found q
casket containing the body OF one OF his own
family. He had that casket opened, and there
by emt mer's art he found that the body was
as perfect as eighteen years before when
1t was em.ombed. But under the explora-
tion his body and mimi perished. Oh,
my friends, do not let US morbidly
struggle with the shadows OF the sepul-
cher. What are we to dor Wat. II is
not the evening twilight that gets darker
Ind darker. It Is the morning twilight that
gets brighter and brighter into the perfect
day. I preach It to-diy. Sunrise over
Pere le Chaise, supIiSe over Greyfriars
churhyard, sunrise over Gre nwood, over
Woodlawn, over Laurel Hill, over Mount
Auburn, over Congressiona burying ground,
sunrise over ey-ry country graveyard, sun
rise over the catacombs, SUR SO over the
sarcophagi where the ships lie buried. HALF
past o'clock among the tombs now, but
soon to be the MONDAY Of explanation and
beatitude. II was in the morning twilight
that Mary Magdalene mistook Christ for q
gardener.
Another thing the world and the church
have not observed-that Is, Christ's pathetic
credentials How do you know 1t was not
q garuenerg MS RdtuculS Sdiu no WAS .
gardener. The flakes OF The upturned earth
scattered upon His garments said BE was
gardener. How do you know BE was not
gardener? An! Before Easter had gone BY
He gave to some OF His disciples His three
credentials. he showed them His hands and
His side. Three paragraphs written in rigid
or depressed letters. A scar In the right
talm, scar In the left palm, scar amid
the ribs-scars. scars. That is the way they
knew Him. That Is the way You and will
know HIM.
After Christ's interment every cellular
tissue broke down, and nerve aud artery and
brain were a physiological wreck. and yet
Hs comes up swsrthy, rub;cund and well.
When see after such mortuary silence such
radiant appearance, that settles 1t that
whatever should be'ome OF the bodies OF
our Christian dead, they are going to come
up. the nerves ressruug, the optic nerve reil-
lumined, the ear drum a-vibrate. the whole
body iiftei up without its weaknesses and
worldly uses tor which there Is no resurrec-
tion. Come, is II not almost time Tor rs TO
90 out to meet our terminated tead2 Can
YOU not hear the lifting OF tho rusted latchp
Oh. the glorious thought. the glorious
consolation OF this subject when l md
Christ coming up without any OF the lacera-
tions-for you must remember He was lac
Grated and wounied feariully 10 the crnci-
Hxion-comipg up without one! What does
that make me think? That the grave Will
get MOI hing OF US except our wounds ana
Il ,..k- kt.a.< u.Rn