The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-04-29

baptism will not be to them saving
ordinance. They have been fatally
wounded with the knife that cut them.
They are bleeding their life away; they
are dying now. The fragrance in the
air is their departing and ascending
spirits. Oh, yes! Flowers are almost
human. Botanists tell us that flowers
breathe, they take nourishment, they
eat, they drink. They are sensitive,
They have their likes and dislikes. They
sleep, they wake. They live in families.
They have their ancestors and their de-
scendants, their birth, their burial,
their cradle, their grave. The zephyr
rocks the one and the storm digs the
trench for the other. The cowslip must
leave it's gold, the lily must leave it's
silver, the rose must leavs It's diamond
necklace of morning dew. Dust to
dust. So we come up, so we prosper, we
spread abroad, we die, as the flower
as the flower!
Change and decay in all around see;
o Thou who changest not, abide with me!
Flowers also afford mighty symbol
ism of Christ, who compared Himself to
the ancient queen, the lily, and the mod
ern queen, the rose, when He said: 81
am the rose of Sharon, and the lily Of
the valley" Redolent like the one,
humble like the other. Like both, ap-
propriate for the sad who want sympa-
thizers and for the rejoicing who want
banqueters. lowering over the mar
riage ceremony like wedding bell or
folded like chalet on the pulseless
heart of the dead. o Christ, let the per-
fume of Thy name be waited all around
the earth-lily and rose, lily and rose
until the wilderness crimson into gar
den and the round earth turn into one
great bud of immortal beauty laid
against the warm heart of God. Snatch
down from the worlds banners eagle
and lion and put on lily and rose, lily
and rose.
But, my friends, flowers have no
grander use than when on Easter morn
ing we celebrate the termination of
| Christ from the catacombs. The flowers
spell resurrection. There is not a nook
or corner in all the building but is
touched with the incense. The women
carried spices to the tomb of Christ,
and they dropped spices all around
about the tomb, and from these spices
have grown all the flowers of Easter
morn. The two white-robed angels
that hurled the stone away from the
door of the tomb hurled it with such
| violence down the hill that it crushed
in the door of the worlds sepulcher, and
millions of dead shall come forth.
oweverlabyrinthine the mausoleum,
however costly the sarcophagus, how
ever intellectually grand the necrop-
oils, however beautifully parterred the
family gounds, we want them all
broken up by the Lord of the resurrec-
ton. The forms that we laid away
with our broken hearts must rise again.
Father and mother, they must come
out. Husband and wife, they must come
out. Brothers and sisters, they must
come out. Our darling children, they
must come out. The eyes that with
trembling fingers we closed must open
in the luster of resurrection morn
The arms that we folded in death must
joins ours in embrace of reunion. The
beloved voice that was hushed must be-
returned. The beloved form must come
up without its infrmities. without its
fatigues. 1t must come up. Oh, how
long it seems to some of you! Waiting
waiting for the resurrection. How
long, how long! make for your broker
hearts to-day cool, soft bandage o.
lilies. l comfort you this day with tn,
thought of resurrection.
When Lord Nelson was buried in st
Paul's cathedral in London, the hear
of all England was stirred. The pro
cession passed on amid the sobbing of &
nation. There were 30 trumpeters sta
toned at the door of the cathedral, with
instruments of music in hand, waiting
for the signal, and, when the illustri
Gus dead arrived at the gates of ST. Paul.
cathedral, these 30 trumpeters gave on,
united blast, and then all was silent
Yet the trumpets did not wake thu
dead. He slept right on. But have II
| tell you. what 80 trumpeters could no
do for one man, one trumpeter will d.
for all nations. The ages have rolled
on, and the clock of the worlds destiny
strikes 0, 10, II, 10, and time shall be nj
longer!
Behold the archangel lowering! Fl,
takes the trumpet, points it this way
puts its lips to his lips and then blow
one long, loud, terrific. thunderous, re
verberating and resurrectionary blast
Look, look. They rise! The dead-th,
dead! some coming forth from the fam
| lily vault. some from the city cemetery
some from the country graveyard
Here spirit is joined TO its body, ant
there another spirit is joined to anothe
body, and millions of departed spirits
are asserting the bodies, and then re
clothing themselves in forms radian
for ascension.
The earth begins to burn-the bon
fire of great victory. All ready nov
for the procession of reconstructed hu
manity! Upward and away! Chris
leads. and all the Christian dead follow
battalion after battalion, nation afte