Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1900-05-03
Dr.TALMAGE SERMON
THE GREAT DIVENE'S ELOQUENT
nRSSA0E
Subject: The Resurrection OF Christ-The
season of Spiritual Giadness and Re
Recommendations Over Death and
the Grave-The Mission of Flowers.
~tCopyrIght 1870. !

W~AsHINGTOS. d. C.-This sermon of DR..
Talmage rings all the bells Of gladness.
especially appropriate at this season, when
all Christendom is celebrating Christs
resurrection: text, John xix, IL, 'In the
garden Il new supulcher."
Looking around the churches this morn
ing, secing flowers in wreaths and flowers
III stars and flowers in crosses and flowers
In crowns, pillows Of beauty, connacration
Of beauty, YOU feel as II you stood in 4
small heaven.
You say these flowers will fade. Yes. but
perhaps you may see them again. They
may be immortal. The fragrance OF the
! flower may be the spirit of the flower; the
body Of the flower dying on earth: it's
| spirit may appear in better worlds. do
not say 1t Will be so. l say it may be SO.
The ancestors Of those tuberoses and
eamcllias and japonicas aud jasmines and
heliotrOpes were born in paradise. These
apostles Of beauty came down il the regu-
lar line Of apostolic succession. Their an
cestors during the food, underground,
afterWard appeared.
The world started with Elem; it will end
with Eden. Heaven is called a paradise Of
God. Paradise means flowers. While theo-
logical geniu 5es in this dav are trying to
blot out everything material from their
idea OF heaven, and, so far as l can tell.
their future state is to be IA floating around
somewhere bet Ween the Great Bear and
Cassiopeia, / should no. be surprised if ut
last l can pick UP a daisy on the eyerlast-
ing hills and hear it say; Il am one Of the
glorifled lowers of earth. Don't you re-
member me? | worshiped with you on
Easter morning in 1900"
My text introduces US into q garden. It
is a manor in the suburbs Of Jerusalem
owned by a wealthy gentleman Of the name
Of Joseph. He belonged to the court Of
seventy who had condemned Christ, but
he had voted in the negative, or, being "a
timid man, had absented himself when the
vote was to be taken. At great expense he
laid out the garden. 1t being a hot climate,
| suppose there were trees broad branched.
and there were paths winding under these
trees, and here and there We're waters drip
ping down over the rocks into fish ponds.
and there were vines and flowers blooming
from the wall, and all around the beauties
Of kiosk and arbOriculture. After the ia
ticues of the Jerusalem courtroom, how
refreshing to come into this suburban re-
treat, botanical and p~onologicul!
Wandering in.the garden. I behold some
rocks which have Oh them the mark Of the
scul ptOr's chisel. | come nearer, and |
find there Is Il subterranean recess. leone
down the marble steps, and / come to a
portico, over which there is an architrave,
by the chisel cut into representations of
fruits ana flowers. ] ent5r the portico. On
either side there are rOOms-tWO or four or
six rooms Of rock, the walls Of these rooms
having inches, each niche large enough to
hold Il dead BODY. Here is one room that
is especially wealthy Of sculpture.
The fact is that Joseph realizes he cannot
always walk this garden. and he has pro-
vided this place for his last slumber. On,
what a beautiful spot in which to wait for
the coming Of the resurrection! Mark well
this tomb, for it is to be the most celebrat-
ed tomb III all the ages. Catacombs of
Egypt, tomb Of Napoleon, Mahal Tai of In
dia, nothing compared witsl it. Christ has
# ,.~t 1.aa1 500. .>l IT:. l. L. I'll L -
thrown to the dogs and the ravens, like
other cruc6ed bodies. unless there be
prompt and efficient hindrance. Joseph,
the owner of this mauSOleum in the rocks,
begs for the body of Christ. He washes
the poor, mutiIated frame from the dust
and blood, shrouds it and perfumes it.
4 | think that regular embaimment was
omitted. When in olden time a body was
to be embalmed, the priest, with some pre-
tension of medical skill, would point out
the place between the ribs where the in
cisiOn must be made, and then the operator,
having made the incision. ran lest he be
slain for Il violation Of the dead. Then the
other priests 'wouId come with salt of inter
and cassia and wine of palm tree and com
plete the embalmlnent. But think this EN-.
%balmment of the body of Christ was
omitted. 1t would have raised another
contention and another riot.
The funeral hastens Oh. Present. I
think. Joseph, the owner Of the mauso-
leun: N~icodcmUs, the wealthy man who
had brought the spices, aud the two Marys,
No organ dirge, no plumes, no catafalque
Heavy burden for two men as they carr,
Christs body down tue marble stairs ant
into the pOrticO and lit the dead weight t
the level of the niche in the rock and push
the body Of Christ into the only pleasant
resting place it ever had. Coming fortt
from the p~orticO, they close the door O,
rock against the recess.
The government, afraid that the dis
ciulcs may steal the body of Christ and
play resurrection, order the seal of The
sanlearin to be put uron the door Of tn.
tomb, the violation OF that seal, like the
violation OF the seal Of the Government o
the United States or Great Britain, to b.
followed with great punishment. A CON
rany OF soldiers from the tower Of Autonis
is detailed to stand guard.
At the door of the mausoleum II ngh
takes places which decides the question
for all Sravcyarls and cemeteries. Swor,
OF lightning against sword Of steel. Ange
against military. No seal Of letter VIZ.
ever more easily broken than that seal o
1 the sanhedrin OH the door Of the tomb
The dead body III the niche in the rocl
:, begins to move in it, Shroui Of fine linen
slides down upon the pavement. moves on
| OF the portico, appears in the doorway. ad
vances into the open air, comes up til
marble steps. Having left His mortuar
49, Aiitht IL YIN iolth III w u IL
mans Sarb, as | take it, from the fact tina
tba women mistook Him for the gardener
That day the grave received such shat
teriuC it can never be rebuilt. All IL
: trowels of earthly masonry can never men,
il. Forever and forever it is II broke
. tomb. Death, taking side with the mill
, tary in that fight, received a terrible Gu
from the Angels spear Of flame, so that Ii
. himself shall go down after awhile unde
3 1t. The king OF terrors retiring before tn
4 King Of cracei The Lord Is risen. LIE
earth and heaven keep Easter to-day
Ho>anua. -
l Some things strike my observation Will
{ standing III this garden with a new sepu
cher. And. first, post mOrtem honorS i
contrast with ante norton ignominies.
they could have afforded Christ such
: costly ~epulcher, why could not they hay
; given Him an earthly residence? Will ;he
/ give This piece Of marble to IA dead Chris
instead OF n soft pillow for the living Jesu:
: II they had expended half the value OF thu
Al tomb to make Christ comfortable. ii woul
not lave been so sal Il story. He aske
bread: they gave Him a stone.
= Christ. like most OF the worli-s bcnefa,
tors. was appreciated better after He vs.
dead. Westminster Abtey and NOM
mental Greenwood arr tha world atteml