The Weekly Tallahasseean., 1900-11-08
ALL SAINTS SERMON
At St. Johns Episcopal
Church, this City,
BY REV. DR.. ". 4. CARTER.
He Recalls FeelingIy the Inroads of
Death Upon the Membership.

Following is the all Saints Ser
mon delivered at St. Johns Episco-
pal Church last Sunday, by the
Rector, DR.. w. H. Carter:
death. II Cor. xV:26.
At the season of All Saints it is
natural that our thoughts should
rest upon those for whom the expe-
rience of earthly life is closed. Not
that | would for a moment intimate
that there are no saints who still
tread in ways of earth, but that, COM
ing as it does at the close of the COM
memOratiOn of illustrious dead, it
seems but fitting that those who have
passed into like existence should have
our special thoughts. We have
loved them, never so deeply as when
we have missed them; we have re-
spected them, never so highly as
since they have left US, and we fol-
low them with a longing and a won
der which, but for the grace of God,
would become unbearable. We
may have faith, and we trust; we
may have fear, and we doubt; we
may have neither faith nor fear, and
we scoff, but all this cannot change
the expe. lence upon which they have
entered. We long to learn of thai
experience. We imagine it. We
speculate about it, but can not as
yet understand it. Between US and
them there is that transition which is.
called death. A transition so need
lessly feared, SO causelessly dreaded.
Death in itself is no more than a
nights sleep; It's sntecedents and
consequences are important for all
our eternity; they depend upon our.
selves and why should we fear or
dread that over which we have con-
troll.
As All Saints Day has come to us
] iFeara bp~-yRaE Eez.hags considered
fsome Oi many charactefisf;c
death; that it is Inevitable, ne
or care :an prevent its coming. At
| the most tie approach can only be
delayed; that it is natural, for
throughout all nature death begins
with life, and living is only the pre-
clude to dying; that it is even desir-
able, for 1t removes many impedi-
mentS, and changes this natural body
into the spiritual. Yet admitting all
that, it Is no less in every instance
an enemy. Neither is this a contra
dictiOn, for there are conditions of
preparedness and defense when the
coming of any enemy, whom we must
meet at some time, would be clearly
desirable. 1t Is hard to define the
influence and power of such an enc
! my; we all admit his dominion.
: over the earthly body. We contest
every assault, we dispute every step,
, but the end is always the same-de-
feat and sorrow. 1t is no wonder
that in a somewhat superficial way
we would limit his power to the body.
Yet there are things we value more
2 highly than our bodies, and death
ruthlessly attacks them. AS soon as
r we begin to value life we begin to
e have hopes. Fair scenes form be-
e fore the mental vision, and the
2 efforts of the present are valuable,
chiefly because through these we hope
r to make the imagined scenes reality,
: but as the years pass they die one by
one until the time comes that we cease
to hope Is it not a manifestation OF
the varied power of our enemy? Or
we have ambitions perhaps worthy
y ones, perhaps not, but in some way
s we would be distinguished among
o the crowd; it becomes probable; We
almost reach them, when our enemy
& carries US away at the very begin
8 ming of the possibility of gratifed
e ambition. Dearer still are the love-
/ and friendship ps more valuable thar
n life; they have come to us as choices
e treasures, and we have Willingly
e given the best of ourselves in return
but the enemy kills them; alas! no
the body, that still mOcks US with tn
memories of dead loves, but human
:, faith and trust are dead, and we vii
le pe lingly dare the enemy to finish hi
y work upon the broken fragments 0
sr mortal life, and would gladly surren
?, der to him all that makes up our
- selves, but the individual personalit
ne is beyond his power. He may Pur
ID sue US through mortal years; he ma
iT Is take from US the things which mad
i, these years of value to US, he ma
as exert his rightful dominion over Ur
es bodies, but it is God alone who h
rs the power to destroy both soul an
body. The great enemy can Meth