The Penn's Grove record., 1900-04-20
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.

SUNDAYS DISCOURSE By THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The Resurrection of Cllrist-The
Season Of Spiritual Gladness and Re-
freshment-victory Over Death and
the Grave-The Mission of Flowers.
Copyright 1901
WASHINGTON, d. C.-This sermon OF DR..
Tallnage rings all the bells OF gladness.
especially appropriate at this season, when
all Christendom Is celebrating Christ
resurrection; text, John XIX, Al, SIN the
garden q new s~upulcher."
Looking around the churches this morn
Ing, seeing flowers In wreaths and flowers
In stars and flowers In crosses and flowers
In crowns, pillows Of beauty, c~onfiagration
OF beauty, you feel as II you stood In q
small heaven.
You say these fowers 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; its
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
camellias and j~aponicas and jasmines and
heltotropes were born IN paradise. These
apostles OF beauty came down In the regu-
lar line OF apostolic succession. Their an
cestors during the food, underground,
afterward appeared.
The world started wit q Eden; 1t will end
with Eden. Heaven is called q paradise OF
God. Paradise mean q lowers. While theo-
logical geniuses In this )day nre trying to
blot out everything material from their
d Of heaven, and. solfar as I can tell,
their future state is to lie floating around
somewhere between THE Great Bear and
C~assiopeis, I should ndt be surprised II at
last l can pick up a daisy on the everlast-
Ing bills n hear 1t saw; II am one OF the
glorffed flowers of earth. Don't you re-
member me? I worshiped with you on
Easter morning In 1900.P
My text introduces us into a garden. It
Is q 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 bad voted in the negative, or, being a
timid man, had absent4d himself when the
vote was to be taken. lat great expense he
laid out the garden. Itlbeing a hot climate,
and there were paths winding under these
trees, and here andthSre were waters drip.
ping down over the rocks into fish ponds,
n there were vines aid flowers blooming
from the wall, and alRaround the beauties
OF kiosk n a~rboriculture. After the a.
tigues Of the Jerusalem courtroom, how
refreshing to come into this suburban re-
treat, botanical and pathological
Wandering in the gakden, I behold some
rocks which ave on them the mark of the
sculptor's chfsel. / come nearer, md ]
find there is a subterranean recess. leone
down he marble steps, and I come to a
portico, over which there is an architrave,
blythe cfisel cut intb representations OF
fruits and flowers. IZenter the portico. On
Six rooms OF rock, the walls OF these rooms
having inches, each ni1he large enough to
hold a dead body. Here Is one room that
Is especially wealthy bf sculpture.
The fact Is that Joseph realizes he cannot
always walk this garden, and he has pro-
vided this place for his last slumbsr. Oh,
what o beautiful spot In which to wait for
the coming OF the resurrection Mark well
this tomb, for 1t is to be the most celebrat.
ed tomb in all the ages. Catacombs Of
Egypt, tomb OF Napoleon, Mahal Tai of In
dia, nothing compared with 1t. Christ has
just been murdered, and His body will be
thrown to the dogs and the ravens, like
other crucifed bodies, unless there be
prompt and efficient hindrance. Joseph,
the owner Of this m~ausoleum in the rocks
begs for the body OF Christ. He washes
and blood, shfoGds h and perfumes it.
I think that regular embalmment was
omitted. When In olden time a body was
to be embalmed, the priest, with some pre-.
tension Of medical skill, would point oui
the place between the ribs where the In.
cision must be made, and then the operator
having made the incision. ran lest he bs
slain for a violation OF the dead. Then the
other priests would come with salt OF nitel
and cassia and wine Of palm tree and com,
plete the embalmment. But Think this EN-
balmment of the body Of Christ wa.
omitted. 1t would lave raised another
contention and another riot.
The funeral hastens on, Present. ]
think, Joseph, the owner OF the mauso.
leum; Nicodemus, the wealthy man whe
had brought the spices, andthe two Mays
No organ dirge, no plumes, no catafalque
Heavy burden for two men as thew carr,
Christ's body down the marble stairs ans
into tbs portico and lift the dead weight t
the level OF the niche In the rock and pusi
the body of Christ into the only pleasant
resting place 1t ever had. Coming fortf
from the portico, they close the door O
rock against the recess.
The government, afraid that the dis
ciples may steal the body of Christ and
~sanhedrin to be put upon the door Of thu
tomb, tho violation Of that seal, like the
violation OF the seal of the Government. O
the United States or Great Britain, to BIZ
followed with great punishment. A com
pany OF soldiers from the tower Of Antonfs
Is detailed to stand guard.
At the door OF the mausoleum a igh,
takes places which decides the question
for all graveyards and cemeteries, Sword
OF lightning against sword OF steel. Angel
against military. No seal of letter was
ever more easily broken than that seal o
the sanhedrin on the door Of the tomb
The dead body In the niche in the rocl
begins to move In its shroud OF fine linen
slides down upon the pavement, moves GU
of the portico, appears In the doorway, ad
vanc9s into the open air, comes up til,
attire behind Him, He comes forth in work
mans garb, as ! take 1t, from the fact tina
the women mistook Him for the gardener
That day the grave received such shat
tering It can never be rebuilt. All TIL
trowels of earthly masonry can never memo
1t. Forever and forever 1t is a broker
tomb. Death, taking side with the mill
tary IN that hight. received a terrible Gu
from the angels spear Of fame, so that b,
himself shall go down after awhile under
1t. The king OF terrors retiring before til,
King of gracel The Lord Is risenl LIE
earth and heaven keep Easter to-day
Hosannal
Some things strike my observation Will,
stan ding In his garden with q new sepul
cher. And, first, post norton honors II
contrast with ante norton ig%nominies. /
they could have afforded Christ such 6
costly sepulcher, why could not they hav,
given Him an earthly residence? Will the,
give this piece OF marble to a dead Chris
instead OF . soft pillow for the living Jesus
It they had expended half the value OF tina
tomb to make Christ comfortable. 1t woult
not have been sNeai a story. He asked
bread; they gave Tim a stone.