The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-04-27
BELLS OF GLADNESS.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE SPEAKS OF THE
GLORIOUS RESURRECTION
Blooming Flowers, Emblematic OF Par
adise, Fifty Celebrate the Bursting
of Chrfst's Tomb-Easter a Season
of Rejoicing.

This sermon of DIR. Talmage rings all
the bells of gladness, especially appro-
pirate at this season, when all Chris
tendon is celebrating Christ's resurrec-
ton; text, John xix, Il, In the garden
a new s~epulcher."
Looking around the churches this
morning, seeing flowers in wreaths and
flowers in stars and flowers in crosses
and flowers in Crowns, pillows Of beau
ty. confederation of beauty, 20 feel as
If YOU stood in a heaven.
You say these flowers will d Yes,
but perhaps you may see them again.
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. I do not say il will be so. l
say it may be so. The ancestors Oh
those tuberoses n cameliaS and ia
ponicas and jasmines and heEotropes
were born in paradise. These apostles
OF beauty came down in the regular
line apostolic succession. Their ances-
tors during the flood, underground, al
terward appeared.
The world started with Eden; 1t Will
end with Eden. Heaven is called a
paradise of God. Paradise flow
ers. While theological geniuses in this
day are trying TO blot out everything
material from their idea or heaven
and so far as I can tell, their future
state is to be a-fioating around some
where between the Great Bear and
Cassiopeia, I should not be surprised
If at last / can pick up a daisy on the
everlasting hills and hear it say: Il
am one of the glorified flowers of earth.
Don't you remember me? l worshiped
with you on Easter morning 1900"
My text introduces us into a garden.
1t is a manor in the suburbs OF JeruSa-
lem owned by a wealthy gentleman
by the name of Joseph. He belonged
to the court of seventy who had con-
demned 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, l suppose there were trees
broad branched, and there were paths
winding under these trees, and here
and there were waters dripping down
over the rocks into fish ponds, n there
We're vines and flowers blooming from
the wall, and all around the beauties
of kiosk and horticulture. After
fatigues of the Jerusalem courtroom,
how refreshing to come into this SUI
burban retreat, botanical n pomolo-
gical!
MOST CELEBRATED OF TOMBS.
Wandering in the garden, I behold
some rocks which have on them the
mark of the SculptOr's chisel. l come
nearer, and I find there is a subterra-
mean recess. I come down the marble
steps, and I come TO a pOrticO, over
there is an architrave, by the chisel
cut into representations of fruits and
flowers. l enter the porticO. On either
side there are rOomS-twO or four or
six rooms of rock, h walls Of these
rooms having inches, each mich large
enough to hold a dead body. Here is
one o. that is especially wealthy of
sculpture.
The fact is that Joseph realizes he
cannot always walk his garden, and
he has provided this place for his last
slumber. Oh, what a beautiful spot
in which to wait for the coming of the
r~esurrection; Mark we'll this tomb for
it is to be the most celebrated tomb
in all the ages. Catacombs of Egypt,
tomb of Napoleon, Mahal Tai of India,
nothing compared with it. Christ has
just been murdered, and his body will
be thrown to the dogs and the ravens
like other crucified 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, mutilated
frame from the dust and blood, shrouds
1t and perfumes it.
7 think that regular embalmment
was omitted. When in olden time a
body was to be embalmed, the priest,
with some pretenSiOn of medical k
would point out the place between the
ribs where the incision must be made;
and then h operator, having made
h incision, ran lest he be slain for a
violation of the lead. Then the other
priests would come with salt of inter
and cassia n wine of palm tree and
complete the embalmment. But I think
this embalmment of the body of Christ
was omitted. Tt would have raised
another contention and another riot.
The funeral hastens on. Present, I
think, Joseph, h owner of the maui
solemn; Nicodemus. the wealthy man
who had bought the spices, and the
two Marys. No organ dirge, no plumes,
no c~atafalque. Heavy burden for two
men as they carry Christ's body down
the marble stairs n into the p~ortico
and lift the dead weight to the level
of the niche in h roc and push the
body of Christ into the only pleasant
resting place it ever had. Coming
forth from the portico, they chose the
door of rock against h recess.
The government, afraid that the dis
CfpICS hIdy SlcdI III DOuy VI AnT1SI
and play resurrection, order the seal
of the sanhedrin to be put upon the
door of the tomb, the violation of that
seals like the violation of the seal of
the government of the United States
or Great Britain, to be followed with
great punishment. A company of SOL
diers from the tower of Antonio is de-
tailed to stand guard.
SHATTERED BEYOND REPAIR
AT the door of the mausoleum a fight
takes place 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 of the sanhedrin on the
door OF the tomb. The dead body in the
niche in the rock begins to move in its
should Of fine linen, slides down upon
the pavement, moves out of the portico,
appears in the doorway, advances into
h open air, comes up the marble steps.
Having left his mortuary attire behind
him, he m forth in workman's
garb, as I take it, from the fact that
the women miStook him for the gard