The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1900-04-20


This sermon of DR.. Talmage rings
all the bells of gladness. especially APP
propriate at this season, when al
Christendom is celebrating Christ,
resurrection; text. John l9.41, lin the
garden a new sepulcher."
Looking around the churches this
morning. seeing flowers In wreaths and
flowers in stars and flowers in grasses
aud flowers in crowns. pillows OF
beauty. conaagration of beauty, you
feel as If you stood in a 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. its spirit may appear in better
worlds l do not say il will be so. | say
il may be so. The ancestors OF those
tubegOses and camelias and japonicas
and ipsmines and heliotropes were born
i'm paradise. These apostles of beauty
came down in the regular line of apos-
tolic succession. Their ancestors dur
ing the food, underground. afterward
appeared.
The world started with Eden; IL will
end with Eden. Heaven is called par
adise OF God. Paradise means flowers.
While theological geniuses in this day
are trying TO blot out everything ma
terial from their idea OF Heaven. and.
so far as can tell, their future state
is TO be a-fioating around somewhere
between the Great Bear and Cassiopeia.
| should not be surprised II at last
! can pick up daisy on the everlasting
hills and hear IL say: II am one of the
glorificd flowers of earth. Don't YOU
remember me? j worshiped with YOU
on Easter morning in 1900"
My text introduces us into a garden.
IL is manor in the suburbs of JeTusa-
lem owned by a wealthy gentleman
by the name OF Joseph. He belonged
10 the court of 20 who had condemned
Christ, but be had voted in the
negative, or, being a timid man. had
abseDted himself when the vote was to
be taken. Al great expense he laid out
the garden. IL being a hot climate.
suppose there were trees broad
branched, and there were paths wind
ing under these trees. and here and
there were waters dripping down ovr
the rocks into fish ponds. and there
were vines and flowers blooming from
the wall. and all around the beauties
OF kiosk and Gborieulture. After the
fatigues OF the Jerusalem courtroom.
how refreshing 10 come into this sub
urban retreat, botanical and pomolog-
ical!
Wandering in the garden. I behold
some rocks which have on them the
mark Of the sculptor's chisel. 1 come
nearer. and find there is a subter-
ranean recess. ! come down the mar
BILE steps. and come TO a portico. over
which there is an archtrave. bv the
ehisel cut into representations of fruits
and flowers. 1 enter the portico. On
either side there are rooms two on
four OF six rooms of rock. the walls Of
these rooms having inches. each niche
large enough to hold 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 provided this place for his last
slumber. Oh. what a beautiful spot in
which 10 wait for the coming Of the
resurrection! Mark wen this tomb.
for IL is be the most celebrated tomb
in all the ages. Catacombs OF Egvpt
tomb Of Napoleon. Mabal Tai. OF India.
NOT hfnsr enrppa,.ag LEI. =. chi. 49,
just been murdered. and His body will
be thrown TO the dogs and the ravens.
like other erucifed bodies. unless there
be prompt and efficient hindrance. Jo-
seph, the owner of this mausoleum in
the rocks. begs for.the body Of Christ.
He washes the poor. mutiated frame
from the dust and blood, shrouds II and
perfumes il.
/ think that regular embalmment
was omitted. When in the olden time
a body was 10 he embalmed, the priest,
with some pretension of medical skin.
would point ont the place between the
ribs where the incision must be made;
and then the operator. having made
the incision. ran lest he be slain for
violation of the dead. Then the other
priests would come with salt OF inter
and cassiG and wine of balm tree and
complete the embalmment. But /
think this embalmment of the body Of
Christ was omitted. 10 would have
raised another contention and another
riot.
The funeral hasfens on. Present. /
think, Joseph, The owner OF the mauso- |
leum; Nicodemus, the wealthy man who /
had brought the spices, and the two l
Marys. No organ dirge, no plumes, no |
catafalque. Heavy burden for two
men as they carry Christ's body down /
the marble stairs and into the portico |
and lift the dead weight 10 the level of |
the niche in the rock and push The body |
of Christ into the only pleasant resting |
place il ever had. Coming forth from
the portico, they close the door OF rock
against the recess.
The government, afraid that the dis I
ciples may steal the body OF Christ and /
play resurrection, ortler the seal of The 4
sanhedrin TO be put upon the door Of /
the tomb. the violation OF that seal. I
IKE the violation Of the seal OF the 1
government OF the United States or ]
Great Britain, TO be followed with |
great punishment. A cmpanv of sol |
diers from the tower of Anionia is de- !
tailed TO stand guard.
Al the door of the mausoleum a fipht |
takes place which decides the question \
Hs..a Il.