The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-05-24
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The Christian View of Death
The Charge Of the Rack Giant-Eout
of the King of Terrors-Everyday Re-
.ur-rctions-The Final Victory.


WASHINGTON, D. c. The Christian
view OF death as The entrance to fuller
life is presented IN this Easter discourse
BY Dr.. Talmagc iron the text | oor. XIV
81, Death is swallowed up in victory.
About 1870 Easter mornings have wakened
the earth. In France for three centuries
the alnanacs made the year begin at East
er until Charles TX. made the year begin
at January l. In the Tower OF London
there s a royal pay roll OF Edward l., on
which there is an entry OF eighteen pence
for 400 colored and pictured eggs, VIVA
which the people sported. In kussia slaves
were fed and aims were Distributed on
| Easter. Ecclesiastical councils met N
| Pontus. In Gaul. in Rome, in Achala, to
decide the particular day and after con
| tro,ersv more animated than gracious de-
cided. It. and now through all Chrlsten-
dom in some way the first Sunday after
the ful moon which happens upon or next
after March n is filled with Easter reJolc-
ing.
The roval court of the Sabbaths is made
UP of ffty-two. Flfty-one are princes IN
the royal household, but Easter Is queen.
She wears richer dladem, she sways a
more jeweled scepter, and in her smile ma
lions are irradiated. How welcome she is
when. after harsh winter and late spring,
she seems to step out OF the snoWbank
rather than the conservatory, to come out
of the north instead OF the south, out OF
the arctic rather than the tropics, dis
mounting from the icy equinox, but wei
come this queenly day. holding high in her
right hand the wrenched oil bolt OF Christ's
sepucher. and holding high in her left
hand the key to ali the cemeteries In Chris
tendon.
Ny text is an ejaculation. 1t is spun out
l., Il, L ,,,xn+ h,
argument about the resurrection, and OBJ
served all the laws of logic but when he
came to write the words of the text his
fingers and his pen and the parchment on
which he wrote took fire, and he cried out,
death is swallowed up in victory" 1t
is an exciting thing to see an army routed
and flying. They run each other down.
They scatter everything valuable in the
track. unwheeled artillery; hoof of horse
on breast OF wounded and dying man.
You have read of the French falling back
from Sedan, of Napoleon's track of 1900
corpses in the snowbanks of Russia, OF the
retreat of our armies from Manassas or of
the five kings tumbling over the rocks OF
Beth horan with their armies while the
hailstorms of heaven and the swords OF
Joshua host struck them with their fury.
In my text is a worse discontinue. 1t
seems that a black giant proposed to con-
quer the earth. He gathered for his host
all the aches and pains and malarias and
cancers and distempers and epidenaics OF
the ages. ne marched them down, drill
ing them in the northwest wind and amid
the slush of tempests. He threw up barrl-
charnal house Some of the troops
marched with slow tread commanded by
consumptions, some in double quick COM
manded by pneumonias. Some he took by
long besiegement of evil habit and some
by one stroke of the battleaxe of casualty
With bony hand he pounded at the back
door of hospitals and sckrooms and won
all the victories in all the great battlefelds
of all the five continents. Forward
march! ordered the conqueror of conquer
ors, and all the generals and commanders
sultans and czars dropped under the feet
of his war charger. But one Christmas
night his antagonist was born.
AS most of the plaques and sicknesses
and despotisms come out Of the east, it
was appropriate that the new conqueror
should come out Of the same quarter
Power is given Him to awaken all the fallen
OF all the centuries and of all lands and
marshal them against the black giant
Fields have already been won, but the last
day Of the worlds existence will see the
forth His two brigades, the brigade of the
risen dead and the brigade of the celestial
host, the black giant will fall back, and
the brigade from the riven sepulchers will
take him from beneath, and the brigade of
descending immortals will take him from
above, and death shall be swallowed UP in
victory.
The old braggart that threatened the
conquest and demolition OF the planet has
Lost L.
lost his palace, has lost his prestige, and
the one word written over all the gates of
and catacomb and metropolis,
On cenotaph and sarcophagus, on the lone
ly khan of the arctic explorer and on the
catafalque OF great cathedral, written in
capitals of azalia and Gala lilly, written in
cadence. written in doxology of
great assemhiages, written on the scuip-
tured door of the family vault, is "Vic-
tory" Coronal word, embannered word
apocalyptic word, chief word OF triumphal
arch under which conquerors return.
Victory! Word shouted at Culloden and |
Balaklava and Blenheim, at Megiddo and |
Solferino, at Marathon. where the Athen- |
lans drove back the Modes; at Poitiers. |
where Charles Martel broke the ranks of |
the Saracens; at Salamis, where Themis- |
Eoclcs in the great sea fight COMPOUNDED the |
Persians.. and at the door Of the eastern
cavern of chiseled rock, where Christ came |
out through a recess and throttled the king |
II terrors and put him back in the niche |
from which the celestial Conoueror had |
uyst emerged. Aha! When the Jaws of |
he eastern mausoleum took down the |
back giant death was swallowed I'D in |
victory" | proclaim the abolition of
1eath
The old antagonist is driven back into
mythology with all the lore about Stvgian
erry and Charon with oar and boat Mel |
'ose abbey and Kenilworth castle are no
more IN ruins than is the sepulcher. We
mall have no more to do with death than
We have with the cloakroom at govern
RS or presidents levee We stop at
UGH cloakroom and leave in charge of
ervnnt our overcoat, our overshoes. orr
outward apparel. that we may not be i'm
'eded in the brilliant round of the draw
ng room. Well. my friends. when we 60
ut or THIS world we are going to a Kings
banquet and to reception of monarchs |
nd at the door of the tomb we leave the
loak OF flesh and the wrappings with
7hlch we meet the storms Of this world
It the lose of an earthly reception, under
he brush and broom of the porter. the
oat or hat may be handed to us better
han when we resigned it. and the cloak
humanity will finally be returned to us
improved and frightened and purified and
fortified.
You and 7 do not want our bodies re-
lrned as they are now. We want to get
ID OF all their weaknesses ard all their
lsceptihli1ties to fatigue and all their