The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-26
WORDS FROM THE PULPIT.
A Sermon by the Rev. s. Burford,
of Calvary Church.
III HEAVEN.


need no 'ndle, neither light OF the sun, for the
Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign
forever and ever. ."-Reve alton, XXI, 8.
OuF position on earth is one OF continual
struggle and combat. The scriptures are an
varying in their testimony on this point st.
Paul describes our condition, and uses the pub
lie games to illustrate it, The followers of Christ
are compared to the contestants. And Just as
those who entered the lists were encouraged anu
nerved by the promise Of prize, 80, too IL it the
blessed privilege of the Christian, while doing
and daring, in the warfare against q wicked
beast within aud q corrupt world without, tu
know that Sffdatfai to The end, the contest will
end In an e2eesdtng aud eternal weight of glory.
Ii the agoniate or runners were animated for
the struggle merely by having held out to
them the prospect OF some paltry reward,
how much more ought the Christian to be nerved
for the spiritual race, when heaven is in view.
The wresters toled and diligently trained
themselves for their games. y, 100, should
The Christian labor earnestly and count no sacii-
foe too great in order to secure the reward of
| well. doiag--to secure the mBnsion which Christ
has gone to prepare for all those who love Him.
Now the text teaches. us two things: l. What
TOE tcM not find IN henpeR and (2) also tohdt ice
shat certainly find there. There will be mo
night IN heduen-aao candle no light of The sun
! shat be needed to give light, for The Lord God
Almighty shall giUe The sdi'ats light, and they shall
reign fofeuer' and eter."
AS we are now constituted we could not exist
| without the regular recurrence of day and night.
LII Otner planets Wnefe the Gays are go mucn
longer we could not live for we could not con-
form ourselves to their divisions OF lime. We re-
quire period Of repose every twenty
hours, 1t is, therefore, no pleasant image to
the mind 10 speak OF q world where there is no
night, and We can only view this image with de-
hght when we consider that these bodies shall be
changed and prepared for the new state of
heaven.
We usually speak Of night as the season OF
dreariness and gloom, and an emblem Of igno-
xu.sr and R,rt tnk hpxp vn7r1l I1
without night. No period OF the twenty-four
hours reveals 80 much OF the magnfcencs and
glory Of Gods creation. z.-.s ,...es
suppose there were no night Would We know
own little world2 We might study the beautiful
landscapes Of the mountains and valleys, but we
could never have viewed the Immense map OF the
ornament. The sun, by his brightness, would
have hidden from US the ceronet Of jewels which
glitter upon the brow of night. @as @"''
"Another day il added to the map a
OF buried ages Lol the beRuteous moon
LiAe q fair sheperdess, now GENES abroad
With the tull flock of stars, that roam around
The azure meads Of heaven. And OIL how
charmed,
Beneath her loveliness, creation looks;
Far cleaning hills, ana light in weaving streams,
Aud sleeping boughs, with dewy lustre clothed.
And green hsird va leye, all in glory dress'd,
Make up the paseantries of night"
Montgomery.
But we are told there is no night in heaven.
How il this? Because there we shall have no
periods Of inactivity. We shall never be tired
and worn out with lies routine Of duty. and
never long for rest. The freshness Of an eternal
morning shall find us ever enjoying and never
longing for the close of the day. We can never
know wearin"ss in the praises which constitute
the bliss of heaven. God never slumbers nor
sleops-and st. John tells us that the four living
creatures which are around the throne cease not,
day nor night, saying ''hoy, holy, holy" What q
grand aud rapturous thought to be with God for
ever, and to be like him forever. needing no sleep.
Heare am jaded with mental or physical toll;
but tt. re the capacity of my soul will be 80 en-
arged that can gaze unwearediy upon the au-
gust wonders Of heaven. Nothing shall ever drag
the spirit down, but a perpetual vigor shall keep
it going forward in search of new fields of glory.
The feeble lense of my earthly eye, wbion re-
quires the coming Of the night to behold the
so enlarged that shall be able TO look out upon
the grandeur Of creation during one eterr al day.
/ glory, therefore, in the predicted absence Of
night: :.
tion OF night to its nletaphorical sense, We shall
discover the beauty and fullness Of the promise
of the text. We speak OF night as emblematic
OF ignorance, of perplexlty and sorrow. Now, if
all these are to be removed in heaven, may we
not rejoice at the prospect "There shall be no
night there THAT is, tbs ways of Providence
shall be made clear; the things hard to be ur-
derstood shall then be explained. We shall
find order in that which seemed so intricate, wig-
dom In that we thought unaccountabIe, and good
whore We supposed there was nothing but inl
| jury. "There shall be no night there" Hear
this, ye children of affliction. Pain cannot enter
there; tea1s do not flow there; no graveyards are
found there; no parting with friends there no
even the shallow of cloud shall fit over
tho pathway of the eternal day Of peace.
There shall be no night there" Hear
this, ye children of calamity here. No
bafied plans there, no misfortunes there,
no sudden disappointments there. In their
places shall be met the unceasing tide Of endless
| happiness-deepenng as 1t rolls.
In fine, to say there is no night there is to pro-
claim the reign Of universal purity-no tempta-
| tons there no sinful desires or wicked heart to
battle Without holiness shall be the circle of
the heavenly life No wonder that st. Paul, who
was caught up into the third heaven, should say
| in rapture, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither hath it entered into the heart Of man to
couceivs Of the glory that shall be revealed in
u.s." We long and struggle for glory and renown,
and distinction, and honor, and riches, and
power, and happiness, in this little sphere, but
never reach them in satisfaction; but there we
shall be crowned and elevated to the dignity of
angels, with capacities increasing with the lapse
of endless cycles. The pages of universal truth
| are unlocked, and there Is no obscurity in sin
gle line. nor does the brightness dazzle the
vision Conjecture is followed by certainty
controversy is at an end; prophecies completed,
and parallels are interpreted. The child of God
| leaning ON the bosom Of an eternal MOTHERHOOD
will have every grief and anguish hushed into
truthful quietness, and the tear cannot stain the
| cheek in that land that knows no sorrow, for He
has promised to wipe them all away with loving
| hand
st. John further tells us, in the text, that
| 'Atey need no CANDLE neither tight Of the sun. -
II the night OF ignorance, error and superstition,
fear and doubt, dependency and misfortune,
shall Zee away, then what shall give us light p
plainly, as st. John says, no imaginary or artlfi-
ticisl or created light
Try for moment, il you can, to imagine tha.
the golden chariot of day is to be suddenly ex
tingushed. Think of the golden beams OF the
sun flooding the canopy OF heaven, and forest
and mountain and river with the millions Of ar
rows of silvery golden light all quenched-and
yet there is no twilight, no darkness OF night
and in its stead We are to rejoice in q radiance
imme measurably surpassng the noontide Ali this