The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-08-18
miscellaneous.
Rev. 7. Dewitt TALMAGE.
PEARLS SHINING IN THE BRIGHT
LIGHT OF HEAVEN,
And OrDameniiBg the Portals to the Eternal City
And Watched and Guarded BY IN Eye that
Never Sleeps,
TIE PoRTICo.

Our subject speaks of q great metropo-
lis, the existence of which many have
doubted. There has been a vast immi.
grafton into that city, but no emigration
from it-so far as our natural vision can
descry. "Thers is no such city," says
the undevout astronomer; 81 have stood
in high towers with a mighty to esCope
and have swept the heavens, and have
seen spots on the sun and Caverns in the
moon; but no towers have ever risen on
my vision; no palaces, no temples, no
shining streets, no massive wall; there is
no such CITY," Even very good people
tell me that heaven is not material or.
ganism, but glald spiritual fact, and
that the Bible descriptions Of it are in all
cases to be taken fguratively. l bring
in reply to this what Christ said and he
ought to know; "I 60 to prepare NOT a
theory, not principle, not sentiment;
but "go to prepare place for you" The
resurrected body implies this. If my
foot is to be reformed from the dust it
must have something to tread on; if my
hand ia TO be reconstructed it must have
something to handle; if my eye, having
gone out in death, is to be rekindled, l
must have something to gaze on. Your
adverse theory seems to imply that the
resurrected body is to hang on nothing,
or to walk in air, or to flo, amid the in
tagibles. You tell us that if there be ma.
teIial organisms, then soul in heaven
will be Cramped and hindered in it's en-"
joyments; but l answer, Did not Adam
and Eve have plenty of room in the Gar.
den of EdenP Although few yards or a
few miles would have described the cir.
CumferenCe of that place, they had ana
pie room. And do you not suppose that
God in the immensities, can build
place large enough to give the whole race
room, although there be material organ
isms2 HersChel looked into the heav-
ems. As a Swiss guide puts his alpenstoCk
between the glaciers and crosses over
from crag to Crag, 30 HersChel planted
his telescope between the worlds and
glided from star to star, until he could
announce to us that we live in a part of
tho universe but sparsey strewn with
worlds; and he peers into immensity un-
til he finds region no larger than our
solar system, In which there are fifty
thousand worlds moving. And Prof
Lang says that by philosophiC reason.
ing there must be somewhere a world
where there is no darkness, but everlast-
ing sunshine; 80 that do not know but
that it is simply because we have no tel
escape powerful enough that we can not
see into the land where there is nc dark
ness at all, and catch a glimpse of the
FURNISHED pinnacles. AS a ConqueriDg
army, marching on to take city, comes
at nightfall to the crest of mountain,
from which, in the midst of the land
sCape, they can see the castles they are
to capture, rein in their war chargers,
and halt to take good look before they
pitch their tents for the night so now,
coming as we do, on this mountain top
of prospect, l command the regiment of
God to rein in their thoughts and halt,
and before they pitch their tents for the
night, to take one good, long look at the
gates of the city, and the twelve gates
were twelve pearls"
In the first place want you to exam
inc the architecture of those gates. Pro.
prietors of large estates are very apt to
have an ornamental gateway; sometimes
they spring an arch of masonry; the posts
of the gate flanked with lions in ststu.
sry; the bronze gate is representation
of INTERVENING foliage, bird.haunted,
until the hand of architectural genius
drops exhausted, all it's life frozen into
the stone. Babylon had an hundred
gates; 90 had Thebes; gates Of wood and
iron and stone guarded nearly all the old
cities. Moslems have inscribed upon
their gateways inscriptions from the Ko
ran of the Mohammedau. There have
been great many fine gsteways, but
upper city he swung gate such as no
eye ever gazed on untouched of inspira-
ton. With the nail of his own cross he
cut into it wonderful traceries, stories of
past suffering and of gladness to come.
There is no wood or stone or bronze in
that gate, but from top to base, from side
to side, ii is all OF pearl. Not one piece
from the Ceylon banks, another from
the Persia Gulf, another from the island
of Marguerite; but one solid pearl picked
up fiom the beach Of everlasting light
by heavenly hands, and hoisted and
swung amid the shouting of angels. The
glories of alabsster vase and porph Try
pillar fade out before this gateway. 1t
puts out the spark of feldspar and Bohe-
mian diamond. You know how one lit
tie precious stone on your finger will
fash under the gaslight, But OH the
brightness when the great gate of heav.
en- swings. struck through and dripping
with the light of eternal MONDAY. Julius {
Caesar paid 1876 900 crowns for one pearl /
The government of Portugal boasted Of {
having one pearl larger than a pear. {
Cleopatra and Philip II dszzled the Wis |
sion of the world with precious stones.
But gather all these together, and lift /
them and add to them all the wealth of
the pearl fisheries, and set them in the {
panel of one door. and it does not equal 6
thi magnificent gateway. An Almighty I
hand hewed this, swung this, polished {
this, Against this gateway on the one 9
side flash all the splendors Of earthly q
beauty against this ga on the other
side beat the surgea of eternal glory. Oh, (
the gate; 1t strikep an infinite charm {
through every one that possesses it. One :
step this side that gate and we are paup,
ers; one step the other. side and we are /
kings. The pilgrim Of earth. If going g
ees In the one all his earthly, /
tears in crystal 0, gate Of light, gate Of
pearl, gate Of heaven, for our weary souls
at last swing open.
Oh, heaven is net q dull place; it is not !