The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-11-05


save one, but under that one window Of
prayer the interiacing of divine work.
manship went on until it was ft to deck a
throne, celestial embroidery which an
gels admired and God approved.
But it is another Jerusalem toward
which we now need to open our windows.
The exiled evangelist of Ephesus saw it
one day as the surf of the Icarian Sea
foamed and splashed over the boulders at
his feet, and his vision reminded me of
wedding day when the bride, by sister
and maid, was having gariands twisted
for her hair and jewels strung for her
neck just before she puts her betrothed
hand into the hand of her affianced: 81,
John, saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven
prepared as bride adorned for her hus-
band" Toward that bridal Jerusalem are
our windows opened? We would do well to
think more of heaven. It is not mere
annex of earth. 1t is not a desolate out
post. As Jerusalem was the capital of
Judah, and Babylon the capital of the
Babylonian monarchy, and Lon
don is the capital of Great Britain,
and Washington is the capital of our
own republic, the New Jerusalem is the
capital of the universe. The King lives
there, and the royal family of the re-
deemed have their palaces there, and
there is a Congress of many nations and
the Parliament of all the worlds. Yea, as
Daniel had kindred in Jerusalem of whom
he often thought, though he left home
when very young man, perhaps father
and mother and brothers and sisters still
living, and was homesick to see them, and
they belonged to the high circles of roy
atty, Daniel himself having royal blood
in his veins, so we have in ths New Jeru.
salem a great many kindred, and we are
sometimes homesick to see them, and
they are all Princes and Princesses, in
them the blood imperial, and we do we'll
to keep our windows open toward their
eternal residence. It is a joy for us to
believe that while we are interested
in them they are interested
in US. Much thought of
Heaven makes one heavenly. The airs
that blow through that open window are
charged with life and sweep up to us
aromas from gardens that never wither
under skies that never cloud in spring
tide that never terminates. Compared
with it all other things are dead failures.
Homer's Heaven was an elysium, which he
describes as plain at the end of the earth,
or beneath, with no snow or rainfall, and
the sun never goes down, and Rhadaman-
thus, the justest of men, rules. Hesiod's
Heaven is what he calls the islands of the
blest, in the midst of the ocean, three
times year blooming with the most ex-
quisite flowers, and the air is tinted with
purple, while games and music and horse
races occupy the time. The Scandina-
VANS Heaven was the hall of Walhalla,
where the god Odin gave unending wine
suppers to earthly heroes and heroines.
The Mohammedan's Heaven passes its dis
c1ples in over the bridge Al Sirat, which is
finer than hair and sharper than a sword,
and then they are let loose into riot of
everlasting sensuality.
The American aborigines look forward
to heaven of illimitable hunting ground,
partridge and deer and wild duck m IRE
than plentiful, and the hounds never off
the scent, and the guns never missing fire.
But the geographer has followed the earth
around, and found no Homer's Elysium.
Voyagers have traversed the deep in all
directions, and found no Hesiod's islands
of the blest. The Mohammedan's celestial
debauchery and the Indians eternal hunt
ing ground for vast multitudes have no
charm. But here rolls in the Bible heaven.
No more sea; that is, no wide separation.
No more tears; that is, no heartbreak.
No more pain, that is, dismissal of
lancet and bitter draught and miasma and
Punishment of neuralgia and catalepsies
and consumptions. All colors in the wall
except gloomy black. All the music in
the major key because celebrate and ju.
bilant. River crystalline, gate crystalline
and skies crystalline because everything
is clear and without doub. White robes,
and that means sinlessnes IS. Walls full OF
doors, and that means pure regalement of
the senses. Rainbow, and that means the
storm is over. Marriage supper, and that
means gladdest festivity. Twelve man.
ner of fIAits, and that means lus-
cious and unending variety. Harp,
trumpet, grand march, anthem, amen
and hallelujah in the sam, orches.
ira. Choral meeting solo and overture
meeting antiphon and strophe joining
dithyramb as they roll into the ocean of
doxologies. And you and I may have all
that, and have it forever, through Christ,
if we will let him with the blood of one
wounded hand rub out our sin and with
the other wounded hand swing open the
shining portals. Day and night keep your
window open toward that Jerusalem.
Sing about it. Pray about it. Think about
it. Talk about it. Dream about it. d.
not be inconsolable about your friends
who have gone into it. Do not worry il
something in your heart indicates that
you are not far off from it's ecstasies.
Do no. think that when a Christian
dies he stops, for he goes on. An ingeni-
GUS man has taken the heavenly fur.
longs as mentioned in Revelation, and has
calculated that there will be in heaven
100 rooms 10 feet square for each ascend
ing soul, though this world lose a hun
dred million yearly. But all the rooms
of heaven will be ours, for they are fam.
lily rooms, and as no room in your house
is too good for your children, so all the
rooms of all palaces of the heavenly Je-
rusalem will be free to Gods children,
and even the throne room will not be de-
| MED, and you may run up the steps of the
throne and put your hand on the side OF