The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-07-14
DR.. TALhAGE'S SERMON.
AN ISLAND VISION.

| DR.. Talmage preached before IN overflow
ing audience at the Thousand Islands, tn,
people fockiug from all the surrounding
country. Fully 1000 persons were present
and .lisrened with rapt attention to the rever
end gentleman.
| TEXTS: ~, John, was in the isle that L
| called Patmos-Rev. l., 9. "And the twelve
gates were twelve pearls. Rev. xxi, 21.
/ Sabbath finds us among the Thousand
Islam L of the st. Lawrence" began the
preacher. "Amid the enchantment Of the
scenery some Of us are like Paul when be
said:'Whether in the body or out of the body
] canrot tell. Not having read the geologist's
accouat of how this region was formed,
may surmise that after tho st. Lawrence be-
gan its majestic roll these is ands were
dropped into it out of the~heavenly land
s:ape. Islands above US, islands below US,
! islands all around u.s. / am reminded how
much the islands Of the wo: Id have had to do
with sacred and pofane history. Elba,
from which Napoleon started for his
he ended it: island of Guernsey,
where the great soul Of Victor Hugo chafed
in exile until repubicanism in France drove
back despotism; Isle of Borneo, where
Adonilan Jud on stood, flaming evangel;
the island of Caprera, where Garibaldi
rested after the emancipation of Italy; island
of Cypress. where Blrnabas preached island
of Me.ita, on which Paul was shipwrecked,
and, last Of all, but mightier than all and
more impressive than all, the island Of
| Patmos, Of which my text speaks, and from
which St. John, the exiled Ephesian Gospel
| izer. saw the twelve pearline gates. II God
| will help us we can, from these Thousand
Isles on this Sabbath morning, see the same
| glittering porta's.
an, 1,, -
| the existence of which many have doubted.
| There has been vast emigration into that
city, but no emigration from it, so far as our
| natural vision can descry. There is no such
CITY,, says the undevout astronomer. Il have
stood in high towers with mighty telescope
and have swept the heavens. and I have
seen spots on the sun and caverns in the
| moon, but no towers ha' o ever risen on
my vision, No palaces. no temples, no
is no such city, Even very good people
tell me that Heaven is not material organ
ism, but q grand spiritual fat, ard that
the Bible descriptions Of it are in all cases tc
be taken fguratively. I bring in reply to this.
what Christ said, and He ought to know: q
60 to prepare, not theory, not principle,
not sentiment, but Il 60 to prepare place
for you The resurrected body implies this
II my foot is to ba reformed from the dust il;
uluSV nave SoihcOulb6 w DiCdQ VII. IL
hand is to be reconstructed it must have
something to handle. Ifmy eye, having gone
out in death, is to be rekindled, / must have
something to gaze on. Your adverse
theory seems to imply that the resurrectetl
body is to be hung ON nothing, or to work ir
air, CT to. float amid the intangibles. You
may say: If there b, material organisms,
then soul in heaven will be cramped ant
hindered in its enjoyments; but I answer:
~ lav, md ha, A,N1a ~
in the garden of Eden? Although only G.
few miles woul have described the circum.
ference Of that place, they had ample room
And do you not suppose that God in the i'm
mensities oau build place large enough tO
give the whole race room, even though thera
be material organisms'
GAS q conguering army, marching on tx
take city, comes at nightfall to the crest o.
mountain from which in the midst Of tn.
landacaLe they see tie castles they are tO
capture, and rein in their war chargers and
halt and take good look before they pitch
their tents for the night so now, coming q,
we do on this mountain top Of prospect, /
command this regiment Of God to rein in
their thoughts and halt, and before they pitch
their tents for the night take one good lont;
look at the gatts Of the great city. / want
you to examine the architecture Of thoss
gates. Proprietors Of large estates are ver,'
times they spring an arch Of masonry; thu
posts Of the gate flanked with lions III
statuary; the bronze gate representation O..
INTERVIEWING foliage, bird-haunted, until thu
hand of archite,tu genius drops exhausted,
all its life frozen into the stone. Blbyloll
had hundred gates, so had Thebes. Gates
Of wood and iron and stone guarded nearly
all the old cities. Moslems have inscribed
upon their gateways inscriptions from tho
Thapn hnI f,o INV Hr,a
gateways, but Christ set hishand to the work,
and for the upper city swung gate such as
no eyes ever RaIed on untouched Of insDira-
tion. With the nail of his own cross he cut
into It's won ierful traccres stories of pa t suf-
fering ard Of gladness to come. There is
no wood or stone or bronze in that gat,. but
from top to base and from side to side it
is all Of pearl. Not one piece picked up
from Ceylon banks and another piece from
the Persian Gulf and another from the island
of Mdrgarette but one solid peal picked up
from the beach Of everlasting light by heav-
enly hards, and hoisted and swung amid the
shouting Of angels. The glories Of abaster
vase and porphyry pillar Jade out before this
gateway. 1t puts out the spark OF feldsrar
and Bvlie Eian diamond. You know how one
little precious stone on your finger will flash
under the gas:ight. But, oh, the brightness
when the great gate OF heaven swings, struck
through and dripping with the light Of eter-
nal nGon'lay.
"Jul:us Cuscr paid l25, coo crowns for one
learl The government OF Portu3 al boasted
OF having a pearl larger than pear. Cleo
patra and Philip IL dazzled the worlds
vision 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 this magnificent gateway An Al
mighty hand hewei this, strung this, polish ID
this. Against this gateway on the one side
dash all the splendors of earthly beauty.
Against this gate on The other side beat
the surges of eternal glory. Oh, the
gate! the gate! It strikes an infinite charm
through every one that passes it. One step
this side of that gate and we are raupers.
One step the other side of that gate aud we
are kings The pilgrim Of earth, gong
through, sees in the one huge pearl all his
earthly tears in crystal. gate Of light,
gate Of pearl, gate OF Heaven, for our weary
souls at last swing open.
When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls
And pearly gates behold,
Thy bulwarkS with salvation strong
And streets Of shining goldl
IL want you to count the number Of these
gates Imperial parks and lordly manors are
apt to have one expensive gateway and the
Others are ordinary; but look around at these
entrances to heaven and count them. One,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven, twelve Hear it all the earth and
all the heavens! Twelve gates! admit this
is rather hard on sharp sectarianiSms IL
Presbyterian is bigoted he brings his West
minister Assembly athl chiSm and he makes