The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-07-15
mr.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
AN ISLAND VISION.


ing audience at the Thousand Islands, the
people flocking from all the surrounding
country. Fully 1000 persons were present,
and listened with rapt attention to the rever.
end gentleman.
TEXTS; 81, John, was in the isle that Is
called Patmos.-Rev. l., O. "And the twelve
gates were twelve pearls. REV, xxi, 81.
sabbath finds us among the Thousand
Islands of the St. Lawrence began the
preacher. "Amid the enchantment Of the
scenery some of us are like Paul when he
said whether in the body or out of the body
! cannot tell. Not having read the biologists
account of how this region was formed l
may surmise that after the st. Lawrence be-
gan its majestic roll these islands were
dropped into it out of the heavenly land
scape. Islands above u.s. islands below us,
islands all around us, am reminded how
much the islands of the world have had to do
with sacred aud pofane history. Elba,
from tros which Napoleon started for his
last struggles; and St. Helena, where
he ended it: island of Guernsey,
where the great soul of Victor Hugo chafed
in exile until republicanism in France drove
back despotism; Isle of Borneo, where
Adoniram Jud on stood, a flaming evangel;
the island of Caprera, where Garibaldi
rested after the emancipation of Italy; island
of Cypress, whore Blrnabas preached island
of Melita, on which Paul was shipwrecked,
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. If God
will help us we can, from these Thousand
Isles on this Sabbath morning, see the same
glittering porta S.
"Our subject speaks of great metropolis,
t1an ictn nf oh Il xt,l
There has been a 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. u have
stood in high towers with a mighty telescope
and have swept the heavens, and l 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 a material organ
ism, but grand spiritual fact, and that
the Bible descriptions of it are in all cases to
be taken tiguratively. bring in reply to this
what Christ said, and He ought to know: i
60 to prepare, not theory, not principle,
not sentiment, but Il go to prepare a 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 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 resurrected
body is to be hung on nothing or to work in
air, or to float amid the intangibles. You
may say: If there be material organisms,
then soul in heaven will be cramped and
hindered in its enjoyments; but / answer
Did not Adam and Eve have plenty of room
in the garden of Eden? Although only
few miles would have described the circum
ference of that place, they had ample room.
And do you not suppose that God in the i'm
mensitieS can build place large enough to
give the whole race room, even though there
be material organisms!
''As conquering army, marching on to
take city, comes at nightfall to the crest of
a mountain from which in the midst of the
Landscape they see the 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 as
we do on this mountain top of prospect,
command this regiment of God to rein in
their thoughts and haltan1 before they pitch
their tents for the night take one good, long
look at the gates Of the great city. l want
you to examine the architecture of those
gates. Proprietors of large estates are very
apt to have an ornamented gateway. Some
times they spring an arch of masonry the
posts of the gate fanked with lions in
statuary; the bronze gate representation of
INTERVIEWING foliage, bird-haunted, until the
hand of architectural genius drops exhausted,
all its life frozen into the stone. Babylon
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 the
Koran. There have been great many fine
gateways, but Christ set his hand to the work,
and for the upper city swung gate such as
no eyes ever gazed on untouched of inspira-
tion.. With the nail of his own GROSS hs out
into its wonderful traceres stories of past suf-
fering ard Of gladness to come There is
no wood or stone or bronze in that gate, but
from top to base and from side to side il
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 M lrgarette; but one solid pearl picked up
from the beach of everlasting light by heav.
emily hands, and hoisted and swung amid the
shout ing of angels The glories Of a!abaster
vase and porphyry pillar fade out before this
gateway. 1t puts out the spark of feldspaI
and Bohe MAN diamond You know how one
little precious stone on your finger will flash
under the gaslight. But, oh, the brightness
when the great gate of heaven swings, struck
through and dripping with the light Of eter
nal monday.
"Julius Cesar paid 125, 900 crowns for on,
pearl. The government of Portugal boastet
OF having pearl larger than a pear. Cleo.
patra and Philip II. dazzled the world.
vision with precious stones But gather al
these together and lift them and add to then
all the wealth of the pearl fisheries and Sc
them in the panel Of one door and it does no
equal this magnificent gateway. An A
mighty hand hewed this, strung this, polished
this. Against this gateway on the one sid
Oh "a cv,la Of nar Iu
| Against this gate on the other side bea
the surges of eternal glory. Oh, tn
gate the gate! 1t strikes an infinite charm
through every one that passes it. One stel
this side of that gate and we are paupers
One step the other side of that gate and w
are kings. The pilgrim of earth, goini
through, sees in the one huge pearl all hi
earthly tears in crystal. o gate Of light
gate of pearl, gate of Heaven, for our wear,
souls at last swing open
When shall these eyes thy heaven-built wall
And pearly gates behold,
Thy bulwarks with salvation strong
And streets of shining goldt
81 want you to count the number of thos'
gates. Imperial parks and lordly manors ar
apt to have one expensive gateway and tn
others are ordinary; but look around at thes
entrances to heaven and count them. One
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven, twelve. Hear it all the earth an
all the heavens Twelve gates! admit thi
is rather hard on sharp sectarianisms. If
Presbyterian is bigoted he brings his West
minister Assembly cathechism and he make
a gateway out of that, and he says +
the world: "You go through there or sta,
ont" II a Methodist minister is bigoted h
plants two posts and says: '<'ow you mus
crowd in between those two posts or sta,
out Or perhaps an Episcopalian may say
Here is liturgy out Of which | mean to max
gate; go through it or stay out Or Bar
fist may say: Here is water gate; you &
through that or you must stay out And S
in all our churches and denominations tier
are men who make one gate for themselve
and then demand that the whole world G
through it. l abhor this contractedness i
religious views. Oh, small-souled man, whe
did God give you the contract for maxim
gates! I tell you plainly l will not &
in that gate. will go in at any one of th
twelve gates choose. Here is man VIII
says: i can moro ntlx I'D more closet
approach God throds b.. l say
MY brother, then - ~ book
| IT, n ,br co hare