The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1888-02-02
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
"Tba Coming Glory the Subject
of a New Years Discourse.
The Past Year Dead, the Century Dying
A Look Into the BeyOnd-WOrld-
1y Ideas of Heaven Far Short
of the Reality.

The subject of Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage's
New Years discourse was "The Coming
Glory" his text being:
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart Of man the things
which God hath prepared for them that love
him.
He said: 1888. How strange it looks,
and how strange it sounds! Not only is
the past year dead, but the century is
diving. Only twelve more long breaths
and the old giant will have expired.
None of the past centuries will be present
at the obseques. Only the twentieth
century will see the nineteenth buried.
AS all the years are fastening past, and
all our lives on earth will soon be
ended, l propose to cheer myself, and
cheer you with the glories to come, which
shall utterly eclipse all the glories past;
for my text tells US that eye hath not
seen nor ear heard anything like the ad-
vancing splendor.
The City of Corinth has been called the
Paris of antiquity. Indeed, for splendor,
the world holds no such wonder to-day.
1t stood on an isthmus washed by two
seas, the one sea bringing the commerce
of Europe, the other bringing the COM
MERGE of Asia. From her wharves, in the
construction of which whole Kingdoms
had been absorbed, war-galleys with
three banks of oars pushed out and con-
founded the navy-yards of all the world.
Huge-handed machinery, such as modern
invention can not equal, lifted ships from
the sea on one side and transported them
on trucks across the isthmus and sat
them down in the sea on the other S ide.
The revenue officers of the city went
down through the olive grove that
lined the beach to collect q
tariff from all nations. The
mirth of all people sported in her
isthmian games, aud the beauty of all
lands sat in her theaters, walked her
porticos, and threw itself on the altar of
her stupendous designations. Column,
and statue, and temple bewildered the be-
holder. There were white marble fount-
aims into which, from apertures at the
side, there rushed waters everywhere
known for health giving qualities.
Around these basins, twisted into wreaths
of stone, there were oil the eauties of
sculpture and architecture; while stand
ing, as if to guard the cos thy display, was
a statue of Hercules of Furnished Corin-
THAN brass. Vases of terra Gotta adorned
ly that Julius Caesar was not satisfied I'M
til he had captured them for Rome. Armed
officials, the corintharii, paced up and
down to see that no statue was defaced,
no pedestal overthrown, no bas-relief
touched. From the edge of the city hill
arose, with its magnificent burden of coll
umns, and towers, and temples Zone thous-
and slaves waiting at one shrine), and a
- II <l.k
Gibraltar is heap of sand compared with
it. Amid all that strength and magnifi-
cence Corinth stood and defied the
world.
Oh! 1t was not to rust'cs who had never
seen any thing grand that Paul uttered
this text. They had heard the best music
that had come from the best instruments
in all the world; they had heard songs
floating from morning porticos and melt
ing in evening groves; they had passed
their whole lives among pictures, and
sculpture, and architecture, and Corinth-
ian trass, which had been nodded and
shaped until there was no chariot wheel
in which it had not sped, and no tower
in which it had not glittered, and
no gateway that it had not
adorned. All, it was a bold thing for p ul
to stand there amid all that and say:
Gan this is nothing. These sounds
that come from the temple of Neptune are
not music compared with the harmonies
of which / speak. These waters rushing
in the basin of Pyrene are not pure. These
statues of Bacchus and Mercury are no,
exquisite. Your citadel of Acrocornthus
is not strong compared with that which ]
offer to the poorest slave that puts down
his burden at that brazen gate. You Cor
inthians think this is a splendid city;
you think you have heard all sweet
sounds, and seen all beautiful sights, but
tell you eye hath not seen nor ar heard
neither have entered into the heart OF
man. the things which God has prepared
for them that love him."
You see my text sets forth the idea thai
however exalted our ideas may be Of
Heaven, they come far short of the
reality. Some wise men have been calcu
lating how many furlongs long and
wide is the new Jerusalem; and they
have calculated how many inhabit
ants there are on the earth, how long the
earth will probably stand, and then they
come to this estimate: That, after all the
nations have been gathered to Heaven
there will be room for each soul-a room
sixteen feet long and fifteen feet wide. I,
would not be large enough for me- l an
glad to know that no human estimate is
sufficient to take the dimensions. "Evt
hath not seen nor ear heard" nor arith.
metics calculated. first remark that we
can in this world get no idea of the wea ltt
of Heaven. When you were child, ant
when you went out in the morning, how
you bounded along the road or street
you had never felt sorrow or sickness
Perhaps later you felt a glow in youl
cheek. and spring in your step, an6
an exuberance of spirits, and 6
clearness of eye, that made you thanl
God you were permitted to live. The
nerves were harp strings, ant
the sunlight was a doxology, anG
the rustling leaves were the. rustline
of the robes of great crowd rising up t.
praise the Lord. You thought that yo,
knew what it was to be well, but there i.
no perfect health on earth. The disease.
of past generations came down to us
The airs that float now upon the earth ar,
not like those which foated above para.
disc. They are charged with impuritie.
and distempers. The most elastic and no
bust health of earth, compared with tina
which those experience before whom tn,
gates have been opened, is nothing bu
sickness and enaciation. Look at tbat