The South western news., 1888-01-18

stepping stone by which you might mount TO
he city of God. Every house is a palace.
Every step a triumph. Every, covering fer
the head a coronation. Every meal is a ban
buet Every stroke from the. tower is we'd
ding bell. Every day is a jubilee, every hour
rapture and every moment an ecstay.
fEye had not seen it, ear had not heard it.
remark further, we can get no idea on
| earth Of the retnions of heaven. If you have
ever been across the seas and met friend,
or even an acquaintance, in some strange
city, you remember how your blood thrilled,
| and how glad you were to see him. What
will be our Joy, after we have passed the seAy
of death, to meet IN the bright city OF the
| sun those from whom we have long been sep
arated. After We have been away from our
! friends ten or fifteen years, and we come
| upon them, we see how differently they look.
! The hair has turned, and wrinkles have come
| in their faces, and we say: " How you have
| changed! But oh, when we stand before the
| throne, all cares gone from the face, all
marks of sorrow disappeared, and feel
! ing the Joy of that blessed land, methinks
! we will say to each other, with an eX-
| hltation we cannot now imagine: How you
| have ehangedn In this world we only meet
to part It is goodby; goodby Farewels
| floating in the air We hear it at the rail
! car window, and at the steamboat wharf
goodby. Children lisp it, and old are an
swers it, Sometimes we say it in light way
-"goodby:" and sometimes with anguish in
| which the soul breaks down. Goo1by! All.
| that is the word that ends the thanksgiving
banquet; that is the word that comes in to
! close the Christmas chant. Go0dby; gColby.
| But not so in heaven. Welcomes in the air,
welcomes at the gates, welcomes at the house
Of many mansions-but no goodby. That
! group is constantly being augmented. They
! are going up from our circles of earth
to join it--itt!e voices to join the
! anthem-little hands to take hold in
| the great home circle-little feet to dance in
! the eternal glee, little crowns TO be cast down
| before the feet of Jesus. Cur friends are in
two groups-a group this side Of the river
! and group on the other side of the river.
| Now there goes one from this to that, and
another from this to that, and soon we will
| all be gone forever How many Of Your
loved ones have already entered upon that
| blessed place. If | should take paper and
pencil, do you think l could put them all
| down! All, my friends, the waves OF Jordan
roar so hoarsely, we cannot hear the Joy on the
| other side when that group is augmented. 1t
is graves here, and cofiins and hearses here.
| A little child's mother had died, and they
! comiUrted her, They said: "Your mother
has gone TO heayCn--don't cry and the next
| day they went to the graveyard and they
| laid the body of the mother down into
! the ground: and the little girl came up
! to the verge of the grave and, look.
! ing down at the holy of her mother, said:
| "ls this heavenp Oh, we have no idea what
| heaven is. 1t is the grave here-it is dark
ness hero-but there is merrymaking yonder
| Methlnks when soul arrives some angel
| takes it around to show it the wonders of
! that blessed place The usher angel says to
| the newly arrived: "Thasa are the martyrs
| that persisted at Piedmont; these were torn
| to pieces at the lhqusition: this is the throne
Of the great jehovah; this IS Jesus" Il
| am going TO see Jesus" said a dying
| boy; i am going to see Jesus" The mis-
/ sionery said: You are sure YOU will s-e
Linn" oh! yes; that's what Iwant to goto
! heaven for But" said the missionary.
suppose Jesus should go away from heaven
what then| II should follow Him. said
| the dying boy ''But if Jesus went down to
! hell--what then' The dying boy thought
| for moment and then said: "Where Jesus
| Is there can be no hell,' Oh! to stand in His
presence! That will be heaven OH to put
our hand in that hand which was wounded
| for us on the cross-to go around amid the
| groups OF the Tedeemei and shake hands
/ with the prophets, and apostles, and martyrs,
aud with our own dear beloved Onesl That
/ VIII be the great reunion; we cannot imagine
! II now, our loved ones seem so far away
! When we are in trouble AMI lonesome. they
| don't seem to come to us. We go on the banks
! OF the Jordan ami call across to them, but
| they don't seem to hear. We say: SIS it we'll
with the child! Is it well with the loved ones: ~
and we listen to hear if any voice comes back
/ over the water. NOnel nOnel Unbelef says:
They are dead, and they are annhilated"
but, blessed be God, we have a Bible that
tells us different We open it and we find
they are neither dead. nor annihlated-that
/ they never were SO much alive as now-that
/ they are only waiting for our coming, and
/ that we VIII JON them on the other side OF
the river. oh, glorious reunion! we cannot
! grasp 1t now. Eye hath not seem nor ear
/ heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him. Oh what a place of
| explanation it will be!
] see every day profound mysteries of
| Providence There is no question we ask
oftener than Why. There are hundreds of
/ graves III Greenwood and Laurel Hill that
need to be explained. Hospitals for the
| blind and lame, asylUms for the idiotic and
insane, almshouses for the destitute, and a
world OF pain and misfortune that demand
| more than human solution. All! God will
/ clear it all up In the light that comes from
] the throne no dark mystery can live. Things
! now utterly lnsCrutable will be illuminated as
| plainly as though the answer were written
| on the Jasper wall, or sounded in the temple
! anthem. Bartimeus viii thank God that he
| was bind; and Lazarus, that he was covered
| with sores; and Joseph that he was cast into
the pit; and Daniel. that he denned with the
! lions; and Paul, that he was humpbacked
! and David that he was driven from Jerusa.
| 'GailOs lltI lOI twenty years
he could not lift his head from the pillow;
and that widow that she had such hard Ork
! to earn bread for her children. The song
will be all the grander for earths weeping
| eyes and aching heads, and exhausted hands,
| and sCourged backs, and martyred agOnies
! But we can get no idea of the anthem here
| We appreciate the power of secular music,
! but do we appreciate the power of sacred
| songs There Is nothing more inspiriting to
4 me than a whole congregation lifted on
| the wave of holy melody When we
/ sing some of those dear old psalms and
! tunes they rouse all the memories of the
| past. Why, some of them were cradle songs
! in cur fathers house. They are all sparkling
! with the morning dew of thousand Chris
! tian Sabbaths. They were sung by brothers
! and sisters gone now-by voices that were
! aged and broken in the music voices none
| the less sweuo because they did trembls and
! break. When | hear these old songs sung it
! seems as if all the old country meeting homes
| joined in the chorus, and city church and
| sailors bethel and western cabin, until the
/ whole continent lifts the doxoogy and the
! scepterS of eternity beat time TO the music
! Away, then, with your staryeling tunes that
/ chill the devotionS of the sanctuary and
make the people sit silent when Jesus
! is marching on to victory. When generals
| come back from victorious wars, don't we
! cheer them and shout "Huzza! huzzaw and
when Jesus passes along in the conquest of
| the earth, shall we not have for him one loud,
ringing cheer'
All hail the power of Jesus namol
Let angels PROSTATE fall,
! Bring forth the royal dia1em,
/ And crown him Lord OF ALL"
But, my friends, if music on earth IS so