The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1888-05-11

mISUty anu bsicHt Nv VIC SoAHS e"''S
look al the engine and the machinery IN
the Philadelphia mint, and, as you see II
performing Its wonderful work, you VIII
be surprised to find how silently 1t goes.
Machinery that roars and tears soon
destroys itself; but silent machinery
is often most effective. Now, so 1t Is
with the soul Of man. with all Its ire
mendous faculties--it moves in silence.
Judgment, without any racket, hfting
it, scales; memory, without any noise,
bringing down all Its treasures; conscience
taking its judgment seat without any ex.
element; the understanding and the will
all doing their work. Velocity, majesty,
might; but silence-silence. You listen
at the door of your heart. You can hear
no sound. The soul is all quiet. 1t is SO
delicate an instrument that no human
hand can touch it. You break bone.
and with splinters and bandages the
surgeon sets it; the eye becomes inflamed,
the apothecary's wash cools it; but soul
off the track, unbalanced, no human
power can readjust it. With one sweep
Of its wing it circles the universe and
overvaults the throne Of God. Why, in
the hour Of death the soul is so mighty,
1t throws aside the body as though it
were toy II drives back medical skill
as impotent. It breaks throESh the
circle of loved ones who stand afo1nd the
dying couch With one leap, 1T springs
beyond star and moon and sun, and
cllasms Of immensely. Oh, it is a soul
superior to all material thingsl No fire
can consume it; no floods can drown it; no
rocks can crush it; no walls can i'm
pede it,; no time can exhaust it. 1t wants
no bridge on which to cross chasm. 1t
wants no plummet with which to sound a
depth. A soul so mighty, so swift. so
silent. must be priceless soul.
calculate the value of the soul, also,
by its capacity for happiness. How much
Joy it can get in this world out of friend
ships, out of books, out of clouds, out
of the sea, out of flowers, out of
ten thousand things; and yet all the joy
it has here does not test its capacity.
You are in concert before the curtain
hoists, and you hear the instruments pre-
paring-the sharp snap of the broken
string, the scraping of the bow across the
VOL. ''There is no music in that, you
say. It is only getting ready for the
music. And all the enjoyment Of the
soul in this world, the enjoyment we
think is real enjoyment, is only prepare
tive; it is only anticipative; it is only the
first stages of the thing; it is only the
entrance, the beginning Of that which
shall be the orchestral harmonies and
splendors of the redeemed.
You cannot test the full power Of the
soul for happiness in this world. How
much power the soul has here to find en-
joyment in friendshipsl but, oh, the
grander friendships for the soul in the
skies! How sweet the flowers herel but
how much sweeter they will be there! /
do not think that when flowers die on
earth they die forever. think that the
fragrance of the flowers is the spirit
being waited away into glory God says
there are palm trees in heaven and fruits
in heaven. If so. why not the spirits OF
the dead flowers3 In the sunny valleys
of heaven, shall not the marigold creep?
On the hills of heaven. will not the
amaranth bloomG On the amethystine
walls of heaven. will not the jasmine
climb2 my beloved -;;s--1s%-dcsa in
his garden to gather lilies" No flowers
in heaven? Where, then, do they get
their garlands for the brows Of the
righteous7
Christ is glorious to our souls now. but
how much grander our appreciation after
a while A conqueror comes back after
the battle. He has been fighting for us
He comes upon the platform He has
one arm in a sling, and che o1ner arm
holds crutch. As he nouns The olat-
form, oh, the enthusiasm of the audi
ence! They say THAI nan fought for
us. and imperiled his ife for us. aul
how wild the huzza chat follows huzza
When the Lord JESUS Christ shall 1t last
stand out before the multiCudes of ihe re-
deemed of heaven and we meet him ace
to face, and feel that ne was wounded IN
the head, and wounded ir the lands. and
wounded in the feet md wounded in the
side for us. methinks va will be ,ver-
whelmed. We will sit some time gazing
in silence until some leader amidst he
white robed choir shall lift the baton If
light. and give the signal that it Is time
to wake the song OF jubilee: and all
l
heaven will then break forth into: 'Ho
sauna! HosannaI Hosanna! Worthy is
| the Lamb that is slain
calculate further the value OF the
soul by the price that has been paid for
it. In St. Petersburg there is diamond
that the government paid 5000. 900 for
"Well," you say, 1t must have been
very valuable or the government would
not have paid 5000, 900 for it want
to see what my soul is worth. and what
your soul is worth, by seeirg what has
been paid for it. For that immortal soul
the richest blood that was ever shed, the
deepest groan that was ever uttered, all
the griefs of earth compressed into one
tear, all the sufferings of earth gathered
into one rapier of pain and struck through
his holy heart. Does it not imply ire
mendous val,,e2
argue also the value OF the soul
from the home that has been fitted up
for it in the future. One would have
thought street of adamant would have
done. No; it is a street of gold. One
would have thought that wall OF gran
tie would have done. No; it is the flame
of sardonyx mingling with the green Of