Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-01-13

y
rope, Asia, Africa, North and South
America pressing into line. Islands of the
sea- shoulder to shoulder. Generations be-
fore the flood following generations aster the
teod, and as Jesus rises at the head OF that
great host and waves his sword in signal OF
victory, all crowns are lifte1, and all enslgns
slung out, and all chimes rung, and all hale,
lujahs chanted, and some cry: GLORY to
most high" and some: "Hosanna to the son
of David;' and some: "Worthy is the Lamb
that was sain"-tll all exclamations of en-
dearment and homage in the vocabulary oil
heaven are exhausted and there comes W
surge after surge of "Amenl amen! and
amenW Eye hath not seen it, ear hath
not heard it,
Skim from the summer waters the brightest
sparkleS and you will get no idea of the sheen
sf the everlasting sea. Pile up the splendor
of earthly cities and they would not make
stepping stone by which you might mount to
the city of God. Every house is palace
Every step a triumph. Every covering for
the head a coronation. Every meal is a ban.
quet. Every stroke from the tower is a we'd
ding bell. Every day is jubilee, every hour
rapture and every moment an ecstasy.
EYE had not seen it, ear hath not heard it
/ remark further, we can get no idea on
earth of the reunions of heaven If YOU have
ever been across the seas and met a 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 seas
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-
utation we cannot now imagine: How you
have changedl" In this world we only meet
to part. 1t is goodby; goodby. Farewells
floating in the air. We hear it at the rail
car window, and at the steamboat wharf
goodby. Children lisp it, and old age an
swers it. Sometimes we say it in a 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 Goodby; goolby
But not so in heaven. Welcomes in the air,
welcomes at the gates, welcomes at the house
of many mansions-hut, no goodby That
group is constantly being augmented. They
are going up from our circles of earth
to join little 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
IelOI6 Ju6 leeG VI Jesus. OuT ITlenuS are IN
two groups--a group this side of the river
and group on the other side of the river
Now there gees one from this to that, and
another from this to that and soon we will
all b, gone forever. How many of your
loved ones have already entered upon that
blessed place! If | should take paper and
pencil, do you think | could put them all
down? All, my friends, the waves of Jordan
roar so hoarseIy, we cannot hear the joy on the
ether side when that group is augmented. 1t
is graves here and collins and Iearses here.
A little chi!d's mother had died, and they
comforted her. They said: Your mother
has gone to heavcn-don't cry,n 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:
SIS this heaven" Oh, we have no idea what
heaven is. 1t is the grave here-it is dark
ness here-5ut there is merrymalling yonder.
Methinks when a soul arrives some angel
takes it around to show it the wonders of
that blessed place. TIE usher angel says to
the newly arrived: "These are the martyrs
that perished at Piedmont; these were torn
to pieces at the Inqu!sition; this is the throne
of the great Jehovah; this is Jesus" II
am going to see Jesus" said a dying
boy; II am going to see Jesus" The mis-
sionery said: You are sure you will see
HimN ooh yes; that's what want to go to
heaven for But" said the missionary,
Suppose Jesus should go away from heaven
what theni' 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 hellr' Oh! to stand in His
presencel That will be heaven Oh! to put
our hand in that hand which was wounded
for us on the crOss-to 60 around amid the
groups of the redeemed, and shake hands
ia nbGtS nd mn
aud with our own dear, beloved ones! That
will be the great reunion; we cannot imagine
it now, our loved ones seem SO far away.
When we are in trouble AMI lonesome, they
don't seem to come to u.s. We go on the banks
of the Jordan and call across to them, but
they don't seem to hear We say: ''is it well
with the child! Is it well with the loved ones:n
and we listen to hear it any voice comes back
over the water. None! none! Unbelief says:
"They are dead, and they are annihilated;"
but, blessed he Col, we have a Bible that
tells us different. We open it and we find
they are neither dead nor annihilated-that
they never were so much alive as now-that
they are only waiting for our coming, and
that we will join them on the other side of
the river. Oh, glorious reunion we cannot
grasp it now. 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." Oh, what a place Of
explanation it will bel
| see every day profound mysteries OF
Providence. There is no question we ask
oftener than Why9 There are hundreds Of
graves in Greenwood and Laurel Hill that
need to be explained. Hospitals for the
| blind and lame, asyums for the idiotic and
insane, almshouses for the destitute, and
world of pain and misfortune that demand
more than human solution. Ali God will
clear it all up. In the light that comes from
the throne no dark mystery can live Things
| now utterly inscrutable will be Illuminated as
| plainly as though the answer were written
on the jasper wall, or sounded in the temple
/ anthem. Bartimeus will thank God that he
! was blind; and Lazarus, that he was covered
with sores; and Joseph, that he was cast into
the pic; and Daniel, that he denned with the
! lions; and Paul, that hs was humpba cked;
and David that he was driven from Jerusa.
lem; and that invalid, that for twenty years
he could not lift his head from the pillow;
and that widow, that she had such hard ork
10 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
song? There is nothing more inspiritng to
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 our fathers house. They are all sparkling
with the morning dew Of q 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 sweet because they did tremble 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 doxology and the
scepters of eternity beat time to the music.
Away, then, with your starveling tunes that
chill the devotons of the sanctuary and