Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-08
TN THE KINGS HOUSE.
Rev. 7. De Witt Talmage Describes
the SpendOrs of the
GOLDEN PALACE ON ZION'S HILL.
The Reception by Angel Friends in Our
Fathers Mansion,
wRERE THEREI ROOM ENOUGHFOR ALL

THE HAMPToNs, n. Y, July REV I.
DE Witt Talmage preached here to-day on
the subject: "Our House on the Hills" His
text was John xiv. 2: "In my Fathers house
are many rooms" He said:
Here is a bottle of medicine that is a
cure-all The disciples were sad and Christ
offered heaven as an alternative, a stimu-
liant and tonic. He shows them that their
sorrows are only dark background of a
bright picture of coming felicity. He lets
them know that though now they live on
the lowlands they shall yet have house on
the uplands. Nearly all the Bible descrip-
tions of heaven may be fguratiVe. 1 am
not positive that in all heaven there is a
literal crown or harp or pearly gate or
throne or chariot. They may be only used
to illustrate the glories of the place, but how
we'll they do it, The favorite symbol by
which the Bible presents celestial happi-
ness is house. Paul, who never owned 8
house, although he hired one for two years
in Italy, speaks of heaven as 'house not
made with hands" and Christ IN our text,
the translation of which is little changed
so as to give the more accurate meaning,
says: "In my Fathers house are many
rooms"
This divinely authorized comparison of
heaven to a great homestead of large accom-
modations / propose to carry out. In some
healthy neighborhood a man builds a very
commodious habitation. He must have
rooms for all his children. The rooms come
to be called after the different members of
the iamily That is mothers room. That
is Georges room. That is Henry's room.
That is Fiora's room. That is Mary's room.
And the house is all occupied. But time
goes by and the sons 60 out into the world
and build their own homes, and the daugh-
ters are married or have talents enough singly
10 60 out and do good work in the world.
HEAVEN is FILLING UP.
After while the father and mother are
almost alone in the big house. and seated
by the evening stand, they say: "Well, our
family is no larger now than when We
started together 40 years ago." But time
goes still further by, and some of the chill
dren are unfortunate and return TO the old
homestead to live, and the grandchildren
come with them, and perhaps great-grand-
children, and again the house is full. Many
millennia ago God built on the hills of
heaven a great homestead for family in
Vulnerable, yet to be. At first He lived
alone in that great house, but after a while
it was occupied by very large family,
cherubic, seraphic, angelic. The eternities
passed on, and many of the inhabitants be-
came wayward and lett, never to return.
And many of the apartments were vacated.
1 refer to the fallen angels Now these
apartments are filling up again. There are
arrivals at the old homestead of Gods chill
dren every day, and the day will come when
there will be no unoccupied room in all the
house.
As YOU and 1 expect to enter it and make
there eternal residence, l thought you would
like to get some more particulars about that
many-roomed homestead. "In my Fathers
house are many rooms" You see the place
is to be appcrtioned off into apartments.
We shall love all who are in heaven, but
there are some very good people whom we
would not want to live with in the same
room. They may be better than we are, but
they are of a divergent temperament. We
would like to meet with them on the golden
streets and worship with them in the temple
and walk with them on the river banks, but
i am glad to say that we shall live in differ
ent apartments. "In my Fathers house
are many rooms" You see heaven will be
so large that if one want an entire room to
himself or herself, it can be afforded.
MANSIONS FOR ALL.
An ingenious statistician, taking the
statement made in Revelation, 21st chapter,
that the heavenly Jerusalem was measured
and found TO be IL, 900 furlongs, and that
the length and height and breadth of it are
equal, saws that would make heaven in size
94S se6tillion 9SS quintillion cubic feet; and
then, reserving a certain portion for the
court of heaven and the streets and esti-
mating that the world NAV last hundred
thousand years, he ciphers out that there are
over five trillion rooms, each room IL feet
long, 16 feet wide, Is feet high. But 1
have no faith in the accuracy of that calcu-
lation. He makes the rooms too small.
From all can read, the rooms will be paIa-
tial, and those who have not had enough
room in this world will have plenty of room
at the last.
The fact is that most people in this world |
are crowded, though out on a vast prairie |
or in a mountain district people may have |
more room than they want, in most cases it |
is house built close to house, and the streets |
are crowded and the cradle is crowded by |
other cradles, and the graves crowded in the |
cemetery by other graves, and one of the |
richest luxCries of many people in getting |
out of this world will be the gaining of |
unhindered and uncramped room. And 1 |
should not wonder if instead of the room
that the statistician ciphered out as only IL
feet by 16, it should be larger than any of
the imperial rooms at Berlin St. James or
Winter Palace. "In my Fathers house
are many rooms" Carrying out still
further the symbolism of the text let us
join hands and go up to this majestic home
stead and see for ourselves.
THROUGH THE PEARLY CITES.
As we ascend the golden steps, an invisi-
and we are ushered into the reception room
of the old homestead. That is the place
where we first meet the welcome of heaven.
There must be place where the departed
spirit enters and a place in which it con-
fronts the inhabitants celestial. The recep-
tion room of the newly arrived from this
wOrld-what scenes II must have witnessed
since the first guest arrived, the victim of
the first fratricide, pious Abel. In that
room Christ lovingly greeted all new COM
ers. He redeemed them and He has the
right to the first embrace On their arrival.
What a minute when the ascended spirit
first sees the Lord. Better than all we ever
read about him or talked about him or sang
about him in all the churches and
through all our earthly lifetime, will
II be, just for one second to see Him. The
most rapturous idea we ever had of Him on
sacramental DAYS or at the height of some
great revival or under the uplifted baton of
an oratorio are a bankruptcy of thought
compared with the first fash of His appear
Rnce in that reception room. At that mo-
ment when you confront each other, Christ
looking upon you and you looking upon |
Christ, there will be an ecstatic thrill and
surglng of emotion that beggars all descrip-
ton. Look! They need no introduction.
Long ago Christ chose that repentant sinner
and that repentant sinner chose Christ
Alghtiest moment of an immortal history
the first kiss of heavenl Jesus and the soul.
The soul and Jesus.
But now into that reception room pour
the glorifed kinsfolk. Enough of earthly
retention tc let you know them, but with
out their wounds or their sickness or their
troubles. See what heaven has done for
them. So radiant, so gleeful, so transport
ingly lovely.
RAPTURoUs GREETINGS.
They call you by name. They greet you
with an ardor proportioned to the anguish
OF youE parting and the length of your sep /
aration. Fatherl Motherl There is your