Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-07-19
,..niect-"Our House on the Hills, :"
&c. ,t"D..In my Fathers house are many

c.,liect-"Our House on the Hills.
r,9}t@"1n my Fathers house are many
'o 11are is n bottle of medicine that is a
na-all The disciples were sad and
rhrist offered Heaven as an alternative,
stimulant. and tonic. He shows
An, that their sorrows are only dark
o ino felicity. He lets them know that
il ing ohm now they live on the lowlands
NV! NV Shall vet have a house on the up-
1 'anss. Nearly all the Bible descrip-
. .anu of Heaven may be fgurative. I
s ~ not positive that in all Heaven
s sln is {, literal crown or harp or pearly
aata or throne or chariot They may be
CIV used to illustrate the glories of the
oh'. but how we'll they do it! The IA
rpnrite symbol by which the Bible pre-
cents celestial happiness is house.
Panl. who never owned house, al
though he hired one for two years in
naly. speaks of Heaven as "a 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 compari son
If Heaven to great homestead of large
recommendations I propose to carry out
In some healthy neighborhood q man
builds very eommodious habitaaion.
He must have room for all his children.
The rooms come to be called after the
different members of the family. That
is mothers room. That is Georges
room. That is Henry's room. That is
Flora's room. That is Mary's room.
And the house is all occupied. But
time goes by and the sons go out into
the world and build their own homes
ard the daughters are married or have
GOOD work in the world. After q
willie 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 forty years ago."
But time goes still further by and some
of the children are unfortunate and re-
turn to the old homestead to live, and
the grandchildren come with them, and
perhaps great grandchildren, and again
the house is full. Many millenia ago
God built on the hills of Heaven great
homestead for a family innumerable.yet
to be. At first He lived alone in that
great house, but after while it was oc-
cupied by very large family, cherubic,
seraphic, angelic. The eternities passed
on and many of the inhabitants became
Maynard and left never to return. And
many of the apartments were vacated.
refer to the fallen angels. Now these
apartments are filling up again. There
are arrivals at the old homestead of
Gods children every day, and the day
will come when there will be no unoc-
cupied room in all the house.
As YOU and I expect to enter it and
make there eternal residence, thought
you would like to get some more par
ticulars about that many roomed home
stead. In my Fathers house are many
rooms" You see the place is to be ap-
portioned off into apartments. We shall
love all who are in Heaven, but there
would not want to live with in the same
room. They may be better than we are,
but they are of divergent tempera-
ment. 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 am glad to say
that we shall live in different apart
ments. 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.
An ingenious statistician, taking the
statement made in Revelation, twenty
first chapter, that the Heavenly Jeru-
salem was measured and found to be
height and breadth of it are equal, says
that would make Heaven in size 94s
se2tillion 1888 quintillion cubic feet, and
then reserving q certain portion for the
court of Heaven and the streets. and
estimating that the world may last a
hundred thousand years, he ciphers out
that there are over five trillion rooms,
each room seventeen feet long, sixteen
feet wide, fifteen high. But l have nc
faith in the accuracy of that calculation.
He makes the rooms too small. From
all can read, the rooms will be palatial,
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, and
though out on vast prairie or in a
| room than they want, in most cases it ls
house built close to house, and the
streets are crowded and the cradle is
crowded by other cradles. and the graves
crowded in thecemetery by other grave s,
and one of the richest Injuries of many
people in getting out of this world will
be the gaining of unhindred and un-
cramped room. And should not Won
der if instead of the room that the
statlstician ciphered out MS ONLY seven
teen feet by sixteen, it should be large,
than any Of the imperial rooms at Ber-
LIN. st. James, or Winter palace. "lr
my Fathers house are many rooms.
Carrying out still further the symbolism
OF the text let us join hands and go uI
to this majestic homestead and see fol
ourselves.
As we ascend the golden steps, an in
Visible guardsman swings open the
mont door and we are ushered to the
right into the reception room OF the ole
homestead. That is the place where we
nrst meet the welcome of Heaven
There must be place where the de.
parted spirit enters and place in which
IT. confronts the Inhabitants celestial
me reception room of the newly ar.
rived from this world-what scenes j,
must have witnessed since the first
guest arrived, the victim of the first
1nr;atricide, pious Abel. In that room
christ lovingly greeted all the new
eeomers. He redeemed them and ne mas
me right to the first embrace on thell
arrival. What minute when the as
..ended spirit first sees the Lord. Better
man all we ever read about Him o.
talked about Him or sang about Him II