The Iola register., 1889-05-31

forth Heaven is his body guard: il he sit
down to food his plain table blooms into
the Kings banquet Men say: Look at
that old fellow with the worn-out coat;"
the angels of God cry: Lift up your
heads, We everlasting gates, and let him
come in" Fastidious people cry: Get
of my front steps," the doorkeepers Of
Heaven cry: "Come, you blessed Of my
Father, inherit the kingdomp When he
comes to die, though he may be carried
out in piue box to the potter's field, to
that potter's field thu chariots of Christ
will come down and the cavalcade will
crowd all the boulevards Of Heaven.
bless Christ for the present satisfac-
tion of religion. 1t makes man all right
with reference to the past; it makes a
man oil right with reference to the future.
o these neither springs of comforti They
are Parental. The foundation Of God
standeth sure having this seal. THE Lord
knoweth them that are His.n "The mount
aims shall depart and the bills be re-
moved, but My kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of
My peace be removed, saith the Lord,
who hath mercy upon them" O, cluster
Of diamonds set in FURNISHED gold! o,
neither springs of comfort bursting
through all the valleys of trial and tribu-
lation!
When you see, you of the world, what
satisfaction there is on earth in religion,
do you not thirst after it as the daughter
of Caleb thirsted after the water springs?
1t is no stagnant pond, scummed over
with malaria. but springs of water leap.
ing from the Rock of Ages! Take up one
cup of that spring water. and across the
top of the chalice will float the delicate
shadows of the heavenly wall, the yellow
of jasper, the green of emerald, the blue
of sardonyx, the fire of jacinth. l wish
could make you understand the joy reli-
giOn is to some of us. 1t makes a man
happy while he lives and glad when he
dies. With two feet upon a chair and
bursting with dropsies, l heard an old
man in the poor house cry out: "Bless
the Lord. o. my soul" looked around
and said: what has this man
got to thank God for?" 1t
makes the lame man leap like the hart and
the dumb sing. They say that the old
Puritan religion is a juiceless and joyless
religion; but l remember reading of DIR.
Goodwin, the celebrated Puritan, who in
his last moments said: rs this dying?
Why, my bow abides in strength! l am
swallowed up i'm God" "Her ways are
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths
are peace" o. you have been trying to
satisfy yourselves with the ''south land"
of this world, do you not feel that you
would, this morning, like to have access
to the neither springs of spiritual comfort!
Would you not like to have Jesus Christ
bend over your cradle and bless your
table and heal your wounds, and strew
flowers of consolation all up and down
the graves of your dead?
'Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while We live;
'Tis religion con supply
Sweetest comfort when we die.
But have something better to tell you,
suggested by my text 1t seems that old
father Caleb on the wedding day of his
daughter wanted to make her Just as
happy as possible. Though Othniel was
taking her away, and his heart was almost
broken because she was going, yet he gives
her 'tsouth land;" not only that, but the
upper springs. o God, my Father. l
thank Thee that thou hast given me a
south land" in this world. and the neither
springs of spiritual comfort in this world;
but, more than all. l thank Thee for the
upper springs in Heaven.
1t is very fortunate we can not see
Heaven until we get into it. u Christian
man, if you could see what a place it is
we would never get you back again to the
office or store or shop, and the duties you
ought to perform would go neglected. /
am glad / shall not see that world until
enter it. Suppose we were allowed to go
on an excursion into that gooi land with
the idea of returning. When we got there,
and heard the song, and looked at their
raptured faces, and mingled in the SUPER
nal society, we would cry out: Let us
stay! We are coming here anyhow.
Why take the trouble of going back again
to that old world. We are here now; let
us stay" And it would take angelic vio-
lence to put Us out of that world if we
once got there. But as people who can not
afford to pay for an entertainment some-
times come around it and look through
the door ajar, or through the OPEN
ings in the fence, so we come and look
through the crevices in that good land
which God has provided for us. We can
just catch a glimpse OF it. We come near
enough to hear the rumbling of the eter-
nal orchestra, though not near enough to
know who blows the cornet or who fingers
the harp NV soul spreads cut both wings
and claps them in triumph at the thought
of those upper spr ngs. One of them
breaks from beneath the throne; another
breaks forth from beneath the altar of the
temple; another at the door of 1.-The house |
of many mansions" Upper springs OF
gladness! Upper springs of light! Upper |
springs of love! 1t is no fancy of mine. |
''The Lamb which is in the midst of the |
throne shall lead them to living fountains |
of water" D Saviour divine, roll in Upon |
our souls one of those antici- |
pated raptures! Pour around the |
roots of the parched tongue one |
drop of that liquid life! Tos; before |
our vision those fountains of God, rain |
bowed with eternal victory. Hear it. |
Thew are never sick there; not so much a. |
q headache or twinge rheumatic, or thrust |
The inhabitant never says: |
Il am sick F" They are never tired there. |
Flight to farthest world is only the play |
Of a holiday. They never sin there. 1t is |
as easy for them to be holy as it is for Us
to sin. They never die there. You might |
go through all the outskirts OF the great |
city and find not one place where the
ground was broken for a grave. The eve
sight Of the redeemed is never blurred |
with tears. There is health in every cheek
There is spring in every foot There is
majesty on every brow. There is Joy in
every heart. There is hosanna on every
lip.
How they must pity US as they look over
and down and see US and say: Poor
things away down in that world" And
when some Christian is hurled into fatal
accident they cry: Good! He is com.
ingw And when we stand around the |
couch of some loved one (whose strength |
is going away and we shake our heads
they cry: II am glad he is |