Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-07-17

was measured and found to be twelve thou
sand furlongs and that the length and
heighth and breadth of it are equal, says
that would make heaven in size nlne hun.
dred and forty eight sextillon nine hundred
and eighty-eight quintillion cubic feet, and
then reserving certain portion for the
court of heaven and the streets, and esti
mating that the world may last a hundred
thousand years, he ciphers out that there
are over five trlllion rooms, each room sew
enteen feet long, sixteen feet wide, fifteen
feet high. But have no faith in the acou.
tracy of that calculation. He makes the
room too small. From all can read, the
lrooms will be palatial, and these who have
mot had enough room in this world win
have plenty of room at the last. The fact
is that most people in this world are crowd.
led, and though out on 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
lare crowded and the cradle is crowded by
other cradles, and the graves crowded 10 the
cemetery by other graves, and one of the
richest luxuries of many people in getting
out of this world will be the gaining of un-
hndered aud unoramped room. And
should not wonder if instead of the room
that the statistician ciphered out as only
II feet by 16, it should be larger than any
of the imperial rooms at Berlin, St. James
or Winsor Palace. "In my Fathers house
are many rooms" Carrying out still fur.
ther the symbolism of the text let US Join
hands and 60 up to this majestic homestead
and see for ourselves.
AS We ascend the golden steps, an invisi-
BILE guardsman swings open the front door,
and we are ushered to the right into the re.
Lon af fhn ~ 1
Ia the place where we first meet the vel
come of heaven. There mnst be a place
where the departed spirit enters and place
in which it confrOnts the inhabitants celes-
tial. The reception-room of the newly ar
rived from this world-what scenes it must
have witnessed since the.frst guest arrived,
the victim of the first fraticide, pious Abel.
In that room Christ lovingly greeted all
new comers. He redeemed them and He
has the right to the first embrace on their
arrival. What a minute when the ascend
ed 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 it
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 bankruptcy of
thought compared with the first flash of his
appearance in that reception room. At that
moment when you confront each other,
Christ looking upon you and you lookin g
upon Christ, there will be an ecstatic thrill
and surging of emotion that beggars all
description. Look! They need no intro
duction. Long ago Christ chose that re-
pentant sinner. M;ghtiest moment of an
,fo1 t1,nH H,ct 1r.r So
Jesus and the soul. The soul and Christ
But now into that reception room pour
the glorified kinsfolk. Enough of earthly
retention to lei you know them, but with
out their wounds or their sicknesses or their
troubles. See what heaven has done for
them. So radiant, 30 gleeful, so transport.
ingly lovely. They call you by name. They
greet you with an order proportioned to the
anguish of your parting and the length ol
your separation. Father! Motherl There
is your children. Sisters! Brothers
Friends! wish you joy, For years apart,
together again in the reception room of the
old homestead. You see they will know
YOU are coming. There are SO many i'm.
mortals filling all the spaces between here
and heaven that news like that flies like
lightning. They will be there in an instant
though they were in some other world or
errand from God signal would be thrown
that would fetch them. Though you might
at first feel dazed and overawed at theil
superna! splendor, all that feeling will bt
gone at the first touch of heavenly saluta
ton and we will say; SO my lost boy.' &C
my lost companion, 80 my lost friend, art
we here together?" What scenes have beer
witnessed in that reception room of the old
homestead! There met Joseph and Jacob
g. hi thav m
they saw in Pharaoh's palace; David ane
the little child for whom he once tasted anG
wept; Mary and Lazarus after the heart
break of Bethany; Timothy and grand
mother Lois; Isabella Graham and her sail
or son; Alfred and George Cookman, tht
mystery of the sea at last made manifest
Luther and Magdalene, the daughter ht
bemoaned; John Howard and the prisoners
whom be gospelized; and multtudes with
, out number who, once so weary and so sad
: parted on earth but gloriously met in heav-
: en-. Among all the rooms of that house
there is no one that more enraptures my
sonl than that reception room. SIN my
; Fathers house are many rooms"
Another room in our Fathers house il
. the throne room We belong to the roya
, family. The blood of King Jesus flows II
our veins, so we have a right to enter The
throne-room. 1t is no easy thing on eartl
to get through even the outside door Of &
kings residence During the Franco Ger
man war one eventide in the summer o.
1879, stood studying the exquisite sculp
turing of the gate of the Tuileries, Paris
Lost in admiration of the wonderful art O
that gate knew not that l was exciting
suspicion. Lowering my eyes to the crowd'
of people found myself being closely in
toI fol off aiolo yhO
my complexion Judged me to be German
and that for some belligerent purpose
might be examining the gates of the palace
MY explanations in very poor French die
not satisfy them and they followed me long
distances until reached my hotel,ao wert
! not satisfied until from my landlord they
found that I was only an inoffensive Amer
ican. The gates of earthly palaces are
carefully guarded, and, if so, how much
more severely the throne room. A dazzling
place is it for mirrors and all costly art. M
one who ever saw the throne room of the
first and only Napoleon will ever forget tht
letter N embroidered in purple and gold OF
, the upholstery of chair and window, th'
, letter N gilded on the wall, the latter
chased on the chalices, the letter N hamin:
from the ceiling. What a conHagration O
brilliauce the throne room of Charles I'm
manuel OF SARDINIA, OF ferdinand OF Spaih
of Elizabeth of England, of Boniface O
? Italy. But tt Q throne room of our Father
house hath glory eclipsing all the throne
rooms that ever saw scepter wave or crow
, glitter or foreign ambassador bow, for ou
Fathers throne is throne ofgrace, a thron
| of mercy, throne of holiness, throne O
! Justice, throne of universal dominion
We need not stand shlvering and covering
hnfore II for our Father saws we NAV yn
one day come up and sit on it beside him
''To him that oyercometh will l grant tt
sit with me in my THRONE" You see we arr
} princes aud princesses. Perhaps now vi
move about incognito, as Peter the Grea
! in the garb of ship carpenter at Amster
dam or as Queen Tirzah in the dress OF
!, peasant woman seeking the prophet for he
, child's cure; but it will be found out afte
! awhile who we are when we get into th
t throne room. Aye! we need not wait unit
? then. We may by prayer and song ant