The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-09-12

the harp, and Miriam Of the Red Sea
banks elaps the cymbals, and Gabriel
puts his lips to the trumpet, and the four
and-twenty soldiers chant, and Lind and
| Parepa render matchless duet in the
MUSHROOM of the old heavenly home
stead. ain my Fathers house are many
| rooms"
Another room in our Fathers house
| will be the family room. 1t may corre-
/ spond somewhat with the family room on
earth. At morning and evening, you
know, that is the place we now meet.
| Though every member of the household
have seperate room, in the family room
| they all gather, and joys and sorrows and
| experiences Of all styles are there re-
| hearsed. Sacred room in all our dwell
| ings. Whether it be luxurious with otto
mans and divans and books in Russian
| lids standing in mahogany case, or there
| be only few plain chairs and cradle.
So the family room on high will be the
place where the kinsfolk assemble and
talk over the family experiences of earth,
the weddings, the births, the burials, the
festal days of Christmas and Thanks
giving reunion. Will the children
! departed remain children there?
Will the aged remain aged there?
Oh, no; every thing Is perfect
t ere. The child will go aheai gIorifed
maturity and the aged will go back to
g!orified maturity. The rising sun of the
Que will rise to meridian and he descend
ing sun of the other viii return to me-
rldian. However much we love our chill
dren we would consider it domestic
disaster if they staid children, and so we
rejoice at their growth here. And when
we meet in the family room of our Fa-
theirs house we will be glad that they
have grandly and gloriolsly matured;
while our parents, who were aged and in
firm here, we shall be glad to find restored
to the most agile and vigorous immortal
ity there. If forty, or forty five, or fifty
years be the apex of physical and mental
life on earth, then the heavenly childhood
will advance to that and the heavenly old
age Will retreat to thai.
When we join them in that family room
we shall have much to tell them. We
shall want to know of them right away
such things as these: Did you see us in
this or that or the other struggle? Did
you know when we lost our property and
sympathize with Us? Did you know we
had that awful sickness? Were you how
ering any where around when we plunged
into that nemorabls accident? Did you
know of our backsliding? Did you know
of that moral victory? Were you pleased
when we started to Heaven? Did you
celebrate the hour of our conversion?
And then, whether they know it or not,
we will tell them all. But they will have
more to tell us than we to tell them. Ten
years on earth may be very eventful
but what must be the biography of ten
years IN Heaven? They viii have to tel
US the story of eoronations, story of news
from all immensely, story of conquerors
and hierarcbs, story of wrecked or San
somed planets, story of angelic victory
over diabolic revolts, of extinguished
suns, OF obliterated consultations, of
new galaxies kindled and swung. of
stranded comets, of worlds on fire, and
story of Jehovah's majestic reign.
If in that family room of our Fathers
house we have so much to tell them of
what we have passed through since we
parted, how much more thrilling and
arousing that which they havs to tell us
OF. what they have passed through since
we parted. Surely that family
room will be one of the most
favored rooms in all our Fathers
house. What long lingering there, for
we shall never again be in a hurry. s'Let
me open window" said humble Chris
tian servant to Lady Raffies, who, because
OF the death of her child, had shut herself
up IN dark room and refused to see any
one; ''you have been many DAYS in this
dark room. Are you not ashamed to
grieve in this manner when you ought to
be thanking God for having given YOU
the most beautiful child that ever was
seen, and instead of leaving him in this
world till he should be worn with trouble,
has not Col taken him to Heaven in all
his beauty? Leave off weeping, and let
me open window" So to-day | am try
ing to open upon the darkness of earthly
separation the windows and doors and
rooms of the heavenly homestead. I'm
my Fathers house are many rooms"
How would it do for my sermon to leave
you in that family room to-day? l am
sure there is no room in which you would
rather stay than in the enraptured circle
Of your assembled and glorihed kinsfolk.
We might visit other rooms in our
Fathers house. There may be picture
galleries penciled not with earthly art,
but by some process unknown in this
world, preserving for the next world the
and most stupendous scenes Of
human history. And there NAV be lines
and forms Of earthly beauty preserved
tor heavenly inspection in something
whittier and ehaster and richer than
Venetian sculpture ever wrought. Rooms
beside rooms. Rooms over rooms. Large
rooms. Majestic rooms, opalescent
rooms. amethystine rooms. 'tIn my
Fathers house are many rooms"
hope none of US will be disappointed
about getting there. There is a room for
rs if we will go and take it, but in order
to reach it it is absolutely necessary that
we take the right way, and Christ is the
way; and we must enter at the right
door, and Christ is at the door; and we
must start in time, and the only hour you
are sure of is the hour the clock now
strikes, and the only second the one your
watch is now ticking. hold in my hand
roll of letters inviting you all to make
hat your home forever. The New Testa-
nent is only a roll of3letters inviting You.
rs the spirit of them practically
'ays: my dying, yet immortal
child in earthly neighborhood,
rave built for you a great residence.
It Is full of rooms. / have furnished
hem as no palace was ever furnished.
'earls are nothing, emeralds are nothing
is nothing; illumined
1analS of