Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-11-28

Gus entertainments; but pHnper children
will sing it, beggars will sing it, re-
deemed hod carriers will sing it, those
who were once the offscouring of earth
will sing it. The hallelujah will be all
the grander for earth's weeping eyes,
and aching heads, and exhausted hands,
and scourEed backs, and martyfed
agonies.
Again: The thought Of my texts is
true when applied to the enjoyment Of
the righteous in Heaven. l think We
have but little idea of the number Of the
righteous in Heaven. lnidels say:
Your heaven will be very small place
compared with the world oftho lost; for,
according to your teaching, the majority
of men will be destroyed" / deny the
charge. / suppose that the multitude
of the finally lost, as compared with the
multitude of the finally saved, will be q
handful. I suppose that the few sick
people in the hospitals of our great
cities, as compared with the hundreds of
thousands of we'll people, would not be
smaller than the number of those who,
shall be cast out in suffering, compared,
with those who shall have upon them
the health of Heaven. For we are to re-,
member that we are living in only the
beginning of the Christian dispensation,,
and that this whole world is to be popu-'
lated and redeemed, and that ages of
light and love are to flow on IL this be-
so, the multitudes of the saved will be
in vast majority. Take all the congress
cations that have assembled for Worship
throughout Christendom. Put them to-
gether, and they would make but O small
audience compared with the thousands
and tens of thousands, and ten thousand
times ten thousand, and the hundred
and forty and four thousand that shall
stand around the throne. Those flashed
up to Heaven in martyr fires; those
tossed for many yeaps upon the invalid
couch; those fought in the armies of
liberty, and rose as they FELL; theset
tumbled from high scaffoldings, or
slipped from the mast, or were washed,
off into the sea. They came up from
Corinth, from Laodicea, from the Red
Sea bank and Gennesaret's wave, from
Egyptian brickyards and Gideon's
threshing floor. Those thousands of
years ago slept the last sleep, and thesel
are this moment having their eyes
closed, and their limbs stretched out for,
the sepulcher.
A general expecting an attack from.
the enemy stands on hill and looks
through field glass and sees in the
| kICdb ulbbthSo iAulLlbuu0b dpRTOhCID1ukg,
but has no idea of their numbers. Hei
says: Il cannot tell anything about
them. l merely know that there are q
great number" And so, John, without,
attempting to count, says; "A great
multitude that no man can number"
We are told that Heaven is place of
happiness2 Happiness in this world is
only half fedged thing; a fowery path.
wltha serpent Kissing across it; broken
pitcher, from which the water has
dropped before we could drink it;
shrill ofexhilaration, followed by dis
astrous reactions. To help rs under
stand the Joy of Heaven, the Bible takes
us to river. We stand on the grassy
bank. We see the waters flow on with
ceaseless wave. But the filth of the
cities is emptied into it, and the banks
are torn, and unhealthy exhalations
spring up from it, and we fail to get an
idea of the River of Life in Heaven.
We get very imperfect ideas Of the re-
unions of Heaven. We think of some
festal day on earth, when father and
mother were yet living, and the chill
dren came home. A good time,
thatl But it had this drawback-all
were not there. That brother went off
to sea, and never was heard from. That
sister-did we not lay her away In the
freshness of her young life, never more
in this world to look upon her? Ah!l
there was a skeleton at the feast; and
tears mingled with our laughter on that
Christmas day. Not so with Heavens
reunions. twill bel an uninterrupted
gladness, Many Christian parent will
look around and find all his children
there. ~Ah!" he says, can ii be possi-,
BILE that we are all here-hfes perils
over? the Jordan passed and not one.
wanting? Why, even the prodigal is
here. almost gave him up. How long,
he despised my counselsl buA grace hath
triumphed. All herel all here' Tell
the mighty joy through the city. Let
the bells ring, and the angels mention
it in their song. Wave it from the top Of
the walls. All here!"
No more breaking of heartstringss but
) face to face. The orphans that were
left poor, and in merciless world,
kicked and cRffed of many hardships,
shall join their parents over whose
graves they SO long wept, and gaze into
their gloritied countenances forever, face
to face. We may come up from differ
ent parts of the world, one from the
land and one from the depths of the
sea; from lives affiuent and prosperous,
; or from scenes of ragged distress, but
We shall meet in rapture and jubilee
. face to face.
Many of our friends have entered
upon that joy. A few days ago they sat
with us studying those gospel themes;
but they only saw dimly-now revela-
tion hath come. Your time will also
come. God will not leave you foun-
dering in the darkness. You
stand wonderstruck and amazed.
You feel as if all the loveiiness of life
were dashed out. You stand gazing into
the open chasm of the grave. Wait q
little. In the presence ofyour departed
and of Him who carries them in His
bosom, you shall soon stand face to face.
Oh! that our last hour may kindle up
with this promised joy! May we be able
to say, like the Christian not long ago,
departing. Though pilgrim walking
through the valley, the mountain tops
are cleaning from peak to peak!' or,
! like my dear friend and brother, Alfred
! Goodman, who took his fight to the
throne of God, saying in his last mo-
ment that which has already gone into
Christian classics: Il am sweeping
through the pearly gate, washed in the
blood of the lamb!'