Thomas County cat., 1890-07-31

Let them comfort each other. The son
and the mother. 'Oh," she says to the
angels of God, rejoice with me! The
dead is alive again, and the lost is
found. Hallelujah! never expected
to see this lost one come back"
The Bible says nations are to be born
in day. When China comes to God
will it not know DR.. Abeel? When
India comes will it not know John
Scudder? When the Indians come to
God will they not know David Brainard ?
Heaven is not stately, formal place,
as sometimes hear it described, very
of splendor, where people
stand on cold formalities and 60 around
about with heavy crowns of gold on
their heads. No, that is not my idea of
heaven. Ny idea of heaven is more
like this: You are seated in the even
ing-tide by the fire place, your whole
family there, or nearly all of them there.
While you are seated talking and enjoy
Ing the evening hour, there is a knock
at the door and the door opens, and
there comes in brother that has been
long absent. He has been absent for
years, you have not seen him, no sooner
do you make up your mind that it is Ger
tainly he, than you leap up, and the
question is who shall give him the first
That is my idea of heaven
a great home circle where they are
waiting for us. Oh, will you not know
your mothers voice there? She who
always called You by your first name
long after others have given you the
formal "Mister?" You were never
anything but James, or John, or George,
or Thomas, or Mary, or Florence to her.
Will you not know your child's voice?
She of the bright eye and ruddy cheek
and quick step, who came in from play.
and flung herself into you lap, a very
shower of mirth and beauty? Why,
the picture is craven to your soul 1t
cannot wear out. If that little one
should stand on the other side of some
heavenly hill and call to you, your would
hear her voice above the burst of heav-
ems great orchestra. Know it? You
could not help but know it.
Now Ibring you this glorious consola-
ton Of future recognition. If you
could get this theory into your heart.
it would lift great many shadows that
are stretching across it. When was
lad 1 used to 60 out to the railroad
track, and l could hear the express train
rumbling miles away, and coming on;
and today, my friends, if we only had
faith enough to put our ear down to the
grave of our dead, and listen and hear
in the distance the rumbling of the
chariots of resurrection victory. Oh,
heaven! Swee: heaven! Y Ou do not spell
heaven as you used to spell it. You
used to spell it heaven, heaven. But
now when you want to spell that word
you place side by side the face of the
loved ones who are gone. and in the
irradiation of light and love and beauty
and joy, you spell it out as never before,
in songs and hallelujahs-
Oh, ye whose hearts are down under
the sod of the cemetery, cheer up at the
thought of this reunion! Oh! how
much you will have to tell them when
once you meet them! How much you
have been through since you saw them
last! On the shining shore you will
talk it all over. The heartaches. The
loneliness. The sleepless nights. The
weeping until you had no more power
to weep, because the heart was withered
and dried up. Story of vacant chair
and empty cradle, and little shoe only
half worn out, never to be worn again,
just the shape of the foot that once
pressed it. And dreams when you
thought the departed ones had come
back again and the room seemed bright
with their faces, and you started up to
greet them, and in the effort the dream
broke and you found yourself standing
amid-room in the midnight alone
Talking it all over, and then, hand in
hand, walking down in the light. No
sorrow, no tears, no death. Oh, heaven!
beautiful heaven. Heaven where our
friends are Heaven where we expect
to be.
In the east they take cage of birds
and bring it to the tomb of the dead,
and then they open the door of the cage,
and the birds, flying out, sing. And 1
would today bring cage of Christian
consultations to the grave of your loved
ones, and l would open the door and
let them fill all the air with the music
of their voices. Oh, how they bound in
these spirits before the throne! Some
shout with gladness. Some break forth
into uncomfortable weeping for joy.
Some stand speeches. in their shock of