The Opelousas courier., 1890-08-16

and out a ball of colored worsteds through
the delicate threads, satisfied ii he can in q
day make so much as a fingers breadth of
beauty for a Kings canopy. But behold
how my Lord, in one hour, with bis W
bands, twisted the tapestry, now swung
above the throne, into a rainbow Of infinite
glory. Oh, what q place heaven must bel
You have heretofore looked at the door; this
morning take one glance 1T the ceiling.
notice what must be the feeling OF safety
among the people Of heaven. Have you ever
seen a cloud burst? There have been days
when it rained as if it would ne yer stop:
You knew if it kept on in that way long ali
the nations would be drowned; yet you nad
no apprehension. for you remember the BOW
Of Promise painted On the cloud IN Noah's
time. So the eloriliel have but to look
to the arch arounl tine throne of the King
to be rea- sured that the deiu5eot trial is Tor
ever past.
On earth the aelugc Of sin covers the tops
of the highest mountains. l heard an Al
pine guide, amid the most stupendous evil
dences Of Gods power, swear at his mule as
he stumbled in the pass. Yes, the deiuge OF
sin dashes over the topof the highest mount
ain ranges. IseverSs, drunkenness, I'M
piety, fafsehooi, ll,splt ~ ara but different
waves of a fool tlr,t has avlielmeI natio1s.
New York is droa nel in it, Brooklyn is
drowned in it. Bostol is drowned IN 1t, Lon
don is drowned it it, St. Petersburg is
drowned in 1.-two great newspapers are
drowned in it. But the redeemed, iookin,
unto the rainbow round about the throne,
see the pledge that all this is ended Tor them
forever. They have committed their LAST
sin and combated their last temptation. NO
suicide leaps into those bright waters; no
profanity befouls that pure air; no Vlllians
torch shall fire those temples, no murderefs
hand shall strike down those sons OF Goa.
They know that for them the deiuge OF sn
is assuaged, for there is q ralnpo" foon0
about the throne"
Now the world is covered with Q deiuge q
Aaeoa The nations are all the time easn@
using the sword or sharpening II. The fac
| tories of the world are night and day manu-
| featuring the weaponry Of death. Throne
| against throne, Empire against Empire, The
spirit of despotism and freedom at war IN
| every land: despotic America against tree
America, despotic England against free Eng
land, despotic Germany against free Ger
many, despotie Austria against rec Austria
The great battle of earth is being fought
the Armageddon Of the nations. The song
that unrolled from the sky on the firss
| Christmas night, of peace n good VIII 70
men" is drowned in the booming OF the great
siege guns Stand back and let the long line
of ambulances pass. Groan to groan. on-
cover, and look upon the trenches OF the deao.
Bloodi bloodi-a deluge of bloodl
But the redeemed of heaven, looking upon
J the glorious arch that spans the throne, snan
/ see that the deluge is over. No batteries are
.lanted on those hills; no barricadesb blocking
those streets; no hostile flag 9 tnose
walls: no smoke of burning villages; no
shrieks of butchared men; but peaeei Ger
man and Frenchman, who fell with arms IN
terlocked in hate on the field OF deaSn, noW,
through Christ in heaven, stand with arms
interlocked in love. Arms stacked forever:
shields of battle hung up. The dove instead
of the eagle. the lamb instead OF the lion
i There shall be nothing to hurt or destroy In
all Gods holy mount, for there is a rainbow
round about the throne.
Now the earth is covered with the deluge
of sorrow. Trouble! Troubled The very
first utterance when we come into tht
world is a cry. Without any teaching, we
learn to weep. What has so wrinkled that
mans facet? What has SO prematurely
whitened his hairs What calls out tina
sigh? What starts that t9ara Trouble
and far up among the heights on the tol
of the crags; for this also hath gone owe
the tops Of the highest mountains. No es
ape from it. You go into the store, ant
tmeets you at your counting desk; YOU &c
into the street. and it meets you at thu
corner; you go into the house, and it meet
Won at the door. Tears Of poverty tear
Of persecution tears OF -bereavementl-,
tiellge of tearsl Gathered together from
all 1.-THE earth, they could float an ark large
than Noah's.
But the glori1ed. looking up to the bow
that spans the throne, shall sec that the de
huge is over. No shivering wretch on tn
palace step; no blind man at the gate OF thu
heavenly temple, asking for aims; nc grind
ing of the screw driver on coffin lid. The.
look up at the rainbow, and read, in lines o
xa1ion aud rod and rrvsan,r and hlrfa AM
orange, and indigo, and violet: "They shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more
neither shall the sun light on them, nor an
heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst O
the throne shall feed them, and shall lea
them unto living fountains of waters, AM
God shall wipe away all tears from thei
eyes, Thank God for the glory spannin
the thronel
In our boyhood we had a superstition tina
at the foot of the rainbow there was a caske
of buried gold; but ] have to announce tina
at the foot of this rainbow OF heaven Their
is a box made out Of the wood of the cross
Open it, and you find all the treasures o
heaven.
Oh that our eyes may all look upon thi
bow of promise, lifted by Christ's own hand
We shall trase the separate lines OF beaut
across the armament. In the line of red
shall see the blood Of my Lord; in the blue
the bruises that coiored His cheek; in tn
r. 4 RfC6u, GQC lFtSuLSooO Vi LIES StdSCs " upO ~
let, His humility in all that curve of beauty
the bend of His right arm of love swun
over all the redeemed.
But mind what I told you at the begin
ming, and what i tell you at the close--tha
none but Noah's family in the ark saw til
rainbow, and only those who are at las
in Christ shall discover it amid the glories Q
heaven.
Except a man be born again, he canno
see the kingdom of God"