The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-02-12

tudes of Heaven it must be almost a
nervous shock to those who have all
their lives been crowded By many peo-
pie, and who want quiet Heaven.
For the last thirty-sve years have
been much of the time in crowds and
under public scrutiny and amid excite
ments, and have sometimes thought
for few weeks after l reach Heaven l
would like to go down in some quiet
part of the realm, with few friends,
and for little while try comparative
solitude Then, there are those whose
hearing is so delicate that they get no
satisfaction when you describe the
crash of the eternal occhestra, and
they feel like saying. as a good wo-
man in Hudson, Il. Y, said, after
hearing me speak of the mighty cho-
rus Of Heaven: "That must be
great Heaven, but what will
become of my poor head?" Yes, this
half no ur of my text is a still expert
ence. There was silence in Heaven
Sor half an hour" You will find the
inhabitants all at home. Ente- the
Kings palace and take only a glimpse,
for we have only thirty minutes for all
Heaven. "ls that Jesus?" Yes" just
under the hair along the forehead is the
mark of a wound made By bunch of
twisted brambles, and His foot on the
throne has on the round top of His in
step another mark of a wound made by
a spike, and a scar on the palm of the
right hand and a scar on the palm of
the left hand.
But, what a countenancel What a
smilel What grandeur! What a love-
illness! What an overwhelming look of
kindness and grace: Why, he looks as
if he had redeemed world! But come
on, for our time is short Do you see
that row of palaces? That is the Apos-
tolic row. Do you see that long reach
of architectural glories? That IS Mar
tyr row. Do you see that immense
structure? That is the biggest house
in Heaven; that is 'the house OF many
mansions" Do you see that wall?
Shade your eyes against its burning
splendor for that is the wall of Heaven,
jasper at the bottom, and amethyst at
the top See this river rolling through
the heart of the great metropolis? That
is the river concerning which those who
once lived on the banks of the Hudson,
or the Alabama, or the Rhine, or
the Shannon say: 1--WE never saw the
like of this for clarity and sheen.
That is the chief river of Heaven-so
bright, so wide, so deep. Pass down
those boulevards of gold and amber
and sapphire and see those intermiua-
BILE streets built by the architect of the
universe into homes, over the threshold
of which sorrow never steps, and out
of whose windows, faces, once pale
with earthly sickness, now look
rubicund with immortal health.
20, let me iu and see them" you say.
No, you cannot go in. There are those
there who would never consent to let
you come out again. You say: LET
me stay here in this place where they
never sin, where they never suffer,
where they never part. No, no! Our
time is short, our thirty minutes are
almost gone. Come on! We must get
back to earth before this half hour of
heavenly silence breaks up, for in your
mortal state you cannot endure the
pomp and splendor and resonance when
this half hour of silence is ended. The
day will come when you can see
Heaven in full blast, but not now. l
am now only showing you Heaven at
the dullest half hour of all eternities.
Come on There is something in the
celestial appearance which makes me
think that the half hour of silence will
soon be over.
Yonder are the white horses being
hitched to chariots and yonder are
seraphs lingering harps as if about to
strike them into symphony and yonder
are conquerors taking down from the
blue halls of Heaven the trumpets of
victory. Remember we are mortal yet
and cannot endure the full roll of
heavenly harmonies and cannot endure
even the silent Heaven for more than
half an hour. Hark! the clock in the
tower of Heaven begins to strike and
the half hour is ended. Descend!
Come back! Come down! till your work
is done. Shoulder little longer your
burdens. Fight little longer your
battles. Weep a little longer your
grief. And then take Heaven not in
its dullest half hour, but in its might
lest pomp and instead of taking it for
thirty minutes take it world without
end.
But how will you spend the first half
hour of your heavenly citizenship after
you have gone in to stay? After your
prostration before the throne in wor-
ship of Him who made it possible for
you to get there at all, think the rest
of your first hour in Heaven will be
passed in receiving your reward il you
have been faithful l Ihave a strangely
beautiful book containing the pictures
of the medals struck by the English
government in honor of great battles:
these medals pinned over the heart of
the returned heroes of the army, on
great occasions, the royal family present
and the royal bands playing; the
Crimeau medal, the Legion of Honor,
the Victoria cross, the Waterloo medal
In your first haf hour in Heaven in
some way you will be honored for the
earthly struggles in which you Won the
day. Stand up before all the royal
house of Heaven and receive the in
sigma while you are announced as
victor over the droughts and freshets of
the farm field, victor over the tempta-
tions of the stock exchange. victor over
professional allurements, victor over
domestic infelicities, victor over me-
chanic's shop, victor over the storehouse,
victor over home worriments, victor
over physical distresseS, victor over
hereditary depressions, victory over sin
and death and hell Take the badge
that celebrates those victories through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Take it in the
presence of all the galleries-saintiy.
angelic and divineI While all Heaven