Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-11-04
Z. 4. BISHOP, Island Pond, II

forget the mercy OF God that has kept us
from being blotted out for our crimes and
that still multiplies our temporal prosper
titles. Forward and upward See you not
the finger of God In this protecting msrcyf
IL We love the Lord and trust Him-and
you may all love Him and trust Him from
this moment on-we no more understand
the good things ahead OF US than the child
at school studying his A B c can under
stand what that has TO do with his reading
John Ruskin's "Seven Lamps OF Architec-
ture," or Dantss "Divna Commedia" The
satisfactions and Joys we have as yet had
are like the music a hoy makes with his
first lesson on the violin compared with
what was evoked fro his great orchestra
by my dear and llustrious and transcend
ent but now departed friend, Patrick Gil
more, when he lifted his baton and all the
strings vibrated, and all the trumpets
pealed forth, and all the flutes caroled, and
all the drums rolled, and all the hoofs OF the
cavalry charge, which he iraitated, were In
full beat. Look aheadl The finger OF God
points forward.
'Oh, but" says some one. ~ am getting
old, and have a touch OF rheumatism In
that foot and believe something is the mat
ter with my heart, and ! cannot stand as
much as | used to-" Well, / congratulate
you, for that shows you are getting nearer
to the time when you are going to enter inn
mortal youth and be strong enough TO hurl
Off the battlements OF heaven any bandit who
bY unheard OF burglary might break into the
Golden City. "But" says some one, 81 feel
so lonely. The most OF my friends are gone,
and the bereavsments OF life have multiplied
until this world that was once 80 bright to
me has lost its charm"
congratulate you, for when you go there
| will be fewer here to hold you back and
more there to pull you in. Look aheadi
| The finger Of God is pointing forward We
sit here in church, and by hymn and prayer
and sermon and Christian association we
try to get into frame OF mini that will be-
acceptable to God and pleasant to ourselves.
But what stupid thing 1t all Is COM
pared With what it will be when we have
gone beyond psalmbook and sermon and
Bible, and we stand our last imper-
fection gone, in the presence of that charm
OF the universe-the blessed Christ-snd
have Him look in our facs and say: II have
been watching you and sympathizing with
you and helping you all these years, and
l now you are here Go where you please and
never know a sorrow and never she'd a tear.
| There is your mother now-she is coming to
greet you-and there is your father, and
there are your children. Sit down under
this tree of life, aud on the banks OF this
river talk it all over"
tell you there will be more Joy in one
minute of that than in fifty years OF earthly
exultatioa. Look aheati Look at the finest
house on earth, aud know that you will have
a finer one in heaven. Look up the healthiest
person you eau find, aud know you will yet
be heather. LooI up the one who has the
best eyesight OF any one you have ever heard
| Of and know you will have better vision.
Listen TO the sweetest prima donna that
ever trod the platform, AMI know that In
heaven you will lift more enrapturing song
than ever enchanted thly au iitorium.
Ny friends, do not know how we are go
Ing TO stand it-l mean the full thrush Of
that splendor. Last summer | saw Mos-
COW, In some respects the most splendid city
under the sun. The emperor afterward
asked me il had seen it for Moscow is the
pride OF Russia. told him yes, and that
had seen NJ 0scow burn. | will tell you
what meaut After mining nine hun
Jred bTass cannous which were picked out
OF the snow after Napoleon retreated
from Moscow, each cannon desp
cut with tho letter ~" assembled tower
OF some two hundred and fifty feet Just be-
fore sunset aud on each platform there were
bells, large and small, aud l climbed up
among the bells and then as l reached the
top all the bells underneath me began to
ring, and they were joinet by the bells OF
fourteen hundred towers and domes and tur-
rets.
Some of the bells sent out faint tinkle OF
sound, O sweet tintinnabuts tlon that seemed
to bubble In the air, and others thundere1
forth boom after boom, boom after boom,
until It seemed to shake the earth and fill
the hsa vens-sounds so weird, so sweet so
awful, so grand. 30 charming, so tre-
mendous 50 soft so ripping. 80 re-
verberating they seemed to wrsathe
and whiri aut rise and sink and
burst snd roll AMI mount and die.
When Napoleon saw Moscow burn, 1t
could not have bsen more brilliant than
when saw all the fourteen hun ired turret5
aflame with the suns,t roofs OF gold AMI
walls OF malachite and architecture Of all
colors mingling the browl o. autuunal for
ests and the blue OF summer heavens aud
the confagration Of morning SKA and the
green of rich meadowS ami the foam Of
tossing seas
The mingling OF so many colors with 30
many sounds was an enhancement almost
too much for human nerves, or human eyes,
or human ears. | expect to see nothing to
equal It until you and see heaven. But that
will surpass it and make the memory OF what
I saw that July evening in Moscow al
most tame and insipid. All heaven aglow
and all heaven airing, not in the sunset,
but In the sunrise. Voices of our own kin.
drsd mingling with the doxolo lies OF en-
pires. Organs OF eternal worship respond
lug to the trumpsts that have wskensi tho
dead. Nations in white. Centuries in cor
onation. Anthems like the voice OF many
waters. Clrcie OIL martyrs ShcIe y.
apostles. Circle OF prophets. Thrones OF
cherubim. Thrones OF ssraphim. Throne
of archangel. Throne o. Christ Throne
of God Thronesl Thronesl Toe finger OF
God points that way. STOP not ultl you
reach that place. Through the atontng
Christ all l spak o. and more may be
yours and mine Do you not now hear the
chime of the bells OF that metropolis OF the
uuiversef Do you not soc the shi mmering
of the towersf Cool IN morning.