The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-07-06

dungeon, and they start with him to
the place of execution. They say:
Hurry along, old man, or you will
feel the weight of our spear. Hurry
along" GLOW far is it." says Paul,
1--WE have to travel?" Three miles,"
Three miles is good way for an old
man to travel after he has been whipped
and crippled with maltreatment. But
they soon get to the place of execution
-Acque Salvia-and he is fastened to
the pillar of martyrdom. 1t does not
take any strength to tie him fast. He
makes no resistance. o Paul! why not
now strike for your life9 You have
great many friends here. With that
withered hand just launch the thunder
bolt of the people upon those infamous
soldiers. No! Paul was not going to
interfere with his own coronation. He
was too glad to go. see him looking
up in the face of his executioner, and.
as the grim official draws his sword,
Paul calmly says, II am now ready to
be offered and the time of my depart
ure is at hand" But l put my hand
over my eyes. l want not to see that
last struggle. One sharp keen stroke,
and Paul does go to the banquet, and
Paul does dine with the king.
What transition it was! From the
malaria of Rome to the finest climate in
all the universe-the zone of eternal
beauty and health. His ashes were put
~, 1n he ~ L,,%
moment the air of Heaven bathed from
the soul the last ache. From ship
wreck, from dungeon, from the biting
pain of the elmwood rods, from the
sharp sword of the headsman, he goes
into the most brilliant assemblage of
Heaven, king among kings, multi
tudes of the sainthood rushing out and
stretching hands of welcome; for do
really think that as on the right hand
of God is Christ, SO on the right hand of
Christ is Paul, the second great in
Heaven.
He changed kings likewise. Before
the hour of death, and up to the last
moment, he was under Nero, the thick
necked, the cruel eyed, the filthy-lipped;
the sculptured features of that man
bringing down to us to this very day the
horrible possibilities of his nature
seated as he was amidst the pictured
marbles of Egypt, under a roof
adorned with mother-of-pearl, in din
ing room which by machinery was kept
whirling day and night with most be-
witching magnificence; his horses stand
ing in stalls of solid gold, and the
grounds around his palace lighted at
night by it's victims, who had been be-
daubed with tar and pitch and then set
on fire to illumine the darkness.
That was Paul's king. But the next
moment he goes into the realm
of Him whose reign is love, and whose
courts are paved with love, and whose
throne is set on pillars of love, and
whose scepter is adorned with jewels of
love, and whose lifetime is an eternity
of love. When Paul was leaving SO
much on this side the pillar of mar
tyrdom, to gain SO much on the other
side, do you wonder at the cheerful
valedictory of the text: "The time of
my departure is at hand?"
Now, why can not all the old people
have the same holy glee as that aged
man had? Charles l., when he was
combing his head, found a grey hair,
and he sent it to the queen as great
joke; but old age is really no
joke at all. For the last forty
years you have been dreading that
which ought to have been an
exhilaration. You say you most fear
the struggle at the moment the soul
and body part. But millions have en-
dured that moment, and may not we as
well? They got through with it, and
so can we. Besides this, all medical
men agree in saying that there is prob
ably no struggle at the last moment
not so much as the prick of pin, the
seeming signs of distress being alto
gether involuntary. But you say, '1t
is the uncertainty of the future. NOW,
child of God, do not play the infidel.
After God has filed the Bible till it can
hold no more with stories of the good
things ahead, better not talk about un-
certainties.
But you say, 81 can not bear to think
of parting from friends here" If you
are old you have more friends in Heav'
en- than here. Just take the census.
Take some large sheet of paper and be.
gin to record the names of those who
hor Cd 20 hA al ar cb 4 he
companions of your school days, your
early business associates, the friends o.
midlife, and those who more recently
went away. Can it be that they hav,
been gone so long you do not care any
more about them, and you do not wan
their society? Oh no. There have beer
days when you have felt that you coulc
not endure another moment away from
their blessed companionship. They hav,
gone. You say you would not lik'
to bring them back to this world O
trouble, even if you had the power. L
would not do to trust you. God would
not give you resurrection power. Be
fore tomorrow morning you would b,
rafting at the gates of the cemetery
crying to the departed, "Come back t,
the cradle where you slept! Come bael
to the hall where you used to play
Come back to the table where you uset
to sit" and there would be great bur
glary in Heaven. No, no. God vii
not trust you with resurrection power
but he compromises the matter an,
says, You can not bring them wher
you are, but you can go where the,
are" They are more lovely now thai
ever, Were they beautiful here, the,
are more beautiful there.