Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-07-15

symbols they carry, IL my text had repre-
sented the good in heaven as carrying
cypress branches that would have meant
sorrow. Ii my text had represented the
good in heaven as carrying nightshade, That
would have meant sin. But it is a palnf
branch they carry and that is victory.
When the people came home from war III
plden times the conqueror rode at the head
OF his troop, and theie were triumphal
arches and people would come out with
branches of the palm tree and wave them
ali along the host. What a significant type
This of the greeting and OF the joy OF the
redeemed in heaven On earth they were
condemned, and were put out of polite cir
cles. They had infamous hands strike them
on both cheeks. Internal spite spat IN their
faces Their back ached with sorrow.
Their brow rocked with unalleviatsl toll.
How weary they werel Sometimes theJ
broke the heart OF the midnight in the midst
of all their anguish, crying out 20 Godr
But bark now to the shout of the delivered
captives, as they lift their arms from the
shackles and they cry out, "Freel freer
They Look back upon all the trials through
which they havs passed, the battles they
have fought. the burdens they carried, the
misrepresentation they sufers1 and be-
cause they are delivered from all these they
stand before God waving their palms They
come 10 the feet of Christ, and they look
up into His face AMI they remember His
sorrows, and they remember His pain, and
they remember His groan. aud they say:
why, | was save1 by that Christ He
pardoned my sins, He soothel my SORROWS"
and standing there they shall be exultant,
waving their palms.
That hand oncs held the implement of toll
or welded the swOri OF war but now it
picks down branches from the tree Of life
as they stand before the throne waviny their
palms. Once he was pilgrim on earth;
he crunche1 the hard crusts-he walked the
weary way, but it is all gone now: the sin
gone, the WEAKNESS gone. tine sickness gone,
the sorrow gone. As Christ stands up be
fore the great array of the savel aud re
counts His victories It will be like the rocking
and tossing of forest in a tempest, as all
the redeemed rise up, host beyond host rank
beyond rank, waving their palms.
My subject makes another advancement,
and speaks of the song they sing.
DR.. Dick, in a very learned work, says
that among other things in heaven he thinks
they will give great deal of time to the
study of arithmetic and the higher branches
OF mathematics | do not believe it. II
would upset my idea OF heaven il thought
SO: never liked mathematics. aud | would
rather take the representation of my text,
which describes the occupatian OF heaven as
being joyful psalmody. They cried with
a loud voice, saying, Salvation unto our
God" In this world we have secular songs
nursery songs, boatmen's songs, harvest
songs, sentimental songs; but in heaven we
will have taste for only one song, and that
will be the song of salvation from an eternal
death to an eternal heaven through the
blood of the Lamb that was slain.
In this world we have plaintive songs
songs tremulous with sorrow, songs dirgeful
for the dead but in heaven there will be no
signing of winds, no waiting Of anguish, no
weeping symphony. The tamest song will
be baleluiah--th dullest tune a triumphal
march. Joy among the cherubiml Joy
among the seraphim, Joy among the ran
;omei JOY forever
On earth the music in churches is often
poor because there is no interest in it or be-
cause there is no harmony. Some would not
sing, some could not SIM some sang too
high. some sang too low, some sang by fits
and starts but in the great aur
1ience of the redeemed on high
all voices will be accoriant, and
the man who on earth could not tell a plan
tation melo iy from the Dead NJ lrch in
Saul will lift an anthem that the Men iels-
sohns and Beethovens and the Schumluns Of
through all eternity and listen and there will
not be one discord in the great anthem that
forever rolls up against the great heart OF
God II will not be a solo, it will not be
duet, it will not be a quintet. but an innun-
cradle host before the thron.. crying, sal
vation unto our God and unto the Lamb.
They crowd all the temples, they bend over
the battlements, they till all the heights AMI
depths and lengths and brea1ths Of heaven
with their hosannas.
When people were taken into the Temple
of Diana it was such a brilliant room that
they were always put on their guard. Some
people had lost their sight by Just looking
ON the brilliancy Of that room. and 50 the
ianitor when lie brought stranger to the
door and let him in would always charge
him. Take heed OF your eyes"
Oh when think of the song that goes up
around the throne of God, 50 jubiant, many
voiced. multitudinous, l feel like saying.
Take heed of your ears" 1t is 50 lou
song. IL is 50 blessed an anthem. Ihey
sing a rock song, saying. "Who is He that
sheltered us i'm the wilderness. and Swallowed
us In a weary landy And the chorus comes
i'm. Christ the shadow o, a rock in weary
land"
They sing star song saying, "Who is He
that guided us through the thick night, and
when all other lights went out arose In the
sky the morning star, pouring light on the
souls darkness And the chorus will come
in, Christ. the morning star, shining on the
souls darkness They will sing flower
song. saying, "Who is He that frightened
all our way. and breathe1 sweetness ucon
our SOUL and bloomed through frost and
tempsstY Aud the chorus will come IN,
"Christ. the lily of the valley, blooming
through frost and tempest" They sing a
water song. saying, "Who is He that
cleaned to us from the frowning crag, and
ichtened the darkest ravine Of trouble, and
brought cooling TO the temples and refresh
ment to the lip, and was fountain in the
midst of the wilderness AMI then the
chorus will come in, Christ, the fountain IN
the midst Of the wilderness"
NY friends, viii you join that anthem!
Shall we make rehearsal this morning? IL
we cannot sing that song on earth we VIII
not be able to sing it in heaven. Can 1t I've
that our good friends in that land will walk
ali through that great throng Of which ]
speak looking for us and not finding us.
win they come down to the gate and ask II
we have passed through and not find us re-
rorted as having Gomez Will they look
through the folios of eternal light and find
our names unrecorded? Is all this repre-