The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-07-27

When Christ our Lord shall gather
All His redeemed again,
His kingdom to Inherit
Goodnight till then.
My subject advances, aud tells you OF the
symbols they carry. II my text had repre-
sented tho good in heaven as carrying
cypress branches, that would have meant
sorrow. If my text mad represented the
good in heaven as carrying nightshade that
would have meant sin. But it is palm
branch they carry, and that IS victory.
When the people came home from war IN
olden times the conqueror rode at the heat.
Of his troops, and there were triumphal
arches and people would come out with
branches OF the palm tree and wave them
all along the host. What significant type
this OF the greeting and OF the JOY or the
redeemed in heavenl 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 resked with unalleviatsd toll.
How weary they We're! Sometimes they
broke the heart of the midnight in the midst
of ali their anguish, crying out 20 God n
But bark now to the shout Of the delivered
captives as they lift their arms from the
shackles and they cry out, Free! free"
They look back upon all the trials through
which they have passed, the battles they
have fought, the burdens they carried. the
Misrepresentation they suffered, and be.
cause they are delivered from all these they
stand before God waving their palms. They
come to the feet OF Christ, and they look
sorrows and they remember His pain, and
they remember His groans, aud they say:
why, was saved by that Christ. He
pardoned my sins, He soothe1 my sorrows,
and standing there they shall be exultant,
waving their palms.
That hand once held the implement Of toll
or welded the swori OF war, but now it
plucks down branches from the tree Of life
as they stand before the throne waving their
palms. Once he was a pilgrim on earth:
he crunched the hard crusts-he walked the
weary way, but it is all gone now; the sin
gone the wesriness gone. the sickness gone,
the sorrow gone. AS Christ stands up be-
fore the great array of the saved and re
counts His victories it will be like the rocking
and tossing OF a forest in 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 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. I do not believe it. 1t
would upset my idea OF heaven it l 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
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 waiing OF anguish, no
weeping symphony. The tamest song Will
be balleluiah-the dullest tune a triumphal
march. Joy among the cherubimI Joy
among the seraphim! Joy among the rau-
somed! Joy forever
On earth the music in churches is often
Door, because there is no interest in it or be-
cause there is no harmony Some would not
sing, some could not sing, some sang toe
high, some sang too low, some sang by fits
and starts, but in the great au-
dience Of the the redeemed bs acedrasnt on hgad ag5d
the man who on earth could not tell plan
tation melody from the Dead March in
Saul" will lift an anthem that the Mendels-
sohns and Beethovsns and the Schumanns OF
earth never imagined, and you may stand
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. It will not be solo, it will not be
duet, it will not be quintet but an innum-
erable host before the throne. crying, sal,
walton unto our God aud unto the Lamb"
They crowd all the temples, they bend over
the battlements, they fill all the heights and
depths and lengths and breadths Of heaven
with their hosannas.
When people were taken into the Temple
of Diana it was such 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 so the
janitor when he brought stranger to the
door and let him in would always charge
him, take heed OF your eyes"
'Ohl when think of the song that goes up
around the throne of God, so jubilaut, many
voiced, multitudinous, feel like saying,
Take heed Of your ears" It is so loud
song. 1t is so blessed an anthem. They
sing rock SONG, saying. "Who is He that
sheltered us in the wilderness, and shadowad
US in a weary laudg' And the chorus comes
in, Christ the shadow OF rock in a weary
| land"
They sing a stur song saying, "Who is He
that guided us through tho 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 a flower
song, saying "Who is He that frightened
all our way. and breathe1 sweetness ucon
our soul, and bloomed through frost aud
tempest" And the chorus will come in,
"Ch-ist, the lily Of the valley. blooming
through frost and tempest They sing q
water song, saying, who is He that
cleaned to us from the frowning crag, and
lightened the darkest ravine Of trouble, and
brought cooling to the temples and refresh
ment to the lip, and was a fountain in the
! midst of the Wilderness and then the
chorus will come in, "Christ, the fountain in
the midst of the wilderness"
My friends, will you join that anthem?
Shall we make rehearsal this mornings II
we cannot sing that song on earth we will
not be able to sing it in heaven. Can it be
that our good friends in thaG Land will walk
all through that great throng Of which
speak looking for us and not finding US.
Will they come down to the gate and ask If
we have passed through. and not find us re-
ported as having Gomez Will they look
through the folos Of eternal light and find
our names unrecorded? Is all this repre-
sentation OF land we shall never see, Of O
| song we shall never sincR -.
Rough on the Bovine.
H. II