The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-03-04
midnight mission, and as she listens TO
that song she hears:
All may come, whoever will,

i
says: 20, Lordl Thou who didst have
mercy on Mary Magdalene, take my
blistered feet off the red hot pavement
of hell" God says: MY daughter,
thy sins are forgiven thee; go in peace
Now, all the four towers Of Heaven
strike a silver chime, and they who
pass through the celestial streets say:
whats that? Why, the worst sinner
must have been saved. Hear all the
four towers ring and ring and ring" "
"And there is Joy in Heaven among the
angels of God over one sinner that re-
penteth"
Ny subject impresses you, think,
with the thought that it is possible for
us to augment the happiness of Heaven.
People think that souls before the
throne are as happy az they can be. l
deny it, Look at that mother before
the throne of God. When she died
she left her son in this world a vaga-
bond That son repented of his iniqui-
ties and came to God. The report of
that salvation has reached Heaven.
Do you tell me that mother before the
throne of God has not her Joy richly aug
mented? There is many a man in this
house to-day who could go out with a
torch and kindle a new bonfire of vic
tory on the hills of Heaven. If you
would this day repent and come to
God, the news of your salvation would
reach Heaven, and then, bark! to the
shout of the ransomed.
Your little child went away from
you into the good land While she
was here you brought her all kinds of
beautiful presents. Sometimes you
came home at nightfall with your
pockets full of gifts for her, and no
sooner did you put your night-key into
the latch than she began at you sav-
ing: Father, what have you brought
me?" She is now before the throne of
God. Can you bring her gift to-day?
You may. Coming to Christ and re-
penting of sin, the tidings will go up
to the throne of God. and your child
will hear of it o, what gift for her
soul to-day! She will skip with new
gladness on the everlasting hills when
she hears of it.
was at Sharpsburg during the war,
and one day l saw sergeant dash
past on a lathered horse, the blood
dripping from the spurs. said: THAT
sergeant must be going on very i'm
portant message: he must be carrying
very important dispatch, or he
wouldn't ride like that Here are two
angels of God fitting through the
house, fitting toward the throne on
=
Carrying up the story of souls repent
ant and forgiven, carrying the news to
your kindred who are forever
saved. o, there is Joy in Heaven
among the angels of God over
one sinner that repenteth." And
suppose this whole audience should
turn to the Lord? Heaven would be
filled with doxologies. o. Heaven, beat
with all thy hammers that the rock
may break o! Heaven, strike with all
thy cleaning swords that our souls
may be free. 1 was reading of king
who, after gaining great victory, said
to his army, mo, no shouting; let
everything be in quiet; no shouting"
But If this hour, your soul should come
to God, nothing could stop the shout
ing of the armies of God before the
throne; for "there is Joy in Heaven
among the angels of God ove- one sim
ner that repenteth."
In some families they keep a vacant
chair and a vacant plate for the de-
parted; but if in some of your house
holds you keep a vacant chair and a
vacant plate for those who have gone
away from you into the next world,
the vacant chairs and the vacant plates
would outnumber those which are oc-
cupied. 1 once said to you there are no
vacant chairs in Heaven; but I recall
that Right beside your loved one in
that good land there is a vacant chair,
not made vacant by death, for death
never enters there; it is vacant chair
for you. VIII you take it?
My subject also impresses me with
the idea that Heaven and earth are in
close sympathy. People talk of Heaven
as though it were great way off.
They say it is hundreds of thousands
of miles before you reach the first star,
and then you 60 hundreds of thousands
of miles before you get to the second
star, and then it is millions of miles
before you reach Heaven They say
Heaven is in the center of the universe
and we are on the rim of the universe.
That is not the idea of my text
think the heart of Heaven beats very
close to our world. We measure
distances by the time taken to
traverse those distances 1t used
TO be long distance to San
Francisco Many weeks and months
were passed before you could reach
that city. Now it is six or seven days.
1t used to be six weeks before you
could voyage from here to Liverpool
Now you can 60 that distance in six or
great chime of gladness? Here is a
man who is moral He is an example
to great many professors of religion
in some things; he never did mean
thing IN his life; he pays all his debts
and is a good citizen and a good neigh
Dor, but he says he is not Christian
Some day the Holy Spirit comes into his
heart and he sees that he cannot
depend upon his morality for salvation.
lie says. " LOru Oou, nave ocou oe-
lending upon my good works; find
am a sinner. and want Thy salvation
Lord, for Jesus sake have mercy on
me-" And God pardons him, and inn
mediately one of the towers of Heaven
distance between earth and Heaven,
and 1 find it is onlya fash. 1t is one
instant here and another instant there.
Ii is very near to-day. Do yoa not feel
the breath of Heaven on your face?
Christ said in one place it is not TWEEN
ty-four hours distance, when he says
to the penitent thief, This day, this
dav, shalt thou be with me in Para