Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-07-21


These reaped Sicilian wheatfelds and
those picked cotton from the pods. These
under blistering skies gathered tamarinds
and yams. Those crossed the desert on
camels and those glanced over the snow.
drawn by Siberian dogs, and these MIXED
the goats far up on the Swiss crags. These
fought the walrus and white bear in
regions Of everlasting snow and those
heard the song Of fiery winged birds in
African thickets. They were white. They
were black. They were red. They were
copper color. From all lands, from all
ages. They were plunged into Austrian
dungeons. They passed through Spanish
inquisitions. They were confined in Lon
don tower. They fought with beasts in
the amphitheater. They were Mcravians.
They were Waldenses. They were Al
bigenses. They were Scotch Covenanters.
They were Sandwich Islanders.
In this world men prefer different kinds
Of government. The United States want q
republic. The British government needs
to be a constitutional monarchy. Austria
wants absolutism. But when they come
up from earth from different nationalities
they will prefer one great monarchy-King
Jesus ruler over it. And if that monarchy
were disbanded, and it were submitted to
all the hosts Of heaven who should rule,
then by the unanimous suffrages of all the
redeemed Christ would become the presi-
dent of the whole universe. Magma
Chartas, bills Of right, houses of bur
gesses, triumvirates, congresses, parlia-
ments-nothing in the presence Of Christ's
scepter, swaying over all the people who
have entered upon that great glory. Oh!
can you imagine it? What a strange
commingling of tastes, of histories, Of ma
tionalities, 'of all nations and kindreds
and people and tongues"
IN ROBES OF PURITY.
My subject advances, and tells you of the
dress of those in heaven. The object of
dress in this world is not only to veil the
body, but to adorn it. The God who
dresses up the spring morning with blue
ribbon Of sky around the brow and ear
rings Of dew drops hung from tree branch
and mantle Of crimson cloud flung over
the shoulder and the violetted slippers of
the grass for her feet-I know that God
does not despise beautiful apparel. Well,
what shall we wear in heaven3 "I saw "A
great multitude clothed in white robes"
1t is white! In this world we had some
times to have on working apparel Bright
and lustrous garments would be ridicu
lously out of place sweltering amid forges,
or mixing paints, or plastering ceilings, or
binding books.
In this world we must have the working
day apparel sometimes, and we care not
how coarse it is. 1t is appropriate; but
when all the toll of earth is past and there
is no more drudgery and no more weari-
ness we shall stand before the throne
robed in white. On earth we sometimes
had to wear mourning apparel-black
scarf for the arm, black veil for the face,
black gloves for the hands, black band for
the hat. Abraham mourning for Sarah;
Isaac mourning for Rebecca Rachel
mourning for her children; David mourn
ing for Absalom; Mary mourning for Laz-
arus. Every second of every minute of
every hour of every day heart breaks.
The earth from zone to zone and from
pole to pole is cleft with sepulchral rent,
and the earth can easily afford to bloom
and blossom when it is so rich with mold
ering life. Gravesl gravesl gravesl But
when these bereavements have all passed,
and there are no more graves to dig and
Lu llOLO SOllLo W anu uO UlOE0 SUI
row to suffer, we shall pull off this mourn
ing and be robed in white. see soul go
ing right up from all this scene of sin and
trouble into glory. seem to hear him say:
journey forth rejoicing
From this dark vale of tears,
To heavenly Joy and freedom
From earthly care and fears.
When Christ my Lord shall gather
..-. All Lis redeemed again, @
His kingdom to inherit
Good night till then.
Ihear my Saviour calling;
The joyful hour has come.
The angel guards are ready
To guide me to our home.
When Christ our Lord shall gather
All his redeemed again,
His kingdom to inherit
Good night till then.
My subject advances, and tells you of the
symbols they carry. If my text had rep
resented the good in heaven as carrying
cypress branches, that would have meant
sorrow. If my text had represented the
good in heaven as carrying nightshade,
that would have meant sin. But it is
palm branch they carry, and that is vic
tory. When the people came home from
war in olden times the conqueror rode at
the head of his troops, and there were
triumphal arches and the people would
come out with branches of the palm tree
and wave them all 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 circles. They had infamous
hands strike them on both cheeks. In
fernal spite spat in their faces. Their back
ached with sorrow
JOY OF THE REDEEMED.
Their brow reeked with unalleviated toll.
How weary they were! Sometimes they
broke the heart of the midnight in the
midst Of all their anguish, crying out, 80
GodW But bark now to the shout of the
delivered captives, as they lift their arms
from the shackles and they cry out, "Free!
freel" They look back upon all the trials
through which they have passed, the bat
ties they have fought, the burdens they
carried, the Misrepresentation they suf.
fered, and because they are delivered from
all these they stand before God waving
their palms They come to the feet of
Christ and they look up into his face, and
they remember his sorrows, and they re-
member his pain, and they remember his
groans, and hey say: why, was saved
by that Christ. He pardoned my sins, he
soothed my aorrows," and standing there
they shall be "xultant, waving their palms.
That hanc once held the implement of
toll or welded the sword Of war, but now
it plucks down branches from the tree Of
life as they stand before the throne wav-
ing their palms. Once he was pilgrim
on earth; he crunched the hard crusts, he
walked the weary way. But it is all gone
now-the si:4 gone, the weariness gone, the
sickness gone, the soyrow gone. As Christ
stands up before the great array of the
saved and recounts his victories it will be
like the rocking and tossing Of forest in
tempest, as all the redeemed rise up,
host beyond host, rank beyond rank, wav-