The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1892-06-28
he banquet, and Paul does dine with

.aO anu Iauid Oes III with
the king.
What q Transition It wasi From The
malaria Of Rome to the finest climate IN
all the univ~erge--the zone OF eternal
beauty and health. His ashes were nut
IN h catacoinbs of Rome, but In one
moment tho air OF heaven bathed from
his soul the last ache. From sbipwreck,
from dungeon, from the biting pain OF
D elmwood rods, from the sharpsword
OF the headsman, he goes into the most
brilliant assemblage of heaven, q king
among klngs, muititudes Of the saint.
hood rushing out and stretching forth
hands OF welcome, for 1 do really think
that as on th& right hand of. God Is
Christ, 80 ON the right hand of Christ
10 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 Tipped,
the sculptured features Of. that man
bringing down to us to this very day the
horrible possibilities of his nature :.
seated as he was amid pictured marbles
OF Egypt, under q roof adorned with
mother-of.pearl, In a dining room which,
ny machinery, a kept whirling day
and night with most bewitching magnif-
cence, his horses standing ia stalls OF
solid gold, and the grounds around his
palace lighted at night by its victims,
who had been bedaubed 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, aud 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 palace Is lighted with love,
and whose lifetime is an eternity oflove,
When Paul was leaving 80 much on this
side the pillar of martyrdom to gain 80
much on the other side, do you wonder
at the cheerful va!edictory of the text,
"The time Of my departure is at hand?''
Now, Why cannot all the old people
have the same holy glee as that aged
man hadP Charles 1, when he was
combing his head, found a gray hair, and
he sent 1t to the queen as a great Joke,
but old age is really no joke at all. For
the last forty years you have been dread
Ing 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 endured
that moment, and may not we as wellP
They got through with 1t and 80 can we.
Besides this, all medical men agr ee in
saying that there is probably no strug-
gle at the last moment-not so mnch
pain as the prick of q pin, the seeming
signs of distress being altogether invoi-
untary. But you say, cit Ia the uncer-
tainty of the future" Now, child of
God, do not play the inidel. After
God has filed the Bible till 1t can hold
no more with stories of the good things
ahead, better not talk about uncertain
ties.
But you say, 81 cannot bear to think
OF parting from friends here" If you
are old, you have more friends in heaven
than here, Just take the census. Take
some large sheet Of paper and begin to
record the names of those who have
emigrated to the other shore; the COM
panlons Of your school days, your early
business associates, the friends of mid
life and those who more recently went
away. Can it be that they have been
gone so long you do not care any more
about them, and you do not want their
society," Oh, no. There have been
days when you have felt that you could
not endure another moment away from
their blessed companionship. They
have gone. You say you would not
like to bring them back to this world of
trouble, even il You had the power. 1t
would not do to trust you. God would
not give you resurrection power.
-Slet9s ttSpaSfSss6STT8 naeE2iIg you would
be lattling at the gates of the cemetery,
crying to the departed: "Come back to
the cradle where you slept! Come back
TO The hall where you used to play!
Come back to the table where you used
to still" And there would be a great
burglary In heaven. No, 40. God will
not trust you with resurrection power.
but he compromises the matter and
says, "YOu cannot bring thepi where
ytu are, but you can 60 where they are"
They are more lovely now than ever.
Were they beautiful here, they are more
beautiful there.
Besides that, it is more healthy there
for you than here, aged man; better eli
mate here than these hot summers and
cold winters and late springs; better
hearing; better %eYeslght; more tonic in
the air; more perfume in the bloom;
more sweetness in the song. DO you
not feel, aged man, sometimes as though
you would like to get your arm and foot
Tree? DO you not feel as though you
would like to throw away spectacles
and canes and crutches? Would you not
like to feel the spring and elasticity and
mirth Of an eternal boyhoodp When the
point at which you start from this world
ls old age. and the point to which you
go is eternal juvenescence, aged man,
clap your hands at the anticipation, aud
say, in perfect rapture of soul, 1.-THE
time OF my departure is at hand.n
l remark again, all those ought to
feel this Joy OF the text who have a holy
curiosity to know what Is beyond this
earthly terminus. And who has not
any curiosity aboutit? Paul, 1 suppose,
hal the most satisfactory view of heay-
en-, and he says, at doth not vet appear
what we shall be-"
1t is like looking through a broken
telescope. "NOw we see through q
glass darkly." Can you tell me any
thing about that heavenly placer You
ask me a thousand questions about It
that / cannot answer. l ask YOU q
thousand questions about 1t that you
cannot answer. And do you wonder
that Paul was so glad when martyrdom
gave him a chance to 60 over and make
discoveries in that blessed country?
hope some day, by the grace Of God,
TO go v Q and see for myself; but not
L nnuy Nh UnIl MAN ~ .n~4oN1-al -o@-