Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1893-01-26

ment OF SOU, look far down and look far
up and to force upoa you the conclusion
that If all our climbing has only shown US
the foundations Of this wall, what must the
wall itself be; and if this is the outside OF
heaven, what must the inside be; and il all
this is figuratiye, what must the reality be;
Oh, this piled up magnifcencs OF the heay-
emily WALL Oh, this eternity OF decora.
toni Oh, this opalescent, fiorescsnt,
prismatic miracle OF architectural What
enthronemenr of all colorsl A mingling of
the blue of skies, and the surf of seas and
the green of meadows, and the upholstery OF
autumnai forests, and the fire of August
sunsets. All the splendors OF earth and
heaven dashed into those twelve rows OF
foundation wall. All that, marx you, only
typical OF the spiritual glories that roll over
heaven ike the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
swing in one billow.
Do you not see that it was impossible
that you understand a hundredth part of the
suggestiveness OF that twenty-first chapter
Of Revelation without going into some of
the particulars of the wall Of heaven and
dipping up some of its dripping colors, and
running your eye along some of its won
drous crystallizations, and ex aiming soma
of the frozsn light in its turquoise, and
feeling with your own finTr the hardness
Of its sapphire, and shi, ling your eyes
against the shimmering lliance in its
beryl, and studying the 1900 miles of emer-
aid without flaw? Yet all this only the
outside OF heaven, ana the poorest part OF
the outside; not the wall itself, but only the
foot of the wall, for my text says, 1.-THE
foundations of the wall of the city were gar
nished with all manner of precious stones"
Oh, get down your harp if you can play
one! Get down palm branch if you can
reach one! Why, it makes us all feel like
crying out with James Montgomery:
When shall these eyes thy heaven bnilt walls
And pesrly gates behold?
Oh, my SOUL If my text shows us only
the outside, what must the inside be? While
riding last summer through the emperor's
park near St Petersburg I was captivatei
with graves, transplanted from all zones.
and the flower heds-niles this way aud
miles that way-incarnadined with beauty,
and the fountains bounding in such revel
with the sunlight as nowhere else is seen,
said: This is beautiful. never saw any
thing like this before
But when | entered the palace and saw
the pictured walls, AMI the long line Of stat
uary, and aquariums afioat with oil bright
scales, and aviaries a-chant'with bird voices,
and the inner doors Of the palaces were
swung back by the Chamberlain, AMI l saw
the emperor aud empress and princes and
princesses, and they crested me with cor
diality of old mountaineering, forget all
the groves and floral bewitchment | had
seen outside before entrance. And now |
ask, if the outside Of heaven attracts our
souls to-day, how much more will be the up
lifting when we get inside and see the King
in His beauty AMI all the princes and
princssses of the palaces of amethyst
Are you not glad that we did not stop in
our ascent this morning until we got to the
top round of the foundation wall OF heaven,
the twelfth row, the amethyst Perhaps the
ancient Hebrews were not, after all, so Tar
- IL hat fIa0
touch of the amethyst gave pleasant dreams,
for the touch of it this hour gives me very
pleasant dream. Standing on this amethyst
/ dream dream. l coss my eyes and seq
it ALL We are there. This IS heavenl Not
the outside, hut the inside OF heaven.
With what warmth OF welcome our long
ago departed loved ones have kissed US. Ny
How they have caaagei in looks! lney
were so sick when they went away, and now
they are so WELL Lookl Yonder is the
place of our Lord the King. Not kept a
moment outside we are usherei into the
throneroom. Stretching out His SCARED
hand He says, 81 have loved thee with an
everlasting love-" and we respond, Whom
have in heaven but Theeg
But, look Yonder is the playground OF
the children. Children do you want a throne
A throne would not fit child. There they
are on the play grounds of heaven the chill
dren. Out of the sick cradle of earth they
came into this romping mirth OF the eternal
Fairgrounds. | clap my hands to cheer
them in the glee. Wonder are the palaces OF
the martyrs, and before their doorway the
flowers crimson as the bloody martyrdonis
through which they waded up into glory.
Yonder is Apostolic row, and the highest
turrets is over the home of Paul. Here IS
Evangelist place. Yonder are the concert
halls in which the musicians of earth and
heaven are taking part-Handel with organ,
and David with harp, and Gabriel with
trumpet, and four and twenty elders with
voices.
And an angel of God says: where shall
| take YOU? On what street of heaven
would you like to live? What celestial
habitation would you like to occupJy' And
| answer: Nov that have got inside the
wall made up of all manner OF precious
stones do not care where you put me. just
show me where my departed loved ones are.
[ have seen the Lord, aut next 1 want to
see them.
'.But here are those with whom toiled in
the kingdom of God on earth. They are
from nv old parishes at BelleviIle aud SYRIA
cuss and Philadelphia and Brooklyn, and
from many places on both sides the sea
where have been permitted to work with
them and for them. Give them the best
places you can find l win help steady
them as they mount the thrones. ] will help
you burnish their coronets
Take these, my old friends to as goot
rooms as you can get for them in the house
Of many mansions, and with windows look
ing out upon the palace of the great King.
Asfor myself, anywhere in heaven is good
enough for me. Halleluiah to the Lamb
that was slainn But awake. In the ecstasy
of the momont my foot slipped from the
layer OF amethyst, that SO called producer
OF dreams, and in the effort to catch myself
the vision vanished. And, 10, it was but q
dream!