The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1894-02-16
nesses and privations and trials of a

nesses and privations and trials of a.
SORTS. Now she is going out of life.
The room is bright, not with picture,
or statues, not with upholstery, not with
any OF the gems of mountain or Of sea
but there Is a strange and vivid glow il
the room. Not the light Of chandelie,
or star or monday sun, but something
that outshines all of them. It must be-
the presence of supernaturals. From
her 1llumined face l think she must hea,
sweet voices. Yea, she does hear sweet
voices-voices of departed kindred
voices apostolic and prophetic and evan.
gellc, but all of them overpowered by
the voice of Christ, saying, Come. We
blessed OF my Father, inherit the king.
DOM"
From her illumined face, think she
must hear rapturous music. Yea. she
does hear rapturous music, now soft as
solos, now thunderous as orchestras,
now sanity voice alone, now the hun.
dred and forty and four thousand in con.
cert. From her illumined face, think
she must breathe redolence. Yea. she
does lnhale aroma from off the gardens
whose flowers never wither and from the
blossomso of orchards, every tree of which
bears IL manner of fruit. From her
lllum1ned face, I think she must see
glorious sight. Yes, she sees the wall that
has Jasper at the base and amethyst at
the top and blood red rubies between.
Goodby, sweet soulI Why should you
longer stay? Your work all done, your
burdens all carried, your tears all wept!
Forward into the light! Up into the
JOY! Out into the grandeurs! And
after you have saluted Christ and your
Kindred, search out him of the palaces
OF Lebanon cedar and tell him that YOU
nave found to be gloriously true what
thousands of years ago he asserted in
this mornings text, "Wisdom is better
than rubies."
In those FURNISHED. palaces of our God
may we all meet. For confess to Won
that my chief desire for heaven is not the
radiance, or, to take the suggestion of the
text, not the rubescence of the scene.
My one idea of heaven is the place to
meet old friends, God, our best friend,
and our earthly friends already trans
ported. Aye, to meet the millions whom
have never seen, but to whom have
administered in the gospel week by week
through journalism on both sides of the |
sea, and throughout Christendom, and
through many lands yet semibarbaric.
A MIGHTY AUDIENCE.
For the last twenty-three years every
blast of injustice against me has multi
piled my readers all the world over, and
the present malignancy printed and ut
tered because our church is in financial |
struggle after having two great struc-
lures destroyed by fire and we COM
PEELED to build three large churches-I
'ay the present outrageous injustice in
'ome quarters will multiply my audience
n all lands if I can keep in good humor
md not fight back.
A gentleman tapped me on the shoulder
summer before last ON a street of Edin-
,urgh, Scotland, and said, II live in the
Shetland islands, North Scotland, and l
cad your sermons every Sabbath to an
audience of neighbors, and my brother
ives in Cape Town, South Africa, and
lie reads them every Sabbath to an audi
nee Of his neighbors." And I hear and
low say to the forty millions of the earth
o whose eyes these words will come, that
ne Of my dearest anticipations is to
meet them in heaven. All, that will be
etter than rubies.
Coming up from different continents,
rom different hemispheres, from oppo-
ite sides Of the earth, to greet each 9th
r in holy love in the presence Of the glo-
ious Christ who made 1t possible for us
D get there. Our sins all pardoned, our
orrows all banished, never to weep, !
ever to part, never to die! I tell you
nat will be better than rubies. Others
lay have the crowns, and the thrones,
nd the scepters; give us our old friends
ack again, Christ, 1.-THE friend who
,icketh closer than brother" and all
lie kindred who have gone up from our
ereft households, and all our friends
HON we have never yet seen, and you
lay have all the rubies, for that will be
better than rubies."
Instead of the dying kiss when they
oked SO pale and wan and sick, it
ould be the kiss of welcome on lips ju-
liant with song, while standing on
oors paved with what exquisiteness,
lder ceilings hung with what glory,
FUNDED by walls facing us with what !
lendor, amid gladness rolling over us
it'll what doxology-far better, min
alv better verlastinply better than ru-
es!