The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-08-01

The other laughter mentioned IN tns
Bible, the only one I shall speak OF, is
heavens laughter, or the expression OF
eternal triumph. Christ said to His dis
We shall laugh" That makes me know
positively that we are not to spend our days
In heaven singing long meter psalms. The
journalistic and stiff notions Of heaven that
some people have would make me mis- srable.
I am GLAD to know that the heaven OF the
Bible is not only place Of holy worship.
but OF magnificent sociality. "What," say
you, "will the ringing laugh go around the
circles OF the saved?" / say yes-pure
laughter, cheering laughter, holy LAUGHTER.
It will be laugh OF congratuiation. Wnen
come to a fortune, or who has got over
some dire sickness, do we not shake
hands, do We not laugh with him? And
when we get to heaven and see our friends
there, some of them having come up out OF
great trIhulation, why. we will say to one OF
Them, "The last time saw you you had been
suffering for six weeks under low 1ntermlt-
tent fever" or to another we will say: You
for ten years were ltmping with the rheu-
matism, and you were full OF complaints
when we saw you last. G9ngratnmla1te coz rhtm 1e you
Yes. we shall congratulate all those who have
come out of great financial embarrassments
In this world because they have become mill
ionaires In heaven. Ye shall laugh. lt
shall be a laugh OF reassociation. II ls Just
as natural for us to laugh when we meet
friend we have not seen for ten years as any
thing is possible to be natural.
When we meet our friends from whom we
have been parted ten or twenty or thirty
wears, will 1t not be with infinite congratula-
tion2 Our perception quiekened, our
knowledge improved, we will know each
other at fash. We will have to talk over
all that has happened since we nave oeen
separated, the one that has been ten years In
heaven telling us all that has happened In
the ten years of his heavenly residence, and
we telling him in return all that has hap
pened during the ten years OF his absence
from earth. Ye shall laugh. think George
Whitefield and John Wesley will have
laugh of contempt for their earthly colli-
sions. and Toplady and Charles Wesley will
have a laugh Of contempt for their earthly
misunderstanding, and the two farmers
who were in lawsuit all their days WIZ
have laugh OF contempt over their earthly
disturbance about line fence. Exemption
from ali ANNOYANCE. Immersion in all glad
ness. Ye shall laugh. Christ says 80. Ye
shall laugh. Yes, 1t will be laugh OF tri-
umph. Oh, what pleasant thing 1t Will be
to stand on the wall Of heaven and look
down at satan and hurl at him defiance and
see him Gagged and chained and we forever
free from his clutches! Aha! Yes, 1t WILL
be a laugh Of royal greeting.
You know how the Frenchmen cheered
when Napoleon came back from Eloa you
know how the English cheered when well
lngton came back from Waterloo you know
how Americans cheered when Kossutn ar
rived from hungary; you remember no"
Rome cheered when Pompey came back vic
torious over 900 cities. Every cheer was
laugh. But, oh, the mishtier greeting, the
pladder greeting, when the snow white cav
airy troop of heaven shall 60 through the
streets, and, according to the Book OF Reve-
lation, Christ In the red coat, the crimson
coat, on q white horse, and all the armies OF
heaven following Him on white horses on,
when we see and hear that cavalcade We
shall cheer, we shall laugh! Does not your
heart beat quickly at the thought OF the
great. jubilee upon which we are soon to en-
terP pray God that when we get through
with this world and are going out OF 1t we
may have some such vision as the
diving Christian had when he saw
written all over the clouds In the sky the
letter "W," and they asked him. standing 6Y
: his side, what he thought that letter "W
meant. ooh" he said, "that stands for wei.
come" And so may it be when we quit this
world. "W" on the gate, "W" on the door
Of the mansion, "W" on the throne. Wei
comel Welcome! Welcome! I have
preached this sermon with five prayerful
wIshes-that you might see what a mean
thing Is the laugh OF skepticism, what a
bright this is the laugh Of spiritual exulta'
ton, what a hollow thing Is the laugh OF SIN
tul merrlment, what an awful thing Is tn
laugh Ct condemnation, what radiant, rubi-
cund thing is the laugh OF eternal triumph.
Avoid the i'll choose the right. Be COM
forted. "Blessed are ye that weep now-ye
shall laugh ) ye shall laugh"