The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-02-21
Joyful SongW aud often roused their devo-
tions by bis hymn. "Come, We That Love

earth to q different church from mine. Dut
we are all now members OF the snme church.
the temple Of God and the Lamb" And
told Charles Wesley that almost every Sab
bath we sang one of his old hymns. "Arm OF
| the Lord. Awake" or, "Come, Let Us Join
| Our Friends Abovew or, "Love Divine. All
| Love Excelling." And while we we're talk
| inc on that street called Song row, Kirk
| White, the consumptive college student. now
| everlastingly we'll, came up. and we talked
| over his old Christmas hymn, when Mar
shaled on the Nightly Plain" And William
Cowper came up. now entirely recovered
from his RELIGIOUS melancholy and not look;
| ing rs n he mad ever in Dement'S attempted
suicide, and we talked over the wide earthly
celebrity and heavenly power OF his old
hymns, "wheu Can Read My Title Clear" q"
| and ''There Is Fountain Filled With
Blood"
And there we met George W. Bethune OF
wondrous Brooklyn pastorste. and told him
of how his comforting hymn had been sung
at obsequies all around the world-"It Is
Not Death 10 Die" And Toplady came up
and asked about whether the church WAS
still making use OF his old hymn, 'Rock Of
Ages, Cleft For Me-" And We also met on
Song row Newton and Hastings and Mont
gomery and Horatio Bonar, and we heard
floating from window to window snatches OF
the old hymns which they started on earth
and started never to die.
"But," say some Of my hearers, "did YOU
see anything Of our friends in heaven2" Oh.
yes, did. "Did you see my children there?'
saws some one. land are there any marks OF
their last sickness still upon them? Ibid
seethem, but there was no pallor, no cough,
no fever, no languor, about them. They are
all we'll and ruddy and songful and bound
ing with eternal mirth. They told me to give
A. o. To- % thoff fhn,lOhf
hour by hour, and that when they could be
excused from the heavenly Fairgrounds they
came down, and lowered over you, and
kissed YOUR cheek, and filled your dream
with their glad faces, and that they would be
at the gate to greet you when you ascended
to be with them forever.
s'But." say other voices, "did you see our
sloriaed friends?" Yes, saw them. and
they are we'll in the land across which no
pneumonias or palsles or dropsies OF typhoids
ever sweep. The aroma blows over from Or
chards with trees bearing twelve manner OF
fruits, and gardens compared with which
Chatsworth Is desert. The climate is
mingling Of an earthly June and October
the balm Of the one and the tonic of the
other. The social life In that realm where
they are is superb and perfect. No contro-
versies or jealousies or hates, but love, uni
versal love, everlasting love. And they told
meto tell you not to weep for them, fortheir
happiness knows no bound. and 1t Is only
question of time when you shall reign with
them in the same palace and join with them
In the same exploration of planets and the
same tour Of worlds.
But yonder in this assembly is an up
turned face that seems to ask how about the
ages of those in heaven. ''Do my departed
children remain children, or have they lost
their childish vivacity? Do my departed
parents remain aged, or have they lost the
venerable out Of their neture?" Well, from
what saw I think childhood has advanced
to full maturity of faculty, retaining all the
residence of childhood, and that the aged
had retreated to midlife, freed from all de-
cadence, but still retaining the charm Of the
venerable. In other words, 1t was fully de-
veloped and complete life OF all souls,
whether young or OLD.
Some one says, ''Will yout us what most
impressed you in hesven?" will. I was
most impressed with the reversal OF earthly
conditions. knew, OF course, that there
would be differences Of attire and residence
In heaven, tor Paul had declared long ago
that souls would then differ las one star diff
fered from another" as Mars from Mercury,
as Saturn from Jupiter. But at every step In
my dream in heaven was amazed to see
that some who we're expected to be high in
heaven we're low down, aud some who were
expected to be low down were high up. You
thought, for instance, that those born OF
pious psrentage, and of naturally good dis
position. and Of brilliant faculties, and OF all
styles of attractiyeness will move In the high
est range OF celestial srlendor and pomp.
No, no. found the highest thrones, the
brightest coronets, the richest mansions,
were occupied by those who had repro
bate father or bad mother, and who
inherited the twisted natures OF
ten generations Of miiscreants. and who
had compressed in their body all the de-
PRAYED appetites and all evil propensities,
but they laid hold of Gods arm, they cried
for especial mercy, they conquered seven
devils within and seventy devils without aud
were washed In the blood Of the Lamb, and
by 80 much az their contest was terrific and
awful and prolix their Victory was consum-
mate and resplendent, and they have taken
places immeasurably higher than those OF
good parentage, who could hardly help be-
ing good, because they had ten generations
Of preceding piety to aid them. The steps by
which many have mounted to the highest
places in heaven we're made out OF the era
dies of corrupt parentage. When saw that,
7 said to my attending angel: "That is fair {,
that Is right. The harder the struggle the
more glorious the reward"
Then pointed to one of the most colon
naded and grandiy domed residences in all
the city and said. ''Who lives therew and
the answer was, '.The widow who gave two
mites" "And who lives there?" and the
answer was, 'The penitent thief to whom
Christ said, This day shalt thou be with Me
in paradise" "And who lives therey' I
said, and the answer was, "The blind beggar
who prayed, Lord that my eyes may DO
opened
Some of those professors OF religion who
were famous on earth asked about. but no
one could tell me anything concerning them.
Their names were not even In the city dtrec-
tory Of the New Jerusalem. The TACT is that l
suspected some Of them had not got there at
ali. Many who had ten talents were living
on the back streets OF heaven, while many
with one talent had residences fronting on
the Kings park, and back lawn sioping to
the river clear as crystal, and the htgneSt no.
bility OF heaven were guests at their taoie,
and often the white horse OF Him who hath
the moon under His feet" champed its bit al
their doorway. Infinite capsize OF eartnly
conditions All social life in heaven graded
according to earthly struggle and usefulness
as proportioned to talents given!
As T walked through those streets 1 ap.
preciated for the first time what Paul said to
Timothy. ''If we suffer. we shall also reign
with Him 1t surprised me beyond descrip-
ton that all the great OF heaven wsre great
sufferers. ''Not allrN Veg. all. Moses, him
of the Red Sea, great sufferer. David. him
of Ahsalom's sunflial behavior, and Ahitho'
phel's betrayal, and Nations dethronement
a great sufferer. Ezekiel, him OF the captiv.
ity, Who had the dream on the banks OF tue
Cheoar, great sufferer: Paul, MIN OF tae
diseased ewes, and the Mediterranean ship
wreck. and the Mars Hill derision, and tht
Mamertine enlargement, and whipped
back, and the headsman's ak on the road to
Ostis, q great sufferer.
Yea, ali the apostles after lives OF sufferins
died BY violence. beaten to death with full