Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-02-12
are a psroration 10 q successful COM
mercial or professional life.
BUT rHr Nan has NO REELECTION;

are peroration 10 successful COM
mercial or professional life.
BUT THE NAN HAS NO RELIGION;
never has had, and never professed to
have. There is not Bible or one re-
ligious book In the room. The depart
ing man feels that his earthly career Is
ended, and nothing opens beyond.
Where be will land stepping of from
this life Is a mystery, or whether he will
land at all, for it may be humiliation.
He has no prayer TO offer, and he does
not know how TO pray. No hope OF
meeting again in another state OF exist
ence. He Is through with this life, and
is sure OF no other The ruby on the
mantel and the ruby on the wasted fin
ger of the departing one say nothing OF
the ransoming blood which they so
nightly typiiy. So far as giving solace
or illumination to q departing spirit,
they are dead failure. Midnight of
utter hopelessness drops on all the
scene.
Another room Of mortal exit. Reli-
gion and no rubes. She never had
money enough to buy one OF these ex-
quisites. Sometimes she slapped at a
jewelers. show window and saw row
Of them incarnadining the velvet, She
had keen taste enough to appreciate
those gems, but she never owned one
of them. She was not jealous or un-
happy because others had rubies while
she had none. But she had a richer
treasure, and that was the grace OF
God that had confronted her along the
way amid bereavements and tempta-
tions, and sickness, and privations, and
trials of all sorts. Now she is going
ont OF life. The room is bright, not
with pictures or statues. not with up
holstery, not with any of the gems Of
mountain or sea, but there is strange
and vivid glow in the room; not the
light Of chandelier, or star, or MONDAY
sun, but something that outShines all
Of them. 1t must be the presence Of
supernatnrals. From her iilumined
face / think she must hear sweet voices.
Yea, she does hear sweet voces-voices
of departed kindred; voices apostolic
and prophetic, and evangelic, but all q
them overpowered by the voice Of
Christ, saying, Come, ye blessed of
II
her illumined face, think she
MUST HEAR RAPTURoUs MUSIC.
Yea, she does hear rapturous music, now
soft as solos, now thunderous as orches-
tras; now the sanity voice alone and
now the hundred aud forty and four
thousand in concert. From her illum-
ined face, think she must breathe red
olence. Yea, she does inhale aroma from
off the gardens whose flowers never
wither, and from the blossom Of orch
ards, every tree Of which bears twelve
manner Of fruit. From her illumined
face, think she must sea a glorious
sight. Yes, she sees the wall that has
Jasper at the base and amethyst at the
top, and blood-red rubieS between,
Good bye, sweet soul! 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 graudeurs! And after
you have saluted Christ and your kin
dred. search out him OF the palaces
of Lebanon cedar, and tel! him
that you have found to be glori-
true what ously thousands of years
ago ne asserted in this mornings text:
'Wisdom is better than rubies," in
those tpalaces of our God may
we all meet. For 1 confess to you that
nv 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
transported. Aye! to meet the mil
lions whom l have never seen, but to
whom have administered in the Cos
pei week through journalism on both
sides Of the sea, and throughout Chris
tendon, ond through many lands yet
semi-barbic. For the last twenty-three
years every blast Of injustice against
me has multiplied my readers all the
world over, and the present mallgnancy
printed and uttered because our church
is in financial struggle after having two
GREAT STRUCTURES DESTROYED BY FIRE,
aud we compelled to build three large
churches-I say the present outrageous
injustice In some quarters, Will multiply
my audience ia all lands If | can keep
in good humor and not fight back. A
gentleman tapped me on the shoulder
summer before last on street OF Edin-
burg, Scotland, and | said, 81 live ia
the Shetland Islands, North Scotland,
and | read your sermons every Sabbath
70 an audience OF neighbOrs, and my
brother lives in Cape Town, South
Africa, and he reads them every Sab
bath 10 an audience Of his neighbors."
Aud I here and now say to the forty
millions OF the earth 10 whose eyes these
words will come, that one OF my dearest
antcipatons is to meet them In heaven.
An! that will be Better than rubies.
Coming up from different continents,
from different hemiSpheres, from oppo-
site sides of the earth TO greet
each other in holy love in the pres
ence OF the glorious Christ who
made it possible for US to get there.
Our sins all pardoned, our sorrows all
banlshed, never to weep, never 70 part,
never to diel l tell you that will be
better than rubies. Others may have
the crowns, and the thrones, and the
sceptres; give Us our old friends back
again, Christ, 1.-The friend who sticketh
closer than brother" aud all the kin
dred who have gone up from our bereit
households. and all our friends whom
we have never yet seen, and you may
have all the rubies, for that will be
''better than rubies." Instead OF the
dying kiss when they looked so pale
and wan and sick, it will be the kiss Of
welcome ON lips jubilant with song,
while standing on floors paved with
what exquisltcaess, under ceilings hung
With what glory, bounded by walls fac
ing US with what splendor, amid glad
ness rolling over US with what Dox-
olorv Far better. infinitely better,