Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-08-29

W
out and all chimes rung, and all hallelu F..
iahs chanted, and some cry, GLORY to God
most high, " and some "Hosanna to the
Son of David, and some, Worthy Is the
Lamb that was slain till all exclama- |
tions of cndearment and homage in the
vocabulary of heaven are exhausted and |
there come up surge after surge OF
"Amcn! Amcnl Amenl'.
Eye hath not seen it; ear hath not
heard it," skim from the summer waters
the brightest sparklcs, and you will get no
idea of the sheen of tho everlasting sea.
Pile up tho splcndors Of earthly cities, and
they would not make a stepping stone by
which you might mount to the city Of God.
Every house is palace. Every step q
triumph. Every covering Of tho head a
coronation. Every meal is n banquet.
Every stroke from the tower is n wedding
bell. Every day Is a jubilee, every hour a
rapture, and every moment an ecstasy.
"Eyc hath not seen it; ear hath not heard
it,
Reunions In Heaven.
remark further we can get no idea on
earth of tho reunions of heaven. ii you
have ever been across the sea and met a
friend or even an acquaintance in some
strange city, you rcmcnmbcr how your
see him. What, then, will be our joy, after
we have passed tho seas of death, to meet
In the bright city of the sun those from
whom we have long been separated
After We have been away from Our
friends 10 or 10 years, and we come upon
them we see how differently they look.
The hair has turned, and wrinkles have
come in their faces, and we say, "Hov
| you have Changed!' But, oh, when you
stand before tho throne, all cares gone
from the face, all marks of sorrow disap-
pearcd, and feeling the joy of that blessed
! land mcthinks we will say to each other
| with an exultation we cannot now mag
inc, Glow you have changed" In this
world we only meet to part. 1t is good
| by, goodby, farewells floating in Nho
air. We hear it ut the rail car window
and at tho steamboat wharf--Qoodhy
Children lisp it, and old age answers it.
| Sometimes we say it in a light way
"goodby sometimes with anguish
! in which the soul breaks down. Good
| by! All That is tho word that ends the
thanksgiving banquet; that is the word
that comes in to close the Christmas chant.
Goodby! goodby! But not SO in heav
en-. Welcomes in the air. welcomes at
the gates, welcomes at the house of
many mansions-but no goodby. That
group is constantly being augmented.
They are going up from our circles of earth
to join it-little voices to join the anthem,
| little hands to take hold of it in the
great home circle, little feet to dance in
the eternal CLEO, little crowns to be cast
down before the feet Of Jesus. Our friends
are in two groups-agroup this side OF the
river and group on the other side of the
| ri m
that, and another from this to that, ard
soon we will all be gone over. How many
of your loved ones have already entered
upon that blessed place! If l should take
paper and pencil, do you think could put
them all down? All, my friends, the
waves of Jordan roar so hoarsely we can
not hear the JOY on tho other side where
their group is augmented 1t is graves
here and collins and hearscs there
A Dying Negro Boy.
A little child's mother had died, and
they comforted her. They said: "Your
mother has gone TO heaven. Don't cry. 3"
And the next day they went to the grave
yard, and they Laid the body of the mother
down into the ground, and the little girl
came up to tho verge Of tho grave ana
looking down at the body of her mother
said, is this hcaven?" Oh, we have no
idea what heaven is 1t is the grave here
it is darkness here, but there is merry
making yonder. Methinks when soul
arrives some angel takes it around to show
it the wonders Of that blessed place. The
usher angel says to the newly arrivcd:
These are the martyrs that persisted at
Piedmont. These were torn to pieces at
the Inquisition. This is the throne Of the
great Jehovah. This is jesus II am
going to soc Jesus" said n dying negro
boy. 81 ara going to see Jesus" And the
missionary said, you are sure you will
see him?" "Oh, yes; that what l want
to go to heaven for. " But said the mis-
sonary, suppose that Jesus should go
away from heaven-what them" II
should follow him" said the dying negro
boy. But if Jesus went down to hell
what them" Tho dying boy thought for u
moment and then he said, "Massa whore
Jesus is there can be 10 hcll!" Oh, to
stand in his presence! That will be hcey-
EN- oh, TO put our hand in that hand
which was wounded for us on the cross to
go around amid all the groups Of the re
deemed and shake hands with prophets
and apostles and martyrs and with our
own dear, beloved ones--that will be tho
great reunion. We canr-lt imagine it now,
our loved ones seem so far away. When
we are in trouble and lonesome, they don t
seem to como to us.
We go on tho banks of the Jordan and
call acrosss to Them but they don't seem
to hear. We say, "ls it we'll with the
child, is it well with the loved ones?' and
We listen to hear if any voice comes bacl,
over the waters. Nonel None Unbelief
says, "They are dead and extinct forever
but, blessed be God, VIC have n Bible that
tells us different. We open it and find that
, they arc neither dead nor extinct; that
they never were so much alive AS now
that they arc only waiting for our coming,
and that we shall join them on the Other
side OF the river. Oh, glorious reunion
/ we cannot grasp it now. Eye hath not
into the heart of man the things which
} God hath prepared for them that love him. u
} The Song of Heaven.
} remark again, we can In this worlt
get no idea of the song of heaven. You
. know there is nothing moro inspiritine
than music. In the battle of Waterloo tn,
. highlanders were giving way, and Wei
lington found out that the bands of music
, had ceased playing. He sent quick dis
! patch, telling them to play with utmos
4 spirit q battle march. The music started
j the highlanders were rallied, and they
+ dashed on till the day was won. We ap
4 preciate the power Of secular music, blu
= do we appreciate the power of sacred song
3 There Is nothing more inspiring TO mi
r than n whole COnprp1ation lifted I'm on TIN