Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-02-22


of him? And the answer is, Lilly Of
the valley" Ezekiel, what do you think
of him? And the answer is, plant Of
renown." David, what do you think of
him? And the answer is, my shep-
herd" st. John, what do you think OF
him? And the answer is, bright and
morning star. " St Paul, what do you
think of him? And the answer comes,
Christ is all in all " Do you think as
we'll of him, o man, o woman of the
blood bought immortal spirit? Yes, Paul
was right when he styled it "the glo-
rious gospel.
And then as druggist, while you are
waiting for him to make up the doctors
prescription, puts into bottle so many
grains of this, and so many grains Of
that, and so many drops of this, and so
many drops of that, and the intermix-
ture taken, though sour or bitter, re-
stores to health SO Christ, the divine
physician, prepares this trouble Of our
lifetime, and that disappointment, and
this persecution, and that hardship, and
that tear, and we must take the inter
mixture, yet though it be bitter draft
Under the divine prescription it admin
listers to our restoration and spiritual
health, "all things working together for
god" Glorious gospel!
The Royal Castle.
And then the royal castle into which
we step out of this life without so much
as soiling our foot with the upturned
earth of the grave They shall reign
forever and ever. " Does not that mean
that you are if saved, to be kings and
queens, and do not kings and queens
have castles? But the one that you are
offered was for 33 years an abandoned
castle, though now gloriously inhabited.
There is an abandoned royal castle at
Amber, India. One hundred and seven
ty years ago a king moved out Of 1t new
er to return. But the castle still stands
in Undesirable grandeur and you 90
through brazcn doorway after brazen
doorway, and carved room after carved
room. and under embellished ceiling
after embellished ceiling, and through
halls precious stoned into wider halls
precious stoned, and on that hill are pa
vilions deeply dyed and tasseled and
arcbed. the fire Of cOlored gardens cooled
nv the snow of white architecture; birds
in arabesque so natural to life that
while YOU cannot hear their voices you
imagine you see the futter of their
wings while you are passing; walls
pictured with triumphal professions;
rooms that were called "Alcoye Of
Light" and Hall of Victory" marble,
white and black, like mixture Of morn
and night; alabaster, and mother Of
pearl, and lacquer work.
Standing before it the eye climbs from
step to latticed balcony, and from lat
ticed balcony to oriel, and from Oriel to
arch. and from arch to roof, and then
descends on ladder Of all cOlors, and by
stairs Of perfect lines to tropical gar
dens Of pomegranate and pineapple.
Seven stories Of Respondent architec-
turel But the royal castle provided for
You, if you will only take it on the pre-
scribed terms, is grander than all that,
and, though an abandoned castle while
Christ was here, achieving your redemp-
ton, is again occupied by the "chlef
among ten thousand" and some OF
YOUR own kindred who have gone up
and waiting for you are leaning from
the balcony. The windows of that castle
look off on the Kings gardens where
immortals walk linked in eternal friend
ship, and the banqueting hall Of that
castle has princes and princesses at the
table. and the wine is the new wine of
the kingdom, and the supper Is the
marriage supper Of the Lamb, and there
are fountains into which no tear ever
fell, and there is music that trembles
with no grief, and the light that falls
upon that scene is never beclouded, and
there is the kiss Of those reunited after
long separation. More nerve will we
have there than now, or we would swoon
away under the raptures. Stronger VS.
ion will we have there than now, or our
evesight would be blinded by the bril-
lance. Stronger ear will we have there
than now, or under the roll Of that min
strelsy, and the clapping Of that acola-
nation, and the boom Of that halleluiah
we would be deafened.
The Coronation.
Glorious gospel You thought religion
was straitjacket; that it put you on
the limits; that thereafter you must 90
cowed down. No, no, mol tits to be cas-
tellated. By the cleansing power Of the
shed blood of GOlgOtha set your faces
toward the shining pinnacles. Oh, 1t
does not matter much what becomes OF
us here-for at the longest our stay is
short-if we can only land there. You
see there are so many do want to meet
there. Joshua, my favorite prophet, and
John among the evangelists, and Paul
among the apostles, and Wyclif among
the martyrs, and Bourdaloue among the
preachers, and Dante among the poets,
and Havelock among the heroes, and
our loved ones whom we have so much
missed since they left US, so many dar-
lings Of the heart, their absence some
times almost unbearable, and, mention
ed in this sentence last of all because /
want the thought climacteric, our bless
ed Lord without whom we could never
reach the old castle at all. He took our
place. He purchased our ransom. He
wept our woes. Ho suffered our stripes.
liz dind n,,r dnnth Lilo nssnrnd ON. rosnr.