The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-08-30
SURPRISING SPLENDORS.
DR.. TaImsgs Tells of the Beauties
Of the Christian Heaven.
"Eys Hath Not Seen Nor Hath Ear Heard
the Things That God Bath Prepared
tOr Them That Love
Him."

!
ii. 2: Eye hath not seen nor ear
heard" Following is the sermon:
Il am going to Heaven! l am going
to Heaven. Heaven. Heaven. Heaven
These were the last words. uttered a
few days ago by my precious wife as
she ascended to be with God forever,
and is it not natural. as well as Chris
tianlv appropriate, that our thoughts
be much directed toward the glorious
residence of which Paul speaks in the
text | have chosen?
The city of Corinth has been called
the Paris of antiquity. Indeed, for
splendor. the world holds no such won
der to-day. II stood on an isthmus
washed by two seas. the one sea bring
ing the commerce of Europe. the other
the commerce of Asia. From her
wharves, in the construction of which
whole Kingdoms had been absorbed,
war galleys, with three banks of oars,
pushed out and confounded the navy
yards of all the world. Huge-handed
machinery, such as modern invention
cannot equal, lifted ships from the sea
on one side and transported them
on trucks across the isthmus and set
them down in the sea on the other
side. The revenue officers of the
city went down through the olive
groves that lined the beach to collect
4 tariff from all nations. The mirth
Of all people sported in her isthmian
games. and the beauty of all lands sat
in her theaters, walked her porticoS
and threw itself on the altar of her
stupendous disSipations Column and
statue and temple bewildered the be-
holder. There were white marble
fountains into which. from apertures
at the side, there rushed waters every
where known for health giving quail
ties Around these basins. twisted
into wreaths of stone, there were all
the beauties of sculpture and architec-
ture; while standing, as if to guard
the costly display. was statue of Her
cuies of FURNISHED Corinthian brass
Vases of terra Gotta adorned the ceme-
terieS OF the dead-vases so costly that
Julius Cesar was not satisfied until he
had captured them for Rome. Armed
officials. the ''Corinthiarii." paced up
and down to see that no statue was de-
faced. no pedestal overthrown. no bas-
relief touched. From the edge of the
city hill arose. with its magnificent
burden of columns and towers and
temples lone thousand slaves awaiting
az one shrine), and a city so thoroughly
impregnable that Gibraltar is 4 heap
OF sand compared with it. Amid all
that strength and magniticence Corinth
stood and dcied the world.
Oh. il was not to rustics who had
never seen anything grand that st.
Paul uttered this text They had
heard the best music that had come
from the best instruments in all the
world: they had heard songs floating
from morning porticos and melting in
evening groves; they had passed their
whole lives away among pictures, and
sculpture. and architecture, and CO.
rinthian brass, which had been mold
ed and shaped, until there was no
chariot wheel in which it had not
sped. and no tower in which it had not
glittered, and no gateway that it had
not adorned. All. it was a bold thing
for Paul to stand there amid all that.
and say: ''All this is nothing. These
sounds that come from the temple
of Neptune are not music compared
with the harmony of which l speak.
These waters rushing in the basin of
Pvrene are not pure. These statues of
Bacchus and Mercury are not exquisite.
Yon citadel of Acrocorinthus is not
strong compared with that which l
offer to the poorest slave that puts
down his burden at the brazen gate.
You, Corinthians think this a splendid
city; you think you have heard all
sweet sounds, and seen all beautiful
sights: but l tell you, eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have en-
tered into the heart of man. the things
which God hath prepared for them
that love Him"
You see nv text sets forth the idea
that however exalted our ideas may be
of Heaven. they come far short of re-
ality. Some wise men have been calcu
Iating how many furlongs long and
wide is Heaven; and they have calcu-
lated how many inha bitants there are
on earth; how long the earth will prob
ably stand; and then they come to this
estimate that after all the nations had
been gathered to Heaven, there will be
4 room for each soul-a room feet
long and u feet wide. 1t would not
know that no human estimate is suffi-
cieut to take the dimensions. Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard" nor
arithmetic calculated.
first remark that we can in this
world get no idea of the health of
Heaven. When you were a child, and
you went out in the morning, how you
bounded along the road or street-you
had never felt sorrow or sickness. Per-
haps later-perhaps in these very sum-
mer days-you felt a glow in your
cheek and a spring in your step. and
an exuberence of spirits, and a clear
ness of eye, that made you thank God
you were permitted to live. The
nerves were harp strings and the sun
light was a doXology, and the rustling
leaves were the rustling robes of Il
great crowd rising up to praise the
Lord. You thought that you knew
what it was to be well, but there is
no perfect health on earth. The dis
eases of past generations come down
10 US. The airs that float now on the
earth are unlike those which fioated
above Paradise They are charged
with impurities and distempers. The
most elastic and robust health of earth,
compared with that which those expe-
rience before whom the gates have
opened. is nothing but sickness and
emaciation. Look at that soul stand
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