The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-09-20
GAZING INTO HEAVEN.
Five Graphic Pictures Drawn by
DR.. Talmage.
Stephen, the Martyr. Looking at the Saviour
Heaven the Gallery where Gods
Treasures Are Gathered-GOOd
Men Often Martyrs.

7. De Witt Talmage grouped his dis
course into Five Pictures" The text
was from Acts vii $3.50: Behold,
see the Heavens open" Dr. Talmags
said:
Stephen had been preaching a rous
ing sermon and the people could not
stand it They resolved to do as men
sometimes would like to do in this day
if they dared. with some plain preach,
-er of ELECTROMAGNETIC him. The
only way to silence this man was to
knock the breath out of him So they
rushed Stephen out of the gates of the
city. and with curse and whoop and
below they brought him to the cliff.
as was the custom when they
wanted to take away life by ston-
ing. Having broAght him to the edge
OF the cliff. they pushed him off. After
he had fallen they came and looked
down and seeing that he was not yet
dead, they began to drop stones upon
him. stone after stone. Amid this hor-
rible rain of missiles Stephen clambe
upon his knees and folds his hands,
while the blood drips from his tenn
pies; and then, looking up. he makes
two prayers-one for himself and one
for his murderers. Lord Jesus. re-
ceive my spirit" that was for himself
Lord. lay not this sin to their charge -
that was for his murderers. Then.
from pain and loss of blood. he swooned
away and fell asleep.
l want to show you to-day five pic
lures, Stephen gazing into Heaven.
stephen looking at Christ Stephen
stoned stephen in his dying prayer.
stephen asleep.
First, look at Stephen gazing into
Heaven. Before you take leap you
want to know where YOU are going to
land. Before you climb a ladder YOU
want to know to what point the lad
der reaches. And it was right that
SteBhen, within a few moments of
Heaven, should be gazing into it. We
would all do well to be found in the
same posture. There is enough in
Heaven to keep US gazing. man of
large wealth may have statuary in the
hall and paintings in the sitting room
and works Of art in all parts of the
house, but he has the chief pictures in
the art gallery. and there, hour after
hour, you walk with catalogue and
glass and ever-increasing admiration.
Well, Heaven is the gallery where
God has gathered the chief treasUrers
OF His realm The whole universe is
His palace. In this lower room where
we stop there are many adornments;
tessellated floors of amethyst, and on
the winding eloud-stairs are stretched
out canvas on which commiuSle azure,
and purple, and saffron, and gold But
Heaven is the gallery in which the
chief glOries are gathered. There are
the brightest robes There are the
richest crowns. There are the
highest CIVILIZATIONS. st. John says
of it: The kings Of the earth
shall bring their honor and glory
into it. And I see the procession form
ing. and in the line come all empires,
and the stars spring up into an arch
for the hosts to march under They
keep step to the sound of earthquake
and the pitch OF avalanche from the
mountains, and the flag they bear is
the flame of a consuming world. and
all Heaven turns out with harps and
t-Gmpets and myriad-voiced acclama-
ton OF angelic dominions to welcome
them in, and so the kings of the earth
bring their honor and glory into it.
Do you wonder that good people often
stand like Stephen. looking into
Heaven? We have many friends there.
There is not man here so isolated
II life but there is some one in Heaven
with whom he once shook hands As
a man gets older, the number of his
celestial acquaintance very rapidly
nultiplies. We have not had one
glimpse of them since the night we
kissed them good-by, and they went
away; but still we stand gazing at
Heaven. As when some of our
friends go across the sea, we
stand on the dock. or on the
steam tug. and watch them. and after
awhile the hull of the vessel disappears.
and then there is only a patch of sail |
on the sky. and soon that Is gone. and |
they are all out of sight, and yet we
stand looking in the same direction; so |
when our friends go away from us into
the future world, we keep looking |
down through the Narrows, and gazing /
and gazing as though we expected they
would come out and stand on some /
cloud, and give US one glimpse of their
TRANSPORTED faces.
While you long to join their COM
and the years aud days 90
with such tedium that they break your
heart, and the vipers of pain. and sor-
row. and bereavement keep gnawing
At your vitals, you will stand. like
stephen. gazing into Heaven. You
wonder if they have changed since you
saw them last You wonder if they
would recognize your face now.
80 changed has 1t been with trou-
pie You wonder if. amid the
myriad delights they have. they care
Is much for you as they used to
When they gave you a helping hand
md put their shoulders under your
BURDENS You wonder If they look
NV older; and sometimes in the even
when the house Is all quiet.
-ou wonder if you should call them by
heir first name if they would not an
wer; and perhaps sometimes YOU do
make the experiment, and when no |
NE but God and yourself are there
-ou distinctly call their names, aud {
listen, and sit gazing into Heaven
Pass on now, and see Stephen look
az upon Christ Ny text says he saw S
ne Son of Man on the right hand of
Tod- Just how Christ looked in this /
Torld, Just how He looked in Heaven, I
re cannot say. The painters of differ Z
1t ages have tried to imagine the
of Christ and put them upon
znvas; but we Will have TO wait until !