Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-12-15
, Talmage'S
/ Sermons
[ Employments Of J
! Heaven.


Washington, d. c., Dec. 6, 1S96.-Dr.
Talmage's sermon to-day gives a very
unusual view of the celestial world, and
Is one of the most unique discourses OF
the great preacher. The text is Eze-
kiel L: L: Nov it came to pass in the
thirtiets year, in the fourth month, in
the fifth day of the month, as l was
among the captives cf the river of Che
bar, that the heavens were opened"
Ezekiel, with others, had been ex-
patriated and while in foreign slavery,
was standing on the banks of the royal
canal which he and other serfs had
been condemned to dig by the
order OF Notwithstanding roy
al canal in the text called the
river OF Chebar-the illustrious exile
had visions Of heaven. Indeed, It is
almost always so, that the brightest
visions of heaven come not to those
who are on mountain-top of prosper
ity, but to some John on desolate Pat
mos, or to some Paul in Mamertine
dungeon, or to some Ezekiel standing
On the banks of ditch he had been
compelled to dig-yea, to the weary,
10 the heart-broken, to those whom sor-
row has banished. The text is very
particular to give us the exact time
OF the vision. 1t was in the thirtieth
year. and in the fourth month, and
in the fifth day of the month. So you
have had visions of earth you shall
never forget. You remember the year,
you remember the month, you remem-
Der the day, you remember the hour.
Why may we not have some such vision
now, and it be in the twelfth month,
and in sixth day of the month?
The question is often silently asked,
though perhaps never audibly pro-
pounded, What are our departed
Christian friends doing now" The
question Is more easily answered than
you might perhaps suppose. Though
there has come no recent intelligence
from the heavenly city, and we seem
dependent upon the story of eighteen
centuries ago, still l think we may
from strongest inference decide what
are the present occupations of our
transferred kinsfolk. After God has
made nature he never eradicates the
chief characteristic of it's temperament
You never knew man phlegmatic in
temperament to become sanguine in
temperament. You never knew q man
sanguine in temperament to become
phlegmatic in temperament. CONVEX
sion plants new principles in lie soul,
but Paul and John are just as differ
ent from each other after conversion
AS they were different from each other
before conversion II conversion does
not eradicate the prominent character
istics of temperament, neither will
death eradicate them. Paul and John
are as different from each other in
heaven as they were different from
each other in Asia Minor.
You have then only by sum in
subtraction and sum in addition to
decide what are the employments of
your departed friends in the better
world. You are to subtract from them
all earthly drossness and add all earth
ly goodness, and then you are to come
to the conclusion that they are doing
now in heaven what in their best mo-
ment they did on earth The reason
why so many people never start for
heaven Is because they could not stand
it il they got there IL it should turn
out to be the rigid and formal place
some people photograph it. We like to
come to church, but we would not
want to stay here till next summer. We
like to hear the "Hallelujah Chorus"
but We would not want to hear it all
the time for fifty centuries. 1t might
be on some great occasion, 1t would
be possibly comfortable to wear q
crown of gold weighing several pounds,
but it would be an affection to wear
such crown forever. In other words,
we run the descriptions of heaven into
the ground while we make that which
was intended as especial and celebra-
tive to be the exclusive employment
in heaven. You might as we'll. If asked
to describe the habits of American So
ciety, describe Decoration Day. or
q Fourth of July. or an autumnal
Thanksgiving, as though 1t were all
the time that way.
am not going to speculate in regard
to the future world, but / must. by in
evitable laws of inference and deduc-
ton and common sense, conclude that
in heaven we will be just as different
from each other as we are now differ
ent, and hence that there will be at
least as many different employments
in the celestial world as there are en-
pigments here. Christ 10 to be the
great love, the great joy. the great rap
ture, the great worship of heaven, but
will that abolish employments? No
more than love on earth-paternal, fl
ial, fraternal, conjugal love, abolishes
earthly occupation.
In the first place, l remark that all
those of our departed Christian friends,
who, on earth, found great Joy in the
fine arts, are now indulging their
tastes IN the same direction. On earth
they had their gladdest pleasures amid
pictures and statuary, and in the study
of the laws of light and shade and per-
spective. Have you any idea that that
affluence of faculty at death collapsed
and persisted? Why so. when there is
more for them to look at and they have
keener appreciation of the beautiful,