Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-12-10


friends used TO admire Do not say, Il
am so sorry they had 70 leave all these
things" Rather say, II am glad they
have gone up to higher artistic opportuni-
ty and appreciation" Our friends who
found so much joy in tho fine arts ON earth
are now luxuriating In Louvres and Lux
Inbourgs celestial.
A Grand Musicale.
I remark again that all our departed
Christian friends who in this world were
passionately fond OF music are still regal
Ing that taste in the world celestial. The
Bible says so much about the music OF
heaven that it cannot all be figurative.
Why all this talk about halleluiahs and
choirs on the glass and trumpets and harps
and oratOrios and organss The Bible over
and over again speaks Of the songs of
heaven. II heaven had no songs of its
OWN, a vast number Of those on. earth
would have been taken up by the earthly
smigrants. Surely the Christian at death
1oes not lose his memory. Then. there
must be millions Of souls in heaven who
know Coronation" and "Antioch" and
Mount Pisgah" and "Old Hundred. 4"
The leader of the eternal orchestra need
OuSO tap DdNOut anu ull nEuNGn
will be ready for the halleluiah.
If heaven should ever get out of music,
Thomas Hastings and Lowell Mason and
Bradbury would start up a hundred old
magnificent chorals. But what with the
new song that John mentions, and the
various doxologies alluded to, and the i'm
portation of sublunar harmonies, Chris
tian fond Of music, dying, will have an
abundance of regalement. What though
che voice be gone in death, what though
the ear be fallen in dissolution, are you
therefore to conclude that the spirit will
have no power to make or catch sweet
sounds? Cannot the soul sing? How often
we compliment some exquisite singing by
saying, "Thc-e was so much soul in her
music" In heaven it will be all soul un-
til the body after awhile comes up in the
resurrection, and then there will be an ad-
iitional heaven. Cannot the soul hear?
If it can hear, then it can hear music Do
not therefore let it be in your household
when some member leaves for heaven, as
1t is in some households, that you close the
piano and unstring the harp for two years
because the fingers that used to play on
them are still. You must remember that
they have better instruments of music
where they are. You ask me, "Do they
have real harps and real trumpets and real
Iorgans?" do not know. Some wiseacres
say positively there are no such things in
heaven. do not know, but should not
be surprised If the God, who made all the
mountains, and all the hills, and all the
forests, and all the mines of the earth, and
all the growths of the universe-I should
not be surprised If he could, If he had a
mind to, make few harps and trumpets
and organs. Grand old Haydn, sick and
wornout, was carried for the last time
into the music hall; there he heard his
oratorio of the Creation" History says
that as the orchestra came to that famous
passage, "Let there be light!' the whole
audience rose and cheered, and Haydn
waved his hand toward heaven and said,
sit comes from there!' Overwhelmed
with his own music, he was carried out in
his chair, and as he came to the door he
spread his hand toward the orchestra as in
benediction. Haydn was right when he
waved his hand toward heaven and said,
1t comes from there" Music was born
in heaven, and it will ever have its highest
throne in heaven, and want you to un-
derstand that our departed friends who
were passionately fond of music here are
now at the headquarters of harmony. I
think that the grand old church tunes that
died when your grandfathers died have
gone with them to heaven. When those
tunes died, they did not stay on earth, and
they could not have been banished to per-
dition, and so think they must be in the
ooprt1nus Of ola hoc
Battles, but Bloodless.
Again, remark that those of our de-
parted Christian friends who in this world
had very strong military spirit are now
In armies celestial and out in bloodless
battle. There are hundreds of people born
soldiers. They cannot help it. They be-
long to regiments in time of peace. They
cannot hear drum or fife without try
ing to keep step to the music They are
Christian, and when they fight they fight
on the right side. Now, when these our
Christian friends who had natural and
powerful military spirit entered heaven
they entered the celestial army. The door
of heaven scarcely opens but you hear a
military demonstration. David cried out,
"The chariots of God are O,0OO!" Elisha
odW VlIC AlllOu WIuu CblCSUldl
cavalry. ST. John said, "The armies
which are in heaven followed him on
white horses" Now, when those who had
the military spirit on earth sanctified en-
tered glory, suppose they right away en-
listed in some heavenly campaign; they
volunteered right away. There must needs
be in heaven soldiers with soldierly
spirit. There are grand parade days, when
the King reviews the troops. There must
be armed escort sent out to bring up from
earth to heaven those who were more than
conquerors. There must be crusades ever
being fitted out for some part of Gods do
minion-battles, bloodless, groanless, pain
less-angels of evil to be fought down
and fought out, other rebellious worlds
to be conquered, worlds to be put to the
torch, worlds to be saved, worlds to be
demolished, worlds to be sunk, worlds
to be hoisted. Besides that, in our own
world there are battles for the right and
against the wrong where we must have
the heavenly military. That Is what keeps
us Christian reformers SO buoyant So
few good men against so many bad men;
so few churches against so many grog-
shops; SO many pure printing presses
against SO many polluted printing presses,
and yet we are buoyant and courageous,
because, while we know that the armies of
evil in the world are larger in numbers
than the army of truth, there are celestial
cohorts in the air Fighting on our side. I
have not so much faith in the army on the
ground as have in the army in the air.
o God, open our eyes that we may see
them-the military spirits that went up
from earth to join the military spirits be-
fore the throne-Joshua and Caleb and
Gideon and David and Samson and the
hundreds of Christian warriors who on
earth fought with fieshly arm, and now,
having gone up on high, are coming down
Che hills Of heaven ready to fight among
the invisibles. Our departed Christian
friends who had the military spirit in
them sanctified are in the celestial army.
Whether belonging to the artillery, or the
lry or tha info ptrx- T Epop, r,ot