The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1897-03-04
NO.. l..


be blasted with such insufferable
idiocy that. standing beside our best
friends foe all eternity, we will never
guess whe they are?
Again, | think that one reason WHY
| we ought to accept this doctrine is be-
| cause we never in this world have an
| opportunity to give thanks to those
to whom we are spiritually indebted.
| The joy Of Heaven, we are told, is to
be inaugurated by u review of lifes
work. These Christian men and wom-
en- who have been toiling for Christ,
have they seen the full result of their
work? Oh, no.
There is a mother before the throne
of God. You say her JOY is full. Is 1t?
You say there can be no augment tion
| Of it. Can not there be? Her son was
| wanderer and vagabond ON the
| earth when that mother died. He
broke her old heart. She died luay-
| ing him in the wilderness of sin. She
| is before the throne of God now. Years
| pass and that son repents of his crimes
and gives his heart to God and becomes
| a useful Christian, and dies and enters
| the gates of Heaven. You tell me that
that mothers JOY can not be augment
ed. Let them confront each other,
the son and the mother. 'Oh," she
| says to the angels of God, ''re-
| joice with me! The dead is
| alive again, and the lost is found.
Hallelujah. Inever expected to see this
lost one come back" The Bible saws
| nations are to be born in day. When
China comes to God will it not know
Dr. Abeel7 When India comes will it
| not know DR.. John Scudder? When the
Indians come to God will they not know
David Brainerd?
l see a soul entering Heaven at last.
with covered face at the idea that it
has done SO little for Christ, and feel
ing borne down with unworthiness,
and it says to itself: 81 have no rig hit to
be here A voice from throne says:
'Oh, you forgot that Sunday-school
! class you invited to Christ! was one
of them" And another voice says:
You forget that poor old man to
whom you gave loaf of bread. and
told of the Heavenly bread. l was
that man." And another says: "You
forget that sick one to whom you gave
medicine for the body and the soul. I
was that one" And then Christ, from
throne overtOpping all the rest, will
| say: "Inasmuch as ye did it to one Of
the least of these, you did it to Me-"
And then the seraphs will take their
harps from the side of the throne, and
cry: What song shall it be?' And
Christ, bending over the harpers, shall
say: ut shall be the Harvest Homer'
0 Heaven. sweet Heaven! You do
not spell Heaven as you used to spell
1t, Heaven, Heaven. But now when
You want to spell that word you place
side by side the faces of the loved ones
who are gone, and in that irradiation
of light and love, and beauty and joy,
you spell it out as never before. in
songs and hallelujahs. Oh, ye, whose
hearts are down under The sod of the
cemetery. cheer up at the thought of
this reunion. Oh, how much you will
have to tell them when once you meet
them.
Oh, how they bound in, these spirits
before the thronel Some shout with
gladness. Some break forth into un-
controllable weeping for joy. Some
| stand speechless in their shock of de-
light. They sing. They culver with
excessive gladness. They gaze on the
temples. on the palaces, on the
waters, on each other. They weave
their joy into garlands, they
spring it into triumphal arches, they
strike on timbrels, and then
all the loved ones gather in great
circle around the throne of God-fa-
thers, mothers. brothers, sisters, sons
and daughters, lovers and friends, hand
to hand around about the throne-the
circle, hand to hand, JOY to joy, jubi-
lee to jubilee, victory to victory, "un-
til the day break and the shadows flee
away. Turn, my beloved, and be like
a roe or a young hart upon the
mountains of Bether."
Oh, how different it is on earth from
the way it is in Heaven when a Chris
.ian diesl We say: "Close his eyes"
In Heaven they say: Give him u
palm" On earth we say: Let him
down in the ground" In Heaven
they say: Hoist him on a
throne" On earth it is: Fare
we'll. farewell In Heaven it is:
"Welcome, welcome And so | see
a Christian soul coming down to the
river Of death, and he steps into the
river, and the water comes up to the
ankle. He says: Lord Jesus, is this
death?' NO" says Christ, this is
not death" And he wades still
deeper down into the waters until the
food comes to the knee, and he says:
Lord Jesus, tell me, tell me, is this
death?' And Christ says: No, no,
this is not DEATH And he wades still
further down until the wave comes to
the girdle, and the soul says: Lord
Jesus,is this death?" No, says Christ,
this is not" And deeper in wades the
soul till the billow strikes the lip. and
the departing one cries: Lord Jesus,
is this death?" NO" says Christ,
this is not" But when Christ had
lifted this soul on a throne of glory,
and all the pomp and joy of Heaven
came surging to its feet, then Christ
said: This oh TRANSPORTED sOull thi.