The Monitor-register., 1897-11-19

OPo NJ LIZ ECl1lG KILL OF
fruit, 1t declares abundance in heavenly
JOY, and they are both true.
Variety? Oh, yesl Not an eternity
with nothing but music; that oratorio
would be too protracted. Not an eternity
OF procession on white horses; that
would be too long in the stirrups. Not
an eternity OF watching the river; that
would be too much of the picturesque.
Not an eternity of p~lucking fruits from
the tree of life, that would be too much
OF the heavenly orchard. But all man.
ner OF varieties, and | will tell you of
al least IL of those varieties. Joy of di-
vine worship, JOY over the victories of
the Lamb who was slain, Joy over the
repentant sinners. JOY of ~recounting our
rescue, Joy OF embracing old friends,
JOY at recognition of patriarchs, apostles.
evangellsts and martyrs, Joy of ringing
harmonies, JOY of reknitting broken
friendships, JOY at the explanation of
frovldentlal mysteries, JOY at walking
the boulevards of gold, Joy at looking
at walls green with emerald and blue
with sapphire and crimson with Jasper
and af1ash with amethyst, entered
through swinging gates, their posts.
their hinges and their panels of richest
pearl; JOY that there is to be no subsi.
dence, no reaction, no terminus to the
felicity All that makes ~ different
joys, II ann OF fruits So much for
variety But If you take the other inter
probation and say it means 10 crops a
year | am with you still, for that means
That will be the first place
we ever got into where there Is enough
OF everything, enough of health, enough
Of light, enough Of supernal association,
enough OF love, enough of knowledge,
enough OF JOY The orchards of this
lower world put out all their energies
for a few days in autumn, and then,
having yielded one crop, their banners
Of foliage are dropped out of the air,
and all their beauty is adjourned until
the b~lossoming of the next May time.
But II crops in the heavenly orchard
during that which on earth we call a
year mean abundance perpetually..
The Heavenly richard.
While there is enough of the pomp of
the city about heaven for those who
like the city best, 1 thank God there is
enough in the Bible about country seem
cry in heaven to please those of us who
were born in the country and never got
over it. Now you may have streets of
gold in heaven. Give me the orchards
with IL manner of fruits and yielding
their fruit every month, and the leaves
of the trees are for 1.-THE healing of the
nations, and there shall be no more
curse, but the throne of God and of the
Lamb shall be in it, and his servants
shall serve him, and they shall see his
face, and his name shall be in their
foreheads, and there shall be no night
there, and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun, for the Lord God Civ
eth them light, and they shall reign
forever and ever" But just think of a
place so brilliant that the MONDAY sun
shall be removed from the mantle of
the sky because it is too feeble a taper.
Yet most of all am l impressed with
the fact that | am not yet fit for that
place, nor you either. By the recon
structing and sanctifying grace of Christ
we need to be made all over And let
US be getting our passports ready if we
want to get into that country. An earth
ly passport is a personal matter, telling
our height, our girth, the color of our
hair, u features, our complexion and
our age. | cannot get into a foreign
port on your passport, nor can you get
in on mine Each one of us for himself
needs a divine signature, written by the
wounded hand of the Son of God, to
get into the heavenly orchard, under the
laden branches of which, in Gods good
time. we may meet the Adam of the
first orchard and the Solomon of the
second orchard, and the St John of the
last orchard, to sit down under the tree.
of which the church in the book of
Canticles speaks when it says: las the
| apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among the sons. l sat
down under his shadow with great de-
light, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste, - and there it may be found that
today we learned the danger of hankgrs
ing after one thing more, and that re-
ligion is a luxury, and that there is a
divine antidote for all p~oisons. and that
we had created in us an appetite for
heaven, and that it was a wholesome
and saving thing for Is to have dis
coursed on the pomology Of the Bible,
or God among the orchards.
Don't Tobacco Spit and Smoke Your Life Away.