Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-12-15

| potentates of heaven are his cupbearers.
II he sit down to food, his plain table
Look at that odd fellow with the wornout
coat'' The angels of God cry Lift up
your heads ye everlasting gates, and let
him come in!" Fastidious people cry,
sect Off my front stepsl' The doorkeepers
Father, inherit the kingSdoml' When he .
comes to die, though he may be carried out
| in a pine box to that potter's field, to that
potter's field the chariots OF Christ will
come down, and the cavalcade will crowd
all the boulevards OF heaven.
| bless Christ for the present satisfaction
| Of religion. 1t makes Il man all right with
reference to the past; it makes Il man all
| right with reference to the future Oh,
these neither springs of comfort! They are
perennial. The foundation of God standeth
| them that are His, "The mountains shall
depart and the hills be removed, but My
| kindness shall not depart from thee.
neither shall the covenant of My peace be
| removed, saith the Lord, who hath mercy
upon thee.'' Oh, cluster of diamonds set
| in FURNISHED gold! Oh, neither springs OF
| comfort bursting through all the valleys OF
| trial and tribulation! When you see, you
| Of the world, what satisfaction there is
| on earth in religion, do you not thirst after
| 1t as the daughter of Caleb thirsted after
| the water springs? 1t is no stagnant pond,
| scummed over with malaria, but springs OF
water leaping from the Rock OF Ages!
| Take up one cup Of that spring water and
| across the top of the chalice will float the
delicate shadows OF the heavenly wall, the
yellow of jasper; the green of emerald,
the blue of sardonyx, the fire of jacinth.
l wish l could make you understand the
joy religion Is to some of u.s. 1t makes a
man happy while he lives and glad when
he dies. With two feet upon a chair and
bursting with dropsies, l heard an old man
in thtan nnn or nr1
oh, my soul!' 1 looked around and said,
"What has this man got to thank God for?'
1t makes the lame man leap as q hart, and
the dumb sing. They say that the old
Puritan religion is juiceless and joyless
religion, but remember reading of Dr..
Goodwin, the celebrated Puritan, who in
his last moment said: SIS this dying? Why,
my bow abides in strength l am swal-
lowed up in God!" "Her ways are ways Of
pleasantness, ana all her paths are peace"
Oh you who have been trying to satisfy
yourselves with the "south land" of this
world, do you not feel that you would, this
morning, like to have access to the neither
springs Of spiritual comfort? Would you
not like to have Jesus Christ bend over your
cradle and bless your table and heal your
all up and down the graves of your dead?
'Tis religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live.
'Tis religion can supply
Sweetest comfort when we die.
But have something better to tell you,
suggested by this text. 1t seems that old
Father Caleb on the wedding day of his
daughter wantedto make her just as happy
as possible. Though Othniel was taking
her away and his heart was almost broken
because she was going, yet he gives her
''south land;" not only that, but the neither
springs; not only that, but the upper
springs. o God, my Father, thank Thee
that Thou hast given me south land'' in
this world and the neither springs of spir-
itual comfort in this world; but, more than
all, thank Thee for the upper springs in
heavenl
1t is very fortunate that we cannot see
heaven until we get into it. . Chris
tian man. il you could see what a place
it is we would never get you back again
to the office, or store, or shop and the
duties you ought to perform would go ne
glected 1 am glad shall not see that
world until l enter it. Suppose Wa
were allowed to go on an excursion in-
to that good land with tho idea Of re.
turning. When we got there and heard
the song and looked at their raptured
faces and mingled in the supernal soce-
ty, we would cry out; "Let us stayl
We are coming here anyhow. Why take
the trouble of going back again to that
stay!" And it would take angelic vio-
lence to put us out OF that world If once
we got there, but as people who cannot
afford to pay for an ente rtainment some
times come around it and look through
the door ajar, or through the openings
In the fence, SO we come and look through
the crevices into that good land which
God has provided for US. We can just
catch glimpse OF it. We come near
enough to hear the rumbling OF the eter-
nal orchestra, though not near enough to
know who blows the cornet or who fingers
ha IN rn Nv lam de ont hnt tytrra
and claps them in triumph ut the thought
OF those upper springs. One OF them
breaks from beneath the throne. Another
breaks forth from beneath the altar of the
temple. Another at the door OF "the
house of many mansions" Upper springs
OF gladnessl Upper springs OF light
Upper springs of love! 1t is no fancy Of
mine. "The Lamb which Is in the midst of
the throne shall lead them to living foun-
tains Of water
o Saviour divine. roll in upon our souls
one OF those anticipated raptures! Pour
around the roots OF the parched tongue one
drop Of that liquid lifel Toss before our
vision those fountains OF God, rainbowed
with eternal victory Hear 1t! They are
never sick there; not SO much as a headache
or twinge rheumatic or thrust neuralgia.
The inhabitant never says, 81 am sick"
They are never tired there. Flight to
farthest world is only the play Of u holiday.
They never sin there. 1t Is as easy for
them to be holy as 1t is for us to sin. They
never die there. You might go through
all the outskirts Of this great city and find
not one place where the ground was broken
for grave. The eyesight Of the redeemed
is never blurred with tears. There Is health
In every cheek. There is spring in every foot.
There is majesty on every brow. There is
Joy in every heart. There is hosanna on every
lip. How they must pity us as they look
over and look down and SEQ us and say:
Poor things away down in that world!''
And when some Christian is hurled into a
fatal accident, they cry: "Good!' He is
comingl" And when we stand around the
couch Of some loved one whose strength is
going away and we shake our heads fore
bodingly they cry: "I'm glad he is worse.
He has been down there long enough.
There, he is dead! Como home! Come
homer Oh, II we could only get our ideas
about that future world untwsted, our
thought OF transfer from hero to there
would be as pleasant to us as it was to
little child that was dying. She said:
Papa, when will I go homer" And he
said: To-day, Florence" "To-day? So