Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-03-11
MIGHTY CONTRASTS.
EARTHLY EYESl6HT COMPARED
WITH CELESTIAL VISION.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Shows How Inadequate
Is Human Conception of GOd-The Great
Majority VIII BE saved-Joys OF Heaven
Are Past Mans Understanding.


Majority VIII he saved-Joys of Heaven
Are Past Mans Understanding.
copyright, 1895. by American Press Asso-
ciatOn.
WASHINGTON, March 6.-This dis
course of DR.. Talmage is one of mighty
contrasts, and the dimness of earthly
eyesight as compared with the vivid
ness Of celestial eyesight is illustrated.
The text is l Corinthians xiii, II, For
now we see through glass, darkly, but
then face TO face.
The Bible is the most fOrceful and
pungent Of books. While it has the
sweetness of a mothers hush for human
trouble. it has all the keenness Of
scimeter and the crushing power of
lightning bolt 1t portrays with more
than painter 5 power, at one stroke
picturing heavenly throne and a judg-
msnt confagration. The strings Of this
great harp are fingered by all the splen-
dors Of the future, now sounding with
the crackle of consuming worlds, now
thrilling with the joy of the everlasting
emancipated. 1t tells how one forbidden
tree in the garden blasted the earth with
sickness and death and how another
tree. though leahess and bare, yet plant
ed on Calvary, shall yield fruit which
shall more than antidote the poison Of
the other. 1t tells bow the red ripe clns-
ters of God wrath we're brought to the
wine press and Jesus trod them out,
and how at last all the golden chalices
of heaven shall glow with the wine Of
that awful vintage. 1t dazzles the eye
with an Ezekiel ; vision Of wheel and
wing and fire and whirlwind and stoops
down so low that it can put its lips to
the ear Of a dying child and say, Come
up higher. "
And yet Paul, in my text takes the
responsibility Of saying that II Is only
an indistinct mirror and that its mis-
sion shall be suspended. 1 think there
may be one Bible i'll heaven, fastened to
the throne. Just as now, III a museum,
we have a lamp exhumed from Her
culaneum or Nineyeh, and we look at 1t
with great interest and say, How poor
a light it must have given compared
with our modern lampsl' so | think
that this Bible, which was a lamp to
our feet in this world, may lie near the
throne Of God, exciting our interest to
all eternity by the contrast between its
comparatively feeble light and the illu-
mination Of heaven. The Bible now is
the scaffolding to the rising temple, but
when the building is done there will be
no use for the scaffolding.
Human Ignorance.
The idea shall develop today is that
in this world our knowledge is compar-
atively dim and unsatisfactory, but new
ertheless is Introductory to grander and
more complete vision. This is eminently
true in regard TO our view Of God. We
hear so much about God that we con-
clude that we understand him. He Is
represented as having the tenderness Of
father, the frmness Of a judge, the
majesty Of q king and the love Of a
mother. We hear about him, talk about
him. write about him. We lisp his
name in infancy, and it trem5les on the
tongue Of the dying octogenarian. We
think that we know very much about
him. Take the attribute Of mercy. Do
we understand it: The Bible blossoms all
over with that word-mercy. 1t speaks
again and again of the tender mercles
of God; of the sure mercies; Of the
great mercies; Of the mercy that endur-
eth forever; of the multitude Of his
mercies. And yet know that the views
we have Of this great being are most in
definite, one sided and incomplete
When at death the gates shall fly open
and we shall look directly upon him,
how new and surprising We see upon
canvas picture Of the morning. We
study the cloud in the sky, the dew
upon the grass and the husbandman on
the way to the field. Beautiful picture
of the morning. But we rise at aybreak
and 80 up on hill to see for ourselves
that which was represented to u.s.
While we look the mountains are trans
figured. The FURNISHED gates Of heaven
swing open and shut, to let past host
of fiery splendors. The clouds are all
abloom and hang pendent from arbors
Of alabaster and amethyst. The waters
make pathway Of inlaid pearl for the
light to walk upon, and there is morn
ing on the sea. The crags uncover their
Scared visage, and there is morning
among the mountains. Now you 60
home. and how tame your picture Of the
morning seems in contrast Greater than
that shall be the contrast between TINS
Scriptural view Of God and that which
we shall have when standing face to
face. This is picture Of the morning
that will be the morning itself
A Magnificent Unfolding.
Again, my text is true Of the Saviour s
excellency. BY image and sweet rhythm
of expression and startling antithesi
Christ is set forth-his love, his COM
passion, his work, his life, his death,
his resurrection. We are challenged to
measure it, to compute it, to weigh 1t.
In the hour of our broken enthrallment
we mount up into high experience OF
his love and shout until the countenance
glows and the blood bounds and the
whole nature is exhilarated, Il have
found him!" And yet it is through
glass. darkly. We see not half OF that
compassionate face. We feel not half
the warmth Of that loving heart. We
wait for death to let us rush into bis
outspread arms. Then we shall be face
to face. Not shadow then, but sub
stance. Not hope then, but the fulfill
, ing of all prefgurement That will be
magnificent unfolding. The rushing
out in view of all hidden excellenoy, the
coming again of a long absent Jesus to
| meet us-not in rags and in penury and
death, but amid light and pomp and
outbursting JOY such as none but glo'
rified intelligence could experience. on,
to gaze full lpon the brow that was 'ac'
,rated, upon the side that was pierced,
upon the feet that were nailed, to stand
close up in the presence of him who
prayed for as on the mountain and
thought of us by the sea and agonizec
for us in the garden and died for us il
horrible cruciixion, to feel Of him, tC
= - -. - tal,a h;u hand fo his.