The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1898-03-11
MIGHTY CONTRASTS.
EARTHLY EYESlG1T COMPARED
WITH CELESTIAL VISION.


Majority win Be Saved--Joys of Heaven
Are Past Mans Understanding.
copyright. 1898, by American Press Asso-
citation.
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 | Corinthians xiii, IL, "For
now we see through a glass, darkly, but
then face to face.
J. 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 a
scimeter and the crushing power OF a
lightning bolt. 1t portrays with more
than a painter power, at one stroke
picturing heavenly throne and judg-
ment confiagration. The strings OF this
great harp are fingered by all the splen-
doris 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 leafiess and bare, yet plant
ed on Calvary, shall yield a fruit which
shall more than antidote the poison of
the other. 1t tells how the red ripe clus-
ters of God S wrath were brought to the
wine press and Jesus trod them out,
and bow at last all the golden chalices
of heaven shall glow with the wine of
that awful vintage. 1t dazzles the eye
with an Ezekiel S vision Of wheel and
wing and fire and whirlwind and stoops
down so low that it can put it's 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 1t is only
an indistinct mirror and that its mis-
sion shall be suspended. | think there
may be one Bible in heaven, fastened to
the throne. just as now, in museum,
we have lamp exhumed from Her
culaneum or Nineveh, and we look at it
with great interest and say, "How poor
light it must have given compared
with our modern lamps!' 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-
animation of heaven. The Bible now is
the scaffolding to the rising temple but
when the building is done there will be
NO l1Se for the ScaffOlding,
Human Ignorance.
The idea l 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
a father, the firmness of judge, the
majesty of 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 trembles 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
npon the grass and the husbandman on
the way to the field. Beautiful picture
of the morning But we rise at daybreak
and go up on hill to see for ourselves
that which was represented to us.
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 arbor'
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 theil
SCARED visage, and there is morning
among the mountains. Now you g
home, and how tame your picture OF thu
morning seems in contrast Greater thai
that shall be the contrast between thi
Scriptural view of God and that which
we shall have when standing face t.
face. This is a picture of the morning
that will be the morning itself
A Magnificent Unfolding.
Again, my text is true of the Saviour
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 t.
measure it, to compute it, to weigh it
In the hour of our broken enthrallmen
we mount up into high experience o
his love and shout until the countenanc
CLOVIS and the blood bounds and tn
whole nature is exhilarated, 81 hav
found him!" And yet it is through
glass, darkly. We see not half of tina
compassionate face. We feel not hal
the warmth of that loving heart. W
wait for death to let us rush into hi
II. l.. g.