St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-04-09
AN INDISTINCT MIRROR.
Our Earthly and Celestial Vision
Contrasted.

Our Earthly and Celestial Vision
Contrasted.
Rev. DIR. Talmage Shows How Our Doasted
knowledge is Dim and Unsatisfac-
tory Compared with That Open
Ing to Us Beyond.
In the following discourse Rev. I.
Dewitt Talmage carries his auditors
beyond the veil and shows the contrast
between mere earthly vision and that
which will be seen through celestial
eyes. The text is:
For now We see through glass, darkly; but
then face to face.-I Corinthians xiii. u
The Bible is the most forcefll and
pungent of books. While it has the
sweetness of a mothers hush fo4 hui
man trouble, it has all the keenness of
scimeter and the crushing power of a
lightning 1t portrays with more
than a painters power, at one stroke
picturing a Heavenly throne and a
Judgment confagration. The strings
of this great harp are fingered by all
the splendors of the future, now sound
ing with the crackle of consuming
worlds, now thrilling with the JOY of
the everlasting emancipated. 1t tells
how one forbidden tree in the gar
den blasted the earth with sickness
and death, and how another tree.
though leafiess and bare, yet. planted
on Calvary, shall yield fruit which
shall more than antidote the poison of
the other. 1t tells how the red-ripe
clusters of Gods wrath were 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. It dazzles
the eye with an Ezekiars vision of
wheel and wing, and fire, and whirl-
wind; and stoops down SO low that it
can put it's lips to the ear of dying
child and say: Come up higher
And yet Paul, in my text, takes the
responsibility of saying that it is only
IN 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 a mu-
scum, we have a lamp eXhumed from
Herculaneum or Ninevah, and we look
at it with great interest and say: "IIow
poor a light it must have given COM
pared with our modern lamps." So /
think that this Bible, which was lamp
to our feet in this world, may lie near
the throne Of God, exciting our inter
est to all eternity by the contrast be-
tween its comparatively feeble light
and the illumination of Heaven. The
Bible now is the scaffolding to the ris-
ing temple, but when the building is
done there will be no use for the scaf-
folding.
The idea l shall develop to-day is
that in this world our knowledge is
comparatively dim and unsatisfactory,
but nevertheless is introductory to
grander and more complete vision.
This is emincntly true in regard to our
view of God. We hear SO much about
God that we conclude that we under
stand Him. He is represented as hav-
ing the tenderness of father, the
6rnness Of a 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 in
fancy, and it trcmbles on the tongue of
the dying octo5enarian. We think
that we know very much about
Him. Take the attribute of mercy.
Do we understand it? The Bible bios
SONS all over with that word-mercy.
1t speaks again and again of the
tender mercies of God; of the sure
mercies; of the great mercics; of the
<>f 1,n
multitude of His mercies. And yet
know that the views we have of this
Great Being are most indefinite, 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 q
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 daybreak
and go up on a hill to see for ourselves
that which was represented to us.
While we look the mountains are
transfgurcd. The FURNISHED gates
of Heaven swing open and
shut, to let past a host of fiery splen-
dors. The clouds are all abloom. and
hang pendent from arbors of alabaster
and amethyst. The waters make path
way Of inlaid pearl for the light tc
walk upon, and there is morning on
the sea. The crags uncover their
SCARED visage, and there is morning
among the mountains. Now you go
home, and how tame your picture of
morning seems in contrast! Greater
than that shall be the contrast between
this scriptural view of God and that
which we shall have when standin 6
face to face. This is picture of the
morning that will be the morning it
self
Again, my text is true of the Saviour's S
excellency. BY image, and sweet
ryhthm of expression. and startling an
tithesis, Christ is set forth-His love,
His compassion. His work, His life, His
death, His resurrection. We are chal-
lenged to measure it, to compute it, to
weigh it. In the hour of our broken
enthrallment we mount up into high
experience of His love, and shout until
the countenancc glows, and the blood
OOunOS. anu Uuc WHO1C uoVuIS IN
hilarated Il have found Him. And
yet it is through a glass, darkly. We
see not half of that compassionate face.
We see not half the warmth of that
| loving heart. We wait for death TO let
us rush into His outstretched arms.
Then we shall be face to face. Not
! shadow then, but substance. Not
hope then. but the fulfillment OF
all preigurment. That will be
IL magnificent unfolding. The
rushing out in view of all hidden ex-
cellencv, the coming again of long
| absent Jesus to meet us-nOt in rags,
and in penury, and death, but amidst a
light, and pomp, and outbursting JOY
such as none but a glorified intelli-
gence could experience. Oh. to gaze
full upon the brow that was lacerated,
upon the side that was pierced. upon
the feet that were nailed; to stand
close up in the presence of Him who
prayed for US on the mountain, and
K a. -, h,.A ANn vi yaI