The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1898-03-12
Rev. DR.. Talmage Contrasts Earthly
and Celestial Vision.
Things We DO Not Comprehend Now Will
Be Made Plain Hereafter-God's Mercy
and Providence and Greatness
Will BE Revealed.

mighty contrasts, comparing the dim
ness of earthly eyesight with the vivid
ness of celestial vision: The text is:
For now we see through glass darl<y; but
then face to FACET Corinthians xiii, L.
The Bible is the most forcefdl and
pr1ngent of books. While it has the
Sweetness of mothers hush for hui
man trouble it has all the keenness Of
a scimeter and the crushing power of a
lightning bolt. It portrays with more
than a painters power, at one stroke
picturing Heavenly throne and
Judgment contia grafton. 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 leafess 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. 1t dazzles
the eye with an Ezekial's 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
an indistinct mirror, and that its mis-
sion shall be suspended. I think there
may be one Bible in Heaven, fastened
to the throne. Just as now. in mu-
10,
Herculaneum or Ninevah, and we look
at it with great interest and say: ''How
poor light it must have given COM
pared 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 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 il
done there will be no use for the scat
folding.
The idea I shall develop to-day il
that in this world our knowledge is
comparatively dim and unsatisfactory,
but nevertheless is introductory to
grander and more complete vision
This is eminently true in regard to our
God that we conclude that we under
stand Him. He is represented as hav-
ing the tenderness of father, the
firmness 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 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 bios
SONS all over with that word-mercy.
1t speaks again and again of the
tender mercies of God; of the sure
mercles; of the great mercies; of the
mercy that endureth forever; of the
multitude of His mercies. And yet 1
know that the views we have of this
Great Being are most indefinite, one
sided and incomplete. When, at death,