Connecticut western news., 1898-03-10
MIGHTY CONTRASTS.
EARTHLY EYESlGHT COMPARED
 WITH CELESTIAL VlSION

EARTHLY EYEsleHT COMPARED
 WITH CELESTIAL vIsIoM
 Rev. Dr. Talmage Shows How Inadequate Is Human Conception of God-The Great
 Majority Will Be Saved-Joys of Heaven
 Are Past Mans Understanding.
 ICopyright. 1898. by American Press Asso-
 ciationl
 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 I Corinthians xiii, 12, "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 mother's hush for human trouble, it has all the keenness of scimeter and the crushing power of lightning bolt. It portrays with more than painter 8 power, at one stroke picturing heavenly throne and judg- ment 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. It tells how one forbidden tree in the garden blasted the earth with sickness and death and how another tree, though leafless and bare, yet plant ed on Calvary, shall yield fruit which shall more than antidote the poison of the other. It tells how the red ripe clus- ters of Gods wrath were brought to the wine press and Jesus trod them out, and how at last all the golden chalioes of heaven shall glow with the wine of that awful vintage. It 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 its 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 it's mis- sion shall be suspended. I think there may be one Bible in heaven, fastened to the throne. Just as now, in a museum, we have lamp exhumed from Her. oulaneum or Nineveh, and we look at it with great interest and say, "How poor light it must have given compared with our modern lampsp' so I 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- imitation 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 nev- 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 a king and the love of 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. It speaks again and again of the tender mercies 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 day break and go up on Q 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 arbors of alabaster and amethyst. The waters mako pathway of inlaid pearl for the light to walk upon, and there is morn ing on the sea. The crags uncover their scarred visage, and there is morning among the mountains. Now you go home, and how tame your picture of the morning seems in contrast Greater than that shall be the contrast between this Soriptural 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 antithesis 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 it. 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, "I have found himp And yet it is through a glass, darkly. We see not half of that compassionate face. We feel not half boc WdHmtu OA tunt AOFAuB ucuIb. Wo wait for death to let us rush into his outspread arms. Then we shall be face to face Not shadow then, but sub- stance. Not hope then, but the fulfill ing of all pre6gurement. That will be magnificent unfolding. The rushing out in view of all hidden excellency, the coming again of 8 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- Tified intelligence could experience. Oh, to gaze full upon the brow that was lac erated, 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 thought of us by the sea and agonized for us in the garden and died for us in horrible crucifixion, to feel of him, to