The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-12-16

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its of all ages would never have been
gained. Had there been no battle,
there would "a been no victory.
Nine-tenths of the anthem of heaven
would never have been sung. Heaven
could never ave been a thousandth
part of the heaven that IL Is. / will
not say that / am glad that sin and
sorrow did enter. but / do say that
I am glad that after God has given all
his reasons to an assembled universe
he will be more honored than IL sin
, and sorrow had never entered and
tha the unfallen celestials will be out
done and will put down their trumpets
to listen and it will be in heaven when
those who have conquered sin and .or-
row shall enter as it would be in a
small singing school on earth IL Thai
berg and Gottschalk and Wagner and
F., Beethoven and Rheinberger and Schu>
mann should all at once enter. The
! immortals that have been chanting
10,00 0 years before the throne will say,
| as they close their librettos, "Oh, if
we could only sing like that" But
God will say to those who have never
fallen and consequently have not been
redeemed, you must be silent now;
you have not the qualification for this
anthem" So they sit with closed lips
and folded hands, and sinners saved
by grace a k up the harmony, for the
Bible says mo man could learn that
song but the hundre and forty and
four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth"
THE RECOMPENSE OF SIN.
A great prima donna, who can now
dc anything with her voice, told me
that when she first started in music her
teacher in Berlin told her she could be
a good singer, but a certain note she
could never reach. And then" she
said, Il went to work n studied and
practiced for years until l did reach it,"
But the song Of the singer redeemed,
the Bible says, the exalted harmonists
who have never sinned could not reach
and never will reach. Would you like
to hear me in a very poor way play a
snatch Of that tune? I can give you
only one bar of the music on thisg gospel
harp, Unto him that hath loved US
and washed us from our sins in his own
blood and hath made us kings and
priests unto God and the Lamb, to him
be glory and dominion forever and ever
amen" But before leaving this inter-
rOgatory, why God let sin come into
the world, let me say that great battles
seem to be nothing but suffering and
outrage at the time of their occurrence,
yet after they ave been a long while
past we can see that it was better for
them to have been fought, namely, Sal
amis, Inkerman, Toulouse, Arbela,
Agincourt, Trafalgar, Blenheim, Lex
ingtOn, Sedan. So now that the great
battles against sin and suffering are
going on we can see mostly that which
is deplorable, but 10000 years from
now, standing in glory, we shall appre-
ciate that heaven is better off than if
the battle of this worlds sin and suf-
fering had never been projected. But
now I come nearer home and put a
! dark saying on the gospel harp, a style
of question that is asked a million
times every year. Interrogation the
fourth: Why do 1 nave it so hard while
others W. it to easy, or why do I
have so much difficulty in getting a
livelihood while others go aroun with
a full pOrtemonnaie, or why must I
wear these plain clothes while others
have to push hard to get their ward
robes closed, so crowded are they with
brilliant attire, or why should 1 have
to work so hard while others have 365
holidays every year? They are all
practically = one question. l answer
them by saying it is because the Lord
has His favOrites, and He puts extra
trial because he has for you extra
glory, extra enthronement, and extra
felicities.
That is no guess of mine, but a di-
vine say so, ''Whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth.'' WELL" say some one
Il would rather nav a little less in
heaven and a little more here. Dis
count my heavenly robe 10 per cent
and let me now put it on a fur lined
o%vercoat. Put me in a less gOrgeOu
room of the house of many mansions
and let me Lave a house here in a bet.
ter neighborhood." No, no. God is not
going to rob heaven, which is to be
your residence for nine hundre quad
l rillion of years, to fix up your earthly
abode, which you will occupy at most
e. 1~-- ~~l - 800 go,
may perhaps stay only ten year:
, longer, or only one year, or perhaps &
. month more. Now you had better
, cheerfully let God have his way, for
you see, he a been taking care OF
folks for near 5000 years. and knows
how to dc it, and a see what is best
for you, better than you can your
self. DOM think you are too insight
ficant to be divinely cared for. 1t was
said that Diana, the goddess, could no1
be present to keep her temple at Ephe-
sus from burning because she was at
tending upon the birth Of him who was
TO be Alexander the Great. But I tel
you that your God and my God is sc
! great in small things as we'll as large
things that he could attend the cradle
of a a and at the same time the
burning Of a world.
DIVINE CHASTISEMENT.
<Allo 1oo III IidAC IL Il ISL h
you, and there is no song that you will
sing every hour our first ten years in
heaven, and the refrain of that song
will be. Il I'M so glad God did not lei
me have it my own way!" Your case
will be all fixed up in heaven, and
there will be such a reversal of condi-
lions that We can hardly find ZACH 9th
er for some time. Some of us who have
lived in first rate houses here and ir
first rate neighborhoods will be found
because of our lukewarmneSS of earth.
= ly service, living on one of the bach
streets of the celestial city, and clear
down at the end of it at No. sos or 80!
or 1905, while some who had unattrac.
+ tive earthly abodes, and a crampeG
one at that, will in the heavenly city
be in a house fronting the royal plaza
right by the imperial fountain, or in
> the heights overlooking the river OF
life, the chariots of salvation hating
? at your door, while those visit YOU
> who are more than ant
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