The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-03-12


of the future, now sounding with the
crackle of consuming worlds, now
thrilling with the joy of the everlast-
ing emancipated. 1t tells how one for
hidden tree IN the garden blasted the
earth with sickness and death, and
how another tree, though lealess and
bare, yet, planted on Calvary, shall
Weld q fruit which shall more thai
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. Itdazzles the eye with
an Ezekiars vision of wheel, and
wing, and fire, and whirlwind; and
stoops down so low that it can put its
lips to the ear of q dying child and
say, Come up higher"
And yet Paul, i .my text, takes the
responsibility of saying hat it is only
an indistinct mirror, and that its mis-
sion shall be suspended. l 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 Nineveh, and we look
at it with great interest and say, How
poor a light it must have given COM
pared with our modern lampsp So l
think that this Bible, which was n
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 Illumination of Heaven. The
Bible now is the s~caffolding to the ria'
ing temple, but when the building is
done there will be no use for the scat
folding.
The idea 1 shall develop to-day is
that in this world our knowledge is
comparatively dim and unsatisfactory,
but nevertheless Is Introductory to
prander and more complete vision.
This is emiuently true in regard to our
view of God. We near so much about
God that we conclude hat we under
stand Him. He is represented as hav-
ing the tenderness of a father, the
frmness of a judge, the majesty of a
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 il trembles on the tongue
OF the dying oc~togenarian. 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 aud again of the tender mercies
OF God: of the sure mercies; of the
great mercies; of the mercy hat en-
dureth forever; of the multitude of
His mercies. And yet l know that the
views we have of this great being are
most indefinite, one-sided and incom-
complete. When at death. h gates
shall fly open, and we shall
look directly upon Him, how
new and surprising! We see up
on canvas a picture of the morn
ing. We study the cloud in the sky,
the dew upon the grass, n the hus-
bandman 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 tran sfgured. The
FURNISHED gates of Heaven swing open
and shut, to let past q host of fiery
splendors. The clouds are all abloom,
and hang pendent from rbors of ala
baster and amethyst. The waters
make pathway of inlaid pearl for the
light to walk upon, n there is morn
ing on the sea. The crags uncover
their SCARED vissage, and there is
morning among the mountains. Now
you go home. and how tame your pic
ture of the morning seems in contrastl
Greater thar that shall be the con-
trast between this Scriptural view of
God and that which we shall have
when standing face to face. This is a
picture of the morning that will be
the morning itself.
Again, my text is tru of the Saviour's
excellency. By image, and sweet
ryhthm of expression, and startling
antithesis, Christ is set forth-His
love, His compassion, His work, His
life, His death, His resurrection We
are challenged to measure it, to COM
pute 1t, to weigh it. In the hour of
our broken enthrallment we mount up
into high experience of His love, and
shout until the c~ountenance glows,
and the blood bounds, and the whole
nature is exhilarated, Il have found
Himr And yet it is through a glass,
darkly. We see not half of that COM
passionate 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
lace 10 lbCS NOb Snu0OW b4CLlI Odb
substance. Not hope then, but the
fulhllment of all preigureInent. That
will be a magnificent unfolding. The
rushing out in view of all hidden ex-
cellency, the coming again of a long
absent Jesus to meet us-not in rags,
and in penury, and death, but amidst
q light, and pomp. and outbursting
Joy such as none bnt.a glorifed intelli-
gence could experience. Obi to gaze
full upon the brow hat 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, II
thought of us by the sea, and agoniZed
for us in the garden, and died for u in
horrible crucifixion; to feel Of Him, to
embrace Him, to take His hand, to
kiss His feet, to run our fingers along
the scars of ancient suffering; to say,
This is my Jesus! lie gave Himself
for me. / shall never leave His pres
ence. l shall forever behold His glory.
/ shall certainly ear His voice. Lord
Jesus, now 1 see Thee! l behold where
the blood started, where the tears
coursed, where the lace was distorted.
1 have waited for this hour. / shall
never turn my back on Thee. No more
looking through imperfect glasses.
No more studying Thee i N the dark
ness. But, as long as this throne
stands, and this everlasting river
flows. and those g~arlands bloom, and
these arches of victory remain to greet
home BeaVen's ~conquerors, SO long L
shall see Thee, Jesus of my choice; for
ever and foreVer-face to FACET