The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-18


tie, in his first letter to the Corin-
thians, ii9. Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard; neither hath entered into
the heart of man the things which God
hath prepared for them that love Him."
The congregation was large. The choir
rendered several fine anthems. The
sermon, in part, is as follows:
The words of the text are very remar-
kable as we quote them directly from
the thought of Paul, as he seeks to open
up to the spiritual vision of the believer
the delightful future that awaits the soul
upon the higher planes of a redeemed
celestial existence.
What grand themes Paul presents in
these simple letters to the churches.
Themes that even now fill the soul with
great deep, thrillings of joy and hope;
and that lift the imagination up and on
wings of inspirational thought that en-
brace time and eternity alike.
The language of our text is absolutely
exhaustive in its suggestveness of what
is to come in the divine embodiment of
all things to the soul: 1t is corroborative
of the fact that more Is hid in the ulti-
mates of salvation than the mere saving
from a hell; II is the suggestive reason
ing on the apostles part of the great
idea that the love of God holds in reser-
walton great surprises of ineffable Joy
and perfection as the result of redemp-
tion not to be experienced here.
CURIOSITY OF SOUL.
The mind sometimes delights to dwell
| on the thought of what is coming to us
| in the full fruition of our future in
| heaven, and it is IL natural curiosity of
| the soul.
What dreams we all have INDUCED in,
| in regard to all that is implied in that
| word-Heaven-but here stands a Scrip
| ture that tells us sit has not entered
| into our thought to conceive of what
| God holds in reservation as a gift TO
those who love him. and it is a curious
| statement-a strange statement, indeed
| and vet what an overwhelming one OF
| Gods power TO bless, enrich and eXalt
| his redeemed children in the life which
| is to come.
1t is only by the power of comparison
| as intelligent beings that we can UNDER
stand what Paul meant by this text, and
that comparison must be within the cir
| Gle of what we know and can sense
| here, as human beings, for we cannot
imagine, that, in any possible future
| state man shall be more or less than
man, or that his surroundings in Heaven
| shall be more nor less than what shall
| be natural to the soul.
The Bible gives us no clue that even
the future GLORY" whatever that means,
shall rob us of our distinctive traits that
adhere to each individual soul and with
| which We have begun the round of con-
scous life. Therefore, the thoughts, that
whatever is of the best here, shall be
better hereafter the perfection itself
o. the full revelation of humanity in its
surroundings divnely placed.
BY and through the earthly senses then,
have we a clue to the greater glory
that remains to be developed hereafter
Whatever the eye sees now that is per-
feet relatively, shall be the more Der
feet in the hereafter. AS we take the
physical of man, for instance, while in
the mass our physical forms are
through the influences of sin, marred and
broken, yet occasionally we see rare and
perfect loveliness OF form and feature
in both man and woman, and vet in its
highest earthly type it is and will be- in
fcror to the shapely beauty and grace
with which all of Gods children shall
be moulded when death has destroyed
| the outer sin-bruised shell, and the spirit
| shall appear in Heaven for God to loof
upon and delight in.
MENTAL. STRUCTURE OF MAN.
So in regard to the mental structure OF
man as we see him. In the mass mer
are mentally about the same, and Y6
| make OF that sameness a standard. bat
here and there, uplifted from the mass
are few of rare and wonderful geniuses :
men in art like Raphael and Angelo; me-
| ir philosophy like Bacon and Newton
ren IN craftsmanship like Pitt and Web
stcr, orators and thinkers like Chalmer,
and Beecher: the men and women who
shine and glow in the power and excel
lerce of their mental gifts. The living
evidence of higher possible standards o
human endowment on higher plane'
| CT Gie-such as the redeemed shall eniDN
AS under the smile of God in con
genial home-all souls shall reveal thoil
hest.
So in regard to the disposition or inward
nature of the soul in its relation morally
to others, while the mass may be upor
a plane of selfishness. there are eXcep
tional cases of rare natural sweetness anC
self-denial, that intimate the possibility
of what a soul can be when it shall un
fold beneath the eye and touch of God
So in regard to that beautiful expires
sion of the soul we call philanthropy o,
love of humankind. The mass may be los
in one thought of self gain, self uplift
but, oh, what noble examples we have
of a higher character possible in mar
when we think of Paul; of a John How
ard: of an Elizabeth Fry; of a Florenc,
Nightengale; of Peabody. and theI
think of the divine and holy phlanthrop!
Of Heaven, its beautiful charity of love
when man shall rise above the earthl!
serf and be the lover of his kind il
Heaven. through developement.
As we see man now, we see him sin
SCARED, battle-broken, wrecked ant
ruined not as the glorious soldier wheI
he entered the field of life in Eden
glories, And yet throughout the fall
there remains the power and possibilt.
os attaining perfection in the restoration
? yet to be.
. This text has its endorsement in natur
herself BY care and culture what glor
: les are being revealed by the touch o
: love. AS the florist tolls to unfold tn
hidden possibilities within the humble
: flower, of advanced and still more per
) feet bloom, so there is to be by divln
law under Heavenly conditions an nm
foldment of man on a higher plane tina
shall astonish even man himself.
THE GRAND CONCLUSION.
Well does Paul exclaim. 1T doth no
yet appear what we shall be-" But ther
comes the grand conclusion that we shal
be like Christ, like Him as He appeare
in His humanity to man. like Him n
lie appeared in His divinity to the en-
| raptured John at Patmos, and II He wer
| but the first fruits of them that slept.
. | What shall be the awakening into III
eternal from the sleep of death. of thos
who shall awake in His lkeliness an
His character, one with God?
This great prophetic text gives us the
I an intimation of what we shall be whe
, the curse shall be lifted from us and tn
= God within us shall be revealed TheT
. is an explanation given in the verse tina
: follows as "A context. God hath reveale
them unto us by His spirit" This
}, true! There comes unto us spiritually dee
i insights of just such place as the rel
u elation unfolded to John and there is
o every soul, newborn to God, just sue
g yearnings to be fitted for such a perfe'
/. heaven as God alone can give.
o The unfoldings of the religion OF jest