Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-12-09
NUMBER 40.


ringing from the towers, news herald
ed from the palace gate. Glad newsl
Victorious newsl
Now, ] say these things about the
changes in Heaven, about the new inn
provements in Heaven, for three stout
reasons. First, because l find that
some of you are impatient to be gone.
You are tired of this world, and you
want to get into that good land about
which you have been thinking, pray
ing and talking so many years. Now
be patient. l could see why you would
want to go to an art gallery if some
of the best pictures were to be taken
away this week or next week, but if
some one tells you that there are other
beautiful pictures to come-other Ken
setts, Raphaels and Rubens; other
masterpieces to be added to the gal
lery-you would say: II can afford to
wait. The place is improving all the
time" Now, | want you to apply the
same principle in this matter of reach
ing Heaven and leaving this world.
Not one glory is to be subtracted, but
many glories added. Not one angel
will be gone, not one hierarch gone,
not one of your glorified friends gone.
BY the long practicing the music will
be better, the procession will be
longer, the rainbow brighter, the cor
onation grander. Heaven, with mag
nificent addenda! Why will you COM
plain when you are only waiting for
something better?
Another reason why / speak in re-
gard to the changes in Heaven, and
the new Improvements in Heaven, is
because / think it will be a consola-
ton to busy and enterprising good pec-
pie. see very well that you have not
much taste for a Heaven that was all
done and finished centuries ago. Af-
ter you have been active 40 or so or 60
years, it would be shock to stop you
suddenly and forever; but there is a
progressive Heaven, an ever-accumu-
lative Heaven, vast enterprises on foot
there before the throne of God. Ag-
gressive knowledge, aggressive good
ness, aggressive power, aggressive
grandeur. You will not have to come
and sit down on the banks of the
river of life in everlasting inoccupa-
ton. o busy men, | tell you of
Heaven where there is something to
do! That is the meaning of the pas
sage: "They rest not day nor night"
in the lazy sense of resting.
1 do not think it was superstitions
when, one Wednesday night, stood
by deathbed within a few blocks of
the church where / preached, and on
the same street, and saw one of the
aged Christians of the church going
into glory. After l had prayed with
! her / said to her: "We have ell loved
you very much, and will always cher
ish your memory in the Christian
church. You will see my son before I
see him, and / wish you would give
him our love-" She said: 81 will, I
will" and in 20 minutes she was in
Heaven-the lastwords she ever spoke.
1t was q swift message to the skies. If
YOU had your choice between riding in
a Heavenly chariot and occupying the
grandest palace in Heaven, and sitting
on the throne next highest to the
throne of God and not seeing your de-
parted loved ones; and on the other
hand, dwelling in the humblest place
in Heaven, without crown or throne,
and without garland, and without
scepter, yet having your loved ones
aSound you, you would choose the lat
ter. / say these things because [
want to know it is domestic Heaven,
and consequently it is all the time i'm
proving. Everyone that goes up
makes it brighter place, and the at
fractions are increasing month by
month and day by day; and Heaven, SO
vastly more of a Heaven, thousand
times more of a Heaven, than it used
to be. will be a better Heaven yet.
Oh, say this to intensity your antici-
patton!
| enter Heaven one day. 1t is almost
empty. ! enter the temples of wor-
ship. and there are no worshipers. |
walk down the street, and there are
no passengers. ! go into the orches-
ira, and ] find the instruments are
suspended in the baronial halls OF
Heaven, and the great organs of eter-
nifty, with multitudinous banks OF
keys, are closed. But / see shining
one at the gate, as though he were
standing on guard, and / say: "Senti-
mel, what does this mean? | thought
Heaven was populous city. Has
there been some great plague sweep
ing off the population?" Have you
not heard the news?" says the senti-
mel. "There is a world burning, there
is a great confagration out yonder,
and all Heaven has gone out to look at
the connagration and take the victims
out of the ruins. This is the day for
, which all other days are made. This
, is the Judgment! This morning all
the chariots, and the cavalry, and the
mounted infantry rumbled and gal
loped down the sky" And after had
listened to the sentinel, / looked
off over the battlements, and / saw
q that the fields of air were bright
, with blazing world. l said:
0 Eyes, yes, this must be the Judg'
a ment;" and while stood there / heard
: the rumbling of wheels and the clat
:. tering of hoofs and the roaring OF
k many voices, and then ] saw the coro
4 nets and plumes and banners, and
!, saw all Heaven was coming back agair
o coming to the wall, coming to tn,
n gate, and the multitude that went of
o in the morning was augmented by ;
o yAst multitude caught up alive from
r the earth, and a vast multitude OF thu
h resurrected bodies of the Christian
II dead leaving the cemeteries and thu
obbpve and the mausoleIIms and III,