Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-12-14
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
5UNDAY's DISCOURSE BYTHE NOTED
DIVINE.

Subject: Our Fathers House = Gods
Homestead, Builded ON the Hills OF
Heaven, Provides Rooms For ALL
Vivid Picture of the Celestial Home.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch, 1891
WASHINGTON, D. C.-In II unique way the
heavenly world is discoursed upon by DIR.
Taimage in this sermon under the figure OF
home; text, John xiv, Q, "In My Fathers
house are many rooms"
Here Is bottle of medicine that Is a
cure all. The disciples were sad, and
| Christ offered heaven as an Alternative, n
stimulant and II tonic. He shows them
that their sorrows are only dark back
ground Of a bright picture Of coming
felicity. He lets them know that, though
now they live on the lowlands. they shall
Yet have house on the uplands. Nearly
all the Bible descriptions Of heaven may be
tigurative. I ana not positive that in all
heaven there is II literal crown or harp or
pearly gate or throne or chariot. They
may be only used to illustrate the glorIes
favorite symbol by which the Bible pre-
sents celestial happiness is house. Paul,
who never owned u house, although he
hired one for two years in Italy, speaks OF
heaven as "house not made with hands, I"
and Christ in our text, the translation of
which is little changed, so as to give the
more accurate meaning, says: SIN My
Fathers house are many rooms.''
This divinely authorized comparison OF
heaven to great homestead of large ac-
commodations propose co carry out. In
some healthy neighborhood man builds
a very commodious habitaton. He must
have room for all his children. The rooms
come to be called after the different mem
bers Of the family. That is mothers room,
that is Georges room, that is Henrv's room,
that is Flora's room, that Is Mary's room
and the house is all occupied. But time
goes by, and the sons go out into the
world and build their own homes, and the
daughters are married or have talents
enough singly to go out and do good
work in the world. After while the
father and mother are almost alone in the
big house, and, seated by the evening
stand, they say, "Well. our family is no
larger now than when we started together
forty years ago" But time goes still
further by, and some OF the children are
unfortunate and return to the old home
stead to live, and the grandchildren come
with them and perhaps great gran dchii-
dren, and again the house is full.
Millenpia ago God built on the hills of
heaven great homestead for family in
Vulnerable, yet to be. At first He lived alone
in that great house, but after awhile it
was occupied by very large family, cher
ubic, seraphic, angelic. The eternities
passed on, and many of the inhabitants
became wayward and left, never to return
and many OF the apartments were vacant.
apartments are filling up again. There are
arrivals at the old homestead of Gods
children every day. and the day will come
when there will be no unoccupied room in
all the house.
As you and expect to enter it and make
there eternal residence, l thought you
would like 10 get some more particulars
about the many roomed homestead. SIN
my Fathers house are many rooms" You
see. the place is to be apportioned off into
apartments. We shall love all who are in
heaven, but there are some very good peo-
pie whom we would not want to live with
in the same room. They may be better
than we are, but they are of Il divergent
temperament We would like to meet with
them on the golden streets and worship
with them In the temple and walk with
them on the river banks, but / am glad to
say that we shall live in different apart
ments. "In my Fathers house are many
rooms You see, heaven will be so large
that If one wants an entire room to himself
or herself it can be afforded.
An ingenious statistician taking the
statement made in Revelation, twenty first
chapter that the heavenly Jerusalem was
meas ured and found to be IL 900 furlongs
and that the length and height and breadth
OF it are equal, says that would make
heaven in size 94S sextillion 9SS quintillion
cubic feet, and then, reserving Il certain
portion for the court OF heaven and the
streets and estimating that the world may
last a hundred thousand years he ciphers
out that there are over 5000, 600 000, 900
rooms, each room seventeen feet long, six
teen feet wide. fifteen feet high But have
no faith in the accuracy OF that calcula-
tion. He makes the rooms too small From
all can read the rooms will be palatial
and those who have not had enough room
in this world will have plenty of room at
the last l should not wonder it, instead
of the room that the statistician ciphered
faat aiy .
should be larger than any OF the rooms at
Berlin, st. james or Winter palace. I'm
my Fathers house are many rooms
0Carrying out still further the symbolism
of the text, let US join hands and go up to
this ma jestic homestead and see for our
selves. AS we ascend the golden steps an
invisible guardsman swings open the front
door, and we are ushered to the right into
the reception room OF the old homestead.
That is the place where we first meet the
welcome OF heaven. There must be u place
where the departed spirit enters and Il
place in which 1t confronts the Inhabitants
celestial. The reception room of the new
ly arrived from this world-what scenes 1t
must have witnessed since the first guest
arrived, the victim OF the first frntrcide,
pious Abel! In that room Christ lovingly
greets all newcomers. He redeemed them,
and He has the right to the first embrace on
arrival. What Il minute when the ascended
spirit first sees the Lord! Better than all
we ever rea about Him or talked about
Him or sang about Him in all the churches
and through all our earthly lifetime will
1t be. just for one second to see Him
The most rapturous idea we ever had of
Him on sacramental days or ut the height
OF some great revival or under the uplifted
baton OF I'm oratorio Is bankruptcy OF
thought compared with the first sash of
His appearance in that reception room. At
that moment when you confront each
other, Christ looking upon you and you
looking upon Christ there will be an &C.
static thrill and surging OF emotion that
beggar all description. Look They need
! no introduction. Long ago Christ chose
that repentant sinner, and that repentant
sinner chose Christ. Mightiest moment OF
an immortal history-the first kiss OF
heaven! Jesus and the soul! The soul and
Jesus!
But now into that reception room pour
the glorlfed kinsfolk, enough OF earthly
| retention to let you know them, but with
out their wounds or their scknesses or
their troubles. See what heaven has done
for them-so radiant. so gleeful, so
transportingly lovely! They call you by
name. Thew greet YOU with an ardor uro-