St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-12-09


that they made hin stay 36 years, and
side by side Augustus Toplady. who has
got over his dislike for Methodists, and
Charles Wesley. freed from his dislike
for Calvinists, and George W. Bethune
as sweet as a song-maker as he was
great rs a preacher and the author OF
The Village Hymns" and many who
wrote in verse or song. in church or by
eventide cradle, and many who were
passiona.ely fond of music, but could
make none themselves, the poorest
singer there more than any earthly
prima donna and the poorest players
there more than any earthly Gottschalk
Oh, that music room, the headquarters
of cadence and hythm, symphony and
chant, psalm and .antiphon! May We
be there some hour when Haydn sits
at the keys of one of his own oratorios,
and David the psalmistfingers the harp,
and Miriam of the Red sea banks claps
the cymbals, and Gabriel puts his lips
to the trumpet and the four and twenty
elders chant, and Lind and Parepa rem
der matchless duet in the music room
Of the old heavenly homestead! I'm
my Fathers house are many rooms"
Another room in our Fathers house
will be the family room. 1t may CORE
spond somewhat with the family room
on earth. AT morning and evening, You
know, that is the place we now meet.
Though every member Of the household
have a separate room, in the family
room they all gather, and joys and sor-
rows and experiences of all styles are
there rehearsed. Sacred room in all
our dwellings, whether it be luxurious
with ottomans and divans and books in
Russian lids standing in mahogan:1 case
or there be only few plain chairs and
a cradle. So the family room on high
will be the place where the kinsfolk
assemble and talk over the family ex-
periences of earth, the weddings, the
births, the burials, the festal days OF
Christmas and Thanksgiving reunion.
Will the children departed remain chill
dren there? Will the aged remain aged
there? Oh, no! Everything is perfect
there. The child will go ahead to
glorified maturity. and the aged will
60 back to glorified maturity. The ris-
ing sun of the one will rise to meridian,
and the descending sun of the other will
return to meridian. However much we
love our children on earth, we would
consider it a domestic disaster II they
staid children, and SO we rejoice at their
growth here. And when we meet in
the family room of our Fathers house
we will be glad that they have grandly
and gloriously matured, while our par
ents, who were aged and infirm here, We
shall be glad to find restored to the
most agile and vigorous immortality
there. If 40 or IS or so years be the
apex Of physical and mental life on
earth, then the Heavenly childhood will
advance to that, and the Heavenly old
age will retreat to that. When we join
them in that family room we shall have
much to tell them. We shall want tc
know of them, right away, such things
as these: Did you see us in this or that
or the other struggle? Did you know
when we lost our property and sympa.
thize with us? Did you know we had
that awful sickness? Were you hover
ing anywhere around us when we
plunged into that memorable accident?
Did you know of our backsliding? Did
you know of that moral victory? Were
you pleased when we started for
Heaven? Did you celebrate the hour
of our conversion? And then, whether
they know it or not, We will tell them
all. But they will have more to tell MS
than we to tell them.
Ten years on earth may be very event.
full, but what must be the biography of
ten years in Heaven? They will have to
tell us the story of coronations, story
OF news from all immensely, story of
conquerors and hierarchs, story of
wrecked or ransomed planets. story of
angelic victory over diabolic revolts, of
suns, of obliterated con-
of new galaxies kindled and
swung. of stranded comets. of worlds
on fire and story of Jehovah's majestic
reign. If in that family room of our
Fathers house we have so much to tell
them of what we have passed through
since we parted, how much more thrill
ing and arousing that which they have
to tell us Of what they have passed
through since we parted! Surely that
family room will be one Of the most IA
vored rooms in all our Fathers house.
What long lingering there, for we shall
never again be in n hurry! "Let me
open q window" said a humble Chris
tian servant to Lady Raffles, who. be-
cause of the death of her child. had shut
herself up in dark room and refused
to see anyone. "You have been many
DAYS in this dark room. Are you not
ashamed to grieve in this manner, when
you ought to be thanking God for hav-
ing given you the most beautiful child
that ever was seen, and, instead of leav-
ing him in this world till he should be
worn with trouble, has not God taken
him to Heaven in all his beauty? Leave
Of weeping and let me open . win
dow" So to-day am trying to open
upon the darkness Of earthly separa-
ton the windows and doors and rooms
Of the Heavenly homestead. "In my Fa-
theirs house are many rooms"
How would it do for my sermon to
leave you in that family room to-day?
I am sure there is no room In which
you would rather stay than in the en-
raptured circle Of your assembled and
glorified kinsfolk. We might visit other
rooms in our Fathers house. There
may be picture galleries penciled not
with earthly art, but by some process
unknown in this world, preserving for
the next world the brightest and most
scenes Of human history,
md there may be lines and forms Of
earthly beauty preserved whittier and
chaster and richer than Venetian sculp-
lure ever wrought rooms beside
rooms, rooms over rooms, large rooms,
majestic rooms, opalescent rooms,
rooms. I'm my Fathers
house are many rooms"
Hope none Of us will be disappointed