Connecticut western news., 1900-05-17

the prophets. thrones or the patrtarchS, thrones of the angels, thrones of the apostles, thrones of the martyrs, throne of Jesus, throne of God. And we turn round to see the glory, and 1t is thrones, thrones, thronesl .,t-s s... John bids us look again and see the great procession of the redeemed pass Ing. Jesus, on a white horse, leads the march, and all the armies of heaven follow on white horses. Infinite cav alcade passing, passing; empires press ing Into line; ages following ages; dispensation tramping after dispensa- ton; glory in the track of glory; Flu rope, Asia, Africa, North and South America pressing into lines; islands of | the sea shoulder to shoulder; genera | tions before the flood following gener- ations after the flood, and as Jesus rises at the head of that great host and waves his sword in signal of victory all crowns are lifted and all ensigns swung out and all chimes rung and all halleluiahs chanted, and some cry, "Glory to God most highv and some, 'Hosanna to the son of David" and some, Worthy is the Lamb that was
 
 ment and homage in the vocabulary of heaven are exhausted and there comes | up surge after surge of "Amen! Amen! and Amenr' Eye hath not seen It; | ear hath not heard It." Skim from the summer waters the brightest sparkles, | and you will get no idea of the sheen | of the everlasting sea. Pile up the | splendors of earthly cities, and they would not make a stepping stone by | which you might mount to the city of | God. Every house Is a palace; every | step Is triumph; every covering of the head coronation; every meal is ban quet; every stroke from the tower is a | wedding bell; every day Is a jubilee every hour a rapture and every mo- ment an ecstasy. Eye hath not seen | 1t; ear hath not heard it."
 f 1 remark further we can get no idea | of the reunions of heaven. If you have | ever been across the seas and met | friend, or even an acquaintance, in some strange land, you remember how | your blood thrilled and how glad you were to see him. What will be our joy, | after we have passed the seas of death,
 
 | those from whom We have long been separated. After we have been away | from our friends 10 or 15 years and we | come upon them we see how different ly they look. Their hair has turned, | and wrinkles have come in their faces, and we say, How you have changedw | But, oh, when we stand before the | throne, all cares gone from the face, | all marks of sorrow disappeared, and, feeling the Joy of that blessed land, | methinks we will say to each other, with an exultation we cannot now im- | agine, How you have changedv'
 In this world we only meet to part.
 It Is goodby, goodby; farewells floating In the air. We hear 1t at the rail car window and at the steamboat wharf l goodby. Children lisp 1t and old age | answers 1t. Sometimes we say 1t in a | light way-"goodby'-an sometimes with anguish In which the soul breaks down. Goodby! An, that Is the word that ends the thanksgiving banquets! 1 That Is the word that comes in to close the Christmas chant. Goodby, goodby! | But not so In heaven. Welcomes in the | air, welcomes at the gates, welcomes at the house of many mansions, but no | goodby. That group Is constantly be- ing augmented. They are going up from our circles of earth to join lt-lit- | tie voices to join the anthem, little
 hands to take hold in the great home circle, little feet to dance in the eternal glee, little crowns to be cast down be-
 fore the feet of Jesus. Our friends are
 in two groups-a group this side of the | river and group on the other side of l the river. Now there goes one from | this to that and another from this to I that, and soon we will all be gone over.
 How many of your loved ones have al-
 ready entered upon that blessed place?
 If I should take paper and pencil, do
 you think could put them all down?
 An, my friends, the waves of Jordan
 roar so hoarsely we cannot hear the joy on the other side when that group
 Is augmented!
 A little chiId's mother had died, and
 they comforted her. They said: "Your
 mother has gone to heaven. Don't cry!"
 And the next day they went to the
 graveyard. and they laid the body of
 the mother down into the ground, and
 the little girl came up to the verge of
 the grave and, looking down, said, "Is
 this heavenY We have no idea what
 heaven Is. It is the grave here, 1t Is
 darkness here, but there Is merrymak-
 Ing wonder. Methinks when a soul ar
 riyes some angel takes 1t around to
 show 1t the wonders of that blessed
 place. The usher angel says to the
 newly arrived: "These are the martyrs
 that perished at Piedmont; these were
 torn to pieces at the inquisition; this is
 the throne of the great Jehovah; this
 Is Jesus." II am going to see Jesus,
 said a dying boy; "I am going to see
 Jesus." The missionary said, You are
 sure you will see him?' "Oh, yes;
 that's what I want to go to heaven
 for" But" said the missionary, "sup.
 pose Jesus should go away from heav.
 en--what thenY' q should follow him, 2
 said the dying boy. But if Jesus went
 down to hell-what thenY The dying
 boy thought for moment and then said, "Where Jesus Is there can be nc
 hellv Oh, to stand in his presence That will be heaven! Oh, to put oul
 hand in that hand which was wounded } for us on the cross, to go around ami6 ) the groups of the redeemed and shake hands with the prophets and apostles l and martyrs and with our own dear | beloved ones! That will be the grea , | reunion. We cannot imagine 1t now Our loved ones seem so faraway. Whe1 . we are in trouble and lonesome, they , don't seem to come to us. We go on t, ! l,ah ho nP J,a , to them, but they do not seem to hear r We say, 'Is 1t well with the child, Is i . we'll with the loved onesY and we lis t ten to hear if any voice come bacl over the waters. None, none! Unbelie says, ''They are dead, and they are an , initiated" but, blessed be God, WI