Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-05-31

| 9oEy 20 dod most hlRh! anu some:
'Hosanna to the son OF Davld!" AMI
some, Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain!' till all exclamations OF endenrment
ana homage In the vocabulary OF heaven
are exhausted aud there comes up surge
| alter surge OF "Amenl Amenl and Amen!'
! Eye natn not seen 1t; ear hath not heard
| IT,. SKIM from the summer waters the
Dtightest sparkles, and you will get
idea OF the sheen OF the everlasting sea.
Pile up the splendors OF earthly cities, and
they would not make stepping stone by
which you might mount to the city OF God.
Every mouse is palace; every house Is IA
| triumph; every covering OF the head II
coronation; every meal is a banquet every
| stroke from the tower Is q wedding bell;
every day is jubilee, every hour rap
lure lure una t every ~ moment an ecstasy. Eye
remark further we can get no idea of
the reunions OF heaven. II you have over
been across the seas and met friend or
even an acquaintance, In some strange
iand, you remember how your blood
what will be our joy, after we have passed
the seas OF death, to meet In tho bright
| city OF the Lord those from whom we have
long been separated. After we have leen
away from our friends ten or fifteen yetrs
and We come upon them we SEQ how diff
ferently they look. Their hair has turned,
and wrinkles have come In their faces.
and We say, "How you have clnnged"'
But, oh, when we stand before the throne.
all cares gone from the face, NIL marks Of
sorrow disappeare l. and. feeling the Joy
| OF that blessed land, methnks we will say
to each other. with an exnltntion we can
not now imagine, How you have
changed!'
little child's mother had died. and
they comforted her. They said: "Yotr
mother has gone to heaven. Don't cry.'
And the next day they went to the grave
| I'd md thax, lptI I'D
down into the ground and the little girl
came up to the verge Of the grave and.
looking down, said: SIS this heaven?" We
have no idea what heaven is. 1t is the
grave here, it is darkness here, but there s
merrymaking yonder. Methinks when IL
| Soul arrives some angel takes it 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 we're torn to pieces at the
inquisition; this is the throne OF the great
Jehovah; this is Jesus" 81 am going to
see jesus" said dying boy; "I am going
10 see Jesus" The missionary said: "You
are sure you will see Hlm?'' ''Oh, yes:
| that's what l want to go to heaven for"
but, said the missionary, suppose Jesus
should go away from heaven-what then?"
II should follow him. said the dying boy
then?" The dying boy thought for mo-
ment and then said, "Where Jesus Is there
can be no helll'' Oh, to stand in his pes
ence! That will be heaven! Oh, to put our
hand into that hand which was wounded
for us on the cross, to go around anil the
gronps Of the redeemed and shake hands
| with the prophets and apostles and mar
| tyrs and with our own dear beloved ones!
That will be the great reunion. We cannot
imagine 1t now. Our loved ones seem so far
away. When We are in trouble and lone
| some, they don't seem to come to us. We go
on to the banks Of the Jordan and call across
to them, but they do not seem to hear.
We say, "1s it we'll with the child, Is 1t
we'll with the loved ones?" aud we listen to
hear IL any voice comes back over the
waters! None, none! Unbelet says. "They
are dead, and they are annihilated," bur,
blessed be God, we have Bible that tells
us different. We open 1t, and we find they
are neither dead nor annihilated, that they
were never so much alive as now, that they
are onlv waiting for our coming and that
we shall join them on the other side CT the
river. Oh, glorious reunion, We cannot
grasp it now! Eye hath not seen, ,uor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart
Of man, the things which God hath pre-
pared for them that love Him.
What place OF explanation 1t will bel I
see every day profound mysteries OF provi-
dence. There Is no question we ask often
er than why? There are hundreds of
graves in Greenwood and Laurel Hill that
need to be explained. Hospitals for the
blind and lame, asylums for the idiotic and
insane, almshouses for the destitute ana u
world OF PAIN and misfortune that demand
more thaA human solution. God will
clear 1t all up. In the light that ponr5
from the throne no dark mystery can lire.
Things now utterly inscrutable will be
illumined as plainly rs though the an
swer were written on the jasper wall
or sounded In the temple anthem. Bar
timeus will thank God that he was
blind and Joseph that he was cast into the
pit and Daniel that he denned with the
lions and Paul that he was hump-hacked
and David that he was driven from Jeru-
salem and that invalid that for twenty
years he could not lift his head from the
pillow, and that widow that she had such
hard work to earn bread for her children.
The song will be all the grander for earth'S
weeping eyes and aching heads and ex-
hausted hands and scourged backs aud
martyred agonies. But we can get no
idea OF that anthem here. We appreciate
the power Of secular music, but do we ap-
preciate the power OF sacred song? There
Is nothing more inspiring to me than
whole congregation lifted on tho wave OF
holy melody. When we sing some OF those
dear old psalms and tunes, they rouse all
the mem cries Of the past. why, some Of
them were cradle songs In our fathers
house. They are all sparkling with the
morning dew OF a thousand Christian Sab
baths. They were sung by brothers and
| sisters gone now, by voices tnat were aReu
and broken in the music, voices none tho
less sweet because they did trembe and
break.
When / hear these old songs sung, 1.
seems as IL all the old country meeting
houses Joined in the chorus and city church
and sailors bethel and western cabins uu-
til tue whole continent lift, the Doxoogy
and the scepters of eternity beat time In
the music. Away then with yonr starvel-
ing tunes that chill the devotions OF the
sanctuary and mako the people sit silent
when Jesus is marching on to victory.
When generals come back from victorious
wars, do we not cheer them and shout,
"Huzza, huzza?" and when Jesus passes
along In the conquest OF the earth snail
we not have for Him one loud, ringing
cheerf
All hail the power OF Jesus's namel
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord OF all.
But, my friends, II music on earth ~ SO
sweet what will 1t be In heaven? They all
know the tune there. All the best singers
OF alI the ages will join 1t, cholrs OF white
robed children, choirs Of patriarchs. choirs
| - or rc olu I'm, hot