The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1900-05-18
THE NEW JERUSALEM
Dr.. TaImage Lifts the Curtain from
Eternal Felicities.
The GIOries of Heaven Surpass the
Comprehension of the Finite
Mind-Thcre VIII BE No
Parting There.
Copyright, 1900, by Louis Klopsch.1
Washington,

IN TINS ulScOuTSe LII. IdlbidSC III -
the curtain from eternal felicities and
in an unusual way treats of the Heaven
ly world. Text, L. Corinthians, 2:9:
Eye hath not seen nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart Of
man. the things which God hath pre-
pared for them that love Him."
The city of Corinth has been called.
''the Paris of antiquity" Indeed, for
splendor the world holds no such Won
der to-day. 1t stood on an isthmus
washed by two seas. the one sea bring
ing the commerce of Europe, the other
sea bringing the commerce of Asia.
From her wharfs, in the construction
of which whole Kingdoms had been alb
sorbed, war galleys with three banks
of oars pushed out and cOnfounded the
navy yards of all the world. Huge
handed machinery, such as modern in
vention cannot equal, lifted ships from
the sea on one side and transported
them on trucks across the isthmus and
set them down in the sea on the other
side.
The revenue officers of the city went
down through the olive groves that
lined the beach to collect a tariff from
all nations. The mirth of all people
sported in her isthmian games. and the
beauty of all lands sat in her theaters.
walked her pOrticoes and threw Itself
on the altar of her stupendous dissipa-
tions. Column and statue and temple
bewildered the behOlder. There were
white marble fountains into which
|. !, I Il
waters everywhere known for health
giving qualities. Around these basins,
twisted into wreaths of stone. there
were all the beauties of sculpture and
architecture. while standing, as if to
guard the costly display. was a statue
of Hercules of FURNISHED Corinthian
brass. Vases of terra Gotta adorned.
the cemeteries of the dead-vases so
costly that Julius Caesar was not salts
fed until he had captured them for
Rome. Armed officials. the Corintharii.
paced up and down to see that no stone
was defaced, no pedestal overthrown.
no bas relief touched. From the edge
of the city hill arose. with its mag
nificent burden of columns. towers and
temples O,0OO slaves waiting at one
shrine), and citadel so thoroughly
impregnable that Gibraltar is n heap
of sand compared with it. Amid all
that strength and magniicence Corinth
stood and defied the world.
Oh. it was not to rustics. who had
never seen anything grand, that Paul
uttered this text. They had heard the
best music that had come from the best
instruments in all the world; they had
heard songs floating from morning por-
ticoes and melting in evening groves;
they had passed their whole lives
among pictures and sculpture and
architecture and Corinthian brass.
which had been nodded and shaped un-
til there was no chariot wheel in which
it had not sped. and no tower in which
it had not glittered, and no gateway
that it had not adorned. All, it was a
bold thing for Paul to stand there amid
all that and say: "All this is nothing.
These sounds that come from the tenn
pie of Neptune are not music compared
with the harmonies of which / speak.
These waters rushing in the basin of
Pyrene are not pure. The statues of
Bacchus and Mercury are not exquisite.
Your citadel of Acrocorinthus is not
strong compared with that which of
fer to the poorest slave that puts down
his burden at that brazen gate. You
Corinthians think this is a splendid
city. You think you have heard all
sweet sounds and seen all beautiful
sights, but tell you eve hath not seen
nor ear heard. neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love
Him."
You see, my text sets forth the idea
that, however exalted our ideas of
Heaven, they come far short of the
reality. Some wise men have been cal
culating how many furlongs long and
wide is the new Jerusalem, and they
have calculated how many inhabitants
there are on the earth. how long the
earth will probably stand, and then
they come to this estimate: That aft
er all the nations have been gathered
to Heaven there viii be room for each
soul, room 16 feet long and IS feet
wide. 1t would not be large enough
for you. 1t would not be large enough
for me. / am glad to know that no hui
man estimate is sufficient to take the
EYE hath not seen, nor
ear heard" nor arithmeticians calcu-
lated.
first remark that we can get no idea
of the health of Heaven. When YOU
were a child, and you went out in the
how you bounded along the
road or street-you had never felt sor-
row or sickness. Perhaps later you
felt a glow in your cheek and a spring
in your step and an exuberance of spir-
its and a clearness of eye that made
you thank God you were permitted
to live. The nerves were harp strings
and the sunlight was doxology. and
the rustling leaves were the rustling
of the robes of great crowd rising up
to praise the Lord. You thought that
you knew what it was to be well, but
there is no perfect health on earth. |
The diseases of past generations came |
down to us. The airs that now float |
upon the earth are not like those which |
Aoated above Paradise. They are
charged with impurities and distem-
pers. The most elastic and robust |
health of earth, compared with that |
which those experience before whom |
the gates have been opened. is nothing |
but sickness and emaciation. Look atF
that soul standing before the throne. /