Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-05-18
LIFTS TIL CURTAIN.
ReV. Or. TALmAGE SPEAKS or The
SPLeNDoaS OF HEAVEN.


Far short OF the RcsIity-A Glori-
ON. Union Awaits Us.
WASHINGTON. May 13.-In this dis
course DIR. Talmage lifts the curtain
from eternal felicities and in an unusu-
al way treats OF the heavenly world;
text, L Corinthians II. 8. Eye hath not
seen nor ear heard. neither have en-
tered into the heart OF man. the things
which God hath prepared 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 today. Vt 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 ore 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 n 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 porticos and threw itself
on the altar of her stupendOIs dissipa-
tons. Column and statue and temple
bewildcred the beholder. There were
white marble fountains into. which.
from apertures ut the side. there rush.
ed waters everywhere known for health
giving qualities. Around these basins.
twisted into wrcaths OF stone. there
were all the beauties OF sculpture and
architecture, while. standing. as if to
guard the costly display. was n 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 Corintha-
rii, paced up and down TO see that no
statue was defaced, no pedestal over
thrown. no bas-relief touched. From
the edge of the city hill arose. with
its magnificent burden of columns.
towers and temples 1000 slaves wait
ing at one shrine), and n citadel so
thoroughly impregnable that Gibraltar
is heap of sand compared with it,
Amid all shat strength and magnifi-
cence Corinth stood and defied the
world
n hn hnA
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
porticoes and melting in evening groves;
they had passed their whole lives
among pictures and Sculpture and ar
chltecture and Corinthian brass which
had been nodded and shaped until
there was no chariot wheel I'm which il
had not sped. and no tower I'm which IL
had not glittcred. and no gateway that
IL had not adorned. All. IL was n 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 i'm the basin of
Fyrene are not pure; these statues of
Racchus and Mercury are not exqui-
site; your citadel OF Acrocorinthus is
not strong compared with that which 1
offer TO the poorest slave that puts
down his burden ut that brazcu gate.
lou Corinthians think this Is splen-
did city; you think you have heard all
sweet sounds and seen all beautiful
sights, but ] tell you eye 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 re-
atty. 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 after
all the nations have been gathered to
heaven there will be room for each soul.
n room lG feet long and 10 feet wide.
IL would not be large enough for you;
IL would not be large enough for me. /
am glad TO know that no human esti-
mate is sufficient to take the dimen-
siOns. Eye hath not seen nor ear
heard or arithmeticians calculated.
FIRST remark that we can get no idea
or the health OF heaven. When You
were child and you went out I'm the
morning. how you bounded along the
road L..
row or sickness. Perhaps later you felt
II glow In your cheek and n spring in
Your step and an exuberance of spirits
ana clearness OF eye that made Won
thank God you were permitted to live.
The nerves were harp strings, and the
sunlight was doxology, and the rus
thng leaves were the rustling of the
robes OF great crowd rising I'D to
praise the Lord. You thought that YOU
knew what II was TO be well, but there
Is no perfect health on earth. The dis
eases or past generations came down to
us. The airs that now float upon the
earth are not like those which floated
above paradise. They are charged with
impurities and distempers. The most
elastic and robust health of earth
compared with that which those ex-
perience before whom the gates have
peen opened. Is nothing but sickness
ana enac:ation. Look at that soul
standing before the throne. On earth
she was lifelong invalid. See her
step now and hear her voice now.
Catch. II you can. one breath of that
ceiestia! air. Health in all the pulses
heaith or vision, health os spirits-,im-
mortar health. No racking cough, no
Hnarp pieurlsies, no consuming fevers,
no exhaustinS pains, no hospitals of
wounded men. Health swinging in the
air; health flowing in all the streams.
health blooming on the banks. No
headaches. no side aches, no back aches.
That child that died in the agonies of
Group, hear her voice now ringing In
the anthem; that old man that went
bowed down with the infirmities of