Connecticut western news., 1900-08-23

or tnelT passengers Ut tue stdtlon opp xou are in a concert before the curtain hoists and you hear the instruments preparing-the sharp snap of the bro ken string, the scraping of the bow across the viol. "There Is no music in that" you say. It Is only getting ready for the music. And all the enjoyment of the soul in this world. the enjoyment we think is real enjoyment, Is only pre- parative; 1t Is only anticipative; 1t Is only the first stages of the thing; 1t is only the entrance, the beginning of that which shall be the orchestral har- monies and splendors of the redeemed.
 On the Hills of Heaven.
 You cannot test the full power of the soul for happiness in this world. How much power the soul has here to find enjoyment In friendships; but, oh, the grander friedships for the soul in the skiesl How sweet the flowers here, but how much sweeter they will be there! I do not think that when flow CTS die on earth. they die forever. In the sunny valleys of heaven shall not the marigold creep? On the hills of heaven will not the amaranth bloomf On the amethystine walls of heaven will not the jasmine climb? My be- loved is come down into his garden to gather lilies" No flowers in heavenf
 Where, then, do they get their gar lands for the brows of the righteous?
 Christ Is glorious to our souls now,
 but how much grander our apprecia- ton after awhile! A conqueror comes
 back after the battle. He has been
 fighting for us. He comes upon the platform. He has one arm In a sling, and the other arm holds a crutch. AS
 he mounts the platform, oh, the en-
 thusiasm of the audience. They say, '.That man fought for us and imperiled his life for us," and how wild the hug ga that follows huzza! When the Lord Jesus Christ shall at last stand out be- fore the multitudes of the redeemed of
 heaven and we meet him face to face and feel that he was wounded in the
 head and wounded in the hands and
 wounded In the feet and wounded in
 the side for us, methinks we will be overwhelmed. We will sit some time
 gazing In silence until some leader
 amid the white robbed choir shall lift the baton of light and give the signal that 1t Is time to wake the song of ju- bilee, and all heaven then will break forth into "Hosanna! hosanna! Worthy is the Lamb that was slain"
 1 calculate further the value of the soul blythe price that has been paid for 1t. In St. Petersburg there Is a dia- | mond that the government paid $20O,- | GOO for. "Well," you say, 'it must have been very valuable or the govern ment would not have paid S20O,0OO for
 worth and what your soul Is worth by seeing what has been paid for 1t. For that immortal soul the richest
 blood that was ever shed, the deepest groan that was ever uttered, all the griefs of earth compressed into one
 tear, all the sufferings of earth gath
 cred into one rapier of pain and stuck through his holy heart. Does 1t not imply tremendous value?
 The Value of the Soul.
 I argue, also, the value of the soul
 from the home that has been fitted up for 1t in the future. One would have
 thought that street of adamant would have done. No. 1t Is a street of gold. One would have thought that a wall of granite would have done. No, 1t is the flame of sardonyx mingling with the green of emerald. One would have thought that an occasional doxology would have done. No, 1t Is perpetu-
 ] song. If the ages of heaven marched otro otrvl,t lt,n dor tha loo 'egiment, perhaps. might pass out of tight But no. the ages of heaven do lot march in a straight line, but In a | circle around about the throne of God, | forever, forever, tramp, tramp! A soul
 90 bought, so equipped, so provided for | must be priceless soul, a majestic soul, tremendous soul.
 Now, you have seen the two prop ,rties-the world, the soul. One per
 ishable, the other immortal. One un-
 satisfying, the other capable of ever
 increasing felicity. Will you trader | Will you trade even? Remember, 1t Is
 the only investment you can make. If a man sell a bill of goods worth $5,0O0, and he Is cheated out of It, he | may get $5.000 somewhere else; but a man who invests his soul invests all. | Saving that, he saves all. In the light
 of my text, 1t seems to me as If you
 were offering your soul to the highest
 bidder, and hear you say, What Is | bid for 1t, my deathless spirit? What
 Is bid for itf" Satan says, Il will bid
 the world" You say, "Begone, that Is
 no equivalent! Sell my soul for the | world2 No! Begone" But there Is | some one else in the audience not so wise as that. He says, What Is bid | for my immortal soulf' Satan says,
 'T will bid the world" "The worldf | Going at that, going at that, going! | Gonev' Gone forever!
 What is the thing of greatest price The whole creation round8
 That which was lost in paradise,
 That which in Christ is found
 Then let gather round the cros l That knowledge to obtain,
 | Not by the souls eternal loss,
 But everlasting gain.
 We'll, there are a great many people