The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-04-26

shadow and far from fountain. alone,
Ivultures circiing through the air waiting
for our body. unknown to men. and to
have no burial. * only Christ would say
Through the soIitudes: Il will meter leave
thee. I viii never forsake thee" From
that pillow OF stone n ladder would soar
I~heavenward, angels coming n going,
and across the solitude and the barren
mess would come the sweet notes or
heavenly minstrelsy.
Last Hours ON Earth.
Gordon Hall, far from home. dying In
the door OF n heather temple. said,
GLORY 10 thee. o God.' What did dy-
ing Wilberforce say TO his wife: Come
and sit beside me and let US talk OF
heaven. / never knew what happiness
was until ] found Christ" What did
dying Hannah More say? ITO got to
heaven, think what that Is, To go TO
Christ, who died that I might live. Oh,
glorious grave, Oh, what a glorious
thing il is TO die. Oh. the love Of Christ.
the love OF Christi" What did Mr.. Top
lady, the great ~hymnmaker. say in his
last hour? "Who can measure the depth
of the third heaven? Oh, the sunshine
that fills my SOUL I shall soon be gone.
for surely no one can live here after such
glories as God has manifested to my
soul"
What did the dying Janeway say? Il
can as easily die as close my eyes or turn
my head in sleep. Before a few hours
have passed / shall stand on Mount Zion
with the one hundred and forty and four
Thousand and with the just men made
perfect, and We shall ascribe riches n
honor and glory and majesty and do
n,r.1 ,rDt4 Cd nn4 .bn anaS III
Taylor, condemned TO burn at the stake,
on his way thither broke away from the
Iguardsmen and went bounding and leap
ing and jumping toward the fire, glad TO
Igo to Jesus and To die for him. Sir
ICharles Hare in his last moment had
such rap;urous vision that he cried. Up
ward. upward, Upward" And SO great
was the peace Of one Of Christ's disciples
that he put his fingers upon the pulse in
his wrist and counted ii and observed its
Ihalting beats until his life had ended
here to begin in heaven. But grander
than that was the testimony OF the worn
out first missionary. when in the Mamar-
tine dungeon he cried: Il am now ready
to be offered. and the time of my depar-
Iturc is n hand. | have fought the good
fight. ! l.:~c finished my course. | have
kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid
up for me Il crown OF righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
give me in that day, and not TO me only,
but to all them that love his appearing"
do you not see that Christ is above all in
dying alleviations?
Toward the last hour Of our earthly
residence we are speeding. When | see
the spring blossoms scattered. l say, "An-
other season gone forever" When /
close the Bible on Sabbath night. | say,
Another Sabbath departed" When |
bury a friend, | say, Another earthly
attraction gone forever" What nimble
feet the years have. The roebucks and
the lightnings run not so fast. From dec
ade to decade. from sky to sky, they go
! at a bound. There is a place for us,
whether marked or not, where you and
I will sleep the last sleep, and the men
are now living who will, with solemn
tread, carry us to our resting place.
Brighter than a banqueting hall through
which the light feet Of the dancers go up
and down to the sound of trumpeters
will be the sepulcher through whose riffs
the holy light of heaven streameth. God
will watch you. He will send his angels
to guard your slumbering ground. until.
at Christ's behest. they shall roll away
the stone.
So also Christ is above all in heaven.
The Bible distinctly says that Christ is
the chief theme of the celestial ascrip-
ton, all the thrones facing his throne, all
the palms waved before his face. all the
crowns down at his feet. Cherubim TO
cherubim. seraphim TO scraphim. redeem
ed spirit to redeemed spirit shall recite
the Saviour's earthly sacrifice.
The GIories of Eeaven.
Stand on some high hill of heaven, and
in all the radiant sweep the most glori-
Gus object will be Jesus. Myriads gazing
on the scars OF his suffering. in silence
first, afterward breaking forth into accla-
nation. The martyrs. all the purer for
the fame through which they passed. will
say, This is Jesus. for whom we died"
The apostles, all the happier for the ship
wreck and the scourging through which
they went, will say. This is the Jesus
whom we preached at Corinth and in
Cappadocia and at Antioch and at Jeru-
salem" Little children clad in white will
say, This is the Jesus who took US in his
arms and blessed US and when the storms
of the world were too cold and LOUD
brought us into this beautiful place" The
multitudes of the bereft will say, This
is the Jesus who comforted US when our
heart broke" Many who had wandered
clear off from God and plunged into vaga-
bondism, but were saved by grace, will
say: This is Jesus who pardoned US.
We were lost on the mountains, and he
brought US home. We were guilty, and
he made us white as snow. Mercy bound
less, grace unparalleled. And then, after
each one has recited his peculiar deliver
ances and peculiar mercies, recited them
as by solo. all the voices will come to-
gether in a great chorus which shall make
the arches re-echo with the eternal rever-
beration Of gladness and peace and tri-
umph.
Edward I was SO anxious to 60 to the
Holy Land that when he was about to
expire he bequeathed 100000 to have
his heart after his decease taken and
deposited in the Holy Land, and his re-
quest was complied with. But there are
hundreds today whose hearts are already
in the holy land Of heaven. Where
your treasures are. there are your hearts
also. John Bunyan. OF whom I smoke NJ