Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-11-22

be the health OF that land which never
feels cut OF cold or blast of heat and
where there Is no east wind sowing
| pneumon.as en- the air, your heetness
| greater than the foot OF deer. your eye
sight clearer than eagle la sky. perfect
health, Ia a country where all the In
habitants are everlastingly Welt You
who have In your body an encysted
bullet ever since the civil war; you who
have kept alive only by precautions
and self denlals and perpetual watch
Ing OF pulse and lung; you Of the deaf
ened ear aud dim vision and the severe
backache; you who have not been free
from pain for ten years, how do you
like this story OF physical reconstruc-
| ton, with all weakness and suffering
subtracted and everything jocund and
bounding added?
Do not have anything to do with the
gloom that Harriet Martineau express
ed In her dying words: 81 have no rea-
son to believe In another world. I have
had enough OF life in one and can see
no good reason why Harriet Martineau
should be perpetuated." Would you
not rather have the Christian enthusi-
one said, 81 will be satisfied IL I man.
| age somehow to get into heaven" re-
piled. pointing to sunlSen vessel that
was being dragged up the river Tay:
Would you like to be pulled into heav-
en- with two tugs like that vessel yon-
der? l tell you I would like to go In
with all my sails set and colors flying"
Again, let me introduce the element
Of hope to those good people who are
in despair about the worlds moral con-
dition. They have gathered up appaIl-
ing statistics. They tell OF the number
of divorces, but do not take into con-
sideration that there are a thousand
happy homes where there Is one of mar
ital discord. They tell you of the large
number In our land who are living
prohigate lives, but forget to mention
that there are many millions OF men
and women who are doing the best they
can. They tell you the number Of
drunkeries In this country, but fail to
mention the thousands of glorious
churches with two doors-one door open
for all who win enter for pardon and
| consolation and the other door opening
into the heavens for the ascent Of souls
prepared for translation.
Those pessimists do not realize that
Two inventions of our times are going
| to make It possible under God to bring
| this whole world into salvable and mil
lenniel condition within few weeks
| after those two inventions shall be
turned into the service of God aud
| righteousness, as they viii be. / refer
TO the telegraph and the telephone. II
yeu think that God allowed those two
inventions to be made merely to get
rapid information concerning the price
of railroad stocks or to call up n friend
and make with him business engage
ment. you have a very abbreviated idea
or what can be done and will be done
with those two instruments. The in
telligence OF the world is to be expand
ed, and civilization will overcome bar
barism, and illiteracy will be extirpat-
ed, aud the promise will be literally full
fllcd-"a nation born in day"
Let Hope say TO the foreboding: do
all you can with Bible and spelling
book and philosophic apparatus, but
toll With the sunlight in your faces or
| your efforts Will be failure. The pal
lor In the sky is not another phase of
the night but the first sign of ap-
preaching day, which Is as sure to
come as tonight Will be followed with
tomorrow. Things are not going to
ruin. The Lords hosts are not going
to be drowned in the Red sen Of trou-
BILE. Miriam's tlmbrel will play on the
high banks Israel Delivered High
hope for the homel High hope for the
churchl High hope for the worldr'
Introduce the angel OF Hope to
those who have through disease lost
Christian friends. How could find
them." says bereft soul. up there In
the land of the multitudinousY You
may find them by inquiry, by heavenly
escort and by unfailing memory of the
guard at the gate. "And he carried ME
away I'm the spirit TO n great and high
mountain and showed me that great
city. the holy Jerusalem, descending
out OF heaven from God, having the
glory or God, and her light was like
unto stone most precious. even like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal, and had
a Wall great and high and had twelve
gates and at the gates twelve angels"
So you see there will be an angel
guarding each gate. AS you go I'm ask
the armed guard. He saw your loved
one pass through and will know the d.
rection to take and by what fountain
or In what street OF gold Is the man.
sion prepared. The blessed Christ
knows where your departed loved one
Is. and he Will tell you If no one else
will Fifty ways OF finding out the
whereabouts or your assembled one.
But VIII ] surely know him when I
get there. for he will be 30 changed7'
Yes. for you VIII be just as much
changed, and the old affinity will as
sert Itself. The soul Will be as easily
distinguished by soul there as on earth
tho body Is distinguished by the body.
Cultivate Hope.
Open that closed instrument Of mu-
sic In your parlor that has not been
played on since the hand OF the depart.
cd player forgot its cunning. Put I'D
before you on the music board the
notes Of the hymn OF Isaac Watts aud
sing. There 10 a Land of Pure De-
light; or James Mont9omery's hymn,
WHO Are These In the Bright Array?'
or Fillmore Benefits Sweet Bye and
Bye" or Jerusalem the Golden" Take
some tune In the major key-"Ari.i" or
Mount Pisgah." While you play and
sing the angel OF Hope Will stand by
you and turn the leaves and join In the
rapturous rendering. Reunion with the
loved and losti Everlasting reunioni
No farewell at the door OF any man
sion! No goodby at any of the twelve
gates! No more dark apparel OF mourn
ing. but white robe OF exnftat.on!
Hope now is on it's knees with face I'D.
lifted. but Hope there will be on tiptoe
or beckoning you TO follow, saying:
Come and hear the choirs singi Come
and see the procession march, Come
and see the river of life rolll Come
with me over the hills that rise into
everlasting heights" Celestial Alps