The Yale expositor., 1902-02-28
Must you be carried to the skies


While others fought TO win the prize
Or sailed through bloody seasy
Toplady shouts in HIS old hymn:
Your harps. ye trembling saints.
Down by the willows take:
Loud TO the praise OF love divine
Bid every string awake.
While Charles Wesley. the Method
list. breaks forth in words a little va
riee:
a charge 10 keep you have.
A God to glorify.
a never dying soul 90 save
And NJ Il for the sky.
! look again and see the gallery OF
our departed. Many OF those in the
other galleries we have heard OF. but
these We knew oh. how familiar their
faces! They sat az our tables. and we
walked TO the house OF God In COM
pany. Have they forgotten us? Those
fathers and mothers started us on the
road OF life. Are they careless as TO
what becomes OF us? Anc hose chill
dren-do they look with stond indiffor-
ence as To whether we win or lose this
battle OF life? They remember the
day they left us They remember the
agony OF the last farewell. Though
years In heaven. they know our faces.
They remember our SORROWS. They
speak our names. They watch this
fight for heaven. Nay. I see them rise
up and lean over ana wave before US
their recognition and announcement.
That gallery Is not full. They are
keeping places for US After we have
slain the Hon they expect the king to
call us, saying. Come up higher!" Be
tween the hot struggles In the arena |
wipe the sweat from my brow and
stand on tiptoe. reaching up my right
hand TO clasp theirs In rapturous
handwriting while their voices come
ringing down from the gallery. crying.
BE thou faithful unto death. and you
shall have a crown"
But here I pause. overwhelmed with
the majesty and the Joy OF the scene,
Gallery OF the King Gallery Of an-
gels! Gallery 81 prophets and apostles,
Gallery OF friends and kindred. O
majestic circles OF light and love,
Throngs throngs. throngs, How shall
We stand the gaze OF the universe?
Myrlads Of eyes beamins on us, Myr-
lads OF hearts beating In sympathy for
us! How shall We ever dare TO sin
again? How shall we ever become dis
couraged again? How shall we ever
feel lonely again? With God for us
and angels for Us and prophets and
apostles for US and the great souls OF
the ages for us and our giorified kind
red for us-shaIl we give up the fight
and die? No. Son OF God. who didst
die TO save u.s. No. We angels. whose
wings are spread forth 10 shelter us!
No. We prophets and apostles. whose
warnings stlrtle US, No. ye loved ones.
whose arms are outstretched TO re-
eeive US! No. we will never surren-
der!
Sure I must fight II would reign.
BE faithful 90 my Lord.
And bear the cross. endure the pain.
Supported by thy word.
Thy saints IN all this glorious war
Shall conquer though they die:
They see the triumph from afar
And seize 10 with their eye.
When that illustrlous day shall rise
And all thine armies shine
In robes OF victory through the skies.
The glory shall be thine.
My hearers. shall we die in the
arena or rise to Join our friends In the
gallery? Through Christ we may
come OF more than conquerers. 4
soldier dying In the hospital rose up In
bed tho last moment and cried. Here.
here!" Ills attendants put him back
/ on his pillow and asked him why he
| shouted "Here!' "Oh. / heard the roll
/ call OF heaven. and was only answer
! ing TO my name," | wonder whether
/ after this battle OF this life Is over our
names will be called In the muster roll
/ OF tho pardoned and gloriied and. with
the Joy OF heaven breaking upon our
souls, shall cry. Here. here!"