The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1902-03-07
A charge to keep you have,
A God to glorify,
A never dying soul to save
And At it for the sky!


A never dying soul to save
And fit 1t for the SKY!
I 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 at our tables, and we
walked to the house of God in COM
pany. Have they forgotten us? Those
fathers and mothers started us on tho
road of life. Are they careless as to
what becomes of us? And those chill
dren-do they look with stolid indiffer-
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, see them rise up and
lean over and wave before us their
recognition and encouragement. That
gallery is not full. They are keeping
places for us. After we have slain the
lion they expect the King to call us,
saving: "Come up higher!" Between
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 handshaking,
while their voices come ringing down
from the gallery, crying: BE thou
faithful unto death, and you shall have
crown!"
But here pause, overwhelmed with
the majesty and the joy of the scene!
Gallery of the King! Gallery of an
gels! Gallery of prophets and apos-
ties! Gallery of martyrs! Gallery OF
saints! Gallery of friends and kindred!
| o majestic circles of light and love!
Throngs, throngs, throngs! How shall
we stand the gaze of the universe?
Myriads of eyes beaming on us! Myri-
ads 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 apos-
ties for us and the great souls of the
| ages for us and our glorified kindred
for us-shall we give up the fight and
die? No, Son of God, who .didst die to
save us! No, we angels, whose wings
are spread forth to shelter us! No, we
prophets and apostles, whose warm
ings startle us! No, we loved ones,
whose arms are outstretched to receive
us! No; we will never surrender!
Sure must fight II I would reign,
Be faithful to 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 it with their eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise
And all thine armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be thine.
NV hearers, shall we die in the arena
or rise to Join our friends in the gal.
lery? Through Christ we may come
off more than conquerors. A soldier
dying in the hospital rose up in bed the
last moment and cried: Here, herei'
His attendants put him back on his pill
low and asked him why he shouted
"Herel" "Oh, heard the roll call Of
Heaven, and was only answering to
my namel" / wonder whether after
this battle of this life is over oul
names will be called in the muster rol
! of the pardoned and glorified and, with
the joy of Heaven breaking upon ON
: souls shall cry: Here, hersiT