Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-02-16

OF them. Then you looked up and
cried out, 20 God, how many stars
are there?" And the answer seemed
to come to you: There are as many
stars as the leaves OF the trees In the
forests about thee. They are greater
than any man can number" "Oh,"
you say. lit is impossible for any man
to count the stars" Yes, my friend,
you are right; It is impossible.
But here an overwhelming thought
comes rolling over me like n tidal
wave. They who have turned many
| to righteousness are great multitude.
Not only in our day, but in past years
and past centuries, men have been win
ming souls for Christ, and we, IL we
have been laboring for him, will live
and shine among that innumerable
throng. We are not going to be like
great fiashlight shining in the heav-
ems above, but our stars shall shine
with other stars. All the prophets and
/ the apostles will be there. All the
eyangehsts and the sweet singers of
Israel will be there. All the mighty
! leaders for God In the past ages Will
| be there. No earthly hall Of fame
| would ever be large enough to hold
! that vast asssznhlags OF gospel heroes
ana -hefoiass. Cannet goa feel the
spiftfsiSx setecfrse shFsit Of such an as
semblaSe az that2e ~
Yos know that an tudsence or a great
collection Of people nas4ks peculiar en-
tity as well as a-singls human being.
A dear friend % n,lne Asonse wears ago
was attending insLondsns "a great Inter
national gathering of the Representa-
tives OF the salvation Army. For hours
he stood in the gallery watching the
convention progress. "As meeting fol-
| lowed meeting" said he. "a strange
! spirit OF conservation seemed to take
possession of that vast assemblage.
You could almost see this spirit as well
| as feel It. You were swept along by
| the holy enthusiasm Of the delegates,
whether you We're n Salvation Army
man or not. So powerful became this
spirit that man standing near NE
who was not Christian said: There
must be something In Christianity.
There must be something supernatural
about it. These people are. in dead
earnest. / cannot get away from it.
Thus in heaven, when we get there,
we shall all feel the spiritual electric
thrill of being in close touch with hun
dreds upon hundreds and millions upon
millions OF soul winners. When all
these vast multitudes OF soul winners
shall lift up their voices In praise they
will lift us up. Oh, my friends. do you
not rejoice that in heaven, voc will
spend an eternity with those who have
glorifed God on EARTH There you shall
be In touch with them In numbers, as
the stars which shine forever and ever.
An Ideal Heaven.
But though I like today to think OF
| the multitudes OF soul winners who
shall be enrolled among the inhabitants
| OF heaven, cannot think OF an ideal
heaven simply as great mass of i'm
mortal souls, jostling each other on the
boulevards OF the New Jerusalem.
would not care for heaven wherein
every man and woman and child Is to
lose his individuality and cease to have
affinities with other immortal souls.
oh, no. would not want heaven like
that. believe that In heaven we shall
meet multitudes OF immortals who
have been soul winners con earth, but
! 7 alse believe that those sonl winners
shall keep their Municipalities and that
the same loves OF earth which made
husband cling to wife and wife to hus-
band and parents to children and chill
dren to parents and friends TO friends
will all be there. BY the stellar glory
| OF the night l think we may infer it,
For they that be wise shall shine as
the brightness OF the armament, and
they that turn many TO righteousness
as the stars forever and ever"
The more we learn OF the stars and
their movements the more clearly does
this appear. The unscientiiic man can
see nothing but chaos and confusion I'm
the stars OF the heavens. AS he looks
| up into the armament he says: MY,
how many stars there arel They seem
to be everywhere. There seem to be
stars tumblins and stars jostling and
stars pushing. Here is falling star,
and yonder that mass OF white is n col
lection OF Stars so close together that
they seem to be a perfect mob OF stars
running riot" But as ne goes on thus
an astronomer by his side says: "Nay,
friepd. you are wryng,. The stars may
| seem to You TO. besrnnning riot. bat
that IL not so. .rhe Bfitisll army upon
the MARCH sas~afd WstsFsoo, with che
DuEV AZ Welitfsgton fsrftsscmmander
never Nwas mere egaerly- or haxi, steyner
disdfpfins than ~ &tafs nndJr divine
IsrulSnShip. Eachrsxaa has its snoanted
placSsveeh moves IN its-cwn, ciress. and
sosystematie are these movements that
astronomers can calculate down. to the
very Sntnrfe when q star will pass a
given, place -or disappear" Thus we
ind that the Ornament of the heavens
10 q great cosmos. 1t is collection OF
stars gathered into groups, each star
having Its own place In a separate
group with other stars.
This was conclusively proved by
William Herschel, the great English
astronomer Herschei for years studied
the laws which bound star to star. In
his day no man knew more about them
than he did. I'm nearly every branch
OK modern physical astronomy he was
pioneer" wrote his biographer; che
was the virtual founder of sidereaI sci
ence. As an explorer OF the heavens he
had but one rival. his own son." After
years OF study. William HerscheI evolv-
co this beautiful theory Of the heavens.
which, l believe, Is the symbol OF our
future celestial existence. The ancient
Chaldeans first gathered the stars into
groups or consultations. They had the
Dipper and Orion and the Bear and the
Bull, the Ram, the Twins. the Water
pot, the Scales, the Fish, the Sea Goat
and others too numerous to mention.
But 1T remained for the modern astron-