Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1912-06-20
SATURDAY NIGHT
SERMONS
.Wsl BY
. AEgSAMIJEL
9 WpURyTSDD
is THERE a HEAVEN

Inc Ills ana cares OF lie are so many
that If there is no heaven there is no
hope. The ancents peered into the
darkness like sailors looking toward
the ocean before Columbus time. The
Hottentot says heaven will be place
| of cool streams and no cacti Desert
dwellers think of 1t as an oasis with
clear springs and palm trees. The peo-
| pie of the frozen north think of 1t as
| land Of warm sunshine. But the
| geographer has circled the globe. and
neither tropie Of Cancer. tropic of Cap
ricorn nor arctic circle contains the
| long for elysium Turn to the Chris
tian's Bible--heaven is both here and
there place and a condition. Christ
says both: The kingdom of heaven
lieth within you" Il go to prepare a
place" Heaven on the way to heav-
en-! Here Joy and peace and happi
ness; there joy. peace and happiness,
only there removal of limitations Of
enjoyment would Ike to locate it,
| place my finger on the heavenly map.
| for ! expect to live there some day
But the good book only puts up a sign
board anu points the way.
Jerusalem the Golden.
| San Francisco is the Golden Gate
City, Buffalo Queen City Of the Lakes,
| Baltimore Monumental City. Washing
| ton City of Magnificent Distances, Bos
ton the Hub, Philadelphia City of
Brotherly Love, New York the metrop
| oils. Heaven is Jerusalem the Golden
| "a city not built with hands nor gray
with years, whose inhabitants never
grow old. no census has numbered;
there no nodding plume Of hearse
creeps with its dead to the tomb; a
| city without graves. pain or sin. angels
| for guards, saints for citizens. I've
| heard Shrek of mangled form under
| wheels of car, groan of agony on bos-
pital bed, sob of mother over firatborn
| dead. Heaven shall be harp. rrum
| pet, grand march. shouts and hallelu-
| iahs, the doxology OF many nations
| ringing through streets of eternity.
Earth may be the 9Th and sgualor of
Constantinople; heaven Ike Redlands.
awave with palms. heavy with fra
| GRANGE of orange groves or flowers
from Smiley heights. san Bcrnardino
in background. afar green moss lap
| ping sands of golden Pacific. And |.
| John, saw the holy city. Holy in
what? In its people. For it is not
only what heaven viii be- but what
we will be- One night last summer a
hat flew into my church. The lights,
| the music. the singing, had no attrac-
ton for him He was out Of place
| So would be sinner in heaven.
| "Where the Treasure ls"-
Man is the provident animal; so is
| the squirrel The little rodent. how
ever, stores but for one winter. Man
lays up for eternity, not where moth
! and rust doth corrupt and where,
thieves break through and steal" but
in heaven. Where the treasure is
there the heart will be also" Are
you squirrel man or a God man?
mot ct for heaveng True. we're not.
Nor is that pile of filthy rags in the
scavengers cart quite ct to be creamy
| sheets of note paper. What men can
do with refuse In ragman's cart God
can do-and more-with soiled human
lives after the grossness Of earth has
been removed Don't know the way?
II am the way" says Christ John
G. Fremont blazed way across con-
tinent. / follow now in the Overland.
Recognize them? Indeed we shall.
I'm my Fathers house." says Christ.
Queer house where you wouldn't recog-
nize your own folks. It's "a feast"
Strange feast where no one would
know his neighbor It's wedding
| supper" That means homecomings,
congratulations. shouts of merrimenr.
If you are d stranger at such it isn't
for long.
Whence7 Where? Whittier?
| "Whenee?" Doesn't matter. In a
neighbours house they're sewing and
quilting and curiously embroidering.
The softest things are being laid aside
to greet little pilgrim of love when it
comes from distant regions we know
not whence "Where?" We're here.
No emperor's child's cradle prepared
with such magnificence as this world
for man. Curiously carved and deco
rated, covered with flowers, curtained
with stars, walls of fragrance. glories
Of colors. harmonies of sound feasting
festivity and smiles Between the
mountain peaks of eternity we are in
the valley of Now. In the Where in
which the Almighty hath placed us.
Whittier" know not any more than
the grub in the mud of the mill pond
knows the whjlher Of his beautiful
dragon fly ancestor or the lowly cater
| pillar can follow the fight of his moth
er. the magnificent butterfly Some
thing draws me. feel the call of in
dnity. stood on roof Of great expo
sition building on opening day. Be
meath In the vice plaza were 5000
wicker baskets. At 10 O'clock noon
there was trumpet call from the bat
tlement OF the building. Five thousand
doors were opened Five thousand pi-
geons emerged. Upward they mounted