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KitiM^imssm^jm
GLIMPSES OF GLORY;
OR,
INCENTIVES TO HOLY LIVING.
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AN ANTIDOTE TO WEARINESS IN WELL-DOING, AND
COMBORT FOR THE AFFLICTED AND
BEREAVED.
EDITED BY ZETHAR.
' Faith, Hope, and Love were questioned what they thought
Of future glory, which religioii taught.
Now, Faith believed it firmly to be true ;
And Hope expected so to fintl it too ;
Love ansvc;red, smiling with a conscious glow,
' Helieve I expect I ! I know it to be so.' "
TORONTO:
WIIvKIAM EBRIGOS,
WESLEY UUILDINGS.
Montreal: C. W. COATES. Halifax: S. F. HQESTIS.
Entered according to ihc Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one
t housand eight hundred and ninety , by Richard Stkaciian, i caford,
at the Department of Agriculture.
CONTENTS,
Heavenly Aspirations. Editor
I Shall bcj Satisfied. Anon.
The Soul a Yearning for Home E. T. Bkichwell, M
Heavenly Meditation a Duty. F.W.Robertson
"Seeing as in a glass." Editor
The Interior Sight. Chriatian Advocate -
The Spirit's Insight. Editor - - . .
The Transforming Gaze. Rev. O. A. Page
Beyond. Emily J. Bugbee - ■ . ,
Living in the Beyond. Christian Advocate
The Unseen Land. I^ancy A. W. Priest
A View from Promise Ground. Guide to Holinesa
Foretaste of Heaven. Francis Atterbury
Foretaste and Consummation. Thomas ^Seeker
The Great Hereafter. Otivay Jurry, Esq.
A Glance at the Future. P, P. Daley .
Looking over Jordan. Christian Advocate
Glimpses of Heaven. Inter -Ocean -
The Veil of the Unseen. Rev. Thos. Whitehead
The Future State. Rev. John Gilmour
Faith Changed to Sight. J. Oio
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THE INTERIOR SIOTIT.
1
heavens opened, and the Son of man standing? on the
right hand of (iod."
Superhuman power, vsuch as we find in the souls of
the martyrs, is given only to those who possess the
interior spiritual sight. Here do we find the soul's
greatest capacity ; greatest, because this is capable of
revealing the deepest essential truths. This eye with-
in, quickened in its visual energy by the fulness of
the Holy Ghost, is neither slow in its action nor
limited in its field of observation. In that solemn
moment when the soul is about to leave its earthly
tenement, and soar away to its heavenly home, all
truth lies open before it. Illimitable expanse is now
its portion. Whatever the interior sight reveals to us
in such an hour will be associated with the one infinite
name — Jesus. This gives us strength. The fagot and
the flame, the rude missiles of death and the scorn of
an infuriated mob, are as nothing then. Oh, what a
revelation when the Son of man stands forth at the
right hand of God in our behalf !
Isaiah had this interior sight, and cried, " Behold,
God is my salvation ; I will trust and not be afraid,
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song."
Zachariah also saw, and shouted aloud, " Rejoice greatly
O daughter of Zion ; behold thy King cometh." John
the Baptist " seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith.
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of
the world." The mighty Lord, the Creator of all flesh,
calls upon His redeemed universe, " Look unto Me, and
be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."
— Christian Advocate.
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THE SPIRITS INSIGHT.
21
THE SPIRITS INSIGHT.
M
"A soul inspired with the warmest aspirations after celestial
beatitudes keeps its powers attentive." — Watts.
Oft as I think about the home above,
Where Jesus ha>i prepared a place for me,
I fain would have the power to pierce the cloud
Which drapes the narrow vale 'twixt earth and heaven
That I mijrht see the glory of the place
Prepared for me as my abiding home.
But I must die ere I can see, and know, >
All I desire of that celestial state.
Yet, with the earnest of its hallowed bliss
Within my heart, how near it seems to be,
Though still to mortal eyes the while unseen.
Here, by the spirit's insight I can catch
Some pleasant glimpses of that glorious place ;
And, though I view as through a darkened glass,
It animates my hope, and helps my soul
To drink the spirit of that blest abode.
I seem to hear its sacred melodies.
And take a part in heaven's pure delight,
Till, filled with rapture, I press on to reach
That heavenly goal. I long to enter there
And mingle with its blood-washed company,
With them to see and praise our blessed Lord.
There, when I gain that beatific sight.
And am transformed before my Saviour's face,
I shall drink in full draughts of endless bliss
And shall for evermore be satisfied.
— Editor.
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THE TUANSFOUMING GAZE.
THE TRANSFORMING GAZE.
If Christ, as an object of faith, viewed throui^h the
medium of His Gospel, exerts such a transform in jij
iniiuence now, what will be the effect of clear, full,
and open vision ? Let the beloved John reply : " We
know that, when He shall appear, wo shall be like
Him ; for we shall see Him as He is." The vision of
Christ in His glory will transform us into His own
image. When faith gives place to sight, the assimilat-
ing influence will be more powerful. Dwelling in the
presence of Christ, we must partake more of His
nature.
We know something of how the law of association
operates here. The companionship of those whom we
admire and love has a wonderful, transforming power
upon us now ; and could we always live with some
pre-eminent saint, who was a perfect model of all that
was good, it would tend greatly to reproduce in us his
graces and virtues. Good Mr. Simeon had Henry
Martyn's picture hung over his fireplace. Looking at
it, he would say : " There, see that blessed man !
What an expression of countenance ! No one looks at
me as he does. He never takes his eyes off, and seems
to say, * Be serious ! Be earnest ! Don't trifle ! ' "
Then smiling at the picture, and gently bowing, he
would add, " And I won't trifle."
Perhaps some may think that was making too much
of a good man's picture. But if the portrait of the
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23
holy and devoted Martyn could produce such an ctt'ect
as that, what will be the result of dwelling constantly
in the presence of our glorified Saviour ? What
assimilating influence will that have ? In Him is all
perfection, and that, too, in an infinite degree. Hero
we have moral beauty and glory without a marring
blemish or a dimming shade. The more closely we
study the model the more we are enamored of its per-
fection, and the more we shall feel its transforming
power ; and the effect will be increased by the fact
that the perfect One in whose presence we dwell, and
on whose glory we gaze, is He whom, above all other
beings in the universe, we adore and love.
— Rev. G. a. Padk.
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BE YOND.
Oh ! depths unknown,
Oh ! wide unfathomed seas,
That circle round His throne.
Who dwellest high and lone.
Where noise and tumult cease.
In the eternal peace.
Insatiate, unrepressed,
Our longings still arise.
Our weariness confessed,
Far reaching after rest.
Where the full ocean lies
Beyond the veiling skies.
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LIVING IN THE BEYOND.
llow scant the store
Of knowledge gathered here ;
Small pcbble.s on the shore,
The .«oul cries out ior more.
Doth God bend down His ear,
Our longing cry to hear ?
Nearer to Thee,
Great source of life and light,
The child upon our knee,
From pride and doubting frop,
Than man, from boasted height
Of intellectual might.
— Emily J. liuGJiEE.
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LI VING IN THE BE YOND.
This is practical religion. The true Christian enjoys
the blood-bought privilege of filling his soul with the
hope of future felicity. To encourage us in the path
of toil, or to strengthen us in the fiery furnace of
affliction, God has opened to the eye of faith the golden
streets of the Celestial City. Far from disturbing
those relations that rightly belong to the present state
of existence, these blessed glimpses serve to prepare us
more fully for our life-work.
Do not suppress these aspirations ; only let us see
to it that they are supported by a living, intelligent
faith. Rev. John Wesley, in his day, was confronted
i^IVINQ IN THE UKYOND.
25
with that form of error which claimed a certain
unselHshrK ss in Christ's service, disdaininj^ to accept a
reli<(ion t nt has in it the sweetness of heavenly antici-
pations. The consequences that follow such teachincj
are always harmful. The Christian should even " look
for a city " beyond the rann;e of mortal vision. Moses
"had respect unto the recompense of the saved."
David in his saintliest years lived much in the beyond ;
millions since his day have delighted in his rich,
heavenly melodies. His " city of the living God," was
not only Jerusalem, not only the spiritual Church on
earth ; it was the Eternal City as well. Around this
his thoughts gathered, toward this his soul aspired —
oftentimes in prophetic minstrelsy touched by the
Spirit of God, and, therefore, in depth of meaning
beyond his perfect comprehension.
The world will never outjrrow the need of the
heavenly vision. While yet in the thickest conflict of
life, or " passing through the fires " of affliction, let us
cast a frequent glance toward the beyond. It is God's
will that we should sing in every condition :
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*'0 sweet and blessed countiy,
The home of God's elect ;
O sweet and blessed country,
That eager hearts expect !
Jesus, in mercy bring us
To that dear land of rest ;
Who art, with God tlie Father,
And Spirit, ever blest."
— Christian Advocate.
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THE UNSEEN LAND.
THE UNSEEN LAND.
Beyond these chilling winds and gloomy skies,
Seyond 'leatli's cloudy portal,
There is a land where beauty never dies,
And love becomes immortal.
We may not know how sweet its balmy air.
How bright and fair its flowers ;
We may not hoar the songs which echo tliero,
Throuixh those enchanted bowers.
The city's shininj^j towers we may not see
With our dim, earthly vision ;
For death, the silent warder, keeps the key
That opes these gates elysian.
But sometimes, when adown the western sky.
The fiery sunset lingers,
Its golden gates swing inward noiselessly.
Unlocked by unseen fingers ;
And while they stand a moment half-ajar,
Gleams from the inner glory
Stream brightly through the azure vault afar,
And half -reveal the story.
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A VIEW FROM PROMISE GROUND.
27
land unknown ! O land of love divine !
Father, all-wise, eternal,
Guide, guide these wandering way-worn feet of mine
Into those pastures vernal.
— Nancy A. W. Piiiest.
A VIEW FROM PROMISE GROUND.
I LOVE to walk through promise ground.
What glorious light ! The whole land glows
With heavenly radiance. . . .
I love to gaze afar, where stand
The mountains, hiding e'en their heads
In clouds of mystery ; for though
My mortal vision cannot view
Their summits, 'tis enough to see
God's glory in the clouds, and to
Adore the Infinite. And there
Are nearer joys. Exultant now,
I pluck and taste delicious fruits
Of precious promise verified
To me ; while, to my brow, there came
Sweet-scented breezes from the bloom
Of promise gardens that shall yet
Be mine. My loving Guide now points
Away, where in the distance far —
A line of light unrivalled bounds
My sight ; and, in soft cadence, says,
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28 FORETASTi; OF HEAVEN„
" Mid the perennial blooms of that
Fair, blissful, boundless land shall be
Thy home." Again I glance o'er all
The landscape. There my every sense
Is pleased ; I ask no higher bliss.
Than, fixed upon this rocky cliff,
To spend my days.
— Guide to Holiness.
FORETASTE OF HE A VEN.
If we really live under the hope of future happiness,
we shall taste it by way of anticipation and fore-
thought; an image of it will meet our minds often,
and stay there, as all pleasing expectations do.
— Francis Atterbury.
A TRUE saint every day takes a turn in heaven, his
thoughts and desires are like cherubims flying up to
paradise.
— Thomas Watson.
We want to lift the mind up, so that we may get a
conception of the possibilities and character higher
than w^e have found them in this world, and we are to
get it by setting our aflections on things above.
— H. W. Beeoher.
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THE GREAT HEREAFTER.
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FORETASTE AND CONSUMMATION.
If there be so much delight in believing, oh, how
much more in beholding ? What is the wooing-day to
the wedding-day ? What is the sealing of the convey-
ance \>o the enjoyment of the inheritance ? or the fore-
taste of glory to the fulness of glory? The good
things of that life are so great, as not to be measured ;
so many, as not to be enumerated ; ti,nd so precious, as
not to be estimated. If the picture of holiness be so
comely in its rough drafts, how lovely a piece will it
be in all its perfections ? Every grace which is here
seen in its minority, shall be seen there in it maturity.
— Thomas Seeker.
THE GREAT HEREAFTER.
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[The following poem was always a favorite with Bishop D. W.
Clark, and in his dying hours was repeated by him ; quickening
his faith and inspiring his h-^; e of heaven.]
'Tis sweet to think, when struggling
The goal of life to win,
That just beyond the shores of time
The better years begin.
When through the nameless ages
I cast my longing eyes.
Before me, like a boundless sea,
The Great Hereafter lies.
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30 THE GREAT HEREAFTER.
Along its brimming bosom
Perpetual summer smiles,
And gathers like a golden robe
Around the emerald isles.
There, in the blue, long distance,
By lulling breezes fanned,
I seem to see the flowering groves
Of the old Beulah land.
And far beyond the islands.
That gem the waves serene,
The image of the cloudless shore
Of holy heaven is seen.
Unto the Great Hereafter—
Aforetime dim and dark —
I freely now and gladly give
Of life the wand'ring bark.
And in the far-off* haven,
When shadowy seas are passed,
By angel hands its quivering sails
Shall all be furled at last.
— Otway Curry, Esq.
.-aTanrwa
A GLANCE AT THE FUTirilE.
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A GLANCE A T THE FUTURE.
I FIND it exceedingly profitable to turn my mind
and heart forward to the future, to the great future,
which will soon be to us an everlasting 'present. If
the past, and present, be so precious to us, the future
must be more so. As much must it exceed them as
does the end attained exceed the means used. If cur
hearts glow with gratitude to God for what He has
done for us already, what will it be when faith is lost
in sight ? Those fadeless crowns which now seem so
distant, and to which we look forward with much
apprehension, lest Satan should, after all, wrest them
from us, will then be fitted to our brows. We shall
then embrace that Saviour in whom we have believed,
and in him find full and perfect rest. O the future !
The blood-bought inheritance of the saints ! How
should its hopes and prospects stimulate our hearts,
filling them with love and gratitude and holy desire.
My poor weak heart needs to feed daily upon this
heavenly manna. Often I send it journeying heaven-
ward; faith leads the way, up through the golden
portals, across the heavenly plain, down beside the
river of the water of life, and underneath the tree of
life — where I am wont to gather strength for the cares
and duties of the day. The rapturous songs of praise
which in that blest clime fill every heart and ennloy
every harp and tongue, leave upon my soul such an
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LOOKING OVER JORDAN.
impress of praise and thanksgiving^ that no earthly
influence can erase.
—P. P. Daley.
LOOKING OVER JORDAN.
As the pastor passed the door of one of his humble
church-members in his daily walks, it was not unusual
for him to receive some cheering word. She lived
near to her Saviour, and she was always alive to
spiritual things. One day as her pastor was passing
she hastened to raise the window, and to his inquiry,
" How are you to-day, auntie ? " she replied, " Oh, look-
ing over Jordan." By faith she could explore the
sweet fields beyond. She had foretastes of the precious
fruits. She drank of the pure river of the water of
life. And such is the privilege of all the children of
God, but one of which, alas ! too few avail themselves.
To most the heavenly Canaan is a dim and shadowy
land, far away. And so, great is their loss. It might
be their blessed experience, as it was of this poor
woman, " rich in faith," that
"The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets."
GLIMPSES OF HEAVEN.
33
GLIMPSES OF HE A VEN
Sometimes when the days are dreary,
And the heart's aweary,
A strain of music sweet
Seems to float us to heaven afar,
Where the angels that us greet
The dear longed-for loved ones are.
Sometimes when the days are dreary,
And the heart's aweary,
The distant church-bells pealing
Call our spirits from earth away,
Till at the feet of Jesus kneelinoj
We find the rest for which we pray.
Sometimes when the days are dreary.
And the heart's aweary,
Thoughts of a smile, a clasp of the hand,
Help us the stony path along,
To that far-off happy land,
Where we'll find eternal soncr.
My heart's aweary,
The days are dreary ;
God grant the day'll soon come
When life's battle o'er for me,
Forgiven, God, for Thy dear Son,
And I at rest shall be.
— Chicaco Intbe-Ocean.
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TITE VEIL OF THE UNSEEN,
THE VEIL OF THE UNSEEN.
This world T deem Imfc a beautiful dream
Of shadows that are not what they seem ;
Where visions rise, givinj^ dim surmise
Of that which shall meet our waking eyes.
Arm of the Lord ! Creating Word !
Whose glory the silent skies record,
Where stands Thy name in scrolls of flame,
'Neath the firmament's high-shadowing frame.
I gaze overhead, where Thy hand hath spread
For the waters of heaven their crystal bed ;
And stored the dew in its deeps ot* blue.
Which the fires of the sun come tempered through.
Soft they shine through that pure shrine,
As beneath the veil of Thy flesh divine
Shines forth the liijfht that were else too brisfht
n
For the feebleness of a sinner's sight.
I gaze aloof on the tissued roof,
Where time and space are the warp and woof,
Which the Kinoj of kinoes as a curtain flintjs
O'er the dreadfulness of eternal things.
A tapestried tent, to shade us meant
From the bare, everlasting firmament ;
Where the glow of the skies comes soft to our eyes,
'Neath a veil of mystical imageries.
—Rev. Thos. Whitehead.
THE FUTURE STATE.
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THE FUTURE STATE.
It is a graphic description of man's present state,
that " he never is, but always to he bhisscd ; he is made
for the future, he lives in the future, he " is saved by
hope." He who can look on the future with hope has
already tinged his night of sorrow with a ray of the
morning, and expects soon to emerge into the light of
day. Under the influence of Christianity hope puoses
beyond the limits of time, and expatiates on the future
of eternity. There it finds its legitimate range,
moves amidst elements of purity, blessedness, and
glory ; it rises above the disappointments of time and
rests on the certitudes of immortality. Life, as well
as immortality, is brought to light by the Gospel, and
there good hope through grace is entertained.
The certainty of the future is something, and makes
the nature of that future become matter of earnest
inquiry and of greater importance than the future
simply considered ; that I am to be, when I have left
this world, is one thing, but what I am to be is another.
Now, though the future, even of the Christian, is
veiled to some extent, perhaps as Tr.uch from his own
incapacity as any stint of revelation on the subject,
yet enough is made known to awaken inquiry, inspire
hope, and greatly modify conduct ; for though it doth
not yet appear what he shall be, when Christ shall
appear he shall be like Him ; and he who hath this
hope, purifieth himself even as He is pure. . . .
The Spirituality, Responsibility and Immortality of
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THE FUTURE STATE.
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man are ultimate facts of his nature — moral impressions
into wliich he does not so much reason liimself as believe
that they are so. On these moral instincts of our nature
revelation has thrown a flood of light, and made them
shine in noontide ray. The hope of the future, of
which the Scriptures speak, seldom touches the present
period of our existence ; it dwells amid the visions of
immortality, it means more than is often thought;
" Hope that is seen is not hope, for what a man seeth,
why doth he yet hope fQr ; " but it expatiates over
that future which commences at death, and extends,
at least, to the redemption of the body, and then
careers over that (jndless life which ensues. . . .
A blink of the sun in a cloudy day has its own value,
besides what it promises. Those vapors which now
shroud his beams, and hide his face, will soon dissipate.
Creation must not parade her analogies before us in
vain. We are now performing the first stage of our
spiritual history, amidst clouds of ignorance, sin, and
grief; yet relieved by many a blink from the Sun of
Righteousness ; but instead of being too much pleased
with such occasional gleams, we hail their prophetic
character, and hasten to behold the King in His glory
in the land which is now afar off. The inhabitants of
heaven are greatly in advance of us in clearness, of the
religious dispensation at any time existing upon earth.
They knew before they left this earthly scene, that the
spirit of a just man was made perfect; yet how dim
that knowledge compared with that which they now
enjoy in the paradise of light — here they mused on
THE FUTUUE STATE.
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Kiidi Hul'jcct.s to wearlsonieness, and after all, saw them
only in dim outline ; there, study does not weary,
reason does not err, affections do not p>dl ; " In God's
]i»rht they see li^jht." They comprehend with all
saints, gain the mastery of essential truth, know the
love of Christ, which passeth knowled(i;e. The will
does not there traverse a narrow round, it pursues its
course among unmixed good, and inclines towards the
intinite glory. The moment of introduction into the
inheritance of the saints in light will be an incon-
ceivable advance in our eternal history; yet it is only
like a spring that clears every impediment — every
influence that can lead astray — an entrance on our
history of celestial development, as one has said, with
great power and beauty : " How heaven has grown
and shall grow, heaven out of heaven, it never appear-
ing what shall be, yet taking a permanent form at
last, and all its blessedness proceed in an infinite series.
What has been, and what is, in comparison with what
shall he, is only as the first bar of light in the Orient,
though the harbinger of day — the most partial unhood-
ing of the bud, though a yielding to the out-pressing
flower — the infant lisp, ere it strengthens into manly
speech — the baby curiosity, ere it settles into scientific
reason, anticipating, nevertheless, its proper elements."
— Rev. John Gilmour.
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JOV AND GLADNESS.
FAITH CHANGED TO SIGHT.
The principal notion which the Scripture f^ivcs of tho
state of heavenly blessedness, and which the meanest
believers are capable of improving in daily practice,
is, that faith shall be turned into sight, and grace into
glory. We walk by faith and not by sight, saith tho
apostle. Wherefore, this is the difl'erence between our
present and future state, that sight hereafter shall
supply the room of faith; and if sight come into the
place of faith, then the object of that sight must bo
ihe same with the present object of our faith. So the
the apostle informs us : " We know in part, and wo
prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is
come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
. . . For now we see through a glass, darkly ;
but then face to face." Those things which we now
see darkly, as in a glass, we shall then have an imme-
diate sight and full comprehension of ; for that which
is perfect must come, and do away that which is in
part.
— J. Owen.
JOY AND GLADNESS.
Malignity and the gall of bitterness have no place in
that kingdom, for there is no wicked one, nor is
wickedness found therein. There is no adversary nor
any deceitfulness of sin. There is no want, no disgrace,
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THE SOULS SOLILOQUY.
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no wranf^ling, no turmoil, no quarrelling^, no fear, no
disquietude, no punishment, no doubtinpr, no violence,
no discord ; but, oh, what sonj^s of praise ! What
sounds of harmonious instruments ! What music rises
there without end ! There sounds continually the
voice of hymns and pleasant chants, which are sung to
God's glory by the heavenly inhabitaiits. There is the
excellency of peace, the fulness of love, praise eternal
and glory to God, peaceful rest without end, and ever-
lasting joy in the Holy Spirit.
— St. Augustine.
THE SOULS SOLILOQUY.
YoNDKii is thy Father's glory; yonder, O my soul,
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REASONABLE CONJECTURES.
A Child, speaking of his home to a friend, was
asked : " Where is your home ? " Looking with loving
eyes at his mother, he replied, " Where mother is."
Heaven, the Christian's home, is where God is. But
when we ask, " Where is God ? " we are no nearer the
answer, for God is everywhere. Yet, whilst He is
04
REASONABLE CON.IECTUUKS.
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cvorywlioro, there is a place hoyond this veil of tears
specially called the " ilDUscoi:' Clod" — the peculiar and,
favo^'ed place where those special manifestations of
Hispi'esence,and character, and ^dory are given, which
He is pleased to make. Present in every place. He is
peculiarly present there. There, with Him, in a state
of pure, boundless, and unminL,ded delight — a state of
purity, of peace, of joy, of glory — the saints of God
dwell forever. But as to the locality, we must plead
ignorance. We may conjecture within reasonable
limits. There is some ground for supposing that it is
somewhere above us. We read of Elijah when he
was translated, he " went up by a whirlwind into
heaven." When the Saviour left His disciples they
saw Him ascend, and a cloud received Him from their
flight. Yetin what part of the universe heaven is located
no one can say. Some have supposed that it must be
beyond this system of ours, away into space, perhaps
in some mighty sphere that God has created for the
purpose. Dr. Dick supposed that there might be some
great central sun in the universe, around which all
suns and systems revolve. It is, no doubt, a grand
conception. If it should be so, we know not of its
whereabouts. Another opinion that is held might
possibly be nearer the truth. That is. Heaven may
be much nearer to us than we mortals generally think
it is. Perhaps if we had the spiritual sense, that will
some day be given us, we would tind that heaven is
not so distant as we suppose. When Elisha's servant's
eyes were opened to see them, " behold the mountain
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REASON A RLE CONJECTURES.
65
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was full of horses, and cb .riots of firo round about
Elisha." If our eyes were similarly opened, we nii«;ht
see the heavenly host in all directions. They were
there before the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened.
They may be around us though, as yet, we do not per-
ceive them. " An» they not all ministerinfjf spirits sent
to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation."
This, of itself, does not prove that heaven is near us,
for they might come with the velocity of the light
from the most distant place. But we have another
instance even more remarkable. When Stephen was
about to suffer martyrdom the heavens were opened,
and he " looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw
the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right
hand of God." This would lead us to conjecture that
heaven is nearer than we think. This idea of heaven's
nearness is also suggested by the word " veil." Jesus,
as our forerunner, has entered " within the veil." To
faith and hope there is but a veil hiding heaven from
us. It may be as one has said, that "the veil that
conceals heaven from us is onlv our embodied existence;
ft/
and, though "fearfully and wonderfully made," it is
only made out of our frail mortality, so slight, indeed,
that the smallest thing may rend it, and at a bound —
in the twinkling of an eye, in the throb of a pulse,
in the Hash of a thought — we may start into dis-
embodied spirits, and pass into the light of eternity
and know the great secret, and gaze on splendors
which to flesh and blood would be unendurable, and
which no words that man can utter could describe."
6 — Editor.
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GO IIKAVEN IS NEAIlKll.
HE A VEN IS NEARER.
Oh, heaven is nearer tlian mortals think,
When they look with trenihling dread
At the misty future that stretches on
From the silent homes of the dead.
'Tis no lone isle in the brilliant main,
No distant but briUiant shore,
Where the loved ones, when called away,
Must go to return no more.
No, heaven is near us ; the misty veil
Of mortality blinds the eye,
That we see not the hovering band
On the shores of eternity.
Yet oft, in the hour of holy thought,
To the thirsting soul is given
The power to oierce through the veil of sense
To the beauteous scenes of heaven.
Then very near seem its pearly gates,
And sweetly its har pings fall ;
The soul is restless to soar away,
And longs for the angel's call.
I know when the silver cord is loosed.
And the veil is rent awav.
Not long nor dark w411 the passing be
To the realms of endless day.
The eye that shuts in a dying hour
Will open in endless bliss ;
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WHAT MATTKHS IT?
07
The welcome will sound in a heavenly world
Ere the farewell is hushed in this.
We pass from the clasp of mourning friends
To the arms of the loved and lost ;
And the smiling faces will greet us there
Which on earth we valued most.
— Mkthodlst Recorder.
WHAT MATTERS IT?
What matters it, my curious friend, where lies
Our heavenly land of rest ?
Whether it be beyond the azure skies
Or in some other world, God knoweth best.
It offers safety from our cares, and so
What matters whether it be high or low ?
It offers rest ; what more should mortals know !
Rest from the weariness of burdened days,
Of bitter longings and of evil hours ;
Of duties leading us through darkened ways
And into efforts far beyond our powers ;
Of dark temptations into secret sin.
Of constant labor, earth's poor gods to win,
Of spirits deafened by the strife and din.
In matters nothing as to when or where
We find the haven and the welcome home ;
Let curious doubt give place to trusting prayer.
And no weak soul through speculation roam.
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68 FAINT GLIMPSES OF IJEAUTY.
We seek for sealed -up secrets, hidden things ;
Enough for us, if on eternal wings
We reach the country of those better things.
Vex not thy spirit, aspiring man !
But live thy days as earnest workers must ;
Nor try to pierce through God's mysterious plan,
Which obligates thee to a life of trust.
Some day, somewhere, while countless ages roll,
Thy hungry heart shall comprehend the whole,
The veil be parted for thy thankful soul.
— I. Edgar Jones.
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FAINT GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY.
" Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth
is Mount Zion." " A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
And, oh, what joy thrilled the soul as we thought God
never implanted this intense longing, this love of the
pure, the beautiful, in the heart of one child of His,
without providing for that child the desired gift ! for
our Father satisfieth the longing soul, and lilloth the .
hungry soul with goodness." Long, weary years of
pilgrimage we spent, travelling over thorny paths in
search of the hidden "joy forever." We expected it
on earth. . . . Disappointed in our search on
earth, upward we turned our longing gaze. One *
bright star fixed the eye, and in its steady beauteous
light we read : " Unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given ; and His name shall be called Wonderful,
FAINT GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY.
Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlastinpj Father,
the Prince of Peace ; " and " thou shalt call His name
Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."
" Emmanuel, God with us."
Earth no longer fettering the soul, f' V in the
unseen brought us near " unto Mount Zio' , " jt; i " unto
the city of the Living God, the heaveul}' J.^rusalenj,
and to an innumerable company of angels, the general
assembly and Church of the First-born," ' and to the
spirits of just men made perfect ; and to Jesus, the
Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling;" and, forgetting the graves of broken
household bands, we behold in this Mediator the con-
necting ladder betwixt earth and heaven.
" Ah ! methinks there is a unison."
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And on its golden rounds we climb, until
" E'en now by faith we jo.n our hands
With those tliat went before,
And greet the blood-besprinkled bands
On the eternal shore."
And now, beholding this ladder everywhere, " Christ
our Anointed," " the same yesterday, to-day, and for-
ever," whether with head pillowed upon down or
stone, steps travelling over rough and thorny paths or
beside "still waters" and in " green pastures," satisfied
with our secure resting-place in the Church below,
Christ Himself, with Israel's sweet singer we exclaim :
" One thing have I desired of the Lord — that I may
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WHICH IS THE HAPPIEST PLACE IN HEAVEN ?
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dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in
His temple." Thank God we may here by faith drink
of the "pure river of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God; and of the Lamb."
" See the streams of living waters
Springing from eternal love,
Still supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fears of want remove."
We may eat of " the tree of life," sit under its shadow,
the leaves of which are " for the healing of the nations ; "
walk in light which hath no need of the help of the
sun, " for the Lord God giveth them light," and in this
light joyfully go forth glorying in the cross ; and by-
and-by; with the Church triumphant above, we'll lay
our trophies at the feet of Jesus, and crown Him Lord
of all ; and forever behold the King in His beauty,
where concentrated shall eternally be all the glory,
honor, and beauty of earth and heaven.
—Mrs. M. E. Page.
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WHICH IS THE HAPPIEST PLACE IN
HE A VEN ?
" Which is the happiest ? " if you ask,
To answer seems no easy task ;
And vet niethinks 'tis not too hard,
Where all is grace, although reward.
ONLY WAITING FOR THE SUMMONS.
71
That, must to each the happiest be
Which each has gained through mercy free ;
Nor need the lowliest lost in love,
Envy the highest saint above.
The dew-drop is as full of light
As the great sun which lends it light.
Where self must into nothing fall,
There God in each is all in all.
jUeader ! whoe'er thou art, to thee be iriven
The bliss to find the happiest place in heaven.
— James Montgomery.
ONLY WAITING FOR THE SUMMONS.
Here we are waiting the welcome summons to go up
with the shin'*ng company over yonder upon that ever-
green shore. Heavenly light already falls resplendent
upon our pathway, and the bright visions of immortal
life and glory beckon us on and away to our Father's
mansions above :
" There is light on the hills, and the valley is past,
Ascend, happy pilgrim ! thy labors are o'er !
The sunshine of heaven around thee is cast,
And thy weak, doubting footsteps can falter no more.
*' On, pilgrim ! that hill richlj circled with rays
Is Zion ! Lo, there is the city of saints !
And the beauties, the glories that region displays,
Insi)iration'8 own language imperfectly paints."
Hallelujah ' We soon shall be there, resting at home.
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HEAVENLY GLORY.
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and enjoying the fruitions of that better land — walkinj^^
by the waters of life, and ranging with kindred
spirits o'er the Delectable Mountains of a blesscil
immortality.
— J. N. Kanaga.
NBA VENL V GL OR V.
To the eye of man the sun appears a pure light, a mass
of unmingled glory. Were we to ascend with a con-
tinual flight towards this luminary, and could we, like
the eagle, gaze upon its lustre, we should in our pro-
gress behold its splendor become avery moment more
intense. As we rose through the heavens, we should
see a little orb changing gradually into a great world ;
and as we advanced nearer and nearer, should behold
it expanding every w^ay, until all that was before us
became an universe of excessive and immeasurable
glory. Thus the heavenly inhabitant will, at the com-
mencement of his happy existence, see the divine sys-
tem tilled with magnificence and splendor and arrayed
in beauty ; and, as he advances onwards through the
successive periods of duration, will behold all things
more and more luminous, transporting, and sun-like
forever.
— Dr. Dwioht.
All that awaits us is glorious. There is " a rest," a
Sal)bath-keeping in store for us (Heb. iv. 6), and this
" rest shall be glorious " (Isa. xi. 10). The kingdom
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fegfi!£li^^ie£i^^^ u- -.j^i,: -.
happinj*:ss of the saints.
73
that we claim is a glorious kingdom, the crown which
we are to wear is a glorious crown. The city C/^ our
habitation is a glorious city. The garments which
shall clothe us are garments "for glory and beauty."
Our bodies shall be glorious bodies, fashioned after the
likeness of Christ's " glorious body." Our society shall
be that of the glorified. Our songs shall be songs of
glory. And of the region ^.vhich we are to inhabit it
is said, " the glory of God doth lighten it, and the
Lamb is the light thereof." "That they may behold
my glory," the Lord pleaded for His own. This is the
sum of all. It is the very utmost that even " the
Lord of Glory " could ask for them.
— HOUATIUS BONAR.
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HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS.
Heaven is a treasure that can neither fail nor be
carried away by force or fraud. It is an inheritance
uncorrupted and undefiled ; a crown that fadeth not
away ; a never- failing stream of joy and delight. It
is a marriage feast, and of all others, the most joyous
and most sumptuous ; one that always satisfies and
never cloys the appetite. It is an eternal spring and
an everlasting light; a day without an evening. It is
a paradise, where the lilies are always white and in
full bloom, the saffron bloomincj, the trees ffivinir out
their balsams, and the tree of life in the midst thereof.
It is a city where the houses are built of living pearls.
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HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS.
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the gates of precious stones, and the streets paved with
the purest gold.
Yet all these are nothing but veils of the happiness
to be revealed on that most blessed day ; nay, the light
itself, which we have mentioned among the rest,
though it be the most beautiful ornament in this visi-
ble world, is at best but a shadow of that heavenly
glory ; and how small soever that portion of this inac-
cessible brightness may be which, in the Sacred Scrip-
tures, shines upon us through these veils, it certainly
very well deserves that we should of ten turn our eyes
toward it, and view it with the closest attention.
Now, the first thii)g that necessarily occurs in the
constitution of happiness, is a full and complete deliv-
erance from every evil and every grievance, which we
may as certainly expect to meet with in that heavenl}/'
life, as it is impossible to be attained while we sojourn
here below. All tears shall be wiped away from our
eyes, and every cause and occasion of tears forever
removed from our sight. There, there are no tumults,
no wars, no poverty, no death, nor disease ; there,
there is neither mourning, nor fear, nor sin, which is
the source and fountain of all other evils ; there is
neither violence within doors nor without, nor any
complaint in the streets of that blessed city ; there no
friend goes out, nor enemy comes in. There, there is
full vigor of body and mind, health, beauty, purity,
and perfect tranquillity. Also the most delightful
society of angels, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all
the saints, auiong whom there are no reproaches, con-
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O HAPPY home! 75
tentions, controversies, nor party spirit, because there
are there none of the sources whence they can spring,
nor anything to encourage their growth ; for there
is there particularly, no ignorance, no blind self-love, no
vain-glory, nor envy, which is quite excluded from
those divine regions ; but, on the contrary, perfect
charity, whereby every one, together with his own
felicity, enjoys that of his neighbors, and is happy in
one as well as the other. Hence there is among them
a kind of infinite reflection and multiplication of
happiness, like that of a spacious hall adorned with
gold and precious stones, dignified with a full assembly
of kings and potentates, and having its walls quite
covered with the brightest looking-glasses.
But what infinitely exceeds and eclipses all the rest
is that boundless ocean of happiness which results from
the beatific vision of the ever-blessed God, without
which neither the tranquillity they enjoy, nor the
society of saints, nor the possession of any particular
finite good, nor, indeed, of all such taken together, can
satisfy the soul or make it completely happy."
— Robert Leighton.
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O HAPPY HOME!
O HAPPY home ! O happy children there !
O blissful mansions of their Father's house !
O walks surpassing Eden for delight !
Here are the harvests reap'd, once sown in tears ;
Here is the rest by ministry enhanced ;
76
THE MOUNTAIN-' OF LIFE.
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Here is the banquet of the wine of heaven ;
Kiches of glory incorruptible ;
Crowns, amaranthine crowns^ of victory ;
The voice of harpers harping on their harps ;
The anthems of the holy cherubim ;
The crystal river of the Spirit's joy ;
The bridal palace of the Prince of Peace ;
The holiest of holies ; God is there.
— Anon.
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THE MOUNTAINS OF LIFE.
Tuehe's a land far away 'mid the stars, we are told,
Where they know not the sorrows of time ;
Where the pure waters wander through valleys of gold,
And life is a pleasure sublime.
*Tis the land of our God, 'tis the home of the soul.
Where ages of splendor eternally roll,
Where the way-weary traveller reaches his goal,
On the evergreen mountains of life.
Our gaze cannot soar to that beautiful land,
' But our visions have told of its bliss.
And our souls by the gale from its gardens are fanned,
When we faint in the deserts of this.
And we sometime have longed for its holy repose,
When our spirits were torn with temptations and woes,
And we've drank from the tide of the river that flows
From the evergreen mountains of life.
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PICTURE OF llAVISHINO BEAUTY.
77
Oh ! the stars never tread the Hue heavens at nicrht,
But we think where the ransomed have trod ;
And the day never smiles from his palace of light,
But we feel the bright smile of our God.
We are travelling homeward through changes and gloom,
To a kingdom where pleasures unchangeably bloom,
And our guide is the glory that shines through the tomb,
From the evergreen mountains of life.
— James G. Clark.
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PICTURE OF RAVISHING BEAUTY.
To my own mind, when I look in the direction of the
future, one picture always rises — a picture of ravishing
beauty. Its essence I believe to be true. Its accidents
will be more glorious than all that my imagination
puts into it. It is that of a soul forever growing in
knowledge, in love, in holy endeavor ; that of a vast
community of spirits, moving along a pathway of light,
of ever-expanding excellence and glory ; brightening
as they ascend; becoming more and more like the
unpicturable pattern of infinite perfection ; loving
with an ever-deepening love ; glowing with an ever-
increasing fervor ; rejoicing in ever-advancing know-
ledge ; growing in glory and power. They are all
immortal. There are no failures or reverses to any of
them. Ages fly away; they soar on with tireless
wing. iEons and cycles advance toward them and
retire behind them; still they soar, and shout and
unfold !
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A VISION OF HEAVEN.
I am one of that immortal host. Death cannot
destroy me. I shall live when stars j^row dim with
ajje. The advancincf and retreating {eons shall not
fade my immortal youth. Thou, Gal)riel, that standest
near the throne, bright with a brightness that dazzles
my earth-born vision, rich with the experience of
uncounted ages, first-born of the sons of God, noblest
of the archangelic retinue, far on I shall stand where
thou standest now, rich with an equal experience,
great with an equal growth, thou wilt have passed on.
and, from higher summits, wilt gaze back on a still
more glorious progress.
Beyond the grave As the vision rises how this side
dwindles into nothing — a speck, a moment — and its
glory and pomp shrink up into the trinkets and
baubles that amuse an infant for a day. Only those
things, in the glory of this light, which lay liold of
immortality seem to have any value. The treasures
that consume away or burn up with this perishing
world are not treasures. Those only that we carry
beyond are worth the saving.
— Bishop R. S. Foster, D.D.
A VISION OF HE A VEN.
" Worn down with fatigue in winding up the labors
of a toilsome year, I was most violently attacked with
bilious fever. The disease had taken so violent a hold
on my system, that I sank rapidly under its power,
and my life was despaired of.
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A VISION OF HEAVEN.
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"On the seventh ni<,']it, in a state of entire insensi-
bility to all around me, wlien the last ray of hop<^ had
(h'parted, and my weepinj^ i'auiiiy and friends were
standinf^ around my couch, waiting to see me breathe
my last, it seemed to me that a heavenly visitant
entered my room. It came to my side and, in the soft-
est and most silvery tones, which fell like music on my
ear, it said, 'I have come to conduct you to another
state and place of existence.' In an instant I seemed
to lise, and, gently borne by my angel guide, I floated
out upon the ambient air. Soon earth was lost in the
distance, and around us, on every side, were worlds of
light and glory. On, on, away, away from the world
to luminous worlds afar, we sped with tlie velocity of
thought.
" At length we rear;hed the gates of paradise ; and
oh ! the transporting scenes that fell upon my vision
as the emerald portals, wide and high, rolled back
upon their golden hinges ! Then, in its fullest extent,
did I realize the invocation of the poet.
" ' Burst, ye eTiierald gates, and bring
To my raptured vision,
All the ecstatic joys that spring
Hound the bright Elysian. '
" Language, however, is inadequate to describe
what then with unveiled eyes I saw. The vision is
indelibly pictured on my heart. Before me, spread
out in beauty, was a broad sheet of water, clear as
crystal, not a single ripple on its surface, and its purity
and clearness indescribable. On each side of this lake.
80
A VISION OK HEAVEN.
or river, rose up the most bill and b(^autifiil trees,
covered with all manner of fruits and Howers, the
brilliant hues of which were rellected in the bosom of
the placid river.
" While I stood gazing with joy and rapture at the
scene, a convoy of angels was seen in the pure ether of
that world. They all had long wings, and although
they went with the greatest rapidity, yet their wings
were folded by their side. While 1 gazed, I asked my
guide who they wore, and what their mission ? To
this he responded, ' They are angels despatched to the
world whence you come, on an errand uf mercy.' I
could hear strains of the most entrancing melody all
around me, but no one was discoverable but my guide.
" At length I said, ' Will it be possible for me to
have a sight of the just made perfect in glory? ' Just
then there came before us three perstms ; one had the
appearance of a male, the other of a female, and the
third of an infant. The appearance of the first two
was somewhat similar to the angels I saw, with the
exception that they had crowns upon their heads of
the purest yellow, and harps in their hands. Their
robes, which were full and flowing, were of the purest
white. Their countenances were lighted up with a
heavenly radiance, and they smiled upon me with
ineffable sweetness.
" There was nothing with which the blessed babe, or
child, could be compared. It seemed to be about three
feet high. Its wings which were long and most beau-
tiful, were tinged with all the colors of the rainbow.
Its dress seemed to be of the whitest silk, covered with
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81
,
the softest white down. The driven snow could not
exceed it for whiteness or purity. Its face was all
radiant with ^lory ; its very smile now plays around
my heart. I <^azed and gazed with wonder upon this
lieavenly child.
" At length I said, ' If I have to return to earth,
from whence I came, I would love to take this child
with me, and show it to the weeping mothers of earth.
Methinks when they see it, they will never shed an-
other tear over their children when they die.' So
anxious was I to carry out the desire of my heart that
I made a grasp at the bright and beautiful one, desir-
ing to clasp it in my arms, but it eluded my grasp^
and plunged into the river of life. Soon it rose from
the waters, and as the drops fell from its expanding
wings, they seemed like diamonds, so brightly did they
sparkle. Directing its course to the other shore, it
flew up to one of the topmost branches of one of life's
fair trees. Wjth a look of most seraphic sweetness it
gazed upon me, and then commenced singing in
heaven's own strains, * To Him that hath loved me,
and washed me from my sins in His own blood, to Him
be glory both now and forever. Amen.'
" At that moment the power of the eternal God
came upon me, and I began to shout ; and clapping my
hands, I sprang from my bed and was as instantly
healed as the lame man in the beautiful porch of the
temple who went ' walking and leaping and praising
God.' Overwhelmed with the glory I saw and felt, 1
could not cease praising God."
6 —Rev. J. B. Finley.
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THE HOPE OF GLORY.
THE HOPE OF GLORY,
rr,
Ou, wliat a joy ! to think tliat, from this prison-house
of clay, sliall one day burst a wini^ed spirit — soaring
to the skies. Is it not enough to cheer us even in the
darkest hour, to know that, though " sorrow may
endure for a night," such joy as this " cometh in the
morning ? " A joy " unspeakable and full of glory ! "
A joy which makes the very heart bound within us to
think of. . . . Let us for a moment think of what
we shall enjoy in roaming the bright plains of para-
dise foT- evermore. Wherever we move, new beauties
greet our astonished eyes (like a glorious vision, whose
grand and glowing scenes are ever changing and for-
ever nev;), while soul-stirring harmonies from angel-
choirs are wafted on every gale. As we behold these
glorious sights, and hear these ravishing sounds, we
remember the faint imaginings of mortal poets, whose
wild, unearthly fancies were derided as the offspring
of a frantic brain ; and see how infinitely short they fell
of the glorious realities of the heavenly world. And
as we wander on, bathed in the sunlight of eternal
day, we shall meet departed friends and the good and
great of every age and clime. There we shall see
Paul, the grand apostle to the Gentiles, who, when
about to plunge into the untried ocean of eternity, ex-
claimed, '* 1 have fought a good fight. I have kept the
faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown,
which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give to me
in that day. And not to me only, but to all them that
; U
JERUSALEM WHICH IS AROVE.
83
love His appearinj^." Ob, what a glorious diadeni is
that before whose radiance the stars of heaven shall
pale their ineffectual fires, and which shall shine on
with undiminished lustre when these j^iowing fires
shall have l)een quenched forever in eternal night.
— Rev. F. H, Wheeleu.
JERUSALEM WHICH IS ABOVE.
Who can utter wliat the pleasures and the peace unbroken
are,
Where arise the pearly mansions, shedding silvery light
afar,
Sacred seats and golden roofs, which glitter lik3 the ever ing
star?
There the saints like suns are radiant, like the sun at dawn
they glow ;
Crowned victors after conllict, all their joys together flow;
And secure they count the battles where they fought the
prostrate foe.
Putting off their mortal vesture, in their Source their souls
they steep ;
Truth by actual vision beaming, on its form their gaze they
keep,
Drinking from the living Fountain draughts of living waters
deep.
There all being is eternal ; things that cease have ceased to
be ;
All corruption there has perished — there they flourish strong
and free ;
Thus mortality is swallowed up of life eternally.
I'';
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84 I SHALL SEE THE KING IN HIS BEAUTY.
Diverse as their varied labors the rewards to each that fall ;
But love what she loves in others evermore her own doth
call ;
Thus the several joys of each become the common joy of all.
Blessed who the King of Heaven in His beauty thus
b"hold ;
And beneath His throne rejoicing see the universe unfold —
Sun and moon, and stars and planets radiant in His light
unrolled !
Christ, the palm of faithful victors ! of that city make me
free ;
When my warfare shall be ended, to its mansions lead Thou
me !
Grant me, with its happy inmates, sharer of thy gifts to
be!
From the Latin Hymn of Peter Damiani.
/ SHALL SEE THE KING IN HIS BEAUTY.
When the dark veil of time is backward rolled,
Eternal glory overshadowing,
A light divine shall to my vision bring
The excellence that doth itself unfold,
The splendors of the Christ I shall behold ;
The radiant face, the beauty of the King,
That evermore the veiled seraphs sing ;
The true Immanuel's, for of earthly mould,
A MOTHERS VISION.
8.5
I for myself shall know, mine eyes shall see ;
Hail, glorious vision of that far-off land,
So very far, when wilt thou come to me ;
The thorn- wreathed brow of Christ, the pierced hand,
The vision of that eye whose love, whose light
Shall flood the soul with infinite delight.
— II. Evans.
A MOTHER'S VISION.
Mrs. M , a lady of more than ordinary intellicjence,
was the mother of four children at the time of the
occurrence of the incident here relate*!, as received
from her own lips. She died at an advanced age,
having adorned her Christian profession by a life of
exemplary piety.
Martha, her eldest child, was a beautiful girl at the
time referred to, being about fourteen years of age.
She was her mother's idol, and occupied the supreme
place in her affections, though her mother was uncon-
scious of that fact. Having taken ill, notwithstanding
the mother's care and a skilful physician's constant
attention, Martha died. The mother was positively
inconsolable. Her pastor prayed, counselled, and
admonished in vain. Nothing could allay the bitter
anguish of her broken heart. In this state of mind,
late one night, she fell asleep. Her sleep was fitful for
awhile, and then she fell into a profound slumber,
and sleeping, she dreamed. Suddenly a bright and
beautiful angel, clothed in habiliments of light,
81 •
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80
A MOTHERS VISION.
appeared tc her, and, in a sweet, winning voice,
tenderly asked, " Would you see Martha ? "
Instantly she responded, "Yes; above all thinors in
the universe I would see her." " Then follow me,"
said the heavenly visitant.
She arose and followed her guide without a word
of further inquiry. Presently a stately and magnifi-
cent edifice greeted her wondering and half -bewildered
gaze. The door > r entrance was open. She ascended
the steps and entered the resounding hall, following
closely behind the angel, not knowing whither he
would lead her. Without even casting a glance behind,
or saying a word, suddenly the angel paused, and with
his ethereal tingi'r touched a secret spring. Noiselessly
a door swung wide open and revealed the inmates to
her astonished gaze. There was a throng of excited
revellers in the midst of bacchanalian excesses, flushed
with wine, and presenting a revolting scene of debau-
ery and worldly dissipation. The angel pointed his
white index finger at the most conspicuous figure in
the groap, the one who led the dance, and was most
boisterous in the mirth and festive glee, and then
turning his eye on the mother said, " There is Martha ;
behold her."
The mother passionately exclaimed, " No, no ! that
is not Martha ! I was raising her for God and for His
Church and for heaven. That is not Martha."
" So you thought," responded the angel in tenderest
accents ; " but she w^as your idol. You e j t i ^^ny hc3r
nothing. That is what she would iic4,\ .. been. '
i)
A mother's vision.
.S7
The door closer!.
" Follow me," said the anirel.
She followed with a palpitating heart. Her mind
was filled with anxious and painful thought. The
angel paused, and again touched a secret spring, and
the (loor flew open as if on golden hinges. Before her
enraptured eyes there was displayed a vast multitude
of the most resplendent forms she had ever conceived
of in human mould. Brows of lustrous beauty, faces
radiant with supernal light, voices sweetly modulated,
and all enrobed in spotless white. Not a trace of
•sorrow was on any face. It was heaven, and the angel,
pointing to the brightest and most beautiful of the
joyous and happy throng, said, turning his glad eye on
the mother, " There is Martha as she is."
The dreamer awoke, but awoke from that dream in
unutterable ecstasy — she awoke praising God. In
relating this dream she said to the writer, " Dream
though it was, to me it was an apocalypse. I brushed
away my tears. My heart was relieved of its sorrow,
and now I believe, and I have long believed, that
Martha's death was best for her and best for her
mother."
— Rev. .Iohn E. EmvAiiDs, D.D.
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88
A FATHERS VISION.
A FATHER'S VISION.
I! II
I! I
Some fifteen or sixteen years after the death of our
infant son, " I had a vision in my sleep" — a vision the
remembrance of which no earthly considerations would
induce me to part with. I supposed myself to have
left the body, and to be in the precincts of the celestial
city. I was slowly advancinpj towards the eternal
throne, which was just visible in the distance. If the
blessedness of the soul in heaven can be more perfect
than mine was then, I can form no conception of what
that blessedness can be. " The glory of the Lord did
lighten the place, and the Lamb was the light thereof."
Infinite quietude and bliss was all about me, and every
capacity of my nature was filled with the light and
peace, and blessedness of God. As I was thus slowly
advancing towards the throne, there appeared dirtctly
before me a youth in all the freshness and bloom of
immortality— a youth who approached very near, and,
with intense inquiry, looked me in the face. Suddenly
his whole countenance lighted up with a smile of joyful
recognition, " It is my father come at last." Thus
may we expect to meet our little ones who have gone
before us, provided we ourselves shall be permitted to
" pass through the gates into the city." The effect of
that smile of recognition upon me was such that I
suddenly awoke. Since I had the vision, however,
heaven has appeared more like lK)me to me than it
could otherwise have done.
— Rev. Asa Mahan, D.I).
A sister's vision.
89
A SISTER'S VISION.
During months of anxiety I watched by the bedside
of a precious sister, and read and talked much of
heaven, until at times it seemed as though yon pearly
gates would move aside, wliile to our enraptured gaze,
faith would be lost in sight. While I beheld the pro-
gress of disease, and knew that soon those lustrous
eyes would be glazed in death, I was not prepared to
say : " It is the Lord, let Him do as seemeth Him
good." Yet I believed grace might be received to
enable me not only to say : " Thy will be done," but
in the fulness of heart rejoice in the will of God. With
this faith I resolved to plead the promise, " It' ye shall
ask anything in My name I will do it." Long and
earnestly did I plead upon that memorable night, until
" Be it unto thee according to thy faith," assured me I
had prevailed. I inunediately retired to rest, as the
clock had struck tlie hour of eleven, and fell into a
sweet sleep. Soon in my sleep I saw the front door of
my room slightly open, am' ■'.■ beautiful dove enter the
room. I called it a dove, nn I could think of nothing
else so emblematic of perfect purity. In form and
color it surpassed anything f ever saw. It vas not
tinged with the colors of the rainlK)w, nor robed in the
purest white ught: May not
this resemble the dove which descended upon the
Saviour at baptism, and is it not sent as a comforter
in these repeated bereavements, assuring me, though
all my earthly friends depart, yet I shall never bu for-
saken. While such were my thoughts, with the most
inexpressible joy, I awoke; and was afterward
informed by the watchers, that at that same hour of
the night my sister was struck with deith. While
passing through the valley her voice broke forth in
rapturous strains of which the key-note was ''Glory to
Jesus"
— M. H. T., IN Guide to Holiness.
i
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A BELIEVER S VISION.
91
A BELIEVER'S VISION.
While engaged in a series of meetings, worn in body,
almost fainting in spirit, far from home, apparently
alone among strangers, after renewing my covenant
with God, and paying that I had vowed, I retired to
rest, was soon lost in sleep, and dreamed of witnessing
a vast multitude of people, which no man could num-
ber, all moved by some intense excitement. Some, in
confusion, seemed going here and there, with no
definite object in view ; while others, with myself,
were journeying towards the sun-rising, and were soon
removed out of a strait into a broad place where there
was no straitness. A strange pure light shone upon
us, and permeated our very beings. My heart was
peculiarly warmed, —
"While grief, and fear, and care did fly
/\b clouds before the mid-day sun."
Tliero were no rapturous emotions, and yet I was
consciouH of deop, holy joy. M)^ strength was very
much renewed ; and, while in this upward course, the
I'lch, mellow light so wonderfully increased, that it
appeared like a broad, gently rolling river, upon which
was borne the New Jerusalem, "coming down from
God out of heaven," to my very feet. The wall of the
city, its gates of pearl, its mansions, domes and spires,
with the holiness of its atmosphere, the glory of its
light, as presented to my mind, beggars description.
I saw the tree of life, and in the distance seemed to
^W— I
92
A BELIEVEIIS VISION.
I
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'
catch a glimpRo of the spotless robes of the pure in
heart, and was assured that " the tabernacle of God is
with men." I saw multitudes tiocking to this city,
while joy inexpressible was beaminj]j from each
countenance. In all that throng, I saw not one with
saddened brow. I awaited an invitation to enter ;
when I was assured that the view was presented to
my mental vision to encourage me in the work of soul-
saving, that I might lead many to " bring their glory
and honor into it." In sweet submission my will
blended with the divine will, and I awoke strong to
labor, and saw the divine power wonderfully mani-
fested in the salvation of nany souls during that
meeting. But what seems remarkable is the fact, that
Mrs. M. E. Page, with whom at the time I had never
met, at the same time, in a dream in all points exactly
the same, was in like manner strengthened to labor in
the cause of Christ.
" By faith we already behold
That lovely Jerusalem hero.
Her walls are of jasper and gold ;
As crystal her buildings are clear ;
Immovably founded in grace,
She stands as she ever hath stood,
And brightly her builder displays,
And flames with the glory of God."
—Mrs. M. H. Twogood.
A VOICE OF THE DEl'ARTED.
93
A VOICE OF THE DEPARTED.
I SHINE in tic light of God ;
His likeness stamps my brow ;
Through the valley of death my feet have trod,
And 1 reign in glory now.
No breaking heart is here,
No keen and thrilling pair
No wasted cheek, where Jie frequent tear
Hath rolled, and left its stain.
I have readied the joys of heaven ;
I am one of the sainted band ;
To my head a crown of gold is given,
And a harp is \\\ my hand.
I have learned the song they sing
Whom Jesus hath set free.
And the glorious walls of heaven still ring
With my new-born melody.
No sin, no grief, no pain.
Safe in my happy home,
My fears all fled, my doubts all slain.
My hour of triumph's come.
O friends of mortal years,
The trusted and the true.
Ye are waiting still in the valley of tears,
But I wait to welcome you.
i. \
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94
COMFORT TO A BEREAVED MOTHER.
Do I forget ? Oh, no !
For memory's golden chain
Shall bind my heart to hearts below,
Till they meet to touch again.
Each link is strong and bright ;
And love's electric flame
Flows freely down, like a river of light.
To the world from whence it came.
Do jou mourn when another star
Shines out in the glittering sky ?
Do you weep when the raging voice of war
And the storms of conflict die ?
Then why do your tears run down,
Why your hearts so sorely riven,
For another gem in the Saviour's crown,
And another soul in heaven ?
— B.
A LETTER OF COMFORT TO A BE RE A VED
MOTHER,
The following communication has been placed in our
hands, but without any thought on the part of the
writer of publication. It is so full of sweetness and
genuine purity, however, that we will not withhold it,
especially from those who have experienced like
sorrow : —
COMFORT TO A P.E HEAVED MOTHER.
95
" My dear Friend, — Though I carnot realize the
extent of yor.r affliction, . feel for you the heartiest
sympathy. 1 have no desire to make j'our loss ap-
pear lij^hter, or ycur sorrow to be without suflPtcient
reason ; but if the gate of heaven could be held open
a moment so that you could catch a glimpse of the
love and felicity your boy enjoys to-day, you would
for his sake be willing to endure the anguish of your
heart — though it would be none the less anguish.
Our heavenly Father has written, for the comfort of
the homeless and the orphaned, * When thy father
and thy mother forsake thee, the Lord will take thee
up/ and He certainly will not neglect the everlasting
comfort of the little darlings who to their own help-
lessness have all the added attractions that spring
from parental love. He knew that you were making,
and would continue to make, great exertions for the
boy's advantage, and He saw that He could do better
for him than your best He saw that you would in-
defatigably do your utmost to clothe and educate the
child ; would conserve his health, introduce him on
the highest attainable plane into society and business,
and make him as eminent and influential as possible;
that you hoped to guide him through the dangers of
early life, and, having trudged yourself along the
weary road, at last to wait for him in heaven — I say,
God, who is very pitiful and of tender mercy, saw all
this ; but He saw much more. He did not ask you
to choose ; He gave you what He knew you would
choose if you could see things from a heavenly stand-
sn
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COMFORT TO A BEREAVED MOTHER.
if!
i
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point — what yoii will be grateful for when you know
all. Instead' of the clothing you would have provided
our Father has given him the white raiment of para-
dise ; for his education, instead of the limited school
privileges you could command, God has given His
angels charge over him; for his society Jesus will con-
fess him before His Father and the holy angels ; for
business activity, he is to become one of the minister-
ing spirits sent forth to minister to the heirs of salva-
tion, of whom, thank God ! you are one ; for His com-
fort, God will wipe all tears from his eyes, and he shall
never again feel sorrow or pain ; and for his greatness,
hear what the Bible says, ' The disciples came unto
Oesus saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven ? And Jesus called a little child, and set him
in the midst.'
" Ah, my dear friend, instead of you leading your
child to heaven, the child, so much wiser already in
heavenly knowledge than you, may have the holy
pleasure of drawing you with * cords of love that never
can be broke ' to the God of love. I am sure that, great
as is your sorrow, it is a comfort that your boy has
thus early been given the happiness thus far denied to
you. You perhaps feel that he is very far away ; be
assured that he feels near to you, although you can no
longer see his form or listen to his childish prattle.
You know that the Lord Jesus loved the children, took
them in His arms, put His hands upon them, and
blessed them. Your child to-day experiences this
caressing love, and is blessed by the comfort of Christ?
I HAVE A HOME.
97
the man of sorrows and acquainted with ^rief. Fix
your faith firmly on God's luisdom, which never makes
an error, and His sympathy, which never allows an
avoidable affliction. And may His tenderest blessings
attend you until your family is reunited in
" 'Jerusalem the golden !
There all our birds that flew,
Our flowers but half unfolden,
Our pearls that turned to dew,
And all the glad life-musi"
Now heard no longer here,
Shall come again to greet us
As we are drawing near.'"
f
If
"/ HA VE A home:'
I HAVE a home, a home so bright, its beauties none
can know ;
Its sapphire pavements, and such palms — none ever
saw below ;
Its golden streets resound with joy, its pearly gates
with praise ;
A temple standeth in the midst no human hand could
raise ;
And there unfailing fountains flow, and pleasures
never end.
Who makes that home so glorious ? It is rny lovino"
Friend.
— Anna Shipton.
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THE infant's dream.
THE INFANTS DREAM.
On, cradle me on thy knee, mamma,
And sing me the holy strain
That soothed me last, as you fondly pressed
My glowing cheek to your soft white breast,
For I saw a scene when I slumbered last
That I fain would see again.
And smile as you then did smile, mamma,
And weep as you then did weep ;
Then fix on me thy glistening eye
And gaze, and gaze, till the tear be dry ;
Then rock me gently, and sing and sigh.
Till you lull me fast asleep.
For I dreamed a heavenly di ?am, mamma,
While slumbering on thy knee ;
And I lived in a land where forms divine
In kingdoms of glory eternally shine ;
And the world I'd give, if the world were mine,
Again that land to see.
I fancied we roamed in a wood, mamma,
And we rested, as under a bough ;
Then near me a butterfly flaunted in pride,
And I chased it away through the forest wide,
Till the night came on, and I lost my guide,
And I knew not what to do.
My heart was sick with fear, mamma,
And I loudly wept for thee ;
THE infant's dream. 91)
But a white-robed maiden appeared in the air,
And she flung back tlio curls of her golden h;iir,
Then she kissed nie softly ere I was aware,
Saying, "Come, pretty babe, with me!"
My tears and fears she guiled, mamma,
And she led mr far away ;
We entered the door of the dark, dark tomb.
We passed through a long, long vault of gloom ;
Then opened our eyes on a land of bloom ;
And a sky of endless day.
And heavenly forms were there, mamma,
Such lovely cherubs bright ;
They smiled when they saw me, but I was amazed.
And wondering, around me I gazed, and gazed ;
And songs I heard, and sunny beams blazed,
All glorious in the land of light.
But soon came a shining throng, mamma,
Of white-v.'^.nged babes to me ;
Their eyes looked love, and their sweet lips smiled.
And they marvelled to meet with an earth-born child,
Then they gloried that I from the earth was exiled,
Saying, " Here, love, blest shalt thou be."
Then I mixed with the heavenly throng, mamma,
With cherub, and seraphim fair ;
And saw, as I roam'd the regions of peace.
The spirits which came from this world of distress ;
And there was the joy no tongue can express.
For they know no sorrow there.
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McMASTER UNIVERSITY LIBRAR1I
100
THE INFANTS DREAM.
Do you mind when sister Jane, mamma,
Lay dead a sliort time agone 1
Oh, you gazed on the sad, but lovely wreck.
With a full ilood of woe you could not check ;
And your heart was so sore, and you thought it would brea'
But it loved, and you aye sobbed on.
But oh ! had you been with me, mamma,
In the realms of unknown care,
And had seen what I saw, you ne'er had sighed,
Though they laid pretty Jane in the grave when she died
For shining with the blessed, and adorned like a bride.
My sweet sister Jane was there !
Do you mind that silly old man, mamma.
Who lately came to our door.
When the night was dark, and the tempest loud.
And his heart was weak, but his soul was proud.
And his ragged old mantle served for his shroud,
Ere the midnight watch was o'er ?
And think what a weight of woe, mamma,
Made heavy each long-drawn sigh.
As the good man sat in papa's old chair
While the rain dripped down from his thin gray hair,
And fast as the big tear of speechless care
Ran down from his glaring eye.
And think what a heavenward look, mamma.
Flashed through each trembling eye.
As he told how he went to the baron's stronghold,
Saying, " Oh ! let me in, for the nigiil is so cold ;"
But the rich man cried, " Go sleep in the wold,
For we shield no beggars here."
I
THE CIIILDllEN ARE SAFE. ]01
Well ! he was in glory, too, mamma.
As happy as the best can be ;
He needs no alms in the mansions of liirht.
For he sat with the patriarchs cloth 'd in white
There was not a seraph had a crown more bri^^ht,
Nor a costlier robe than he.
Now sing, for I fain would sleep, mamma,
And dream, as I dream'd before ;
For sound was my slumber and sweet was my n^st,
While my spirit 'n the kingdom of life was a guest—
And the heart Unit has throbbed in the climes of tho blest
Can love this world no more.
— Wm. Millar, Dumfkies.
THE CHILDREN ARE SAFE.
I DREAMED, and in my vision I saw the City of
Destruction which John Bunyan beheld two centuries
ago. But all was changed. Nob one of the inhabi-
tants of his day was there. I made diligent inquiry
about them, and found that some, having heard of
Christian's triumphant entrance into Mount Zion, had
left the city with their faces set like flint, determined
to find the New Jerusalem which John saw (Rev. xxi.
2) ; but the greater portion remained and perished in
their sins (Matt. xx. 16).
I met one, Destiny ; he told me chis. I asked him
about the children, and he opened to me a book and
read, " Suffer tkein^ to come unto i/e."
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102
THE CHILDREN AllE SAFE.
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" Are they safe ? " I asked.
His answer came with joy, for as he spoke, the
morning Sun of Righteousness broke over the eastern
hills, and lit up every feature of his countenance.
*' Yes, they are safe," said he, " for out of the mouths
of babes and sucklings God hath perfected praise"
(Matt. xxi. 16).
At this he touched my ears with his hands, and bade
me hearken. Oh ! what music was that I heard ! Ten
thousand times ten thousand voices were singing a new
song (Rev. v. 9-x*l):
" Hosauna to our Lord and King,
Hoaanna to His name wo sing ;
Redeemed by blood and saved by grace,
We fall before Thy blessed face
And give Thee praise."
Then I heard as it were " every creature which is in
heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such
as are in the sea, saying. Blessing and honor and glory
and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb, forever and ever." But above the
voice of all the rest, I could hear the mighty chorus of
the children. I begged him to open my eyes, that I
might catch at least one glimpse of the countless
throng.
" Thou canst not see and live," said he.
I plead, and not in vain. " Thou shall see as through
a glass darkly" (1 Cor. xiii. ^2), and then he touched
mine eyes, and behold ! what wonders ! Truly is it
written, 'Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither
THE CIIILDUEN AllE SAFE.
103
hath it entered into the heart of man the thin^^s God
liath prepared for them that love Him" (Lsa. Ixiv. 4).
It was but a peep he gave me through the jasper walla
of " that city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God " (Heb. xi. 10).
I saw a gathering, the like of which one never dreams.
The children of all lands and of every clime and of
every age, from the beginning of the world, were
marching to the martial music of a million harps.
They were passing the throne whereon sat " the Lion
of the Tribe of Judah" (Rev. v. 5). They bore in
tlieir hands a palm ; every head wore a tiny crown ;
their faces gleamed with a light that mortals never
see. Without a leader, for every heart seemed to
know just when and what and how to sing, they made
the very walls join in their songs of praise to the one
who was born a babe in Bethlehem. "The twelve
gates" of the city could not be shut (Rev. xxi. 12),
for the musio of their hymns went ringing out through
the universe, till star after star caught the echo, and
sang together. As quick as thought I searched amid
the multitude for little Amy that had been taken from
our home and buried beneath the sod, and lo ! she was
there, living and not dead. Not silent in the grave,
but singing in heaven. In that moment of rapture I
had one great, longing desire, and plead with Destiny
to grant it ; but he would not. I wanted to bring
those who wept over the loss of their little ones to see
what I saw. I knew their tears of sorrow would be
turned into tears of joy.
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LAND IN SrOHT.
The children are with God. Amid the weeping and
wailing in Tophet there is never heard the cry of a
single babe or child. ** Hell has no children. Heaven
has them all." Destiny spoke thus to me.
—Rev. C. H. Yatman.
Newarky N. J.
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LAND IN SIGHT.
Land in sight, land in sight,
The glorious land of light,
E'en now its pearly gates my eyes behold,
Adorned with jewels rare ;
Oh, sight most wondrous fair.
And streets with pavements all of shining gold.
E'en now its happy sainted throng I see.
And on my eager ear.
Full, sweet, and rising clear,
Swells the glad tide of holy harmony.
There sits the Holy One, once crucified.
Who all our sufferings bore,
When human form He wore.
And shed for us His blood, a crimson tide.
Abiding place of those from earth released,
Arrayed in spotless white,
Who conquered in the fight —
I hear their songs around the marriage feast.
—J. W. Paul.
A GLANCE AT IIKAVEN.
10 ■
A GLANCE A T HE A VEN.
Being wea^3^ in consequence of the labor and anxiety
of life, I have chosen, for a solace, to wander into the
field at eventide, like Isaac of old, to meditate ; and all
at onco, as quick as thought, I find my mind trans-
ported from this world of disappointment, sorrow,
sickness, pain and death, to a land of living verdure
and captivating delights, in the midst of a shoreless
sea of bliss, surrounded by myriads of o])jccts of
admiration and wonder, where the inhabitants enjoy
perpetual health and eternal youth.
The reigning joy of that heavenly land is that
Jehovah keeps His royal court in person. There His
dwelling-place is enriched with the richest profusion
of His love. There His saints rejoice to behold the
adorable displays of His perfection, the manifestations
of His goodness, and the outletings of His love. There
the intercourse between Him and His redeemed ones
carries Him to the utmost extent of communicable
glory. The buildings that are there are the palaces of
the great King, in which are man.^ ons prepared for
His loved ones. These mansions "e magni^cent,
founded in grace, and furnished wiih glory. Ao-e
shall never enter there, and nothing shall decay.
What a beautiful city is the New Jerusalem ! Its gates
are al! gloriously set in pearls, and there the attributes
of God blaze divinely bright. There also is our Em-
manuel, titting up mansions for His forthcoming
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A GLANCE AT HEAVEN.
saints. The trophies of eternal victory already there,
bow fit His feet. He is our elder brother, our near
kinsman; from this relation our grandeur springs, our
being connected with the high and honorable family
of hea xi. A great blessing, indeed, to be a brother
to the Son of God, and to hear Him, in that capacity,
declare to us His ^''ather's name. We shall see Him,
and be like Him, and then we shall be eternally
happy.
O happy land of God, where the rivers of pleasure
overflow their banks forever ! O rapture, ecstatic
joys, everlasting heaven ! Thy joys are too great
{'or our iiiorcal frames ; none but glorified bodies can
bear the transports of thine eternal day. The:e the
general afisembly of the saints will be on the holy
Mount Zion, to dwell forever in the royal pavilion of
glory, and have most intimate communion with the
King eternal. What rapturous notes will then sound
through the sweet groves of bliss. All heaven will be
melody — angels will accent the aong. There we shall
drink at life's immortalizing stream, and draw water
out of the wells of salvation. There we shall have
life beyond the reach of death, health secured from
sickness, and pleasure without pain. Our bodies will
be immortal, our souls immaculate, our senses sancti-
fied, our faculties enlarged, and our whole soul filled
with divinity.
—Guide to Holiness.
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THE LIGHTS ALONG THE SHORE.
107
THE LIGHTS ALONG THE SHORE.
That system of religion of which God is the centre
and head, which has its grandest trophy and symbol
in the cross of Christ, opens the vast and near eternity
. . . to the desiring and exulting hope of every
soul that has found rest in Christ.
I remember, when a lad, coming for the first time
into this beautiful Portland harbor from Boston by
the boat. The night was windy and rough. The
cabin was confined, the boat was small ; and very early
in the morning I went up on deck. There was nothing
but the blue waste around, dark and threatening, and
the clouded heavens above. At last suddenly on the
horizon flashed a light, and then after a little while
another, and then a little later another still, from the
lighthouses along the coast ; and at last the light at
the entrance of the harbor became visible just as " the
fingers of the dawn " were rushing up into the sky.
As we swept around into the harbor, the sun-rise gun
was fired from the cutter lying in the harbor, the band
struck up a martial and inspiring air, the great splen-
dor of the rising sun flooded the whole view, and every
windov/ pane on these hills, as seen from the boat,
seemed to be a plate of burnished gold let down from
the celestial realms.
We are drawing nearer to the glory of the latter
day. I have thought of that vision often. I thought
of it then as representing what might be conceived of
the entrance into heaven. 1 have thought of it as I
108
THE NEW JERUSALEM.
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liave stood by the bed of the dying and seen their
faces flush and flash in a radiance that I could not
apprehend. I think of it still. The lights are
brightening along the coast ; the darkness is disappear-
ing ; the harbor is not far off"; the Sun of Righteous-
ness is to arise in all the earth, and the golden ghjry
of the New Jerusalem is to be established here.
— Rev. R. S. Storrs, D.D.
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Come out from the gloom,
And open your heart to the light
That is flooding God's world with delight,
And unfolding its bloom.
His kingdom of grace
Is symbolized in all that we see,
In budding and leafing of tree,
And fruit in its place.
— Emily J. Bdgbee.
THE NEW JERUSALEM.
Bathed in unfallen sunlight,
Itself a sun-born g3m,
Fair gleams the glorious city,
The New Jerusalem !
City fairest,
Splendor rarest.
Let me gaze on thee !
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THE NEW JERUSALEM.
Calm in her queenly glory,
She sits all joy and light ;
Pure in her bridal beauty,
Her raiment festal-white !
Home of gladness,
Free from sadness,
Let me dwell in thee !
Shading her golden pavement,
The tree of life is seen.
Its fruit-rich branches waving.
Celestial evergreen.
Tree of wonder,
Let me under
Thee forever rest !
Fresh from the throne of Godhead,
Bright in its crystal gleam.
Bursts out the living fountain.
Swells on the living stream.
Blessed river.
Let me ever,
Feast my eye on thee !
Streams of true life and gladness,
Spring of all health and peace ;
No harps by thee hang silent,
Nor happy voices cease.
Tranquil river,
Let me ever
Sit and sing by thee !
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110
THERE S LIGHT ABOVE US.
River of God, I greet thee,
Not now afar, but near ;
My soul, to thy still waters,
Hastes in its thirstings here.
Holy river,
Let me ever
Drink of only thee !
— HORATIUS BONAR, D.D.
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THERE S LIGHT ABOVE US.
When the light of day departing
Draws the curtain of the skies.
And the gloomy clouds of autumn
Hide the star-light from our eyes ;
Then, in sympathy with creature
Oft our hearts grow gloomy too.
Till some angel lifts the curtain,
And the light comes pouring through.
So, in times of deep bereavement,
When our household sun has set,
Oft our spirits mourn in darkness
O'er the joys we can't forget,
Till an angel lifts the curtain
That enshrouds our hearts in gloom ;
Then we raise our eyes in wonder,
For there's light above the tomb.
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THERE 8 LIGir ABOVE US.
Yes, oh yes, there's light above us,
And the clouds that check our view
Shall be (jilt with gulden edges
When that glo. ious light comes through ;
And the bright and radiant faces
Of the " loved ones gone before,"
Will be sweetly smiling on us
From the banks of yomler shore.
Upward, therefore, ever upward
Tiet us lift our hopeful eyes,
And we oft shall catch sweet glimpses
Of the upper paradise ;
And our dear ones, looking downward
From the fragrant fields above,
Oft shall drop us flowers of Eden
As mementoes of their love.
Ill
Yes, and when our pilgrim footsteps
Shall approach the final goal ;
And the shades of death shall gather
Like a mist around the soul ;
Then, on angel-pinions flying,
Thoy shall meet us on our way.
And conduct us safely homeward
To the blessed realms of day.
— From Truth.
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MINISTERING SPIRITS,
MINISTERING SPIRITS.
Now, upon the bank of the river, on the other side,
they saw the two shining men again, who there waited
for them. Therefore, being come out of the river,
they saluted them, saying : " We are ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of
salvation." Thus they went toward the gate.
Now, you must note that the city stood upon a
Uiighty hill ; but the pilgrims went up that hill with
ease, because they had these two men to lead them up
by the arms ; they had likewise left their mortal
garments behind them in tha river ; for though they
went in with them, thej came out without them.
They, therefore, went up here with much agility and
speed, though the foundation upon which the city was
framed was highe^ than the clouds, they, therefore,
went up through the regions of the air, sweetly talking
as they went, being comforted, because they safely got
over the river, and had such glorious companions to
attend them.
The talk that they had with the shining men was
about the glory of the place ; who told them that the
beauty and glory of it was inexpressible. " There," said
they, is " the Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the
innumerable company of angels and the spirits of just
men made perfect." You are going now, said they,
to the paradise of God, wherein you shall see the tree
of life, and eat of the never-fading fruits thereof ; and.
MINISTERINO SPIRITS.
113
when you come there, you shall have white robes
given you, and your walk and talk shall be every day
with the kings even all the days of eternity. There
you shall not see again such things as when you were
in the lower region, upon the earth, to wit : sorrow,
sickness, affliction and death ; " for the former things
are passed away." You are going now to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to the prophets, men that God hath taken
away from the evil to come, and that are now resting
upon their beds, each one walking in his righteousness.
The men then asked, " What must we do in the holy
place ? " To whom it was answered : " You must there
receive the comfort of all your toil, and have joy
for all your sorrow ; you must reap what you have
sown,, even the fruit of all your prayers, and tears,
and sufferings for the King by the way. In that place
you must wear crowns of gold, and enjoy the perpetual
sight and visions of the Holy One : for there you shall
see Him as He is. There also you shall serve Him
continually with praise, with shouting and thanks-
giving, whom you desired to serve in the world, though
with much difficulty, because of the infirmity of your
flesh. There you shall enjoy your friends again that
are gone thither before you, and there you shall with
joy receive even every one that follows into the holy
place after you. There also you shall be clothed with
glory and majesty, and put into an equipage fit to
ride out with the King of Glory."
—From Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress."
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A BEULATI SONG.
A BEULAH SONG.
" For the Lord, Thy (Jod, bringcth thee into a good land, a
land of brooks of water, of fountains and doptlis that spring out
of the valleys and hills." — Deut. viii. 7.
"And 1 will give her the valley of Achor for a door of h'>pe ;
and she shall sing there." — Hos. ii. 15.
God has given me a song,
A song of trust ;
And I sing it all day long,
For sinjj I must :
Every hour it sweeter grows,
Keeps my soul in blest repose.
Just how restful no one knows
But those who trust.
Oh, I sing it on the mountain,
In the light ;
Where the radiance of God's sunshine
Makes all bright ;
All my path seems bright and clear,
Heavenly land seems very near.
And I almost do appear j
To walk by sight.
And I sing it in the valley.
Dark and low ;
When my heart is crushed with sorrow,
Pain and woe ;
Then the shadows flee away
Like the night when dawns the day ;
Trust in God brings light alway,
I find it so.
THE OTHER SIDE. 115
When I sing it in the desert,
Parched and dry,
Living streams begin to flow
A rich supply;
Verdure in abundance grows,
D'^scrts blossom like a rose,
And my heart with gladness ry's peerless blaze,
Conformed to Him on Him to gaze."
It has ever been the highest aspiration of the
believing soul to see God in all His glory. Patriarchs,
prophets, and saints in all ages of the world have
yearned for the beatific vision. It was this which
Moses longed to behold when in the mount with God.
On that occasion he was favored with a prolonged
season of blessed communion with God ; and was
emboldened to pray, with the earnestness of a devout
soul longing for more of the hallowed bliss of God's
presence : " I beseech Thee show me Thy glory." But
even Moses, favored as he was above all men with
intimate communion with God, could not be permitted
132
THE FULNESS OF JOY,
to have any more than a partial prlimpse of the ineffable
;jjlory. The Lord answered, saying : " There shall no
man see My face and live." The sight of the awfully
glorious, and inetfably bright effulgence of the Divine
Being could not be endured by any mortal man. As
mortal eye could not endure the sight of that great
glory, so mortal mind cannot grasp the fulness of the
idea. Human language is inadequate to describe what
even the angels before the throne could not suitably
express. But if the words at our command do impress
us with the greatness and the glory of God ; oh, how
sublime the description, how great the impression ! if
we could hear, and understand the description which
one of the shining seraphim could give of it in the
language of heaven :
" Oh, speak ye happy spirits! Ye alone can tell
The wonders of the beatific sight,
When from the bright unclouded face of Ood
Ye drink full draughts of bliss and endless joy,
And plunge yourselves in life's innnortal fount."
It iy only by the help of comparisons, drawn from
the allusions to it in the Word of God, that we can
have any idea of God's glory. " The heavens declare
the glory of God." The number, the magnitude, and
the immense distances from each other of those shining
orbs which hang in space declare the goodness, wisdom
and power of God ; but their dazzling lustre also
illustrates our theme. If the works of His hands are
so glorious, what must their great Creator be ? It is
related of Sir Wm. Herschell, that, "when he first
THE FULNESS OF JOY.
133
exnniined tlie iioareHt Hxed star Sirius, with his
This is the blessedness above all other bliss promised
in that most sublime of all the beatitudes, " Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This
sight we shall be enabled to endure when we are
changed into His perfect image before the presence of
His glory. To see God is to enjoy Him, and to be
partakers of His glory ; not merely to be spectators,
but participators with Him. This is the utmost that
even the Lord of orlorv desires for His own. In that
memorable prayer He says, " The glory which Thou
gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one
even as we are one. Father, I will tuat they also,
whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am,
that they may behold My glory." How vast the glory
of Christ ! " I and My Father are one." His essential
glory is described by Paul, as being " the brightness of
the Father's glory, and the express image of His
person." " He is equal with the Father in power and
glory." Oh, what an honor ! what blessedness ! To
be wdth Christ, one in Him, and to see His glory ! Oh,
what glory ! If the sight of His glory on the mount
of Transfiguration was ineffably grand, what must be
its full effulgence in heaven? It must have been
THE FULNESS OF JOY.
1.35
partially obscured to enable the disciples to bear the
sight, as they were not then like Him. But in heaven
" we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is,"
in all the splendor of His infinite Majesty, " without
a dimming veil between."
The reigning joy of heaven is in the fact that Christ
is there enthroned in glory, and enriching heaven with
the richest profusion of His love. It consists in behold-
ing the adorable displays of His perfections, the mani-
festations of His goodness and love, and of standintr
approved and accepted in the presence of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit — the triune God whom we adore.
" In His presence? is fulness of joy ; and at His right
hand there are pleasures for evermore." It is the
fountain-head of bliss! oh, this is glory! this is bliss
ineffable ! to share the plenitude, ihe infinitude, and
boundlessness of divine love ; to enjoy sweet satisfy-
ing and incessant communion v/ith Him the great
source of life and beatitude ; to have immediate,
uninterrupted, direct and joyful intercourse with Him,
and carried on to the full extent of communicable
glory. Oh ! who can describe the blessedness of the
presence of the Lord ! A seraph's tongue could not
do it justice. " It is the joy of angels, the bliss of
heaven, the brightness of immortality ; and constitutes
ths sweetest, purest, most satisfying and transcendent
happiness which any created being can enjoy." The
presence of God is everything. The holiest and best
of men in all ages have regarded it as the very highest
enjoyment which they could ever possibly hope to have.
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THE FULNESS OP JOY.
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" Oh, the safety ! oh, the comfort ! oh, the repose ! and
the satisfaction of being forever with the Lord, in
whose blood we have already washed our robes ; to be
fed by Him, led by Him, will be indeed the consumma-
tion of the joy of heaven." Let us in contemplation
anticipate that superlative blessedness and become
more heavenly minded, and ready for it. " Now we
see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see Him
face to face." We shall be so changed that we can
bear the look of His pure eye, and see His smile of
heavenly love. By our heaveniy ^^ ambiance to Him
we shall see the effulgence of His glory, and catch the
reflections of His eternal beams. We shall gaze upon
the ineffable beauty and brightness of His countenance,
and be " transported at the sight to all eternity."
Transfigured by Him, the fashion of our countenances
shall be altered and shining like His. We shall see
more fully then " the wonderful richness of His
character, its tenderness and grandeur, its purity and
holiness, its glory and beauty. We shall comprehend
more entirely what it was that He did for <,s, when He
so loved us as to give Himself for us, an/ "/hat the
sufferings and the sin were from which His sinless
duffering saved us ; we shall be made like Him,
fashioned into that mysterious and most excellent
living image."
Oh, the soul-pleasing prospect ; it makes the heart sing
With a sweetness to many unknown ;
We shall see our dear Saviour as heaven's great King,
And eternally dwell near the throne.
THE PARADISE OF GOD.
137
To be with Christ where He is, to see Him as He
is, in His beauty forever ; to know as we are known,
with clearer sight, with closer and more victual com-
munion, and to have larger receptions of His Spirit ;
oh ! this will be heaven indeed ! this will be glory and
bliss.
" Forever with the Lord ! "
Amen ! so let it be !
Life from the dead is in that word,
'Tis immortality !
— Editor.
THE PARADISE OF GOD.
Oh, what hath Jesus bought for me !
Before my ravished eyes,
Rivers of life divine I see,
And trees of paradise :
They flourish in perpetual bloom.
Fruit every month they give,
And to the healing leaves who come,
Eternally shall live.
I see a world of spirits bright,
Who reap the pleasures there ;
They all are robed in purest white,
And conquering palms they bear.
Adorned by their Redeemers grace,
They close pursue the Lamb ;
And every shining front displays
The unutterable name.
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138 THE PARADISE OF GOD.
They drink the vivifying stream,
They pluck the ambrosial fruit ;
' . . And each records the praise of Him
Who tuned his golden lute ;
. At once they strike the harmonious wire,
And hymn the great Three-One;
He hears, He smiles, and all the choir
Fall down before His throne.
— C. Wesley.
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