God, because that garden on earth was so beautiful. One thing which makes heaven so delightful a place is the people who live there. The angels have their home there. Enoch is there. Moses is there, and his face shines brighter than when he came down from the mountain. Job is there, and his riches will never again be taken from him, for he has in heaven a better and an enduring substance. David is there, with a harp that makes new melody and new sweetness for ever. What a change must there be in Lazarus, who once lay among the dogs at the gate of the rich man! What a change has passed over Paul since he lay in the dungeon,—an old man about to be put to death! Heaven is the city to which all the paths in which good men have walked, lead. Is it any wonder that God has made its walls of precious stones, its gates of pearl, and its streets of pure gold? All the hopes, desires, and prayers and praises of the holy family of God centre and terminate in heaven, and it is to be beautiful enough to meet the expectations of all. We cannot, to be sure, tell what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart ever thought of; but we can see that a world where there have been no sins, no clouds, no graves, and no death, and which is intended to be the best of all God's works, must be beautiful. The waters which I come leaping down our mountain-sides we call sweet and clear; the air which rocks our trees we call pure; the flowers which grow in our gardens we call beautiful; the fruits which hang on our trees we call pleasant; and the buildings which men can rear we call splendid; but God thinks He can spare all these, and burn them up, and yet have enough left in heaven to make all His friends contented and happy for ever! Those who have died in the Lord are there. know that the gray-headed old man is there, and the praying mother is there, and the brother who loved Christ in his youth is there, and the sister who gave her heart to God in her early days is there, and I know that the little child is there, perfecting the praise of God. There the Christian has become an angel, and there the babe has become a cherub, and yet I cannot describe heaven. I cannot begin to describe that. Is heaven a place, or a kind of shadowy land? I reply, it is a place, as much so as this world is a place. All will have hands and feet and eyes, as we now have, and the world in which they are must be a real place. Over it will hang a fairer sky, purer air, more beautiful light, and all around will be spread new and beautiful sights. Who but God could create such a world? Oh, it will be every way worthy of Him! And now, my dear children, will you not desire to live so as to go to heaven when you die? Do you wish that you may there meet the angels, and the great and the good who have left this world? Ah! if you may but do that, all that the heart can desire will be your portion for ever. In order to do that, you must remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Make God your Father by obeying Him, loving and trusting in His Son, Jesus Christ, and then this Father will take you to His beautiful home, to dwell with Him for ever and ever. Amen. THE END. LONDON KNIGHT AND SON, PRINTERS, CLERKENWELL CLOSE. |