Chapter 2
HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF PERFECTION
"He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne
of God, and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river was there
the. tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month; and the
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall
be no more curse -- perfect
government; "and His servants shall serve Him" -- perfect service; "and
they shall see His face" --
perfect union; "and His name shall be in their foreheads" -- perfect possession;
"and there shall be
no night there" -- perfect day; and they need no candle, neither light of
the sun; for the Lord God
giveth them light" -- perfect glory; "and they shall reign for ever and
ever" -- perfect blessedness;
"they shall hunger no more" -- perfect supply; "the Lamb shall lead them"
-- perfect guidance; "they
shall go no more out" -- perfect safety. Hallelujah!
There is perfect emancipation in heaven. What a wonderful thing is
deliverance! What did
it mean to the four million colored folk when Abraham Lincoln declared their
emancipation? It is
recorded that in Richmond, Virginia, "they had secured three of the most
eloquent speakers of their
race. At the appointed time, one of them arose, and said: "Fathers and mothers,
you have stood on
the auction block for the last time." He could go no farther. They cried,
laughed, and shouted. The
second speaker arose and said: "Young men and young women, you have heard
the crack of the
slave driver's whip for the last time." He could say no more. The assembly
came to their feet. They
walked, wept, shouted, laughed, and danced for joy. Finally the third speaker
arose, and said:
"Boys and girls, and babies, you have been sold from your homes and torn
from the fond embrace
of your parents and taken to distant states to be nursed by a strange mammy
for the last time." That
was all he could say. The congregation wept, danced and shouted, till there
was no time left for
anything else.
You will recall, perhaps, in British history, how that the British
Parliament announced that
slavery in the West Indies would end at a certain time in a given year.
Many, many of the old
slaves wished to see that moment, but died without the sight. Nearing the
long looked-for moment,
great preparations were made for the celebration. A sentinel was to stand
on the mountain top and
watch for the first ray of light that would break in the East that morning;
a little farther down the
mountain-side stood another, and on down till the valley would be reached.
There thousands were
gathered waiting for that precious moment. Finally, the man on the mountain
peak saw the [first]
ray of light, and shouted, "Liberty"; the next below shouted it on; the
next did the same, till
presently the whole valley and mountain reverberated with joyful shouts
of liberty.
The glorious emancipation that heaven will bring includes freedom from
everything that
would mar eternal happiness. There will be no weariness there, but perfect
rest.
What a sweet word is the word, "Rest!" How much it means to the weary;
that weary body;
that weary mind; that weary soul! Rest, sweet rest! Heaven is the eternal
Sabbath of rest. Jesus
said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest." Here is rest
from the burden of guilt. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, and ye
shall find rest unto your
soul." Here is rest obtained by learning of Him, going with Him.
"Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit;
Let us find the second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty."
But this is not the end. It is rather a good beginning. That eternal
Sabbath of rest awaits
God's people.
Heaven -- its beautifully adorned hills, gold-paved streets, diamond
walls, sublime rivers,
immortal atmosphere; these are the accomplishment of the Almighty God. Heaven
is forever
fadeless. Decay never comes, beauty is never marred, flowers never fade,
sorrow never enters,
light never goes out, tears are gone forever. Wonderful! Ponder the thought
with us; a place free
from sorrow -- no tears, "God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes.
When God wipes away
the tears, they are gone for ever. No enemy there; no sin; no sickness;
no thirst; no hunger; no
temptation; no aching head; no troublesome cough; no weary sleepless nights;
no children's
diseases; no burning fever; no tuberculosis; no cancer (these dread diseases);
no funerals in
heaven;
"No graves on the hill-side of glory."
Rest from sorrow! A few days ago, I visited a home of mourning. There
lay in a little white
casket the precious form of a child of only five years, the only child of
the home, a little darling
girl, loved by all who saw and knew her. There she lay as if sleeping; no
expression of sorrow on
her sweet face. She lay as if she slept. Indeed, she did sleep. Asleep in
the arms of Jesus.
While looking on that tender form, the form of the little darling,
this thought came into my
mind; "How cruel is death!" Immediately another thought followed; "Yes,
it is cruel; for it has
taken away from kind and loving parents a sweet and precious little girl.
It has taken a little lamb
from the fold. But after all, this cruel death is but a medium through which
this darling child
reaches the better world."
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?" "No more
death!"
"There is no death.
An angel form walked o'er the earth,
And took our best loved one away,
And then we call her dead."
"There is no death.
The stars go down, to shine upon some fairer shore,
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown,
They shine for ever more."
It is said of Columbus that "the instinct of an unknown continent burned
in him." This is true
of the child of God with respect to heaven. There is a longing for home.
