Show 1 GATES OF HE LVEff j f J It ie trae the Bible givaa us a h pta pt-a to the gates of heaven but what ia i the testimony of a book that IB being be-ing remodeled and revised every few years not by the original authors or those acquainted with them but by tiny pious chap who may think be knows more about sacred literature than otherswhat we say is the tetimony of such a book to the evidence evi-dence of such a man as Talmage This pious pulpit gymnast has been preaching about the gates of heaven and talking as if he knew whereof he was speaking From toe positive manner in which the gentleman dis > coursed it is but reasonable to presume that be has made the jige or journey whichever it may beto the postmol tem resort re-sort of the just It is also presumable from the nature of his remarks that he didnt get in otherwise other-wise he would have told us something of the inside and not confined h m self exclusively fo a de or ption of the gates The better evidence that Calm age did not succeed < < io gaining I entrance is the wallknown watchful nose of Peter as well as the pulpit eers career on earth Talmage asserts as-serts there are twelve gates opening to heaven and only twelve Hear him Twelve gates I admit Ibid is rather bard > on sharp sectarians Here is a bigoted Presbyterian who brnjjs his Westminster assembly catechism and he makes a gateway out of that and he says to the world You go through there or stay out And here is a bigoted member of the Reformed Church and he makes a gateway out of the Hoildel berg catechism and he says You go through there or stay out And here is a bigoted Methodist and he plants two posts and he says Now you crowd in I between those two posts or stay out AndihEre id a bigoted Episcopalian wno says Here is a liturgy out of which I mean to make a gate go threughlt or stay out And here is n bigoted Baa list who says Here is a watergate you go through that or you must stay I out And so on in all our churches and all our denominations there are men who make one gate for themselves and then demand that the whole worm go through it I abhor this con traded n sa in religious re-ligious views Oh smallsouled min when did God give you the contract fyr making gates I tell you plii ly I will not go in at that sate I will go in at any one of the twelve gates I choose Having made as certain as to the number of gates and by inference at least civen each the choice of entering enter-ing at either Mr Talmage proceeds to describe the architecture and material ma-terial of the moat beautiful of the twelve It is clear that the gentleman gentle-man is a runner for this particular gate There is n wood or stone or bronza in hat gate but from top to base and from side to side it is A 1 of pearl Not ohe piece picked up from Caylon banks and another piece from the Persian Gulf and another piece from the Island of Mar zareUe but one solid pearl picked up from the beach or everlasting light by heavenly hands and hoisted and swung amid the shouting of angels The glories of alabaster vase and porphyry pillar fade out before the gateway It puts out the spark of feldspar and Bohemian dia mOld You know how one little previous stone on your finger will flash under the gaslight But oh the brightness when the great gate of heaven swings struck through and dripping with the light of eternal noonday Julius Caaar paid 125 000 crowns for one pearl The government govern-ment of Portugal boasted of having a pearl larger than a pear Cleopatra and Philip II dazzled the worlds vision with precious stones But gather these all to geher and lift them and add to them all the wealth of the pearl fisheries and set them in the panel of one door and it does not equal this magnificent gateway |