From a sermon by Henry Melvill, Principal of the East India College 1844 - 1858 then Canon of S Paul's Cathedral
Shall it be said of any amongst ourselves that they heard of Heaven, but made no effort to behold it? Is there one who can be indifferent to the announcement of its glories, one who can feel utterly careless whether he ever prove for himself, that there has been no deceit, exaggeration, but that it is indeed a surpassingly fair land which is to be everlastingly the home of of those who believe in the Redeemer? Everlastingly the home - for we must not overlook the concluding words of our text, "God will establish it for ever." The walls of that city shall never decay; the lustures of that city shall never grow dim; the melodies of that city shall never be hushed. and it is of a city such as this that any one of us can be indifferent whether or no he be finally an inhabitant? We will not believe it. The old and the young, the rich and the poor, all must bind themselves by a solemn vow, that they will "seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness." It is not the voice of a solitary and weak fellowman which now tells you of Heaven. God is summoning you. Angels are summoning you. We are surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses." The battlements of the sky seem thronged with those who have fought the good fight of faith. They bend down from their eminence, and bid us ascend, through the one Mediator, to the same lofty dwelling. They shall not call in vain.
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