The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-11-27

light or starlight, but rolls back the ston
in fair, open morning, and sits on it,
Then we could bless God for His Al
mighty gift, and with love and awe AM
reverence take up that blessed fellowship
with another life, and weave itrevcrentl!
and trustingly into the web Of our dali!
course. .... .... ...r i
But no such angel have We seen. NJ
such sublime, unqucstionablc, gloriou
manifestation. And when VIC look a
what is offered to us, ah, who that had q
friend in heaven could wish them to re
turn in such wise as this !! The very in
stinct Of sacred sorrow seems to forbit
that our beautiful, our glorifed ones
should stoop lower than ever to tho me
ium of their cast-otf bodies, to juggle
aud rap, and squeak, and perform mount
chang tricks with tables and chairs, to re-
cite over in weary samcncss Harmless:
truisms which we were wise enough tc
say for ourselves, to triao and banter and
jest, or to lead us through endless moon.
shiny mues-sadly and sobsrly we say,
that if this be communion with the dead,
We had rather be without. We want
something little in advance of our pres.
cnt life, and not below it. We have
read with some attention weary pages OF
spiritual communication protesting to
come from Bacon Swedenborg, and 9TH
ers, and long accounts from divers spirits
of things seen in the spirit.land, and We
can conceive OF no more appalling pros
pcct than 10 have them true. ".ir '... ..
If tho future life is so weary, stale, Hat,
and Improbable as We might infer from
these readings, one would have reason to
deplore an Immortality from which 'Lo
suicide could give an outlet. To be con-
demned to such eternal pressing would be
worse than annihilation. rni.E
Is there no satisfaction for this crav-
ing of the soul! There is one who says,
~ am lie that livcth and was dead, and
behold am alive for cvermore, and |
have the keys Of hell and Of death;' and
this same Being said once before, ale
that loveth me shall be loved of my Faith
er, and will love him, and will mani
fest myself unto him." This is q promise
direct and personal; not confined to the
first Apostles, but stated in the most gen.
cral way, as attainable by any one who
loves aud does the will OF Jesus. 1t seems
given to as as some comfort for the un.
unavoidable rt-breaking separationsoi OF
death, that there should be in that dread
unknown one all-powerful Friend, with
whom it is possible to commune, and
from whose spirit there may come u re-
sponsc to us. Our Elder Brother, the
partakcr of our nature, is not only in the
but is all-poweriul there. 1t
is lie that shutteth and no man opcncth,
and openeth and no man shuttetll. lie
whom we have seen in the flesh weeping
over the grave of Lazarus, is lie who has
the keys OF hell andof death. Ii we can
not commune with our friends, VIC can at
least commune with Him TO whom they
are present who is intimately with them
rs with us. lie is the true bond OF
Union between the spirit world and our
souls; and one bIcstliourof prayer, when
We draw near to Him, and rcelthc breadth
and length and depth and height OF that
love OF Ills, that passcth knowledge, is
better than all those incolerent, vain,
creamy glimpses with which longing
hearts are cheated.
They who have disbclicvcd all spiritual
truth, who have been Sadduccic doubt
ers OF either angel or spirit, may find in
modern Spiritualism great advance.
But can one who has ever really had
communion with Christ, who has said
with John, "Truly, our fellowship is with
the Father and the Son,"-can such an
one be satisfied with what is found in the
modern circle!
For Christians who have straycd into
these enclosures, we cannot hut recon-
mend the homely but apt quotation OF
old John Newton:
What think ye Of Christ is the test
To Try both you state aud your scheme.
In all these so-callcd revelations, have
there come any echoes Of the nev sody
which no man save the redeemed from
earth could learn, - any untollings OF
that love that passeth knowlcdgc,-any
thing, in short, such as spirits might ut
ter to whom was unveiled that which eye
hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath
entered the heart Of man TO conceive ,
We must confess that all the spirits that
yet have spoken appear to be living in
quite another sphere from John OF Paul,
Let us, then, who long for communi-
on with spirits, seek nearncss to Him who
has promised to speak and commune,
leaving forever this word to His church
II will not leave You cOmfortless, l will
come TO yon." li.D.s.