, 1870-10-12
BEECEER.

stone IN the EAcrcnfscr-Thc >ttecla
OF Heaven Not E'lavcd With ssold
md Niltcr-Eyery 1tnn hi. Own
Elenyen.1lAker.
Firm the .,fs York Ford, Ott 10.
Plymouth Church was more thau crowded
yesterday morning Nany persons. were un-
After the other preliminary exerclses. Mr..
BeocAer proceeded 10 pteseh, takiny his text
from Matthew MIL, 80: "For in the resu1-
rectlou they neither mArTS nor ara given III
marriage; but are as the Angels Of God in
III Jerusalem, said Mr. Beecher, every ore
Of the factions had their turn in proponnd-
ing to CLs!st theis qNertions; they had their
enIgmas and their dark sayings, Which had no
substantial truth. md here il 4 specimen:
The Saducees did not believe N resurrec-
ton aseo1d9s % to The land OF, Of the BE-
families. II . brother died bis widow was to
be taken By his next brother, polysam being
permissible: and 80 there Was widow who
passed from one brother to another to the
seventh; Now sag thes, :. IN tue otbeE
e lesen Tnese he het se se se' ns fef o the s
Saviour was substantially tA;s: 'Yeu
are set Of ignorant FOOLS" It
vas conched in other language than this, but
it came to that. ..ie do err, not knowing the
power OF the Scriptures You bluuder, you
Ae ASNosAut: Tue everlasting IAN VI nature II
the iaw Of God. For IN the resurrection they
neither marry nor aro given in marriage. But,
although l,c 1ikened men in the future state
TO angels, lie did not explain what angels
were. He said that there was past OF mnn
that Ceases and does not 80 on into the other
life; that portion Of his powers which fs
wlther, and fall hack. and that ii the other
tie ws ehall carry those qualities which arc
higheat and nobtest, His reply. therefore,
il remarkable. boh for wiat it says,
and quite II remarkable for what it ieaTes uu-
overxxhcre in the. 1,ible, you sill be struck
with how httls he has had to zar about tha
other state. He poured light on life and i'm
mortality, but lie ccrtainls did not reveal
them. III the passage, !" fe do err, not know
ms The power of the Scriptures LIE at1itms
another life after death; anA it may seem
strange, but it almost requires some such
affirmation ~ this TO persuade us that the Old
Testament did rccoGuize aumo such doctrine.
Forii Las never been explicitly taught, though
great many times recognized, and there
can be no question but wlat, iu those early
times such tllru faith existed, though there
is rot single INSTANCE in the whole Of the
five bouk4 Of Moses when it ia addressed to
nlalI as motive Of conduct alI ideo Of re-
wa1d aud punisLmcnt relative To this life. II
you do ;his sou shall be pnnishet, or il you do
1hl spn elfaat ue IeN21oel nG1e IN tnaa HoTlo
-huMhtte in tile other. People hsk, can Uni
ver.aliets be- Chri-tiars: Let mo aek them
how c.uld God maintain an economy tttat run
for 1.eN years. and never Recognized any
ruch tAink aB future state. Aud there IL
nothing tanglt in the New Testament that is
specific as to heaven, whether it IL thing or
a place. There il no account given Of
iss government or Of tho experience Of thoso
that STE shefe. A Thousand questions, thefc-
fore. sre not answered which i thousand of
not uunaturally inquisitiEa spirits now ak.
We reason nov more in respect to our own
that - tlesE and blood shall not inherit the
Kingdom Of Heaven" yet there shall be soma-
tl,i"S like this form, set not this fozna;
What it is to be ron know ~ well as l
do, and none Of rs know anything about
it. There il not one single ioe Of e1-
rlicit statement as to wGat will he our
employ osment IN the Heavenly land We do
not know it il not stated. 1n shpst tbs
que-sis'ns guaranteed by our condition on
&hrth are aur~cFe4 mostly thus. We do not
understand the rower Of God. and iu regard to
the !.r,rEection il does not get appear what
We viii bc. we sco now AZ through glass
da.kiy, hut tlleu face u face" nu, ,tis very
yaIutress i. better calculated to stimulate
zeal and endurance than II it had been anal
wed ana made plain tous phitoeophicaily. We
Imagination. hut you will asy is this not
tat,sfactoTrs No, for L IL through the imaE-
nation that children are always taught IN
relation to those things which are above
them, and We are here ~ children not
competent to understand thinss wholly be.
youl the reach Of our experience Therefore,
every inet ructlon is given to us through tbs
imaei1atiou> It ia tho truth al God adj
dressed to our l'earte and to our affections
through the Imagination. 1t may be said,
thel eforc, that heayen il q revelation to
mats heart through his imagination. aud
God Thus teaches us OF things which We can
not understand in any other way. The teach
iEgs Of the bible arc pictorial. 10 Of the pic
lures Of heaven and hell We are not to sup
1ost tllat literally there is lasa Ut lire aud
lflu,et1ne.
You do not believe it, nor do /. Nor arc
yon 10 suppose that Iiearon il paved wis h
gold and silver. Yon do not believe that II
people did hvlieye it there wonld be IN lse
tpiscre anxious for their soul's salvation.
tLaughter.l It IL usnd II pictonal figure
tuxl thing We know nothing Of it. 1t IL to
ua fiction, aud fiction j. nfteatimea more
nearly true than truth in itseIf. II / shoall
~ Veil MY child about an eclipse Of the sun,
and should say that the moon, in Eportlve
mood, thought it Hould get before the sun and
dea OF wlist an eclipse waa, but il I should
t2llJin it to him scientifically lie would know
! pctlMng atont it, and the l.ible il foil Of de-
tions, although it has made 70 many Soot men
Who would he afraid to read . novel. But alt
that me.i know of art. Of r1cbes. Of courts Of
| croWpe. Of Princes. all the beauty Of trees, OF
gardens. all in rivera and uouutstn-, ali that
IL mort beautiful III nature, will he fonnd to
repstseut to them the heavenly state 10
men may take all tho elements they
have learned to esteem, and mako =
then to be made OF the Scripture IL not to
give literst representation OF its symbols,
for it il quite possible for the Bible itself to
stand in the way OF understanding the Mble:
but the true use is to repeat tho Erocess OF
| reasoning As Has done in the ol1en time. Tho
| Princes ct EARTH do not gre me much admir-
| alton Of heavenly princes. Counts, I have
| .eeu them. and 10 not think much Of them
! Int while these pictures do not do me much
/ good, for l an, Democratic Repubiican-
| (ahen !)-a Republican Democrat, I meau-
| they may do gopd to otherr. and r,ar 80
far toward interpreting the heavenly
state. But when We want to make fot
ourselves heaven, VIC have got 10 picture al
| that We value rs uohssst AID best 4 nildeu
may imagine for herself heaven mace up Of
her OWL pntity. aud uatron mas also smsE'
| me her own heaven. Every one may f1ahiol
for himself llis ONT, heaven, which hh Ill BRING
il clearer to hin than auE othes man can M 1t
it for him. You mas 10 shocked At this lau'
Enase VIXEN tell you that you may make sou1
makes ,,ur heaits wiser than Eoa,
heads, and that il the case with man!
aho otherwise would be absolute fools
Cur ,tes Of heaven nust bs pictorial
/, cauno; be orllerulsc. VIC a-c Iot devet
| ored here. I'VE now zee as through glars
larkly- and only BY and by shal! VIZ see facs
to face. Take for irstArct. the lower cias>el
Of soci.ty-nct the H.crer ctssa> hut the ri
cious. the gross. They cannot understand
the picture Of ! pure family: ther tain, il viii
Their own slime. In o:hes words, the bo:;ou
cannot understand the top. although the To-
CIR and doea understand the bottom. Al
. t;,st We can kuew OF hearen Is tha: it Is
place Of tleeeedsess, a place Of reat
= No great nature evcF lived but whA
found this world insufficient for hin,
hut on your way heavenward do no
| y.r1n,3 A. .,aA 33,,1J fru1tx IF xor, do rnf1