The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1878-10-09
a." SHALL WE KNOW EACH
OTHER THEREOF
To the Editor of the MorristOWn Gazette;
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4 think we will. - a548b ~
Gathered unto his people, 8
phrase oftenVused, indicates reeog.
milton in the future state.
Then Abraham gave up the ghost,
and died in q good old age, az old
man and full of years, and was gath
cred to his fathers. Gen. XIV, s.
This cannot mean that his body
was deposited by the side of his fore
fathers, for" his sons Isaac and Ish-
mael buried him in the cave Of Mach
pelah," in Canaan, while some Of his
fathers lived and died in Ur of the
Chaldees, whence he was called: and
Terah, his. father, died in Havan. 1t
cannot mean merely that he was
numbered with the dead. for then the
expression would not have been
'igatheredIto his people,' . for Others
had died besides his people: death
is the lot of oil men. Besides. the
fact of death is expressed in the
terms. he .'gave up the ghost and
died" That it cannot refer to death
and burial at all is evident from the
single consideration that he twas
gathered to his people" before he
was buried. The true meaning, then,
is that the soul of Abraham was
transferred to the company of his
forefathers and Of his own Sarah, al
ready in the land of spirits. y.-l1
The same is said of Isaac; that
he gave up the ghost and died, and
was gathered unto his people," And
the same is said of Jacob, who was
not buried till forty days after his
death. And the same is said of Mo-
ses and Aaron: Get thee up and
die in the mount whittier thou goest
up and be gathered unto thy people,
as Aaron thy brother died ia Mount
Hor, and was gathered unto his peo-
pie ;.sand yet Moses "was buried in
valley in The land Of, Moab. over
against Bethpoor but 10 man know
eth of bis sepulchre unto this day"
a" Gathered unto his people p
his people still living. thinking, low
ing and remembering. az am the
God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob" God
is not the God of the dead. but of
the living. Matt. xxi, 81. This is
plain. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob, Mo-
ses, Aaron, and all the rest of the
Old Testament saints, have been
gathered together in the same place,
and that place is-''heaven;" for
many shall come from the east and
the west-from every quarter Of the
woodland shall sit down with Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob in the king
dom of heaven. Matt. VIII II. This
is the city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is Cod
1.-THE better country, that is, an
heavenly which they looked
while they were pilgrims and stran-
gers on earth" Heb. XII, 10, Is, 16. |
Here they meet again. And can they
meet WithoutsknOwing one another? |
Did not Abraham know hisewn-peo--
pie. aud hisogn' Sarah among them?
What glory could conceal her from
him2 She was in heaven-that he
knew; could he be content till he
found her? The gospel nowhere re-
quires such resignation as that. be-
eiust:ce5of God is not xio-
lated in the bIissful reunion and mu-
tual recognition Of the holy in hea.
ven and the happiness OF heaven
Is not impaired but heightened by
and recognition. Thank
GoGs all Of the hearts precious trea-
suTes thai, is worth the preserving 10
taken up and perpetuated in the
bliss Of heaven ! IL it we're not SO,
hen. we must be bereaved of our pr
BUS dead forever. and to be gather
"a unto his people had nothing pc.
:uIiaT in 1t 10 Abraham-though Sd-
al was in heaven; nor to Isaac,
hOugh both Abraham and Sarah
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