The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-08-13
For the Central Presbyterian.
THE SPEECH OF HEAVEN.

THE SPEECH OF HEAVEN.
On the title page of our Polyglot Bible
we read the motto Mlttte teyTic0lJs In
g,se, cgleSti5uS aula the dwellers on
earth have many tongues, the dwellers in
heaven but one. Where the doctrine Of
this legend was obtained, we do not know;
but we venture to question its truth.
That the confusion of tongues on earth
Is a curse, no one will dispute. 1t is GER
tain also that in the land where the re-
deemed shall forever dwell, the curse
will be removed. But, the question, arises,
how will it be removed? There are two
ways in which this confusion Of tongues
may cease. First, the redeemed may be
made of one language and of one speech,
as were men at the beginning. Second,
the redeemed may be made masters Of all
languages, so that they shall both speak
and understand every tongue ever known
among men. In either case, the confusion
would be done away. The authors of the
motto in the Polyglot Bible evidently
took the first to be the mode Of removing
the curse. We tn k that the probabii-
ties are all in favor of the second. And
our reasons are these:
l. Our Lord Jesus, in his glorious re-
demption, does not merely bring things
back to the condition in which they were
before the curse. He raises lhem to a
higher plane. Man, by the curse, lost
his dominion. over the earth. Christ raises
him to his own throne, which Is over all.
Man, by the curse, lost the perfect image
of God Christ not only makes him like
unto himself, but unites him to his own
glorious body. And since it Is the gen
eral plan of redemption not to restore
things merely to their original state, but
to give something better than that which
was taken away, we may justly expect
that it will be so with speech. In doing
away with the confusion, there Will be
brought in something more excellent than
the one language and The one speech.
2. In the kingdom of Christ, the an
tithesis to the confusion Of tongues at
Babel is the gift of utterance with tongues
on the day Of Pentecost At Babel, all
tongues were used to glority man, and
there was confusion. Men did not under
stand one another's speech. At tPentecost,
all tongues were used to glorify God, and
the confusion, which was the curse, ceased.
Every man now heard the wonderful
works of God spoken in his own tongue.
With a multiplicity of language in use,
all was order and intelligence and JOY.
And is it not reasonable to presume that
the method by which Christ removed the
confusion of tongues in that upper room
in Jerusalem indicates the method by
which this curse Will finally be removed
in the abodes of the redeemed?
5. One of the glorious attractions Of
heaven will be the boundless diversity
which prevails where all is unity There
will be as many individual characteristics
in the many mansions as there are per
sons saved REV. II: ID, yet all the saved
will be like Christ. The old and the
young will be there, the small and great,
vet all Will have attained unto the meas
ure Of the stature of the fulness OF Christ.
All nationaities will be there, and yet
one family. And so according to the an
alogies of the place, may we not expect
that there viii be many tongues there,
while yet one sympathetic understanding
pervades all? Every language on earth
has its own peculiar wealth. And if all
this treasure be brought together, and
every mhabitant Of heaven made mastsr
of it all, then will every lip pretain its own
beloved words, abba, father, Saviour,
friend; every man viii draw at viii on a
vocabulary that is inexaushble; and the
tongues that on earth cursed God Will for
ever unite to render to Him praise.
When John therefore, declares that the
great multitude, whom no man could
number, was of all nations and kindreds
and people and tongues, we venture to
take his words in a literal sense, and to
suppose that tongues will forever exist in
that blessed throng. NJ. II. H.