Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-07-17
SHALL WE MEET AGAIN2
TALMAoE ANSWERS THE oUEs-
TIoN AFFIRMATIVELY.
The Bible Gives Many Assurances That
We wnI Know Our Friendsin Heaven
They Are Waiting for Us on ne Other

@s ~O "s ASF " " - ObAe
Side.
The Rev, DR.. Talmage preached TO an
enormous outdoor gathering at Waseca
Mimi. on Sunday. July IS. His subjec
was. Meeting Our Friends in Heaven Tn,
eminent clergyman took for his text II
Samuel xii %: I shall 60 to him. Hii
sermon was as follows:
There is very sick child In the abode o.
David the King. Disease. which stalks VI
the dark lane Of the poor and puts its
smothering hand upon lip and nostril of the
wan and wasted. also mounts the palace
stairs. and bending over the pillow blows
into the taee OF young prince the frosts o.
pain and death. Tears are wine to the Kine
OF Terriers. Alas for David the Kingl HI
can neither sleep nor eat, and lies prostrats
on his face, weeping and Wailing until the
palace rings with the outcry of woe.
What are courtly attendants or victorious
armies or conquered provinces under such
circumstances? What to any parent is al
splendid surrounding when his child is sick
Seven days have passed on. There in that
great house two eyelids are gently closed
two little hands folded, two little feet quiet
one heart still. The servants come to bear
the tidings to the King. but they cannot
make up their minds to tell him. and they
stand at the door whispering about the
matter. and David hears them and he looks
up and says to them: rs the child deadP
Yes. he is dead" David rouses himself
up, washes himself, puts on new apparel
and sits down to food What power hushed
that tempest? What strength was it that
lifted up that King whom grief had de-
thrOned? Oh, it was the. thought that he
would come again into the possession OF
that darling child. No grave digger's spade
could hide him. The wintry blasts OF
death could not put out the bright light.
"a runI hn II
with silver hammer. would weld the broken
links. In the city where the hoofs of the
pale horse never strike the pavement he
would clasp his lost treasure. He wipes
awav the tears from his eyes, and he clears
the choking grief from his throat and ex-
claims: Il shall go to him."
Was David right or wrong? II we part
ON earth will we meet again in the next
world? We'll. says some one, that seems
to be an imposibility. Heaven is SO large
O place we never could find our kindred
there" Going into some city, without hav-
ing appointed time and place for meeting,
you might wander around for weeks and for
months, and perhaps for years, and never
see each other; and Heaven is vaster than
all earthly cities together. and how are you
going to find your departed friend in that
country2 1t is so vast realm. John went
up on one mountain of inspiration. and he
looked of upon the multitude and he said,
Thousands of thousands" Then he came
upon a greater altitude of inspiration, and
looked off upon it again and he said, "Ten
thousand times ten thousand" And then
he came on higher mount of inspiration.
and looked OIL again and he said, "A hun
dred and forty and four thousand and thou
sands of thousands" And he came on a
still greater height of inspiration, and He
looked off again and exclaimed, "A great
multitude that no man can number"
NOW ask, how are you going to find your
friends in such a throng as that? Is not
this idea we have been entertaining after
all faisity? Is this doctrine of future re-
cognition of friends in Heaven a guess, a
myth, a whim, or is it a granitic foundation
upon which the soul pierced of all ages may
build glorious hope? Intense question,
Every heart in this audience throbs right
into it. There is in every soul here the tomb
OF at least one dead. Tremendous question
1t makes the lip quiver, and the cheek flush,
and the entire nature thrill Shall we know
each other there2 Iget letters almost every
month asking me to discuss this subject. I
get letter in bold, scholarly hand, on
gilt-edge paper, asking me to discuss this
question, and say, -Ah, that is curious
man, and he wants curious question
solved" But I get another letter. 1t is
written with a trembling hand. on what
seems to be torn out leaf of a book, and
here and there is the mark of a tear, and
say. oh, that is a broken heart, and it
wants to be comforted.
The object of this sermon is to take this
theory out of the region of surmise and
speculation into the region of positive GER
taintv. People say: 1T would be very
pleasant If that doctrine were true. Ihope
it may be true, Perhaps it is true. Iwish
it were true" But l believe that I can
bring an accumulation of arguments to bear
m Vxh iah will bo 5,a
trine OF future recognition as plainly as
that there is any heaven at ALL and that the
kiss OF reunion at the celestial gate will be
as certain as the dying kiss at the door of
the sepulcher.
Now. when you are going to build ship
you must get the right kind Of timber. You
lay the keel and make the framework of the
very best materials. the keelson, stanch-
ions, plank shear, counter timber knee,
transoms all of solid oak. You may build a
ship of lighter material. but when the cy-
clone comes on it will go down. Now we
may have great many beautiful theories
about the future world built out of our own
fancy. and they may do very well as long
as we have smooth sailing in the world;
but when the storms of sorrow come upon
us and the hurricane Of death we will be
swamped-we will be foundered. We want
a theory built out of solid oak of Gods eter-
nal Word. The doctrine of future recogni-
tion Is not SO often positively stated in the
Word of God as implied. and you know,
my friends, that that is, after all, the
strongest mode of affirmation. Your friend
travel in foreign lands. He comes home.
He does not begin by arguing with you that
there are such places as London and Stock
holm and Paris and Dresden and Berlin,
but his conversation implies it. And SO
this Bible does not so positively state this
theory as. all up and down, its chapters
take it for granted.
What does my my text imply? Il shall
go to him." What consolation would it be
to David to 60 to his child if he would not
lowed to record this anticipation for the
inspection Of all ages If it were groundless
anticipation? We read in the first book of
the Bible, Abraham died and was gathered
to his people. Jacob died and was gathered
to his people. Moses died and was gathered
to his people. What people? Why. their
friends. their comrades. their old COM
panions. OF course it means that. It can
not mean anything else. So in the very
beginning Of the Bible four times that is
taken for granted. The whole New Testa-
ment is an arbor over which this doctrine
creeps like luxuriant vine full of the pur-
pie clusters OF consolation. James, John
and Peter followed Christ into the mountain.
A light falls from heaven ON that mountain
nllu Illus ~ lhuO Inc BlOrleS OF tno celoStlal.
Christ's garments glow and His face shines
like the sun, The door of heaven swings
open. Two spirits come down and alight
on that mountain. The disciples look at
them and recognize them as Moses and
Elias. Now II those disciples standing on
the earth could recognize these two spirits
who had been for years in heaven do YOU
tell me that we. with our heavenly eye
sight. will not be able to recognize those
who have gone OUT from among us only
Ave. ten. twenty. thirty years aon2