The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-07-16
MEETING IN HEAVEN.
Rev. DR.. Talmage breaches a Ser
mon on This Subject.
He insists that tho Bible is Full OF Argu-
ments Favoring the Belief That In
Heaven We VIII Know and Re-
cognize the Friends Who
Have Gone Before.

me6UlnR our frlenuS IN n6aVen, ana
took for the text II. Samuel, xiii, 23: "I
shall go to him." Following is the
sermon: f.4 "Iu.nj.
There is a very sick child in the abode
of David the King. Disease, which
stalks up the dark lane Of the poor and
puts its smothering hand on the lip and
nostril OF the wan and wasted, also
mounts the palace stairs, and bending
over the pillow blows into the face Of a
young prince the frosts Of pain and
death. Tears are wine to the King Of
Terrors. Alas for David the King He
can neither sleep nor eat, and lies pros
trate on his face, weeping and wailing
until the palace rings with the outcry Of
woe. u
What are courtly attendants, or vic
torious armies, or conquered provinces,
under such circumstances? What to
any parent is all splendid surroundings
whom his child is sick? Seven days
have passed on. Then 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 can not 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: "Is the child dead?" ''Yes, he
Is dead" David rouses himself up,
washes himself, puts on a new apparel
and sits down to food. What power
hushed that tempest? What strength
was 1t that lifted up that King whom
grief had dethroned? o, 1t 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 notput
out the bright light. There would be q
forge somewhere that with silver ham.
rner would weld the broken links. In
city where the hoofs Of the pale horse
never strike the pavement he would
clasp his lost treasure. He wipes away
the tears from his eyes and he clears
the choking grief from his throat and
exclaims: 81 shall go to him." .t..
Was David right or wrongP II we
part on earth will we meet again in the
next world? "Well," says someone,
shat seems to be an impossibility.
Heaven is SO large o place we never
could find our kindred there" Going
into some city, without having ap-
pointed 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 de-
parted friend In that country? 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 greater altitude OF inspira-
ton and looked of upon II again, and
he said, ''Ten thousand times ten thou
sand" And then he came on q higher
mount OF inspiration, and looked on
again, and he said, "a hundred and forty
and four thousand and thousands Of
4 Thousands, And be came on . still
greater height OF inspiration, and he
looked of again, and exclaimed: "A
great multitude that no man can num-
ber.Y Now ask, how are you going 70
find your friends In suoh . throng as
that? Is not this idea we have been
entertaining after all = falsityp Is this
doctrine Of future recognition Of friends
In heaven guess, q myth, . whim, or
is IL q granitic foundation upon which
the soul pierced OF all ages may build .
glorious hope? Intense question: Every
heart in this audience throbs right into
IL There is In every soul here the
tomb Of at least ono dead. f
Tremendous question: II makes the
lip culver, and the cheek flush, and the
entire nature thrill: Shall we know each
other there? get letters almost every
month asking me TO discuss this sub
ject get letter in bold scholarly
hand, on gilt-edged paper, asking me to
discuss this question, and say, "Ah,
that is q curious man, and he wants q
curious question solved" But l get an
other letter. II Is written with trem-
bling hand, and on what seems TO be q
torn-out leaf OF book, and here and
there is the mark OF tear; and say,
10, that is a broken heart and It wants
10 be comforted."
The object OF this sermon is to take
this theory out Of the region Of surmise
and speculation into the region of posi-
two certainty. People say: ''It would
be very pleasant II that doctrine were
true. Ihope 1t may DO true, Perhaps
a. fa trna I viah N wara trua nut I