The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-07-24
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
weekly Discourse OF the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.

TEXT; ~ shall 90 TO him."--II Samuel
xii, 23,
There Is very sick child in the abode OF
David the King, Disease, which stalks up
the DARK lane ct tho poor and puts its
smothering hand ON 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 10 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 cutlery OF woe.
What are courtly attendants or victorious
armies or conquered provinces under such
circumstances What TO any parent is all
splendid surrounding when his child is sickS
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 mat
ter, and David hears them and he looks up
and says to them: us the child deadY Eyes;
he is dead,n David rouses himself
up, washes himself, puts on new APP
parel, and sits down to food. What
power hushed that tempest? What
strength was it that lifted up that King whom
grief had dethroned, Oh, 1t was the thought
that he would come again into the possession
of that darling child. No gravedigger's spade
could hide him. The wntry blasts of death
could not put out the bright light. There
would be u forge somewhere that with silver
hammer would weld the broken links. In a
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; II shall go to him."
AV., rss.kt tua
on earth will We meet again in the next
world2 "Well, says some one, that seems
to be an impossibility. Heaven is so large
a place We never could find our kindred
there" Going into some city, without hav.
ing appointed time and place for meet.
ing, 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
country 1t is so vast a realm. John went
up on one mountain Of inspiration, and he
looked off upon the multitude, and he said:
Thousands of thousands" Then he came
upon greater altitude of inspiration and he
looked off upon it again, and he said: "ren
thousand times ten thousand" And then he
came ON higher mount of inspiration, and
looked off again and he said: "a hundred and
forty and four thousand and thousands OF
thousands" And he came on 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 that9 Is not this
idea we have been entertaining after all
falsity? Is this doctrine Of future recogni.
ton of friends in heaven a guess, myth, q
within, or is it granite foundation upon
which the soul pierced Of all ages may build
a 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. II
| makes the lip quiver, 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 subject. ]
get letter in bold, scholarly hand, on
gilt-edged paper, asking me to discuss this
question, and say: "Ah, that is a curious
man, and he wants curious question solved
| But get another letter. 1t is written with
trembling hand, and on what seems to be q
| torn out leaf of book, and here and there
is the mark of tear, and say: Job, that
| Is broken heart, and it wants to be COM
| forted"
| The object of this sermon is to take this
theory out Of the region of surmise and
| speculation into the region OF positive GER
tainty. People say: ut would be very
| pleasant if that doctrine were true [ hope
| ~ NC u uc. Sl Ia po ~ 10 u uc. "ioi
| it were true" But believe that l can bring
an accumulation of argument to bear upon
this matter which will prove the doctrine OF
| future recognition as plainly as that there is
any heaven at all, and that the kiss of re.
| union at the celestial gate will be as certain
as the dying kiss at the door of the sepul.
| cher
Now, when you are going to build a ship
you must get the right kind of timber. You
lay the keel and make the framework of the
very best materials, the keelson, stanchions,
plank shear, counter timber-knee tr ansoms
ali of solid oak You may build a ship Of
lighter material but when the cyclone comes
on it will 20 down. Now we may have
great many beautiful theories about the fu
ture 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 hur.
ricane of death, we will be swamped-we will
be foundered. We want theory built out OF
the solid oak of Gods eternal Word. The doc
trine of future recognition is not SO often pos
lively 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 travelsin foreign lands. He comes
home He does not begin by arguing with
you to prove that there are such places as
London and Stockholm and Paris and Ores.
den and Berlin, but his conversation implies
1t. 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 text imply? II shall go to
him." What consolation would it be to David
to go to his child if he would not know him.
Would David have been allowed to record
this anticipation for the inspection of all
ages if it were a groundless anticipation!
We read in the first book of the Bible Abra.
ham died and was gathered tc his people.
I;aI a,,I oil t, 10
Moses died and was gathered to his people.
| What people? Why, their friends, their COM
rades. their old companions. OF course il
means that. 1t cannot mean anything
else. So in the very beginning of the Bible
| four times that is taken for granted. The
| whole New Testament is an arbor, over
which this doctrine creeps like a luxuriant
| vine full of the purple clusters of consolation
James, John and Peter followed Christ int
the mountain. A light falls from heaven on
that mountain and lifts 1T into the glories OF
| celestial. Cnrist'S garments glow and Hii
| 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, If those disciples standing on
| the earth coul recognize these two spirits
who had been for years in heaven, do you
| tell me that we, with our heavenly eyeSight
| will not be able to recognize those who have
gone out from among us only five, ten, TWEEN
ty, thirty years ago.
The Bible indicates over and over again
that the angels know each other, and then
the Bible says that we are to be higher than
the angels; and if the angels have the power
of recognition shall not we, who are to be
higher than they in the next realm have as
good eyesight and as good capacity? What
did Christ mean in His conversation with
Mary and Martha when He said, THY
brother shall rise again. 1t was as much as
to say Don't cry. Don't wear yourself out
with this trouble You will see Him again
Thy brother shall rise again.
The Bible describes heaven as great
home circle. Well now, that would be
very queer home circle where the member
did not know each other. The Bible de
scrbes death as sleep. If we know eact
other before we go to sleep shall we not
know each other after we wake ups Oh
yes We will know each other great deal
better then than now: for now" says this
apostle. 1--WE see through a glass darby. bui
then face to face" 1t will be my purified,
enthroned and giorifed body gazing on your
purified. enthroned and glorified body.
Now l demand, if you believe the Bible,
that you take this theory of future recogni-
ton out of the realm of speculation and sur.
mise into the region of positive certainty,