The Wahpeton times., 1890-07-24
FRI HE 4 VE,
DR.. Talmage Says We Shall
KnoF Our Friends in
Heaven.
ae Preached a Sermon at
Waseca, Minn., to a Large
Audience.

WAsEcA, Minn., special.-Dr. Talmase
preached to an enormous outdoor gathering
to-day. His subject was: "Meeting our
friends in heaven" The eminent clergyman
took Tor his text II. Samuel XIII, 23. Il shall
go to him." His sermon was as follows:
There is very sick child In the abode OF
David, the king. Dsense, which stalks up
the dark lane OF the poor and puts it's smoth-
ering hand on the lip and nostril Of the wan
and wasted, also mounts the palace stairs,
and bending over the pillow blows into the
fnce OF a young prince the frosts Of pain and
death. Tears are wine to the King Of Ter
rors. Alas! for David the king. He can
neither sleep nor eat, and lies PROSTATE on
MS face. weeping and wailing until the pal
ace rings with the outcry of woe.
what are courtly attendants or victorious
armies. or conquered provinces under such
circumstances? What to any parent is all
splendid surroundings when his child is sick?
Seven days have passed on. Then in that
great house two eyelids are gently closed, two
little hands 01ded. two little feet %uiet, one
heart still. The servants come to bear the
tidings to the king, but 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?" eyes, he is
dead" David rouses himself up, washes
himself, puts on new apparel and sits down to
food. What power husted that tempest?
What strength was it that lifted up that
king whom grief had dethroned? Oh, it was
the thought that he would come again into
the possession of that darling child. No
grave-diggers spade could hide him. The
wlntry blast Of death could not put out tho
bright light. There would be a forge some.
where that with silver hammer would weld
o. 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 rom his throat, and ex-
claims. 81 shall go to him."
Was David right or wrong? If we part on
enrth will we meet again in the next world?
'Well, snys some one, "that seems to he an
never could find our kindred there" Going
to some city, without having appointed
time and place for meeting. you might
wander around for weeks and for months,
and never see each other; and heaven is vast.
er than all earthly cities together, and how
are you going to find your departed friend
in that country? 1t is so vast realm. John
went up on one mountain ofinspiration, and
he looked offupont the multitude. and he said,
Thousands of thousands Then he came
up to greater altitude OF inspiration and
looked off upon it again and he said. "Ten
thousand times ten thousand" And then he
came on n higher mount OF inspiration, and
looked off again and he snid, "a hundred
and forty and four thousands and thousands
Of thousands" And he came to still great
er height OF inspira ton, and he looked of
in n1os~ l.
and no man can number" Now ask, how
are you going to find your friends in
such throng as that?. Is not this idea we
have been entertaining after oil q falsi-
ty? Is this doctrine of future? Recogni-
tion of friends in heaven guess, O
myth, whim, or is it n granite founda
tion upon which the soul pierced of oil ages
may build a glorious hope? Intense ques
ton! 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 checks flush, and the entire
nature thrill: Shall We know each other
there? get letters almost every month ask
ing me to discuss this subject. l get let
ter in bold scholarly hand, on gilt-edsed
paper, asking me to discuss this question:
and say, "Ah! that is curious man, and
he wants a curious question solved" But
get another letter. 1t is written with &
trembling hand, and on what seems to be &
tOrn-out Leaf of q book, and here and there
is the mark of tear; and l soy, "Oh. that il
q 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
ant if that doctrine were true. lhope it may
be true. Perhaps it is true. wish it were
true" But believe that can bring m &c
emulation ofargument to bear on this mat
ter which will prove the doctrine Of future
recognition as plainly rs that there is any
heaven at all, and that the kiss Of reunion al
the celestial gate will be as certain as the
dying kiss at Tho door Of the sepuicher.
Now, when you are going to build shil
you must get the right kind of timber. You
luv the keel and make the framework of the
very best materials, the keelson, stanchions
plnnk-shear, counter-timberknee, transOms
all of solid oak. You may build ship o
lighter material, but when the cyclone comes
on, it will go down: Now we may have Q
future world, built out OF our own fancy
and they may do very we'll as long as We
have smooth sailing in the world: but when
the storms OF sorrow come upon US, and thf
hurricane of death, we will be swamped-we
will be foundered. We want theory built
cut OF the solid oak of Gods eternal Word.
The doctrine OF future recognition is not
SO often positively stated in the word Of God
as implied, and you know, my friends that
that is, afterall, the strongest mode of affirma
tion. Your friend travels in foreign lands
He comes home. He docs not begin by
arguing with you to prove that there ore
such places as London and Stockholm, and
Paris and Dresden and Berlin, but his con.
versation implies it. And 80 this Bible does
Aok H.
and down it's 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 children if they would not
know him? Would David have been allowed
to record this anticipation for the inspec.
tion OF all ages if it were groundless antici-
patton? 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. Whatpeople? Why, their friends,
their comrades, their old companions. OF
course it means that. 1t cannot mean any,
thing else. So in the very beginning of the
Biblo four times that is taken for granted
The whole New Testament is an arbor over
which this doctrine creeps like luxuriant
vine full of the purple clusters ofconsolation.
James, John and Peter followed Christ into
the mountain. A light falls from heaven on
that mountain and lifts it into the glorieu of
the celestial. Christ's garments glow and
His face shines like the sun. The door of
heaven swings open. The spirits come down
and alight on the mountain. The diciples
look at them and recognize them as Moses
and Elias. Now, if those diciples standing
on the earth could recognize these wo spirits
who had been for years in heaven. do you
tell me that we. with heavenly eyesight, will
not be able to recognize those who have
gone out from among us only FIVE, ten,
twenty. thirty years ago?
The Bible indicates. over and over again,
that the angels know each other; and the
Bible says that we are to be higher than the
angels. and if the angels have the power Of