Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-07-18
FRIENDS IN HEAVEN
REV. TALMAGE TELLS OF QUIZ MEET
ING WITH THEN.
A Sermon TO np Enormous Outdoor
Audience mt waseca, Minn.-Ir We
Part on Earth Shall We Meet Again
I'm the Next World. and Shall We
Know Each other There-An Inter-
esting and Instructive Talk by the
Eminent Divine.


Mimi, on Sunday last, preached to an
enormous outdoor gathering. His Subject
was, 'Mcetlng our friends in heaven" The
eminent clergyman took for his text II. Sam
12: 90. ~ shall 60 to him." His sermon
was as follows:
There is a very sick child Ina the abode of
David the king. Disease. which stalks up
the dark lane OF the poor and puts its smoth-
crlng hand on the lip and nostrll OF the wan
and wasted, also mounts the palace-stairs,
and bending over the pillow blows into the
face OF - young prince the frosts OF pain and
death. Tears arc wine 10 the King OF Ter
rors. Alas for David the king. He can
neither sleep or eat, and lies PROSTATE on his
face, weeping and wailng 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 hGS child is sick
Seven days have passed on Then I'm 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
Dayd hears them rS and he Locks up and
dead" David rouses himself up, washes
himself, puts on new apparel, and sits down
What strength was IL that lifted up that
king whom grief had dcthroned? Oh! il
was the thought that he would come again
INTO lnc DNSStSSlOn Oh tlHJ darling cnllu.
No grave-diggers spade could hide him.
The wintry blasts OF death could not put out
the bright light. There would he forge
somewhere that with silver hammer would
weld the broken links. In a city where the
hoofs OF the pale horse never strike the pave
ment he would clasp his lost treasure. lie
wipes away the tears from his eyes, and he
clears the choking grief from his throat
and cXciaims, Il shall go to him."
Was David right or wrong? IL We part on
earth will we meet again In the next world
- al UE lnnN fs.la
impossibility. Heaven Is so large q place we
never could find our kindred there" Going
into some city, without having 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 country
IL Is so vast a realm. John vent up on one
upon the multitude, and he said, "Thous-
ands of thousands" Then he came upon "A
greater altitude OF inspiration and looked
OF upon 10 again, and he said, Ten thous-
and times ten thousand" And then nc came
on higher mount of inspiration, and look
ed of again, and he said, "A hundred and
forty and four thousand and thousands OF
thousands" And he came on n still greater
height of inspiration, and he looked Off
again, and exclaimed: "A great multitude
that no man can number" Now 1 ask how
are you going to find your friends I'm such a
throng as thatI Is this doctrine of future
recognition of friends I'm heaven a guess.
IL
upon which the soul pierced OF all ages NAV
build a glorious hope Intense question!
Every heart In this audience throbs right
of at least one dead
Tremendous question II makes the lin
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 subject. / get a
letter in bold scholarly hand, on gilt-edged
paper, asking me TO discuss this question, and
m hgf IL n fstIpi ions Ii.
wants curious question solved" But / get
another letter. IL is written with tremb-
out leaf of book, and here and there is the
mark or tear; and | say, Oh that Is "a
broken heart and IL 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
tainty. People say, 1T would be very
pleasant IL that doctrine were true. i hone
II may be true. Perhaps IL is true. / wish
II were true" But believe that can bring
an accumulation Of argument to bear upon
this matter which will prove the doctrines Of
future recognition as plainly as that there
Is any heaven at all, and that the kiss OF
fepnion at the celestial gate will be as GER
tain as the dying kiss at the door OF the
sepulchre.
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, transoms
all OF solid oak. You may build a ship Of
lighter material, but when the cyclone comes
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 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
10 GfW
affirmation. Your friend travels in foreign
lands. He comes home. He does not begin !
by arguing with you TO prove that there are
Paris and Dresden and Berlin but his con-
versation implies IL. And so this Bible does |
not so positively state this theory rs. all up
and down its chapters, take IL for granted. |
What does my text imply? IL shall go TO |
him." What consolation would it be TO |
David 70 go TO his child II he did not know |
record this anticipation for the inspection Of
all ages II IL were groundless anticipation? |
We read In the first book Of the Bible, Abra- |
Jacob died and was gathered TO his people. |
Moses died and was gathered TO his people. |
comrades, their old Companions. OF course |
IL means that. IL 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. |
the mountain. A light falls from heaven on
that mountain and lifts IL into the glores OF |
the celestial. Christs garments glow and |
His face shines like the sun. The door OF |
heaven swings open. Two spirits come down |
and alght on that mountain. The disciples |
look at them and recognize them as |
Moses and Elias. Now, II those disciples |
standing on the earth could r.cognize these |
two spirits who had been for Years I'm heaven, |
do you tell me that we, with our heavenly |
cyesight, will not be able to recognize those !
who have gone out from among us only five,
ten, twenty, thirty years agoY
The Bible indicates, over and over again, |
that the angels know each other; and then |
the Bible says that we are 10 be higher than |
the angels. and IL 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 bro |
ther shall rise againf" IL was as much as TO |
say, Don't cry. Don't wear yourselves 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 would not know each other. |
The Bible describes death as a sleep. IL we |
know each other before we go to sleep, shall |
we not know each other after we walker Oh. |
yes. We Will know each other n great deal |
better then than now; "for now" says the |
apostle, I'VE see through glass darkiy, but |
then face TO face" IL will be my purified, |
enthroned and glorined body gazing on your