News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-07-17
SHALL WE MEET AGAIN !?
DR.. TALMAGE ANSWERS THE GREAT
QUESTION AFFlRMATlVELY.

The Bible Gives Many Assurances That
We Will Know Our Friends in Heaven
They Are Waiting for Us on the Other
Side.
WAsECA, Mimi, July 13.-The Rev.
Dr. Talmage, who lectured here yester-
day, preached to an enormous outdoor
gathering here today. His subject was,
Meeting Our Friends in Heaven" The
eminent clergyman took for his text Ii
Samuel xii, %: II shall go to him. y
His sermon was as follows:
There is avery 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 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 cutlery
| of Woe
What are courtly attendants or vic
torious armies or conquered provinces
under such circumstances? What to
any parent is all 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
I -+sI r.,
| bear the tidings to the king, but they
cannot make up their minds to tell
him, and they stand at the door whis-
pering about the matter, and David
hears them and he looks up and says to
them: rs the child dead2" 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
dethroned? Oh, it was the thought
that he would come again into the pos
session of that darling child. No grave
digger's spade could hide him. The
wintry blasts of death could not put
out the bright Eight. There would be
a forge somewhere that 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 away the tears from his eyes,
and he clears the choking grief from
his throat and exclaims: Il shall go to
him."
WILL WE MEET AGAIN.
Was David right or wrong? If we
part on earth will we meet again in the
next world? "'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 having APP
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 to-
gether, and how are you going to find
your departed friend in that country?
1t is SO vast 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 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 off again and he said, "a
hundred and forty and four thousand
l., 6 II. l,
came on still greater height of inspi-
ration, and he looked off again and ex.
claimed, "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 enter
tanning after all a falsityl Is this doc
trine of future recognition of friends in
heaven a guess, myth, 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
ton. 1t makes the lip culver, and the
cheek flush, and the entire nature
thrill. Shall we know each other therel
get letters almost every month ask
ing me to discuss this subject | get a
letter in a bold, scholarly hand, on
gilt edged paper, asking Inc to discuss
this question, and | say, "Ah, that is a
curious man, and he wants a curious
question solved" But | get another
letter. 1t is written with a trembling
hand, and on what seems to be tori.
out leaf of book, and here and there
is the mark of a tear, and l say, "Oh,
that is broken heart, and it wants to
be comforted"
IT Is TRUE
The object of this sermon is to take
this theory out of the region of surmise
and speculation into the region of posi-
tive certainty. People say: 1T would
be very pleasant if that doctrine were
true. hope it may be true. Perhaps
it is true. | wish it were true" But
believe that | can bring an accumula-
ton of argument to bear upon this mat
ter which will prove the doctrine 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 mate
rails, the keelson, stanchions, plank
shear, counter stimber knee, transoms
all of solid oak. You may build ship
of lighter material, but when the cy-
clone comes on it will go down. Now
we may have great many beautiful
IL