Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-07-14

VI the Woflu TO Cohlc-A Nfeab home
Circle.
81 WAsEcA, Mimi, July 13--The Rev. DIR.
Talmage, who lectured here yesterday,
preached TO an enormous out door gather
ing here today. His subject was, Meeting
Our Friends in Heaven" The eminent
clergyman took for his text II Samuel xii,
%: 81 shall go to him" His sermon was
as follows:
There Il n 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 lip and nO3tril of the
wan and wasted, also mounts the palace
ataiFs, 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 I'M
til the palace rings with the cutlery of woe
What are courtly attendants or victori-
GUS armies or conquered provinces under
such circumstances? What. to any parent,
is all splendid surrounding when his child
is sick9 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 whisper
ing about the matter, and David hears
them and he looks up and says to them
as the child dcadY" "Yes; he is dead. {"
David rouses himself up, washes himself
puts on new apparel and sits down to food
What power hushed that tempest2 What
strength was it that lifted up that king
whom grief had dethroned2 Oh, it was
the thought that he would come again
into the possession of that darling child.
No gravediggers spade could hide him.
The wintry blasts of death could not put
out the bright light There would be n
forge somewhere that with silver hammer
would weld the broken links. In u 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; ~
shall go to him"
SHALL WE MEET AGAIN?
Was David right or wrong? If we part
on earth will we meet again in the next
worldP "Well," says some one; that
seems to be an impossibility. Heaven is
80 large place we never could find our
kindred there" Going into some city,
without having appointed n 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 noun
tain Of inspiration, and he looked off upon
the multitude and he said; thousands
of thousands" Then he came upon n
greater altitude of inspiration and looked
off upon it again and he said: Ten thou
sand times ten thousand" And then he
came on II higher mount of inspiration,
and looked off again and he said: "a
hundred and forty and four thousand
aud thousands of thousands" Ana he
came on still greater height of inspira-
ton, 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 throng as that? Is
not this idea we have been entertaining
after all falsity? Is this doctrine of
future recognition Of friends in heaven n
guess, II myth, whim, or is it II granite
foundation upon which the soul pierced of
all ages may build II glorious hope? In
tense question. Every heart in this audi
ence throbs right into it, There is i'll
every soul here the tomb Of Mt least one
dead Tremendous question. IT makes
the lip culver, and the cheek flush, and
the entire nature thrill. Shall we know
each other sAcreY | g.t letters almost
every month asking me to discuss this
subject get II letter in u bold, scholarly
hand, on gilt edged paper, asking me to
discuss this question, and say, All, that
is a curious man, and he wants II curious
ouestion solved" Bat get another letter.
It Is written with n trembling hand, and
on what seems to he u torn out leaf OF
book, and here and there is the mark of
tear and ] say: "Oh that is n broken
heart, and it wants to be comforted."
POSITIVE CERTAINTY.
The object of this sermon is to take I his
theory out Of the region of surmse and
speculation into the region of positive
certainty. People says TT would be very
pleasant if that doctrine were true. |
hone it may be true. Perhaps 1t is true ]
wish It were true.n But | believe that |
can bring IN accumulation Of argument TO
bear upon this matter which will prove
the doctrine Of future recognition MS
plainly as that there is any heaven Mt all,
and that the kiss of reunion at the Celes-
tia gate will be rs certain rs the dying
! kiss at the door of the sepulcher,
Now, when You arc going to build 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, trnnsoms all of solid oak, You may
build ship of lighter material, but when
the cyclone comes ON it will 20 down,
Now we may have great many beautiful
theories about the future world, built out of
our own fancy, and they may do yAry well
Ms long rs we have smooth sailing In tho
world, but when the storms of sorrow
come upon us, and the hurricane of death,
we will be Swhmpod-wc will be foundered,
We want theory built out of the solid oak
OF Gods eternal Word. The doctrine 9f
future recognition is not SO often positively
stated In the Word of God rs Implied, and
TEX know, my friends. that that is. after all,
the strongest mode of Affirmation Your
friend travels in foreign lands. He comes
home. He does not begin by arguing with
wp1IShNJVe tlEtt tllerd .nNs slt'li places Asl
london aud Stockholm and Paris and
Dresden and Berlin, but las conversation
impliea it. And 70 this Bible does not so
nositixcly state this theory as, all up and
down, its chapters take it for granted.
~ SHALL, 60 TO lin -. vy.sr.
WVMt TSes "a tcYf 3mplyYT'T Shalt 20