Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-02-05

l someone beside Us with whom 20 exchange
glances and sympathies. aud | suppose the
JOY Of heaven Is 10 DO augmented by the fact
that we are TO have our friends with US when
there rise before us the thrones OF the
blessed. and when there surces up In our ear
the iubilate OF the saved. Heaven e not
contraction. IL Is an expansion. III know
YOU here, l will know you better there. Here
! see you with only two eyes, but there the
soul shall have million eyes. IL will be
/ immortality gazing on immortality-ran-
/ somed spirit in cOlloauy with ransomed
| spirit-yictor beside victor. When John
| Evans, the Scotch minister, was seated in
/ his study, his wife came In and said TO him,
"My dear, do you think We will know each
/ other in heayenI' He turned 10 her and
| said, my dear, do you think We will be
] bigger fools in heaven than we are here?"
| Again. / accept this doctrine of future
| recognition because the worlds expectancy
/ aflirms it. In all lands and ages this theory
/ is received. What form of religion planted
/ IT. No form OF religion, for IL ia received
/ under all forms OF religion. Then, argue,
| sentiment, feeling, an anticipation.
universally planted, must have been God
/ implanted, and IL God implanted il is right
| fully implanted. Socrates writes: "Who
would not part with great deal TO purchase
! n meeting with Orpheus and Homer II it
be true that this is TO be the consequences OF
/ death, could even be able TO die often"
Again, L adopt this theory because there
| are features OF moral temperament and
/ features of the soul that will distinguish
us forever How do we know each other in
this world? Is it merely by the color OF the
eve. or the length of the hair, or the facial
proportions? oh, no. II is by the dispose
| ton as we'll. by natural affinity, using the
word in the very best sense and not in the
| bad sense and II in the dust our body should
| perish and lie there forever, and there should
| be no resurrection, still the soul has enough
| feature and the disposition has enough fea-
lures to make US distingulshable. | can I'M
| derstand how in sickness mRu will become
so delirlous that he will not know his own
friends. but will We be blasted with such
insutferabe idiocy that, standing beside our
best friends for all eternity, We will never
guess who they arey
Again, / think that one reason why we
ought to accept this doctrine is because we
never in this world have an opportunity to
give thanks to those 10 whom we are spirit
ualiy indebted. The joy OF heaven. we are
/ told, is to be inaugurated by a review OF
| ife's work. These Christian men and wo-
men who have been toiling for Christ. have
| they seen the full result of their work? Oh,
| no!
| In the church at Somerville. n. j., John
/ Vredenburgh preached for a great many
/ years. He felt that his ministry was u
/ failure, although he was n faithful minister
preaching the gospel all the time. He died,
| and died amid discOuragements, and went
/ nome TO God, for no one ever doubted that
John VredenburGh was a good Christian
| minister. A little while after his death
! there came a great awakening in Somerville,
| and one Sabbath 200 souls stood up Mt the
| Christian altar espousing the cause OF Christ,
| among them my own father and mother.
And what was peculiar in regard TO nearly
] Ill Al IL 49,. .luN,
| their religious impression from the ministry
| of John Vredenburgh. win that good Chris
tan man before the throne Of God never
meet those souls brought TO Christ through
! his fundamentally? Oh, OF course he will
! know them. l remember one Sabbath after
noon, borne down with the sense OF my sins
and knowing not God, Itook up Doddridge's
| Rise and Progress" Oh, what dark
afternoon it was. and | read the chapters,
and read the prayers, and tried to make
the prayers my own. Oh, | must see Philip
Doddridge. A glorious Old book he wrote,
1t is out OF fashion now.
There is mother before the throne OF God.
You say her Joy is full. Is it, You say there
| can be no augmentation OF 1t. Cannot there
| be? Her son was q wanderer and vagabond
on the earth when that good mother died.
He broke her old heart. She died leaving
him in the wilderness of sin. She is before
the throne OF God now. Years pass, and that
son repents OF his crimes and gives his heart
to God and becomes a useful Christian and
dies and enters the gates OF heaven. You
tell me that that mothers joy cannot be aug
| mentei? Let then confront each other the
| son aud the mother. "Oh.' she says the
angels Of God, ''rejOice with met The dead
is alive again, and the lost is found. Halle
| luiah l never expected TO see this lost one
come back" The Bible says Nations are to
be born in day. When China Genes to God,
will it not know Dr.. Abeel? When India
comes, Wilt not know DR.. John Scudder?
When the Indians come to God, will they not
know David Brainerd'
l see a soul entering heaven ut last, with
covered face at the idea that it has done so
little for Christ and feeling borne down with
unworthiness. and it says to itself, II have
no right to bo here" voice from throne
says: 'Oh, you forget that Sunday school
class YOU invited to Christ! | was one Of
them" And another voice says: You for
get that poor man to whom you gave loaf
of bread and told OF the heavenly bread.
was that man." And another says: You
forget that sick one to whom you gave medi-
cine for the body and the soul | was that
one." And then Christ, from q throne over
topping all the rest, will say, "lnasmuch as
We did 1t to one of the least of these you did
it to me-" And then the seraphs will take
their harps from the side of the throne and
cry. "What song shall it be?" And Christ,
bending over the harpers. shall say, sit
shall be the harvest home!"
One more reason why l am disposed to
accept this doctrine of future recognition is
that so many in their last hour on earth
have confirmed this theory, l speak not Of
persons who have been deirious in their
last moment and knew not what they were
about, out OF persons who died in camness
and placidity, and who were not naturally
superstitious. Often the Rlories of heaven
have struck the dying pillow, and the de-
parting man has said he saw and heard those
who had gone away from him. How often
it IS in the dying moments parents see their
departed children aud children see their de-
parted parents! | came down to the banks
of the Mohawk River. TWAS evening, and 1
wanted to 30 over the river, and so | waved
my hat anu shouted. and after Il while l saw
some one waving on the opposite bank. and
heard him shout, and the boat came across,
and got in and was transported. And so 1
suppose 1t will be in the evening of our life
We will come down to the river of death and
give signal to our friends on the other
shore, and they will give signal back to us,
and the boat comes, and our departed
kindred are the oarsmen, the fires of the set
ting day ttnging the tops OF the paddles.
Heaven is not stately, formal place, rs
sometimes hear 1t described, a very frigidity
of splendor, where people stand on cold
loFuldlltlts uilu Ru tFOunu ttDOut WITH neaVY
crowns of gold on their heads. No. that is
not my idea OF heaven. My idea of heaven
is more like this You are seated in the
evening tide by the fireplace, your whole
family there, or nearly all Of them there.
While you are seated talking and enjoying
the evening hour there is knock at the
door and the door oDens. and there comes
IN brother that has been long absent. He
has been long absent, for years you have
not seen him, and no sooner do you make
up your mind that it is certainly he than you
leap up, and the question is, Who shall give
him the first embrace? That Is my idea of
heaven "a great home circle where they are
waiting for us. Oh, will you not know your
mothers voice therep She who had always
| pnlln6 hu Ara lonnr off