The Penn's Grove record., 1897-01-29
VOLUME XIX.

song with less than four ears. We want
someone beside us with whom to exchange
glances and sympathies, and l suppose the
Joy Of heayen Is to BIO augmented BY the fact
that we are to nave our friends with US when
there rise before us the thrones OF the
blessed. and when there surges up in our cal
the iubilate OF the saved. Heaven Is not q
contraction. 1t Is an expansion. III Know
you here l will know you better there. Here
l see you With only two eyes, but there the
sotil shall have a million eyes. 1t will be
Immortality gazing OH imnortality@ran.
some1 spirit in eolloquy with raDsomed
spirit victor beside victor. When John
Evans. the Scotch minister. was seated In
his study, his Wits came in and snid to him
"Ny dear, dc you think we will know each
other 10 heaven?" He turned to her and
said, 'BTy dear. do you think We Will be
bigger fools In heaven than we are here?"
Again, l 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 TO whom vi are spirit
ualiy indebted. The icy of heaven, we are
told, IL to be i~naugurated by a review OF
dfe's work. These Christian men and wo-
men who have been toiling for Christ. have
they seen the full result of their work? oh,
mol
In the church at Somerville. N. J., John
~vredenburgh preached for n great many
years. He felt that his ministry was u
failure, although he was a faithful minister
preaching the gospel all the time. He died,
and died amid discouragements, and went
home 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 at the
Christian altar espousing the cause OF Christ,
among them my own father and mother.
And what was peculiar in regard to nearly
all OF those 200 souls was that they dated
their religious impression from the ministry
of John yredenburgh. Will that good Chris
tian man before the throne OF God never
meet those souls brought to Christ through
his instrumentalIty? Oh, of course he will
know them. / remember one Sabbath after
noon, borne down with the sense OF my sins
and knowing not God, Itook up Doddridge's
afternoon it was. and l read the chapters,
and I read the prayers, and ! tried to make
the prayers my own. Oh, | must see Philip
Doddridge. A glorious old book he wrote!
II Is out OF fashion nov.
Tners is a mother before the throne OF God.
You say her Joy is full. Is II? You say there
can be 10 augmentation OF it. Cannot there
be2 Her sou was q wanderer and a 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 n useful Christian and
dies and enters the gates of heaven. You
tell me that that mothers joy caunot be aug
mented2 Let them confront each other, the
and the pother. ''0i," she saysto the
o Goj, '~irejoice with mel The dead
is alive again, and the lost is found. Halle
lulahi / never expected TO see this lost one
come back" The Bible says Nations are to
be born in n day. When China Genes to God,
will it not know DR.. Abeel2 When India
comes, will 1t not know DIR. John Scudder?
When the Indians come to God, will they not
David Brainerdp
l sec n soul entering heaven Mt last, with
covered face al the idea that 1t has done SO
little for Christ and feeling borne down with
unworthiness, aud it says 10 itself, II have
right to be here" A voice from a throne
SAYS "oh, you forget hat Sunday-schooi
class YOU invited to Christi l was n OF
And another voice says: You for
get that poor man to whom you gave q loaf
OF bread and told Of the heavenly bread. /
was that man." And another says: "You
foi get that sick one to whom you gave medi-
cine for the body and the soul. l was that
one." And then Christ, from 9 throne over
ye did 1t TO one OF the least OF these, you did
1t 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, at
shall be the harvest homel"
One more reason why I 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
who have been delirious in their
last moment and knew not what they were
about, .lut OF persons who died in calmness
and placidity, and who were not naturally
superstitious. Often the glories OF heaven
struck the dying pillow, and the de-
man has said he saw and heard those
who had gone away from him. How often
1t Is In the dying moments parents see their
departed children and children see their de-
parted parents! I came dow to the banks
OF the Mohawk River. 1t was evening, and l
wanted to go over the river, and so 1 wave
my hat and shouted, and after a while l saw
some one waving on the opposite bank. and
l heard him shout, and the boat came across,
and I got In and was transported. And so l
suppose 1t will be in the evening of our life.
We will come down to the river OF death and
give a signal to our friends on the other
shore, and they will give n signal back to US,
and the boat comes, n our departed
kindred are the oarsmen, the fires OF the set
ting day tinging the tops OF the paddles.
Heaven is not a stately, formal place, as 1
hear 1t described, a very frigidity
of s~plendor. where people stand on cold
ant go around about with heavy
crowns OF gold on their heads. No, that is
my idea Of heaven. My idea OF heaven
Is more like this: You are seated in the
evening tide by the fireplace, your whole
there, or nearly all of them there.
While You are seated talking n enjoying
the e;sning hour there is q knock at the
door aud the door opens, and there comes
in q brother that has been long absent. He
has been long absent, for years you have
seen him, and no sooner do You make
up your mind that 1t 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
voice there? She who had always
called you by your first name long after
had given you the formal "mister!'
You were never anything but James or John,
or George or Thomas. or Mary or fiorence
to her. VIII you not know your chfld's
voice? She OF the bright eye and rnddy
cheek AMI the quiet step, who came in from
play and flung herself Into your lap, q very
shower OF mirth and beauty? Why, the pic
ture Is craven in your soul. 1t cannot wenr
out. II THAT little one should stand on the
other side Of some heavenly hill and call to
you. you would hear her voice above tue
burst OF heavens great orchestra. Know it!
You could not help but know 1t.
Now 1 bring you this glorious consolation
of future recognition. II you could get his
theory into your heart, 1t would lift a great
many shadows that are stretching across II.
When l was q lad, I used to go out to the
railroad track and put my ear dow on the
track. and / could hear the express train
rumbling miles away AMI coming on, aud
to-day, my friends, il we only hai faith
enough We could put our ear down TO the
grave OF our dead AMI listen aud hear inthe
distance the rumbllng on Of tho chario's OF
resurrection victory.
o heaven. Sweet heaven! You do not
spell heaven as you used to spell it-h-e-a'v-
EN-. heaven. But now when you want TO
spell that word, you place side by side the
faces OF the loved ones who arc gone and IN
that irradiation OF light ami love and beauty
and joy you spell it out as never before, in
songs and halieluiabs. Oh, ye whose hearts
are down under toe sod Of the cemetery.
cheer up at the thought OF this reunioD!
Oh, how much you wi have 10 tell them
when once you meet themi
oh. how different il Is on earth from the
way 1t is in heaven when a Christian dies.
We say, ''Close his eyes" In heaven they
say, "Give him u palm" On earth We say,
sLet him down in the ground" In heaven
they say, "Hoist him on u throne" On
earth it is, ''Farewell, farewell" In heaven
1t is. WELCOME, weicome.s And so / see a
Christian soui coming down to the river OF