The Penn's Grove record., 1897-01-29
REV. DIR. TAIMAGE.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE by THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "IIeavenly Recognition"

the dark lane OF the poor ana puts its smioth'
ering hand on ! p and nostril OF the wan and
wasted also mounts the palace stairs and
bending over the pillow blows into the face
Of the young prince the frosts OF pain and
death. Tears arc wine TO the king OF terrors.
Alas for David the king. He can neither
sleep nor eat AMI liea Frustrated on his face
weeping and waillng until the pa'ace rings
with the cutlery Of woe.
What are courtly attendants, or victorious
armies. or conquered provinces under such
circumstances? What to my parent Is all
splendid surrounding when his child Is sickf
= seven days have passed on. There in that
great house Two eyelids are gently closet,
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 mines 10 tell him, and they
stand at the loo whispering about the mat
ter, and David hears them, and he looks Dip
and says to them. stIs the child dead2n
Eyes, he Is dead"
David rouses himself up, washes himself,
puts on new apparel anil sits down to food.
What power hrshed that tempest2 What
strength was It that lifted up that king
whom grief had dethroued2 Oh, 1t was the
thought that be would come again into the
possession Of that darling child. No grave.
digger's spade could hide him. The wintry
blasts OF death could not put out the bright
light There would bs n forge somewhere
that with silver hammer would weld the
broken links. In a city where the hoofs of
the pale horse never strike the pavement ho
would clasp his lost treasure. Ho wipes
away the tears from his eyes, and he clears
the choking erirf from his throat and ex-
claims. II sfall go 10 him.
Was David right or wrong2 II we part on
earth, will we meet again in the next world?
well, says some one, "that seems TO be an
imposslbiliiy. Heaven is so large a place we
never could find our hindredthere. Golngin-
to some city, without having appointed a time
and place for meeting. You might wander
around for weeks and for months, and per-
haps for years, aud never SEQ each Other, and
ha Ven is yGster than all earthly cities to-
set.er. And how are you goinS to find your
departed friend In that country? 1t Is so vast
a realm. John went up one mountain Of i'm
spiration. and he looked off upon the multi
tude,and he said, Thousands of thousands"
Then he came up upon n greater altitude OF
inspiration and looked off upon it again, and
he said, Ten thousand times ten thousand. "
And then he came on a higher mount OF fn-
SEPARATION and looked off again, and he said,
"a hundred aud forty and four thousand
and thousands OF thousands" And he came
on a still greater height of inspiration, and
he looked off agar and exclaimed, "A great
multitude that no man can number"
Now, i ask, how are you going to find
your friends in such q throng as thatp Is
not this idea we have been entertaining,
after all. u faIsity? Is this doctrine OF future
recognition OF friends in heaven n guess, a
myth, Il whim. or Is it a granite foundation
upon which the soul pierced OF all ages may
build u glorious hope? Intense question:
Every heart in this audience throbs right
into it. There is in every soul here the tomb
of at least one dead. Tremendous question!
1t makes tho lip culver; and the cheek flush.
and the entire nature thrill. Shall we know
each other there2 / get letters almost every
month asking me to discuss this subject. I
get n letter in a bold. scholarly hand. on gilt
edged paper, asking me to discuss this ques-
tiop, and / say. 'Ab, that is n curious man,
and he wants o curious question solved"
But l get another letter. II Is written with a
trembling hand and on what seems 10 be a
torn out Leaf OF IL book, and there and here is
the mark OF a tear, and I say, '0h, that Is a
broken heart, and 1t wants 10 be comfortedp'
The object of this sermon Is to take this
theory out of the region OF surmise n
speculation into the region OF positive GER
tainiy. People say: III would be very
pleasant II that doctrine wete true. ! hope
it may be true. Perhaps 1t is true. 1 wish
1t were true But l believe that / can bring
an accumulation Of argument to bear upon
this matter which will prove the doctrine of
future recognition as plainly as that there is
any heaven at all, ant that the kiss of re-
union 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 a ship
you must get the right kind OF timber. You
lay the keel and make the framework of the
very best materials-tho keelson, stanchions.
plank shear, counter timber. knees, trnnsoms
all iron or solid oak. You may build a
ship OF lighter m. but when the cyclone
comes on it will go down. Now, we may
have a 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
hnrr;aona nf death Voc w III hp QyVa IN DRl-yra
will be foundered. We want a theory built
cut Of Gods eternal word, The doctrine OF
future recognition IL not so often positively
stated 10 the word OF God as implied, and
you know, my friends, that that is. utter all,
the strongest mode of affirmation. Your
friend travels In foreign lanas. He comes
home. He does not begin by arguing with
you to prove that there ara such places us
London and Stockholm and Paris aud Dres-
den and Berlin, but his conversation implies
IL. And so this Bible does not so positively
state this theory as, all up and down It's
chapters. take it for granted.
what does my text imply7 "I shall go to
him." What consolation would it be to-
David 10 go to his child II he not know
him? Would David have been allowed to
record this anticipation for the inspection of
all ages IL it were a groundless anticipation
We read In the first book Of tho Bible: Abra-
ham died and was gathered to his people.
Jacob dled and was gathered to his people.
Moses del and was gathered to his people,
What peoplef Why, their friends, their com
rades, their old companions. OF course it
means that. II 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 ike aluxur ant vine full of
the purple clusters OF consolation. James,
John and Peter followed Christ into the
mcuntaip, A light fails from heaven on
p shat pnO14ntafr aud life ~ iOtA tho olnrfaa NJ
The celestial. Christ's garments glow and His
face shines like the sun. The door Of heaven
swings open. Two spirits come down and
alight OF that mountain. The disciples look
at them and recognize them as Moses and
Elias. Now II these disciples staining on
the earth could recognizes these two spirits
who had been for years in heaven, do you
tell me That we, with our heavenly eyeslght,
will not be able TO recognize those who have
gone out from among US only five, ter,
twenty, thirty years ago?
The Bible indicates over md over again
that the angels know each other, AMI then
the Bible says that we are 10 be higher than
the angels. and IL the ange's have the power
of recognition, shall nos we, who are 10 be
higher than they in the next realm, have as
good eyesight and us good capacity What
did Christ mean In His conversation with
Mary and Martha when He said, "Thy
brother shall rise againg' IT was as much
as to say: .'Don't cry. Don't wear your
selves out with this trouble. You will see
Him again. Thy brother shall rise again. !"
The Bible describes heaven as u great
home circle. Well, now, thar would be a
very queer home circle where the members
did not know each other. The Bible de-
scribes death as a sleep. II we know each
other before we go TO sleep, shall we not
know each other after we wake up? Oh,
yes. We will know each other n great deal
better then than now, "For now" says the
apostle, tive sec through Il glass darkly. but
then face 10 face" It will be my purified,
entbroned and giori1ed body gazing on your
purified. enthroned aud glorined body.
Now. 1 demand, II you believe the Bible,
thai you take this theory OF future recogni-
ton ont OF tho realm Of speculation and sur
mise into The region OF positive certainty,
and no more keep saying; ~ hone II Is so,
/ have au iden 1t is 50. / guess 1t is So" BE
able to say, with all the contracted energy
Of body, mind and soul. al know it is sou
There are IN addition to these Bible argu-
menis other reasons why l accep. this theory.
In the first place. because the rejection OF il
implies the entire obliteratlon OF our msmory-
Can ii be possible that WI shall forget for
ever those with whose walk, look, manner
.va I'm va htt.n 90 inpn & uiliarp VIII dealt