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THE

CHRISTIAN

PARLOR B BOOK.

RECOGNITION IN THE HEAVENLY WORLD.

BY H. P. TAPPAN, D. D.

Shall we recognize each other in the Heavenly World?-a question often anxiously asked. Nothing on earth is so dear to us as the ties of friendship and kindred; and we cannot reconcile ourselves to the thought that we shall not recognize and feel the influence of these ties in heaven. It, certainly, is not unlawful to reason about this question in any way that shall not bring us into conflict with the Holy Scriptures. Let us then indulge ourselves a little in some unpresumptuous thoughts. God will not judge us severely for yielding to that kindly nature which He himself has given us.

If we do not recognize each other in the heavenly world, it must arise from the following

causes :

We must inhabit separate regions, so that our intercourse shall cease; or, our forms must be so changed that we shall retain no resemblance of what we were on earth; or, if not so changed, we must lose our recollection of them; and in either of these two cases we must either lose the knowledge of our own identity, or not be permitted, or not feel a sufficient interest in the past, to introduce ourselves to each other by our earthly names and relations; nay, we must not recur to earthly histories or experiences at all, for we cannot conceive of this being done without involving personal recognitions: in fine, we must either lose all recollection of our earthly state, or the new relations into which we are introduced in the heavenly world, must so absorb us that we shall feel no interest in recurring to the past.

First, shall we be separated from each other, by inhabiting different regions? The Scriptures give no intimation of any such thing. On the contrary, the redeemed are represented as constituting a glorious assembly present with the Lord. Heaven is a glorious Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, inhabited by an innumerable company of angels, and the general assembly of the Church of the first-born which are written in heaven-the spirits of the just made perfect. When the Lord shall come, he will bring with him those that slept in Jesus, and those which are alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Indeed the whole current of Scripture goes to show the union, and not the separation of the saints. Heaven is the organized, social and happy community of the redeemed. But, it may be asked, may not this united community dwell in different planets or worlds, forming a heavenly system? We can neither affirm nor deny this. If it be so, it would be natural, and not unreasonable, to expect that the inhabitants of any particular world will consist of those who are bound together by the most intimate ties. Now, among these ties we cannot but believe that those which were formed during our earthly probation in being helpers of each other's faith, in bearing one another's burdens, in exerting over one another the most holy and endearing influences in domestic and friendly relations, must, even in heaven, be regarded as dear and precious, and form a ground for the constitution of

Now, does all or any part of this appear scrip- particular heavenly communities. But inasmuch tural or reasonable!

as the redeemed from our earth have been con

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RECOGNITION IN THE HEAVENLY WORLD.

nected with one scheme of redemption here wrought out, have been parts of one great history here developed, have been the members of one Church militant extending through all time from the creation to the judgment, and together constitute the one body of which Christ is the head, in a union the most intimate and divine, we cannot suppose them, in heaven, to be divided into particular communities, except on condition that these communities maintain among themselves the fellowship of the saints, and are known and endeared to each other throughout eternity. If, therefore, we suppose them to be distributed through a system of worlds with dividing spaces, we have only to recollect that they are to dwell in spiritual bodies, and to be equal with the angels, and that the angels, like Gabriel visiting Daniel, can fly with such exceeding swiftness that what seem to us now vast spaces form in reality no separation. As to the other alternative-our personal identity we cannot lose, for this is inherent in the soul. Nor does it seem at all probable that we shall lose the identity of our bodily forms. Some marks of bodily individuality we must have, and why not retain those in which we began our existence? Nay, the doctrine of the resurrection seems clearly to imply the retention of our original forms, purified only from those imperfections which would be inconsistent with the beauty of heaven. This seems also to be indicated in the case of Lazarus and the rich man. Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man are known in the other world by their earthly identities. The same is true of the transfiguration where Moses and Elias appeared.

That we should forget our earthly histories, or lose our interest in them, is wholly improbable in itself, and plainly at variance with Scripture. The soul in its perfected state cannot lose the memory, one of its noblest functions. And dwelling forever in the presence of the Redeemer, it cannot lose its interest in the past, without a corresponding decay of its peculiar interest in him, and being drawn away from the richest theme of eternal gratitude and praise. The joy of heaven must, in a high degree, arise from contrasting the earthly pilgrimage with the glory and peace of the immortal state. And what is the new song of the redeemed in that world of glory? Is it not of the redemption achieved on earth? "Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."

Since, therefore, we shall retain our knowledge of the past with the liveliest interest, as the theme of our meditations, our praises, and our we cannot be unknown to each

other even if our bodily forms should be changed But as we have good reason and warrant to believe that these shall not be changed, but only perfected, we may look forward to an immediate and joyous recognition. In heaven we shall not be married or given in marriage, but we shall not forget those to whom we were married. In heaven children shall not be born to us, but we shall not forget those who were born to us, or the parents who begat us. Even on earth we are conscious of a love in those relations far beyond any mere natural instinct-a love pure, spiritual and deathless. It is under the fostering and sanctifying influence of Christianity itself that this love is born. Christianity touches our mortal relations and makes them immortal. Husband and wife, parents and children, sisters and brothers, friend and friend, embracing each other in the faith, love and hope of the gospel, feel that they are united forever.

The anxieties which we are prone to indulge on this subject arise both from the extreme interest connected with it, and the shadowy and unsubstantial character which in our habitual thinking we attribute to the spiritual world. The former naturally leads us to torture ourselves with doubt; the latter renders it difficult to embody the future to ourselves as a reality. If the soul had pre-existed in a spiritual state, in contemplating its introduction into this world, it would probably have been filled with similar anxieties and fears. That form of being which alone we have tried appears to us the most real. In the unknown we seem to lose the real. To remove these apprehensions we ought to reflect that our being is progressive, and that in passing into the other world we are truly advancing to a higher and more pertect reality. We are now, indeed, treading upon what appears to us a solid earth; but it is really a changeable form of matter, and might be dispersed into invisible gases. We dwell in a substantial body, but it is doomed to decay, and must share the fate of all earthly matter. We are placed in many interesting relations, but they are relations which are continually liable to be broken. This is not, after all, a very substantial and real world to us. That which alone is permanent to us is the soul within us--our spiritual self. Death separates us from this changeable state, and introduces us into one which the gospel teaches us is unchangeable. The soul leaves nothing behind it but the earthly and imperfect. It carries with it all its noble faculties, its best affections, its immortal energies. It can lose no part of itself. That other world to which it goes is one perfectly adapted to all its wants, and opens to it the proper field for its

THE PILGRIM IN SIGHT OF JERUSALEM.

activities. Instead of going into a shadowy state, like the Hades of the ancient Greeks, it goes into its true and proper home. Instead, therefore, of feeling that it has lost anything when it arrives upon the heavenly shore, it will find, to its unutterable joy, that it has gained everything. That spiritual world will appear to it its natural abode, meeting all its wants, and presenting the most substantial forms of life. Ask, therefore, what you want in your noblest, most cultivated, and purest development, and be assured Heaven will give you all. You want a world of perfect beauty; you will find it there. You want an unfettered and unwearied intellect under the most auspicious conditions of development; you will possess it there. You want a heart purified from evil; there you will be holy to the full measure of your capacities. You want relief from care, trial, disappointment and sorrows; there all tears are wiped away, and the fountains of joy are overflowing. You want society of the refined, the noble, the true, the wise, the good; you will find it there-it is the society of the just made perfect. You want to be reunited in a deathless union with those whom you have loved on earth; if they have slept in Jesus, you will meet them there. Be assured nothing can be lost to you which is united to your soul in the faith and love of Christ. You want to renew particularly the intimacies which were dearest to you on earth; if these intimacies were sealed by the hope of

the Gospel, you will renew them there. There will be myriads of the redeemed; you will be united to them all, you will love them all. But an equally intimate fellowship with all is impossible. The very conditions of our social nature assign limitations to the most intimate fellowships. Among the myriads of the redeemed, our most intimate fellowships must take place where our hearts would most naturally, fondly and congenially select them. Many of our relations on earth are artificial and constrained. These we would not wish to renew. But where souls have become one by real congeniality, by noble, pure and true affection, death cannot unseal a bond laid so deep in the soul itself. This is something which it belongs to Heaven to perfect and perpetuate. The true principle, both in a rational and scriptural point of view, on which to judge of the heavenly world, is that to which we have already alluded, namely, that our being is progressive, and that, as such, whatever is pure, good and beautiful in us now, must reappear in heaven under more perfect forms. We leave nothing behind us but the dark, the imperfect, the unholy. Thought, imagination, taste, and all the affections of a gentle, pure and loving nature will be like flowers transplanted into a richer soil, under more genial skies. Our proper humanity will still remain in heaven with nothing lost, but everything ripened to perfection, and kindled in a more glowing life.

THE PILGRIM IN SIGHT OF JERUSALEM.

How throbbed my heart, when, through the morning skies,
The towers of Zion met my longing eyes!

When, one by one, along the horizon's verge,
I saw the hallowed landmarks first emerge;

And felt my glorious privilege to trace
The hills that guard Jehovah's dwelling-place 1

There, gathered in majestic frame, were set
Moriah-Zion-Calvary-Olivet;
Where haloes of departed glory still,
With sacred light, encompass every hill;

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THE PILGRIM IN SIGHT OF JERUSALEM.

While godlike forms of priests and prophets rise,
And kings, who held their sceptres from the skies,
Still throw their hallowed mantle o'er the scene,
And marshal round their "melancholy Queen"—
The "Queen of Nations!" Lo, how pale she stands,
With wildered look, mute lips, and clasped hands!

On yonder height, in many a heaving mound
Of human dust, behold her battle-ground!
There, marshalled for her rescue or her fall,
Host after host haş girt her sacred wall!
The Roman cohorts, and the fierce Crusade-
Moor-Moslem-Saracen-in steel arrayed;
Iberian chiefs-the chivalry of France-

Have twanged the bow and couched the quivering lance;
And England's battle-axe wiped out in blood

The insults aimed at the triumphant Rood-

Rolled back the battering-rams that shook her wall-
Resolved to conquer-yet content to fall-

If there, at last, their ashes might repose

Where Jesus lived and suffered-died and rose !

Thrice holy, yet unhappiest city! thou
Must wear no garland but the cypress bough!
Thy shrines are dust-thy sanctuaries defiled;
And, where thy temple stood, in triumph piled,
Omar's proud mosque usurps the hallowed place,
And frowns contempt on Israel's scattered race!

Yet, widowed Queen! immortal is thy dower

The name of God is writ on every tower!

I gaze, as if entranced! my spirit fraught

With sounds and thoughts-"unteachable, untaught❞—
Feelings, that ask for utterance in vain,

Swell in my heart, and throb within my brain.
And hark! as with slow step I muse along,
The rocks still echo to the angel's song!
From green Gethsemane-from Siloa's wave-
From Kedron's brook-gray sepulchre and cave—
Each mound and vale, by saint and martyr trod,
Still shout, "Hosanna to the Son of God!"

At such an hour, on such a scene to gaze,
Inspires new life, each former toil repays—
Blunts in my heart the stings of earthly care,
And crowns with rich reward the pilgrim's prayer.
For lo, at last, through scenes of various death-
Strife-storm-the desert's pestilential breath-
I touch the goal-I tread the hallowed ground
Where man was ransomed and the Saviour crowned!
Where Zion's gate, the gate of heaven, appears,
And thoughts, too deep for words, dissolve in tears!

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