Front matter
f
A Ob %
THE
Preface
Our friends in Heaven — shall we see and know them again ? This is my theme. I have written this book because I love the subject of which it treats. It was, therefore, not a toil, but a pleasure. It was in my heart before it was in my mind ; and it grew up there like a flower, living and fragrant, to my own soul. If life, warmth, and tenderness do not now glow upon its leaves, it is because the mind has spoiled the image in transferring the impression. What a pity, we are some¬ times tempted to say, that it is so hard to make a picture for others of what we ourselves see and feel ! I have done as well as I could.
Three years ago, the Author published a work entitled: u Heaven; or, An Earnest and Scriptural Inquiry into the Abode of the Sainted Dead.” While writing that book, the thought of writing this gradually waked up in my mind: hence, at the close of that book occurs the following passage : “ Here I lay down my pen, but here do I not end my medita¬ tions on the heavenly land. My thoughts, and feelings, and hopes, crowd onward still.” That may be taken as a promise or prophecy of what is here fulfilled. Here, accordingly, we 1 * (v)
VI
PREFACE.
offer the fruits of three years’ farther meditation on the heavenly world. We feel the more encouragement in offering this ad¬ ditional- contribution to this department of pious inquiry, because it is one of those peaceful themes which, even in the present distracted and divided state of the church, is not likely to excite any sectional jealousies. In the hope of another and a better life, we are all one.
The Author believes that human nature generally, and par¬ ticularly in this age, is too prone to disjoin the material and spiritual, the finite and infinite, the temporal and eternal, and, consequently, also the kingdom on earth and the kingdom in heaven. God, in the Incarnation of his Son, has for ever united these, and brought them into living and loving sympathy with each other. Time and space are annihilated in 11 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” In Him we are raised above the ruins of the Past — above the changes of the Present — and above the fears of the Future. In proportion as we rise, by faith in Him, above all frag¬ mentary and sectional ideas into communion with the general, the catholic, the infinite, and the absolute — in that proportion will we escape the downwafS tendencies towards the sordid regions of sense, and the more refined but chilling abstractions of Rationalism, both in its spiritualistic and materialistic ex¬ tremes. God has made the heavens above us higher, broader, deeper, and more magnificent than the earth, that we might be overawed by them ; and he has made them more bright and beautiful than the earth, that they might allure us. Morally, as well as physically, God has hung the earth fast to the hea¬ vens, and controls it by a law of gravitation whose centre is
PREFACE.
Vll there ; and hereby He would shadow forth to us the truth, that our spirits, in all their affections, should hinge and turn upon the high, the infinite, the heavenly. Our proper position therefore is, to stand like the high-priest before the altar, and, in devout reverence and worship, to stretch forth our hands towards the heavens, while our hearts also rise thitherward in humble but earnest hope and love. We must embrace the infinite and heavenly, in all its forms, if we would be devout.
We, therefore, firmly believe that our hearts will become better by being filled with heavenly thoughts. This can be done by sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and meditating upon the eternal inheritance which He has in reserve for us. The reader will discover how much Christ is made the centre and substance of this book ; and how the hope of our eternal union with our sainted friends is ultimately re¬ solved into our union with Him. This is a feature in this doctrine of future recognition — and the most important one — which we have not been able to discover in all that we have found written on this subject, in any degree of prominence. We believe that this is the real basis of the doctrine, which serves to make all other arguments in its favor consistent and living. To this feature, and to the historical manner in which we have treated the subject, we respectfully invite the reader’s special attention, as being, in our estimation, of the greatest importance.
We have carefully studied all we could find on this interest¬ ing subject, and acknowledge ourselves more or less indebted to those from whom we occasionally quote, and whose names
Vlll
PREFACE.
are generally referred to, or placed in the margin. We have aimed at making this a full discussion of the subject; and have therefore pursued it, so far as we could find any light to lead us, into all its details. This has enlarged the book, but it will hardly be considered a fault. We have not consciously admitted any thing irrelevant.
It will be seen, we hope, on every page that we have not followed the subject as one merely of vain curiosity, but with a sincere desire also that it might produce its practical fruits. We have been anxious that it should not only afford consola¬ tion, but also make the heart better. We have endeavored to keep prominently before the mind of the reader the solemn fact that the heavenly society of which this book treats it may never be his happiness to enjoy, — that the only ground upon which he can safely rest his hope of reunion in heaven with his sainted friends is his own personal union on earth with Him “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. ”
Standing in the deepest reverence of soul before the solemn mysteries of that holy world into which this book presumes to cast an humble look, and in the name of our adorable Saviour, I lay this offering at His sacred feet. May He pardon what is wrong, and bless what is good, to the consolation of the saints, and to the advancement of His own great Kingdom of Eternal Love.
Lancaster, Sept. 8, 1851.
Chapter I. The Sainted Dead
Introductory reflections . Page 17
Chapter II. The Heavenly Recognition Among Pagans
Pagan ideas of a future life. The earnest expectation of the creature. Why this chapter is introduced. The idea of future recognition in Homer's poems. The ideas of Socrates. Beautiful quotation. The heathen commit suicide in sorrow that they may meet their friends sooner in the future life. Widows burning themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands. Sacrificing human beings as attendants at the death of kings and chiefs. Sending messages with the dead — the Gymnosophists.
The idea of future recognition among Roman philoso¬ phers. Cicero — extract. Virgil. Modern pagans. Ex¬ tract from Dr. Leland. The Indians of America. Slaves from Africa. Sighings and sorrowings. Comforts. Friendships. Skeptics. Live and love. No tears for the dead
(ix)
X
CONTENTS.
Chapter III. The Heavenly Recognition A Universal Belief, Hope, And Desire
This faith is universal. So is the desire. All universal ideas are true. This is proved from the idea of the exist¬ ence of a God — the soul’s immortality — sacrifice and atonement. Fragments prove a whole. Reason never reaches the universal. Humanity is no lie. The idea of future recognition spontaneous. Farther deductions and proofs from its universality. I. This idea grows with Christianity. II. It grows in each heart with grace.
III. It is more firmly held by saints than by sinners.
IV. It is most active in the deepest sorrow. Universal
desire is also a proof of its truth in the same way. Prac¬ tical observations. The human race a brotherhood. The world is not all fragments. The kingdom of the dead a catholic kingdom. Human tears promote fellowship. Love for the dead. Communion with them . 46
Chapter IV. The Heavenly Recognition In The Light Of Reason
The dead before the resurrection. No separate discussion necessary. Why ? Spiritual peculiarities by which recog¬ nition can take place. Spirits not human do know each other. The scriptures make no difference. Will recog¬ nition take place on sight, or gradually ? Exhibitions of both. Why is this doctrine reasonable. I. The same means which will enable us to identify ourselves will also enable us to recognize our friends. II. Memory will continue in the future life. III. The social law lies deeply and radically imbedded in our nature. IV. Some interruptions by death, which seem, in the nature of things, to require completion in a future life. V. The final Judgment involves details which show that recogni-
CONTENTS.
XI tion is reasonable and natural. VI. Our knowledge, in the future life, will be enlarged in general and in par¬ ticular. VII. The interest which heavenly beings take in the affairs of saints on earth induces us to believe the idea of future recognition reasonable. A pleasant con¬ clusion . . . 66
Chapter V. The Heavenly Recognition Among The Jews
The Jewish twilight. Progress in this doctrine. The Jews knew of a future life. They believed in future recogni¬ tion. Proofs. I. The care and affection with which they disposed of the bodies of their dead points to the hope and belief in future reunion. II. Their strong desire to be buried with their kindred. III. The manner in which they spake of their dead, as “ gathered to their people.”
IV. This doctrine is seen in some examples of pure and disinterested friendship. V. This doctrine is seen in the conduct of David at the death of his child, and the way he consoled himself. VI. This doctrine appears also in later prophets. This faith among the Jews was implicit. 85
Chapter VI. The Heavenly Recognition In The Teachings Of Christ
The object of Christ’s mission into the world. He spake incidentally of heaven. The doctrine of heavenly recog¬ nition in hints and allusions. Proofs. I. This doctrine is involved in the nature of that kingdom which Christ established on earth, and which is to continue in heaven.
II. We see this doctrine in what Christ says of heaven as the home of the saints. III. We find this doctrine in the Saviour’s representations of the final Judgment. IV. This doctrine appears in several passages of the Saviour’s teachings. We first feel it true, and then know it. Con¬ clusion. Poetry by Bp. Mant . . 116
CONTENTS.
xii
Chapter VII. The Heavenly Recognition Among The Apostles
The Apostles’ ideas of another life — of the kingdom of Christ — of our union with each other in this kingdom — of the identity of the Church on earth and in heaven. Hints and allusions. They expected to present their con¬ verts in the day of Christ’s coming. The pastor’s joy, hope, and crown in heaven. Those asleep in Jesus — true consolation in regard to them. A look into heaven from Patmos, and sights which were seen. Charity never faileth. Holy love, and mere passion. A beautiful poem by Southey. Light from a happy land . . . 142
Chapter VIII. The Heavenly Recognition Among The Chris¬ Tian Fathers
Why we desire to know their sentiments. The affection they showed towards their pious dead. They visit the place where they are buried. Their desire for martyr¬ dom. Their horror at the Roman practice of burning the bodies of the dead. The affecting burial of Cyprian by his flock. They associated the remembrance of the dead with their religious services. They buried them around the church. They celebrated the anniversary of their death upon the graveyards. Partook of the communion in token of an unbroken union with them. Quotation from Neander. Cyprian consoling his flock. Drawing near to the dead in love. Heavenly attractions — an ex¬ tract. St. Ambrose. Venerable and anointed ideas. . . . 159
CONTENTS.
Xlll
Chapter IX. The Heavenly Recognition Among Theolo¬ Gians
The value of this kind of testimony. No new or strange idea. Its catholicity. A clear and fresh stream among fragments . 170
Section I. — argumentative extracts.
Dr. Martin Luther. Melancthon. Cruciger. Olevianus. Scaliger. Calvin. Thomas Bacon. Arch. Wm. Paley.
Rev. Charles Drelincourt. Rev. Dr. Edwards. Rev. Dr. George Christian Knapp. Rev. John Dick, D. D. Rev.
Bp. George Burgess. Rev. William J ay. Rev. J. W. Nevin,
Section II. — allusions to this idea, taking it for granted.
Rev. Dr. John Tillotston. Rev. Richard Baxter. Bishop Hall. Dr. Doddridge. Melvill. Rev. Dr. J. F. Berg. . . 183
Section III. — consolatory extracts.
Ulrich Zwinglius. Bunyan. Rev. William Dodd, D. D. George Herbert. Dr. P. Doddridge. Lavel. Dr. Thomas Chalmers. Rev. John Newton. Fenelon. Rev. John James, D. D. Rev. Thomas Smyth, D. D. Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D. D . 187
Chapter X. The Heavenly Recognition Among The Poets
Orpheus. The power of music and poetry. A still sweeter
charmer. The true end of poetry .
Q
XIV
CONTENTS.
Section I. — argumentative poetry.
Recognition in Heaven. Heavenly Recognition. The Draw¬ ings of the Dead. The Indian Mother. Love. Know¬ ledge of each other in Heaven. Not lost, hut gone before 197
Section II. — incidental allusions.
How easily the heart slides into this idea. How extensively it is taken for granted. Something for mothers alone.
The dead will receive us into heaven. The strongest de¬ sire of bereaved hearts. The love of sisters. Proverbial poetry. The heavenly meeting. A secret which all can¬ not possess. An increasing treasure. A treasure removed, but not lost. A Mother’s Lament. Departed friends. Visions by starlight. Ileber’s portrait. A mother’s pic¬ ture in the parlor. The Dying Child . 203
Section III. — consolatory poetry.
The vein which poets follow. The idea on which they end. Leaving ninety and nine, and seeking one that is lost. Sorrow makes us dull. The poet a confidential friend. They speak in us. Reunion above. Rev. Charles W esley. Sorrow with hope. The babe that only sleeps. A thought for an unconverted person. My Boy. Not lost, but gone before. Treasures in the arms of Christ. Dreams of Heaven. The Burial of an Emigrant’s Child. Weep not for her. Something for social singing circles. Reunion above. A beautiful vision through a tear. Kiss the hand that wounds you. Unwritten poetry. Sarah B. Judson — a “ green islet” in the ocean, and a grave on it.
A ray in deep darkness . 212
CONTENTS.
XV
Chapter XI. Objections To The Doctrine Of Heavenly Recognition
Introductory remarks . 231
Obj. I. — The great change which will take place in death. . 233 Obj. II. — If it were true, it would he more clearly revealed. 239 Obj. III. — The heavenly life will he much higher than this. 241
Obj. IV. — It will introduce partiality into heaven . 242
Obj. V. — The love of Christ will occupy us entirely . 244
Obj. VI. — Christ’s answer to the Sadducees . 246
Chapter XII. Another Objection To The Doctrine Of Heavenly Recognition
THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LOST FRIENDS WOULD GIVE US PAIN.
This objection appeals more to the feeling than to the judg¬ ment. It can he satisfactorily answered. Various con¬ siderations. I. In death all ties that are not sanctified hy the life and power of grace must he dropped and left behind. II. Those that are lost will gradually fade from our remembrance. III. There may he room for some uncertainty as to whether they are lost or not. IV. We have positive evidence that a knowledge of beings lost, who were once objects of affection, is not incompatible with heavenly felicity. The case of Christ — of angels.
V. Our will will be entirely conformed to God’s will. In¬ stances as illustrations. Poetry . 253
XVI
CONTENTS.
Chapter XIII. The Doctrine Of Heavenly Recognition In Its Practical Effects
“What good?” The tendency of error — of truth. The Saviour’s rule. The belief in this doctrine exerts a good influence. I. It elevates, strengthens, and purifies all our earthly affections. II. It will induce us to form only pious friendships. III. It will bring us strongly under the power of heavenly realities and attractions. IV. It presents a strong and touching motive to piety. V. It is consoling to the pious under bereavements. The end ... 273
I
THE
HEAVENLY RECOGNITION.
CHAPTER I. 'fljt Ininhit Dcnir
My mother ! when I learned that thou wast dead,
Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed I Hover’d thy spirit o’er thy sorrowing- son,
Wretch even then, life’s journey just begun !
Perhaps thou gav’st me, though unfelt, a kiss;
Perhaps a tear, if souls can weep in bliss —
Ah, that maternal smile! it answers — yes !
I heard the bell toll’d on the burial day,
I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away,
And, turning from my nurs’ry window, drew A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu !
But was it such! — It was. — Where thou art gone, Adieus and farewells are a sound unknown.
May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore,
The parting word shall pass my lips no more !
COWPER.
The Sainted Dead ! they are our treasures ! Like the inheritance upon which they have entered, they are incorruptible, undefiled, and they fade not away, but are reserved in Heaven.
Ho ! ye that would be rich — ye that seek for trea¬ sures — seek them not on earth. Earth yields only 2* (17)
THE HEAVENLY RECOGNITION.
that which is mortal and perishable. That which dies seeks the earth, not that which lives. “ Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” This our fathers have repeated, and this they have experienced. They die quickly, the flowers of earth. It rusts soon, the gold of earth. They fade surely, the gems of earth. They must perish, the foundations of earth — if not before, in the flames of the last fire. Ho ! ye that seek for treasures: they are our treasures — living treasures — the Sainted Dead.
Let us look upward. That is the destiny of spirits. It is the earth which whirls and moves ; the heavens stand permanent and sure. While the earth grows hoary with age, while empires fall and nations die, while the habitations of the dead are becoming more than habitations of the living, while all things around us change and fade, the heavens still look down serene as of old upon this changing and restless earth. The stars which wink to us a loving “upward” — how changeless ! They are the same which Abraham and Job saw, and which, ages ago,
“ Gladdened, on their mountain tops, the hearts Of the Chaldean shepherds, till they poured Themselves in orisons.”
So calm, changeless, cheering, and loving, are the saints in light. Not like the false, fading glare of earthly treasures, is their pure and imperishable radiance ; for they “ shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever.” They are our trea¬ sures — changeless and shining treasures — the Sainted Dead.
THE SAINTED DEAD.
Let us look up hopefully. “Not lost, but gone be¬ fore.” Lost only like the stars of morning that have faded into the light of a brighter heaven. Lost to earth, but not to us. When the earth is dark, then the heavens are bright. When objects around us be¬ come indistinct and invisible in the shades of night, then objects above us are more clearly seen. So is the night of sorrow and mourning; it settles down upon us like a lonely twilight at the grave of our friends ; but then already they shine on high. While we weep, they sing ! While they are with us upon earth, they lie upon our hearts refreshingly, like the dew upon flowers; when they disappear, it is by a power from above that has drawn them upward, and, though lost on the earth, they still float in the skies. Like the dew that is absorbed from the flowers, they will not return to us ; but, like the flowers themselves, we will die, yet only to bloom again in the Eden above. Then those whom the heavens have absorbed, and removed from us, by the sweet attraction of their love, made holier and lovelier in light, will draw toward us again by a holy affinity, and rest on our hearts as before. They are our treasures — loving treasures — the Sainted Dead.
Let us look up joyfully. Love is eternal. When the light and smiles of earthly love seem to perish in the grave, then it is night on earth and gloomy. “ The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone. Shadows of even¬ ing fall around us, and the world seems but a dim reflection — itself a broader shadow. We look forward into the coming lonely night. The soul withdraws into
THE HEAVENLY RECOGNITION.
itself. Then the stars arise, and the night is holy !” All is yet not dark. Heaven kindles anew, across the sea of space, beacons of hope and promise. Though the flowers of love die in our hearts, they lose not their fragrance. The looks, the forms, the voices, the smiles of the dead are still with us. We feel their mysterious nearness. The remembrance of their kindness and love still teaches us to love them.
Like the vase in which roses have once been distilled —
You may break, you may ruin the vase if you will;
But the scent of the roses will hang round it still!
Their names are still to us “like ointment poured forth/’ the odor of which comes to us richest in our loneliest hours. Their image, lovely as the purest thoughts we can form of them, floats before our waking visions, and smiles upon us in the dreams of the night. Being themselves holy, the light of our love falling upon them becomes holy too. The heart gradually becomes like that which it loves. Purer than we are, our affections are purified by the power of their attrac¬ tions, as the sides of all objects grow bright that are turned towards the sun. These are our treasures — holy treasures — the Sainted Dead.
Let us look up longingly. Where our treasures are, there let our hearts be also. The heart of the miser is with his gold. The eye of the merchant follows his freighted vessel till it disappears in the dim, distant blue ; then looks often into the vacant air that hangs over the broad sea, for its return, till he sees at last its hopeful pennants streaming ; and as it draws nearer,
THE SAINTED DEAD.
his heart grows fuller of grateful wonderment and hope. Now this they do for perishable gain. Let us do the same, yea more, for that which perishes not. If earthly treasures draw the heart so strongly, ought not heavenly treasures more ? Yea, but our hearts are so gross and grovelling, and feel so little the sweet attrac¬ tion of the infinite and the pure. Let us long after them more ardently, our treasures — attractive trea¬ sures — the Sainted Dead.
Let us look up lovingly. Love is stronger than all ills, and will crowd itself even through death. Love .seeks and finds its object — dies, and yet dies not, in the pursuit. Under its guidance, we shall find the objects of our affections ; for it knows the homeward way. Come, ye living ! let us sit together under the moaning but ever-green cypress, and commune with the departed. Let us drive from our hearts Caesar’s money-changers, and escape for a moment from the world’s benumbing rattle. Let us draw softly down into the quiet border-land along the valley of the sha¬ dow of death. We will listen intently. The softest notes that float to our ears across the almost breathless solitude, shall tell us hopeful tales of a better land, and of those who dwell in it. We will cry earnestly into the hollow silence which so holds the lip of death’s Lethean Jordan, as to allow it scarce a whisper of sor¬ row or joy. The earnestness of our voice will bring back tidings to the ear of faith. We will seek them, our treasures — eternal treasures — the Sainted Dead.
Will we see them again ? — know them again ? — love
THE HEAVENLY RECOGNITION.
them again ? — the Sainted Dead. This would we know? We will institute, humbly but earnestly, our questionings.
As “the deepest lore is the most universal, ” we will pass along the cool sequestered vale of common life, and listen to the deep longings and hopes of those who live and love
“In the low huts of them that toil and groan.”
We will ask the mysterious prophetic sighings that come to us out of the Pagan gloom. We will seek for dawnings of hope in the Jewish twilight. We will look for clearer light in the Gospel dawn — He who brought immortality to light will teach us. We will draw nigh to the Apostles when they speak words of comfort to bereaved hearts — some fragments that prove the existence of a loaf shall be ours. The early Christians, whose hearts were still warm from the words of inspired lips, shall make us wise by holy tra¬ dition. The wise of after ages, whose minds were clearest because*their hearts were purest, shall utter to us right things on this interesting subject. We will sit at the feet of the poets, who are “ the interpreters of the human heart — the expounders of its mysteries,” and who have an utterance given them that is denied to others ; they will not send us empty away.
In all these researches, we cannot fail to gather some rays of sacred wisdom, to shine away the sorrow of bereaved hearts, and much of the gloom of death. Voices, though feeble, and unheard by the dull ear of worldlings, yet comforting as sweet songs of promise,
THE SAINTED DEAD.
shall answer to our questionings. They will whisper soothingly to us: You shall find them — know them — love them — your fadeless treasures — the Sainted Dead.
Is your heart sad ? Do your lips tremble ? Are your eyes wet? Then read on in the next chapter. “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be com¬ forted.”
Chapter II
Who would not part with a great deal to purchase a meeting with Orpheus, Hesiod, Homer 1 If it be true that this is to be the consequence of death, I would even be glad to die often. What pleasure will it give to live with Palemedes and others, who suf¬ fered unjustly, and to compare my fate with theirs! What an inconceivable happiness will it be to converse, in another world, with Sisyphus, Ulysses, &e., especially as those who, inhabit that world shall die no more.” — Socrates , Apol. apud Plat.
The ancient Germans hoped to meet their friends again, beyond death, in a beautiful and peaceful valley. — Ernst.
The knowledge of a future life has always been common among pagan tribes and nations. That they should live after death was believed among them from the earliest time, and has been a cherished doctrine with them in all ages, and in all lands. No one among them, however, professed to have deduced the doctrine of the soul’s immortality from his own reasonings ; neither did any one ever pretend to have received it by direct revelation from spiritual beings. They always speak of it as a very ancient doctrine, found among those golden glimmerings of sacred tradition which appear among all nations, in the grey twilight of their early history, far back as knowledge extends.
AMONG PAGANS.
This is not strange. Life is sweet, and it is a pleas¬ ing hope to live after death. The knowledge of an eternal life, no doubt, came to them by some stray rays of divine revelation that found their way out from the tents of Israel into the surrounding gloom of pagan darkness. These were eagerly caught, warmly che¬ rished, and long retained, because they served in a great measure to interpret the deep and mysterious wants and longings of their hearts. No one can look into the history, literature, poetry and religion of any pagan nation, at any period of the world, without being moved to pity and sympathy at the plaintive expression of their earnest hopes and fears in reference to another life.
What has now been said of their belief in another life itself, is equally true in reference to their belief in the mutual recognition of each other in that life, and the renewal and perpetuation of their earthly friend¬ ships and affections. It is necessary, in a full discus¬ sion of this subject, to take notice of this, not so much to ascertain what is positively true — that will be at¬ tended to in the proper place — as to ascertain what the heart, when left to its own longings, desires to be true. These deep, earnest voices and whispers of the human heart, are always prophetic. This cry of want is to be listened to, in order to find out the remedy needed. What God has provided for the saved, will certainly correspond with the wants of the lost before they are saved. These pagan ideas are voices in the wilderness, like that of John the Baptist, which do not contradict the teachings of Him who is to come, but really and truly proclaim what is to come. The “ ear- 3 nest expectation of the creature” will not be disap¬ pointed. It is true, in a deep and comprehensive sense, that “hope maketh not ashamed.” Hope presupposes a sense of want ; hope is the reaching forth of the heart after that which will satisfy its wants. What these wants by an inward necessity reach after, must and does exist. This sense of want exists for the very rea¬ son that thereby their hearts may he urged on to seek that which will satisfy them. In this sense we are “ saved by hope.” This sense of want teaches us that what will satisfy them exists, though it be out of sight ; and hence it is that the object of hope must, in the nature of things, he unseen. “ Hope that is seen is not hope ; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for ? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”
The opening of the book is shown; the full text loads in the reader.
Loading the full text…
The end
You’ve reached the end of The heavenly recognition;.
