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A SERMON

PREACHED TO THE

CHURCH AT HARRISON SQUARE,

DORCHESTER DISTRICT, BOSTON, MASS.,

June 10, 1877.

By C. D. BRADLEE,
THE PASTOR.

CAMBRIDGE:
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON.
1877.

SERMON.

"Thou shalt know hereafter." — John xiii. 7.
COME people wish to know all. about every thing,
^ right away ; and some think that what they do
not know is not worth knowing ; and yet some others
are willing to wait for full instruction, till God sees
fit to reveal the hidden things that so long have been
mysterious. Probably a great deal of the unhappiness of life,
a large amount of its undigested truth, of its fiction
under the garb of reality, and many of the puzzles
that so bewilder the head and confuse the heart, are
caused by the unchastened desire to know every
thing right away ; for this longing leads either to
settled despair, or to false invention, — and thus
religion and morals become terribly confused. Let
me not be understood here as opposed to visions, or
to guesses, or to dreams ; since all these must be
often the preliminary steps to revelations and reali
ties. But I simply wish to put emphasis on the fact
that nobody can know immediately about the deal
ings of God with the children of men ; and that a
great many truths have to be concealed for a season,
and sometimes for a long season, before they are per
mitted to burst with all their glory upon the weary
and the seeking heart.

And this brings us to our second point, — that
many think they know every thing, or that what
they do not know can prove of no advantage to any
body. There are some who presume to tell us all about
God's thoughts, and ways, and dealings ; all about
the nature of Jesus, and the full intent of his word ;
all about the processes of the Holy Spirit, and the
application of its influence ; all about Heaven and its
inhabitants, the human soul and its mysteries, and
life on its good and its bad side ; all about the Bible,
what is true and what is not true of its contents,
what is symbol and what is fact ; — yes, all about
every thing in heaven and under heaven, in the earth
and under the earth, just as if these people had been
with God from the foundation of the world, and were
all the time his councillors and his secret agents !
Ay, sometimes these persons speak either for or
against God, and Jesus, in such a way as to make
the blood run cold ; for in their ranks are found all
classes, — sceptics and believers, those who deny and
those who affirm ; and both parties often use an as
surance and a familiarity which to my mind borders
on the profane. I do not wish either an unbeliever
or an enthusiast to use the name of God too lightly,
or with too great freedom utter that word which
should be so tenderly handled by us all — Jesus —
or lightly toss upon the lips, either in derision or in
adoration, words and truths which to me are so sa
cred, so real, and so important, that I would stand
before them with a bowed head and the utmost awe.
Then, too, I do not wish anybody to stand before
me, be he an objector or be he a Christian, and say,

" I know all about those eternal realities, and I can
tell you all things that are needed." I should turn
with equal dislike from Voltaire, or from the religious
fanatic who tosses spiritual realities upon his lips as
a child tosses his ball into the air. Let me be under
stood. I believe thoroughly in true revivals, in an
awakening unto God and Christ, in the new life after
the blessed pattern in the Mount ; but I do not be
lieve in false claims to all the secrets of Heaven.
The great truths which are pressed upon our notice
by the Methodist Church, — free grace, and love, —
are the ones which appear to me the best calculated
to lead us to righteousness ; for here nothing is as
sured, but that which Heaven declares.
We come now to our third class of people, — and
I wish to belong to that class, — who are willing to
wait for full instruction, till God sees fit to reveal
the hidden things so long mysterious.
I do not wish to know every thing ; I do not claim
to know every thing ; nor do I ever expect to know
every thing. I am willing to wait. I am willing to
gain my instruction little by little ; here a step, and
there a step, through time and through eternity.
" Thou shalt know hereafter," is to me one of the
grandest sentences in the New Testament ; for it is
a summons to patience, an invocation to faith, a call
upon gratitude, and a grand encouragement to every
soul. Neither do I see any mystery in this promise,
any isolation of common sense, any shock to the
judgment or the experience of any one. The law
involved in it holds good in every thing else, and it
is what we are accustomed to, day by day.
Suppose the little child should say, "I wish to

know all about history, and geology, and mathe^-
matics ; I wish to understand the Latin and the
Greek languages; I wish to be a Webster, or an
Everett, or a Copernicus, or a Newton, or a Grotius,
or as great as anybody ever was or ever will be," —
why, we should say at once to the little one, " Thou
shalt know hereafter ; " and we should know that
the child had a great deal to do and learn before its
wishes could possibly be fulfilled. Every thing on
this earth has to be gained by degrees ; and by this
rule "the growth of mind, body, and soul is regulated,
and nothing is done by jumps and starts, or by
wrenching. The desire to know may be sudden ;
but the real growth in knowledge is a tremendous
journey, which must be taken through all eternity.
Of course, there are some things which the infant
must receive right away. By instinct he opens his
mouth and eats, opens his eyes and sees, and distin
guishes between friends and enemies ; and by the
sense of touch he finds out what will help and what
will hurt him. Herein it seems to me that our relig
ious education is illustrated. Some things we do
know by instinct, arid almost immediately ; but there
are others we can never know, whatever may be our
claims. That God is our Father ; that Jesus is our
Redeemer, and died to save us ; that Heaven is our
real home, if we so wish it ; that kindness, and self-
sacrifice, and holiness, are pressing duties for each
and for all, — these things may be known by every
one at once. But when we are asked to tell every
thing about the whole mystery of salvation, and all
the items about Heaven, then we are puzzled, and beg
to be excused until we get on the other side of the

river ; and even then it will be but little we shall
know, for nobody can know God save God himself,
and his Son Jesus Christ, who was and is his perfect
image. " Thou shalt know hereafter." I sometimes think
it is well for us to ask ourselves what we believe we
shall know hereafter ; that is, what we really suppose
maybe the most comforting truths for God then to re
veal. And let us speak with assurance, although we
base our assertions only on the supposition of God's
eternal goodness ; for surely that is a good foundation.
We shall know ourselves ; that is, our identity will
be preserved. Secondly, we shall know each other ;
that is, Heaven will not destroy our friendships.
Thirdly, we shall obtain a more glorious idea of God,
and Jesus, and holiness.
I do not believe in any Heaven-life wllich cuts off
the earth-life, which wipes out the personality that
was revealed from the opening of the breath till the
closing of it; for such a new existence would be vir
tual annihilation. We shall know ourselves in God's
city as those who were once in God's lower world,
clothed awhile in garments of flesh. We shall know
each other there, and earth-relationships will not be
sundered. We may not indeed be exactly in the same
position, close to each other ; yet I firmly believe that
families will not be so scattered, but that they can
visit, encourage, and bless each other in all conceiv
able ways. We shall also get better ideas of God,
and of Jesus, and of holiness.
The great trouble with us now is that we do not
understand God, even after all that Jesus has done to
reveal him. We look upon him now more as a judge

8

than a Father, more as a king than a friend. We
speak his name as if it meant anger rather than love ;
and instead of running to him as the dearest of all, we
run away from him, trembling and in despair. Not
so, however, will it then be. For then God and
Jesus will stand as dearer to us than father or mother,
and as disposed to do for us every thing that we can
honestly claim, and more than any thing that we
now can dream. Punishment we may deserve and
receive ; but oh, if we only relent, it will be so tem
pered with mercy and gentleness, that our hearts will
be broken by the love that strikes to heal ! Holiness
we shall then find means wholeness in all our powers,
the full and rich development of every grace that God
has given unto us ; and on whatever side of our na
tures we lack, our efforts on that very side will be
redoubled, that we may advance the closer towards
God. " Thou shalt know hereafter." This may apply
also more directly to the sharp part of our earthly dis
cipline. We often, under heavy blows, are disposed
to question the wisdom, or justice, or love of the
Almighty ; and yet, although we cannot understand
why we are so treated, let us be sure that the time
will come when the mystery will be explained, and
when we shall thank God even that we were afflicted.
Our part is to wait, and suffer, and weep, and yet not
rebel ; and, by and by, the seals of the mysterious
dealings will be broken, and the glory hidden in our
stripes will then be made beautifully clear.
Miss Crosby has said, — and her words are full of
cheer to troubled souls : —

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" Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing,
Nearer and nearer comes the breakers' roar :
Where shall I go, or whither fly for refuge ?
Hide me, my Father, till the storm is o'er.
" Dark is the night, but cheering is the promise :
He will go with me o'er the troubled wave ;
Safe He will lead me through the pathless waters, —
Jesus, the mighty one, and strong to save.
" Dark is the night, but lo ! the day is breaking ;
Onward my bark, unfold thy every sail !
Now at the helm I see my Father standing,
Soon will my anchor drop within the vail."
" Thou shalt know hereafter." Dear parishioners,
I give you these words as a chart for your future
comfort, as a help in all the trials of life, as a peace
when you are sick, and as a transcendent glory when
you are about to pass away from human sight.
Eighty-five years ago a little child was taken away
from a home where she was tenderly cherished, and
where her heart was bound up so closely and beauti
fully that the sundering of the ties seemed to be the
blasting of that young life which God had so abun
dantly blessed ; and the whole horizon of her expe
rience looked dark and murky. Yet, could she have
heard the angels chant, she would have caught these
words, " Thou shalt know hereafter." After seven
years in the new home, the young girl was again
transplanted, and brought to the house of an aged
friend in this city : and thus was brought about the
breaking again of ties that were deep, rich, and com
forting, and which were fastened strongly and splen
didly to her soul ! Yet, even then, in her doubt, her
anxiety, and her grief, and in her troubled gaze upon

10
a future that was so perplexing, she might have heard
the angels chant, " Thou shalt know hereafter."
Yet again, after sixteen years, a change came ; and
this time it was a marriage, that lasted for fifty years,
and after that a widowhood of eight years, and then
her ascent to God. And as I read her "journal"
that was written previous to this marriage, I could
see that this great change in life was viewed seriously
and prayerfully, and with a heart that rested sweetly
upon God. Even then she might have heard, — ay,
even then she did hear, — the angels whisper, " Thou
shalt know hereafter."
And that child, and that young girl, and that young
lady, and that married woman, and that aged one,
was, and is, and ever will be, the Mother of the one
who now speaks these words.
So shall we all " know hereafter " the reason of this
and that, and what part we were ordained to play in
" Life's great and splendid drama."