GLIMPSES OF BOTH WORLDS; OR, THE WHOLE FAMILY OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. BY JOHN HARVEY, MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, AUTHOR OF "THE GOLDEN CHAIN," &c. "One family we dwell in Him, Though now divided by the stream,- The narrow stream of death." C. WESLEY. LONDON: WARD & CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW; KING & DAY, CONFERENCE OFFICES, SUTTON-STREET, AND MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. M.DCCC.LVIII. 141. d. 181. PREFACE. THE human race is often represented as one great family. Could we climb to the summit of some lofty mountain, or stand outside the world, and view the teeming myriads within its inclosure, how impressive and affecting would be the scene! Especially when we consider that these immortal beings are moving on to the grave, impelled by a force as resistless as that which regulates the tides, controls the elements, and rolls the planets in their spheres. We are told that Xerxes, the Persian monarch, when surveying his vast army, burst into tears, to think that in less than a hundred years every one of them would be dead; and, perhaps, his thoughts extended no further than the grave. And is it not enough to produce a sigh, and excite a tear, when we recollect that in a short time every member of the human family will not only die, but be an inhabitant of heaven or hell? "One generation passeth away, and another cometh." The population of the globe is estimated at one thousand millions, and of this number there are only about two hundred and sixty millions who are the reputed followers of Christ; the rest are living "without hope, and without God in the world." To a pious mind, the spiritual condition of the world is far from being satisfactory. But it is not so much our object in the following pages to contemplate the family of earth as a whole, as to notice those members of it known by their love and subjection to their Heavenly Parent. It is a mournful fact that those so distinguished form but a small portion of the immense community. Nor is the reader's attention totally confined to this world, but is also directed to the abode and happiness of those who are ever with the Lord. As the present life is but the infancy of our being, and the prelude to a state of interminable existence beyond the grave, it is highly important that we should have correct views of our obligations and responsibilities to God, in order to answer the design of our creation, and finally be admitted to the home of the glorified. An earnest desire to do good has induced the writer to send his "Glimpses" into the world, in the hope that they may be accompanied by the Divine blessing, and allure "to brighter worlds above." Scraps of time have been profitably employed in preparing this little volume for the press; and if the reader is as much interested in the subjects of which it treats as the writer, he will derive some benefit from the perusal of its pages. While it is especially adapted to the youthful reader, and is a suitable reward book for Sunday School Scholars; it nevertheless contains a portion of meat in due season for the afflicted, bereaved, toil-worn, and heaven aspiring Christian. And should this small treatise be the means of encouraging believers in their homeward journey, and contribute to the increase of the heavenly family, it will be an ample recompence for the time and labour expended in its preparation. That the book, notwithstanding its imperfections, may be hailed as a well-meant effort, and be made a blessing to thousands, is the desire and prayer of THE AUTHOR. 12, Westbrook-Terrace, Bradford, Yorkshire, October 1st, 1858. |