Isaiah 38:1

"Thus saith the Lord: set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live."—Isa, xxxviii. 1.

— Isaiah 38:1

My soul! whether or not the decree be as yet gone forth for an early day for thy removal, as here to Hezekiah, it must shortly arrive; and as thou knowest not how soon, it is good to set both thine house and thine heart in order; for he that is best fitted to live, is best prepared to die. How stands thy great account? This body of thine must go down to the chambers of the grave. And surely if the soul be safe in union with Jesus, such an event as the dissolution of the body, is more to be desired than dreaded. If the pearl be safe, no matter though the casket be broken. Pause over the view; for though it be solemn, it is profitable. If a voice from heaven declared the dead to be blessed, who die in the Lord; then will thy death be blessed, if thou art living in union with Christ. See to it this night, this very night, whether this be thy case; all is well if this be well. Hath not the Holy Ghost, in times long since passed, led thee to all-precious Jesus? And from his sweet teachings, and constraining influences, hast thou not ventured thyself upon him? Convinced that there is salvation in no other," neither any other name under heaven given among men, whereby thou mightest be saved;" didst thou not cast thyself upon his blood and righteousness, and at a time when under the deepest sense of thy sin, and his all-sufficiency to save? And hast thou not many a time since, when the false reasoning of men, the temptations of hell, and a host of foes, from within and without, would have turned thee aside from thy Lord; hast thou not, by this sweet, constraining, and supporting grace, been kept leaning upon Jesus? Yea, moreover, hath not that dear Redeemer, the Lord God of the Hebrews, who first met thee by the way, brought thee acquainted with himself, and caused thee to believe in him; hath he not since, in a thousand,, and ten thousand renewed manifestations of his love, comforted thee, strengthened thee, and made thee sensible of his gracious presence? Surely then, if he saith to thee, "Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live!" it is but the call of Jesus to the exercise of the last act of faith, and indeed to die to this world only, that thou mayest live with him in glory in a better. And wouldest thou now draw back? Didst thou first venture upon Christ, when thou hadst known but little of his faithful-ness;and shall it be said now, that the shadow of a doubt remains, when multitudes of evidences upon evidences have been given thee, that he is, he must, he will ever be Jesus? Precious, precious Redeemer! Oh! for a full tide of thy grace to be poured in upon my soul, when thou shalt be pleased to send forth a messenger with," Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live ;" that I may then gather all into one, of the many tokens of thy redeeming love to a poor worthless worm, such as I am; and all the many goings forth of my soul after thee, through a life of grace, since thou wast pleased to quicken me to the knowledge and desire after thee; that finally, fully, and completely, I may, once for all, cast my soul into thy blessed arms, with a "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."