. Love photographs them in the
heart. William Thosby, Footprints on
the Sands of Time, 1869. The righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil. Those who walk upright enter
into peace. They find rest as they lie in
death. Isaiah 57, 1 and 2. It is true there are strong consolations
and compensations in divine providence, but even the Christian consolations
cannot drink up all the heart's sorrow in the hour of separating
death. We cry with truth, but yet in
tears, O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your
victory? Yes, in all these things we are
more than conquerors, but we are conquerors with bleeding
wounds and scars of the conflict upon us. When a dear life is
taken from the near presence of our own life, no antidote
of reasoning, nor cordial of promise even, can make us oblivious
of the loss, in the moment of most entire submission and most
exultant faith We feel the pang of separation, our affections
grope and wander uneasily in the vacancy that has been made,
and we return home companionless and sorrowing. We are awed by
the voiceless room, and the vacant chair affects us with sadness,
Every relic and memorial of the life that is ended tells us that
it is ended indeed. The dearly departed live in the
chambers of our soul. We see their lovely forms, hear
their sweet voices, feel their tender touch, and almost grasp
their hands. Love photographs them in the
heart. When therefore a dear life is
taken, the person who is left must suffer. And since so it
is, we come through many a winding maze to conclude that thus it
ought to be. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? Now we see through a glass darkly,
but, in our ignorance and blind unbelief, we are too apt to arraign
the rectitude of the divine procedure, exclaiming, How bewildering is
this afflictive dealing! How baffling is this mystery! Where is now my God? This sickness,
why prolonged? This thorn in the flesh, why
still buffeting? This family blank, why permitted? Why the most treasured and useful
life taken, The blow aimed, where it cut most severely? Hush, the
secret atheism, for the day is coming when every dark hieroglyphic
in the role of divine providence will be made plain and clear. When what are called dark providences,
harmful calamities, strokes of misfortune, unmitigated evils,
trials, sorrows, crosses, losses, adversities, sicknesses, the
emptied cup, the withered gourd, the lingering illness, the early
grave, the useful lives taken, blossoms prematurely plucked,
spiritual props removed, benevolent schemes blown upon, over all
these, will not this grand motto be written, as in characters
of living light, which may be read on anguished pillows and
aching hearts, yes, on the very portals of a tomb itself, This
also comes from the Lord Almighty. He is wonderful in counsel and
excellent in wisdom. Isaiah 28, 29 Let us be still
and know that He is God. We know, says the apostle, that
God causes all things to work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans
8, 28. We do not always see the bright
light in the clouds, but it shall come to pass that at evening
time it shall be light. Child of sorrow, mourning over
the withdrawal of some beloved object of earthly affection,
dry your tears. An early death has been an early
crown. The tie sundered here links you
to the throne of God. You have a Christian parent,
a brother, a sister in heaven. You are the relative of a redeemed
saint. He shall enter, he has entered
into peace, the rest which remains for the people of God. We can
only see one side of a Christian's death. the setting side, the
expiring breath, the vanishing life, the cold clay corpse, we
cannot see the risings on the other side, the angel convoy,
heaven's open gate, the Saviour's welcome of the enraptured departed
one, yet it is nonetheless real. Death to the Christian is a birth
into heavenly life, a life more real, more sweet, more calm,
more pure than could be enjoyed on earth. Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, but
rejoice. Soon you shall hear the sweet
chimes wafted from the towers of the heavenly Jerusalem. Enter
into the joy of your Lord. The Lord God shall wipe away
all tears from off all faces. Christian mourner, do not go
to the grave to weep there. The devourer shall be devoured,
the resurrection shall restore to you all that death snatches
away. And then, O joyous hope, death
shall be swallowed up of life, glorious day, blessed and holy
is he who has part in the first resurrection.