one more step and his icy hand
may lay hold of us. By David Harsha. Generations
come and generations go. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse
4. We are all standing on the shores
of time, and before us stretches the unfathomable ocean of eternity. To this vast abyss, the millions
of earth's inhabitants are fast hastening. Every day that closes,
every hour that passes, every moment that flies, is bringing
us nearer to it. On its mighty surface, every
human being must soon embark. This great and mighty river,
for ages and centuries, has been rolling on and sweeping away
all who ever lived into the vast abyss of eternity. From that
unknown country, none return. On that devouring ocean, which
has swallowed up everything, no vestige appears of the things
that were. Death is the messenger that conducts
us into the invisible world, and this messenger may be very
near to us. one more step, and His icy hand
may lay hold of us, to remove us from our dearest friends on
earth, to dissolve all the attachments of life, to hide from us all
earthly scenes, and to open to our view the solemn realities
of the eternal world. Standing on the Rock of Ages,
the believer can look down into the gloomy mansion of the grave
with composure and even with triumph. How blessed then to
have the arms of Jesus, the conqueror of death, upholding our shrinking
souls, shielding us from all alarm, sweetening our passage
through the dark valley, conducting us safely through every tempest
into the glorious abode beyond. To the Christian, death is an
unspeakable advantage, as it is the passage from the wilderness
of this world to the heavenly Canaan. Death delivers the genuine
believer from all the evil's incident to humanity. Death terminates
his earthly pilgrimage of discipline, toil, trial, and conflict. Death brings him into a state
of perfect holiness and happiness, before the throne of God in the
highest heavens. Death is numbered among the treasures
of a Christian. Death is his great gain. The
last day of his life is to him the opening of immortality. As
soon as death terminates the believer's existence on earth,
he enters upon the inheritance of all those exceeding great
and precious promises which the word of God holds forth to him.
He passes at once from the darkness of earth to the light and glory
of the celestial world. He is released from the shackles
of sin and enters the home of God, that house made without
hands, eternal in the heavens. He exchanges this valley of groans
and tears for a world from whose blissful mansions all sorrow
flees away. He departs to be with Christ,
and oh, what sincere follower of the adorable Redeemer, who
is now enthroned amid heaven's ineffable glories, would not
rather be absent from the body to be present with Him. In the
hour of death, Christ will be your refuge. His everlasting
arms will be underneath you. His rod and staff will comfort
you. He will be with you until the last, and you shall awake
amid the unutterable splendors of heaven, to be forever with
the Savior in mansions of light and felicity. It is the glory
of the Christian religion, thus to raise the soul above the fear
of death. With Him all is calm and serene,
for His sins are forgiven. He has peace within, joy beams
in His countenance. His soul is delighted with joyful
prospects beyond the grave. He is filled with strong consolation. The sweet thought of going to
his heavenly home now occupies his mind, elevating his views
and cheering his spirit. He thinks of the glories of his
eternal home, its fullness of joy, its blessed inhabitants,
its delightful employments, and its never-ending pleasures. While
earth is passing from His view, the portals of those blessed
mansions of the redeemed are opening for His entrance, where
He will be forever with His precious Savior.