Never fear dying, beloved. Dying is the last, but the least, matter that a
Christian has to be anxious about. Fear living-that is a hard battle to
fight; a stern discipline to endure; a rough voyage to undergo. You may well
invoke God’s omnipotence to your aid. But to die, that is to end the strife,
to finish your course, to enter the calm heaven. Your Captain, your Leader,
your Pilot is with you. One moment, and it is over: “A gentle wafting to
immortal life.” It is the lingering pulse of life that makes the pains and
groans. Death ends them all. What a light, oh! what a transparent light it
must be when the spirit immediately passes through the veil into the glory-
land! In vain the fancy strives to paint the vision of angels and of
disembodied spirits, and, above all, the brightness of the glory of Christ
the Lamb in the midst of the throne! Oh! the joy of that first bowing before
the Mercy-seat! Oh! the rapture of that first casting the crown at his feet
who loved us and redeemed us! Oh! the transport of that first folding in
Immanuel’s bosom, that first kiss with the kisses of his mouth, face to face!
Do you not long for it? May you not say, “drop rapidly, ye sands of time! Fly
round, ye axles of the running years, and let his chariot come, or let our
soul soon pass, and leave her mortal frame behind, to be for ever with the
Lord!” Yes, “at evening time is shall be light.” Turning now from these
personal reflections, we seek our last illustration in the mysterious
unfolding of destiny, for it is our firm belief that:-
V. IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD AT LARGE this saying shall be verified, and it
shall come to pass that “at evening time it shall be light.”
Darkness has prevailed for a long time, nor does the prospect grow much
brighter at present. The noble enterprise of our great missionary societies
is not altogether unrequited. The prayers and efforts of a long succession of
godly men are not to be accounted vain and fruitless, but we commonly feel
more cause to lament than to exult. How little is the world lit up with the
light of God yet! Are there more saved souls in the world now than there were
a hundred years after Christ’s death? I do not know that there are. A greater
surface is covered with the profession of Christianity now, but at that time
the light was bright where it did shine. I am afraid to say what I think of
the gloom that is hanging in thick folds of cloud and scud, over the nations
of the earth. Still the oracle cheers my heart, “At evening time it shall be
light.” Some men prophesy that it will not be so. Long ages of delay make
them grow impatient. This impatience provokes questioning. Those questions
invariably tend to unbelief. But who shall make void the promises of God? Are
not nations to be born in a day? Will the wild Arab never bow before the King
of Zion? Shall not Ethiopia stretch out her arms to God? As children of the
day, doth it not behove us to walk in the light of the Lord? Divine testimony
has more weight with us than the conjectures of benighted men! Christ has
bought this world, and he will have it in possession from the river even to
the ends of the earth. He has redeemed it, and he will claim it for his own.
You may rest assured that whatever is contained in the scroll of prophecy
shall be fulfilled according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Notwithstanding any difficulties you may have in interpreting the seals
or the trumpets of the Apocalypse, You have no room to doubt that Jesus
Christ will be acknowledged King of Kings and Lord of Lords over this whole
world, and that in every corner and nook of it his name will be famous. To
him every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. Do not be troubled by seers or soothsayers. Rest
patiently. “Of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write
unto you, for ye yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night.” As for you, your business is to work for the
spreading of his kingdom, to be continually scattering the light you have,
and praying for more, to be waiting upon God for more of the tongue of fire,
for more of the baptism of the Eternal Spirit, for more vital quickening
power. When the whole Church shall be wakened up to a spirit of earnestness
and enterprise, the conversion of this world will be speedily accomplished;
the idols will then be cast to the moles and the bats; anti-Christ shall sink
like a millstone in the flood, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it.
Talking but the other day upon missionary affairs with one who understands
them well, he said, “Sir, we have enough missionaries in India now, of all
sorts, for the evangelisation of India, if no more were sent out, provided
that they were the right men.” Oh! God, call, qualify, send for the right
men; baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire; and make them fit
instruments to do, to dare, to die, but withal to conquer. Bethink you,
brethren, how, when Christ began with twelve men, he shook the earth, and now
that Christians are numbered by tens of thousands, do ye tell me that the
glory of God is not to be revealed, and the conquest of the world is not to
be completed? I am afraid the Church is getting downhearted. She holds her
banner low; she marches to the fight with bated breath and tremulous spirit.
She will never win thus with craven heart. Oh! that she had more faith in her
God! Then would she be “clear as the moon, fair as the sun, and terrible as
an army with banners.” If she would expect great things, she would see great
things. Nations would be born in a day if we believed it and myriads would
flock, like doves, to their windows if we did but look for it, work for it,
and bless God for such a measure of encouragement as we have. “At evening
time it shall be light.” Accept this as a prophecy. Believe it on the highest
warranty. Hope for it with the liveliest anticipation. So may ye live to see
it. And unto God shall be the praise, world without end. Amen.
*”Reference is made here to a circumstance which caused the English public
some passing anxiety; but a few days sufficed to disperse the cloud, and in a
few months it was obliterated from people’s memory.”
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
