Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-05-11


By the request Of the relatives and friends
we publish 10 the Telegraph, an abstract of the
sermon preached by the Rev. Il. Il. CoxKLlN,
OF this place, at the funeral of Mrs. Mary AL
Yord, wife of E. S. Alvord, Esq OF Austnburg,
who died on the 4th inst and was buried Sab
bath, May 5th.
The text is from Numbers. %, TO- "Lct me
die the death Of Me righteous and let my last
end be like his"
Balsanl. who uttered these words. was a sim
gular character but not singular in cherisbing
this common desire. A prudent forethought
constrains every man to feel as Balsam did.
In health and when apparently safe, aud death
at distance, men may show Indifference and
express little anxiety but change their pros
poets and bring death near, and how soon they
cry, "Lst me die the death of the righteous.
Theories and creedS rites aud forms, and the
dying utterances of men of every faith, all go
TO prove the almost universslity of this desire.
Let US inquire why this is SO. This will lead ps
to discuss the text 10 the following order.
l. Why is it so desirable to die the death of
the righteous. HAD ~.--s-
q Show how we may die the death of the
righteous.
3. Speek of the last and Of the righteous and
the wicked.
l. Why so desirable to die the death of the
righteous, &c. The universal consciousness of
man proclaims the fact of human apostacy.
Every man carries with him the conviction of
o;o And ;f "A .;nnar thap man haa raaaon IN
fear under the administration Of righteous
God. Fear has torment. Men convicted Of
sin feel q sense of danger. Hence when they
c1me to die, they feel the need of moral recti-
tlde as fitness to appear in the presence Of
che pure God
Now every mans consciousness tells him that
he has nothing to fear from righteous God
provided, be, himself is righteous, and therefore
godIike. A wicked man has reason to fear
but good man has nothing TO fear from God.
For such reason, the death of the righteous,
is infinitely preferable.
2. The righteous have the consultations of
the Divine promises when they die. These, like
the cloud by day and the pillar Of fire by night,
hang over his pathway to guide him ever thro'
the valley and shadow of death. Gods pro
miSes, like the stars of night shine brightest when
thick darkness gathers around US. The saint is
never called TO pass over an inch in the journey
OF life, where no sweet promise sustans his soul.
The promises are the peculiar sOace Of the dy-
ing hour. Then the everlasting arms, most en-
phatically are around aud underneath.
Sd. The spirit of God will shine upon the
soul 10 the dying hour. The promises will be
interpreted by the Divine EIpositor, and rec.
dered more radiant aud glorious, as We come to
need dying grace.
4th. We have reason TO believe that when
the righteous die, God commissions angels, as
miuisteriDg spirits to convoy the spirit of good
men to the home OF The redeemer. Such seems
to have been the fact in the case Of Old Laza-
rus. who was borne by angels to Abraham's
bosom. Why not in the case Of every saint.
Hog common for dying christians TO utter
words that would seem to indicate the presence
OF angelic spirits. As they draw near the d.
Viding line between eternity aud time. it may be
permitted them. to see spiritual beings from the
hidden world Stephen saw Jesus before bis
soul was uuisttered from its mortal clay. So
may christians now when committing their spir-
its TO the ever living Rdesmer.
5th. II is affirmed that God has peculiar
care for his people when they die. Precious
IL he Igkt Of tks Lord is the death Of his
sainis.' God Is there to surround the dying
saint with his presence and dismiss his soul 10