The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-10-19

|
great and holy calling; and whose heroic
devotion through some of the worst forms
OF human disease waited upon him in its
mInlstratlons of tenderness and love, and
who, now that the light of this world has
gone, out from before her eyes, in the
loneliness of widowhood, remains the
sole bond OF union in the smitten house.
hold. And what a loss to those children.
who, spared to adult years, have reioiced
IN the fellowship of such father.
All, my friends, there is a two-fold
side to death; one dark and threatening
as 1T looks toward the earth, and the
other bright and joyous with the glory
which streams upon it from the upper
world. Like that pillar of cloud and of
hre which led Israel out of Egypt, and
which, on the eventful night of the pas
sage of the Red Sea, shifted it's place be-
tween them and the Egyptian host, turn
ing Its dark side upon the latter, while
the glorious light shone upon the path
through the wall of waters on either side
by which the former escaped; so it is
with death, the last enemy from whom
all the instincts of our nature recoil-
death, which ravels out life's web. which
the falling hand is no longer able to
weave into new texture any moreI
death, which ruptures all the ties and
breaks all the associations of earth,
wnlch dashes out the fire upon the
nearth-stone and breaks up the home
forever. Yet we may by faith pass
around on the other side of death and
see Its brightness. "I heard voice
from heaven saying unto me, Write
blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the
Spirit, that they may rest from their
laoors; and their orks do follow themr -"
DO we know the wealth of benediction
that lies In that word blessed? In the
scene of the final Judgment SO graph
cally described in the twenty fifth CHAPTER
OF Matthew, when the "Son of man shall
SIT upon the throne of His glory" He
shall say to those upon His right hand.
Come, we blessed by my Father. in
herit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world" And in
the last book of the sacred canon il is
written: Blessed are they that are
called to the marriage supper of the
Lamb, and again blessed are the
dead which die in the Lord" But how
blessed is that blessedness which is pro-
nounced upon these? Paul, when he
would describe the gospel with the
greatest emphasis, terms it the GOSPEL
OF the Glory of the Blessed God" Je-
hoyah, who is infinitely blessed in Him
sell, In the majesty and glory OF His own
being, in the attributes which unite like
the colors of the spectrum to form the
white light of His glorious holiness-in-
inltely blessed in the communion of the
adorable Godhead and in His mighty
purposes OF mercy and love to our lost
race-He lifts the believer into heaven
and pours his own blessedness into the
soul that Is thus made blessed forever
more Let US break this massive thought
into some of its particular There is the
blessedness of the glorifed saint in fully
approaching the splendor of that right
eousness In which he stands accepted be-
fore God. This is not the time for doc
trlnal exposition, but who have been
trained In these Christian sanctuaries
recognize it as an elementary truth that
no being can be accepted of God without
a perfect righteousness, meeting all the
acquisitions of law. Upon this footing
the sinner is by his own confession con-
demned, and would be hopelessly lost
but for the intervention of Christ who
works out the righteousness which he
needs and reckons it to him for his COM
plete justification before God. In our
Christian experience there are moments
when the glory of this righteousness fills
us with indescribable joy, yet, at the best,
how imperfectly we realize its grandeur.
How feeble our conception of that divine
holiness before which even angels vail
themselves in adoring awe. How low
an estimate have we Of that claw which
is holy, and the commandment holy and
just and goodl" How inadequate our
view of the glory of Christ in His person
and work How family we appreciate
that mediatorial righteousness Of the Re-
deemer, surprising that which has been
rendered in all the universe besides, in
the fact that it covers the precept while
at the same time it exhausts the penalty
This righteousness our Lord bore with
Him In His ascension and hung it upon
the walls of heaven as the eternal COM
mentary upon the holiness of God and
the majesty of the law. And how
blessed the saint who in heaven finds
himself clothed in that righteousness and
rejecting its splendor upon the angels
themselves; how grand the JOY Of catch