The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-02
Subject: Death.

Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church
Hamburg avenue and VERIFIED
street, on the theme, Death" the
Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson, pas.
tor, took as his text those words
which are found so frequently in the
earlier part of the Old Testament
scriptures, And he died" He said
Death is a subject of which We dc
not like to speak. 1t is a subject we
avoid. The most of us endeavor tc
forget that there is such a fact fol
US. Many of us live a though we
had eliminated it from our lives.
1t IS the fashion in the church
nowadays not to preach about death
with any frequency. For the people
quite largely do not desire sermons
on that theme. Ministers forbear tc
press home its consideration. They
do not care to urge men to come to
Christ by playing On the element Of
fear in their characters. And strange.
ly enough death and fear have been
correlative terms for generations.
Death used to be a forceful and
popular subject for pulpit presenta'
ton. The divines of a century and
more ago made their lasting reputa'
tons because of their mastery expo
sitions of the scriptures about death,
Many a soul was swung into obedi.
ence to God by the impulse of an in,
tense and vivid sermon on death.
However unwise it may be to lead
men to God and to Christ through
fear of death, it is much more IN.
wise never to bring this fact to their
attention. For the life after death
is the major part of Il existence,
The days that God allots to us here
are but a minute fraction of the ages
we shall live, if we be righteous
within Him forever. This life is not
all of life. Nor does death end all
However difficult and distasteful a
subject death may be to discuss, il
repays Investigation and considera'
ton. We may not care to study it
to face it, to analyze it. But We
ought. <~gue*tS~ ~"
For death is inevitable. 1t is GER
tain that as we have come into this
world we shall, in all human proba-
bility, go out Of it. We cannot es.
cape death. We cannot avoid it. We
ought not to hasten it. We must
give it consideration. For it is sure
to come. We do not know the day
or the hour. We cannot forecast the
time. No man can tell the order in
which we shall 60 hence, you and 1
But the last day will dawn upon earth
for each of US. The chimes will ring
a last farewell upon u ears. The
call of relentless death will ring
through every soul. We may not be
able to forecast deaths coming, but
he will arrive. We may not be able
to enumerate the order of our going
but we shall go. For death is in
evitable. His coming is unacceptable
He stands waiting at the terminus Of
every life. And we should not feal
if we fear God.
For death is natural. 1t is as nat
ural as it is inevitable. 1t is as nat
ural as birth. There is nothing un'
usual about it however mysterious it!
processes may be. 1t is as natura
to die as it is to be born. Men tall
of death as though it were a hiatus
Death is not a break. 1t is a method
Of procession. They speak Of deatf
as something that ought not to be
We shall not discuss that to-day
But we shall assert without fear o.
contradiction that in the world as il
is at present constituted death is
valuable asset to humanity.
For death is not final but tran
sitional. 1t is not a goal. 1t is blu
an incident in the life Of the sou
as it flies through life into eternity
Death is not ultimate. 1t is not ter
minal. Death is not an end itself
1t is not the last of life though i
comes at the end of this life. For !.
death is final it is at least question
able whether it were any use to live
at all. If death is absolute and ulti
mate, if it writes fms to the close o.
every mans life, then in the word!
of Paul, "of all men most miserable.'
There may be use and there may be
wisdom in living simply for the sake
of living and then dying, with nc
hope of eternity, with no expectation
of a life beyond, with no promise O.
Immortality. But such a philosophy
however sound it may be for some
minds, does not appeal to me. Fol
I am persuaded that we live to some
greater purpose than just to die, ant
60 back into the dust and be forever
forgotten-foreyer. I am persuaded
that we are more than the flower o
the field or the grass thereof, which
to-day is and tomorrow is consumed
by the quenchable fire. For God la:
written in my heart, and l hope He
has in yours, a promise of another
life and of a noblcr and a fairel
world. I look for a land and a life
that is eternal, a heavenly country.
For, to me, death is a portal
1t is a gate. 1t is a boon, a gift Of
God, a blessing. To my mind i
writes Ito be continued" after the
last word of the last chapter Of the
record of every souls earthly life ha:
been inscribed upon the pages o.
human history. For death is more
beginning than an ending. 1t is
door through which we enter into the
undiscovered country. 1t affords Us
a vision of another world the view
of which is w%ithholden from our NOR
tai eyes. 1t releases us from the cir
subscriptions of earth. 1t unlocks
the mystery of eternity. 1t uniolds
the future existence before us
Through it we achieve a knowledge
of the unknown. To those of US who
have endeayored sincerely, however
partially we have succeeded, 20 dc
the will of God and to submit our
w. ,1~ok1