Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-09-05
1t is terrible. And 1t ought to be. 4

bad man ought to be afraid to die. A
man whose whole life has contra
vened Gods law, whose continued
and cumulative effort has been to fol-
low the lusts of his own heart and
the dictates of his own will, who has
sought not to please God, but to find
favor with men, who has construct
lively planned and effected overt sin,
who has denied the call of conscience
and deified Satan daily. ought to be
afraid to die. Death ought to be ter
rible to him. In his last hours such
a man could best evidence that he
was a man and not beast by elevat-
ing the fear of God to supreme prom
inence in his mind. A man whose
whole life as a consciously active
free moral agent has been dedicated
to the qualification of the mandates
of the Almighty and to the eyalta-
ton of sin as a method OF living
ought to be anxious to reverse the
call of death and the decision OF fate.
He ought to want another chance In
this life to fit him for the next life.
1t would be strange If bad men were
not afraid to die. 1t would be curl
Gus if they could face eternity un-
abashed. For death to sinful soul
must be terrible. To go forth into
a new life unprepared, to enter into
the presence of eternity at enmity
with God; what could be more aw-
full?
Death may be doubtful. Many
men there are who, obeying the die
tates of God as they hear them and
His laws as they read them, have at
tanned moral eminence that is not
inconsideraNe; but who, as they
stand in the presence Of the usual
but inscrutable mystery of death,
confess that they await its power
without hope and with simply a sci
entfic spirit of inquisitiveness. There
is for them no certainty of future
life. They do not protest that death
necessarily ends all They simply ex-
press the opinion that, so far as they
are concerned, death Is locked gate,
a sealed portal, bolted, barred i'm
penetrable door They declare that
while there may be life beyond this
they have no valid ground for ex-
pressed hope therein, no reason to
stay their souls in the expectation or
eternal existence. They know not.
Theirs is the philosophy OF agnostic-
ism. Still others deny that there is
another life in another world. Theirs
is the negative philosophy of atheism.
And neither is scientific or satisfying
in the largest or most enduring way.
For we need and desire and demand
as rational and expectant human
beings something more than inde-
cision and negation. The soul re-
quires a true soul food. 1t does not
thrive on agnosticism or infldelity.
Death may be beautiful. 1t may be
welcome, 1t may be an Inspiration.
1t is so to godly men, men Of faith
and of vision, men who are versed
in the philosophy of heaven and who
are acquainted with the scientific for
mulae of the discipline of the soul.
1t is beautiful and gracious to those
who are Gods in Christ-supremely
SO. For the Christian knows that
death is not only inevitable and ma
tural, but that 1t is simply transit
tional, that it Is a portal. The
Christian is certain that eternal life
Is. The Christian believes from
conscious experience in the fact or
God. He hopes, not without reason,
for eternal life and eternal blessed
ness within God in heaven. For has
not Christ assumed him that God and
heaven are? Has He not said: II
go to prepare place for you. And
if | go and prepare place for you
will come again and receive you unto
MYSELF" And Christ not only has
said that to the Christian through the
medium of the Scriptures. He has
also spoken these words OF comfort
presently to the human hearts of
Christian believers. And God has
ceaselessly Numbered the truth OF
Immortality through the recesses OF
human souls. blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God" cter-
nally.
Death, for the Christian, is to be
welcomed, whatsoever 1t may come.
with a holy awe. without fear For
death is sublime. 1t Is the cap OF
the climax of the Christian earthly
life. 1t is our illumination, our in
spiration, our reward. 1t enlarges
our Joys and certifies our hopes We
should await 1t in the spirit of that
man of God whom the other day, in
the presence of multitude of men.
as he stood upon the eminence OF
four score years and upon the Dor
derland of eternity, I heard say. Il
await death with JOY. TO me the
thought that l shall die is sublime.
For know that If die shall 1.-Two
again" His hearers were electrified.
His tones thrilled. His hope was con-
tagious. We, too, should await death
with cheer.