Death of a Minister [pp. 367-368]

DEATH OF A MINISTER. 367
repairing to the burying-ground. The scene was
one never to be forgotten. The widow's heart, how
deeply affected! but it was the grief of a Christian
heart, and bore the peculiar features of Christianity. There was no exhibition of wringing anguish,
no boisterous expression of mental agony, but the
calm, rational, graceful regrets of a hopeful spirit.
She impressed a last kiss upon her husband's pallid
cheek, placed her hand gently on his cold forehead,
dropped tears on his face, and retired, calmly, but
distinctly uttering, "Farewell, my husband, till I
meet you again. I know you are at rest; and when
my troubles are ended, I will meet you there."
Reader, the event above narrated is one to which
we are all liable-changed in circumstances, it is
true, but substantially the same. And that we
may, in such an event, exercise the Christian heroism of the bereaved Mrs. S., is a circumstance to
be rationally desired, and, therefore, demands our
attention. How may the anguish of heart which
such events tend to produce be prevented? How
may full acquiescence in the dispensations of Heaven be secured? These questions will find a response
in those considerations which gave Mrs. S. triunph
and satisfaction.
The leading qualification which contributed to
her support in this trial of her faith, was her clear
and firm belief in the doctrines of the Bible, particularly those relating to a future state. Had she
possessed no more distinct and definite notions of
the future than what philosophy affords, she might
have spoken of her husband with the uncertainty
that Socrates spoke of himself when about to diewhether it is better to live or die, "the gods know,
but no man does." Had she been skeptical on these
doctrines, she might have said of her husband, as
Mr. Hobbes said to his friend, when asked where
he was going at death-he has taken "a leap in the
dark." Had she denounced all the doctrines of
Christianity, and avowed the philosophy of Voltaire, or the reason of Paine, the revolting infidel
sentiment might have rung in her ears, "Death is
an eternal sleep!" But she believed and adopted
the Bible, which taught her that, in the case of the
righteous, "to die is gain. To depart and be with
Christ is better" than to live here. Here, and here
alone, was the ground of her comfort and joy. Both
doubt and disbelief of these doctrines will deprive
of comfort in death-a firm belief of them alone
will administer it to the soul.
Another consideration which contributed to her
triumph was a firm conviction of the piety of her
husband. Had he been an irreligious man, her belief of the doctrines of Christianity would have afforded little if any relief. She could not have exclhded from her mind the striking announcements:
"The wages of sin is death!"-" The soul that sinneth, it shall die!"-" The wicked shall be turned
into hell " But she believed him prepared to die,
and of this preparation she had the most ample evidence; hence, she could remain calm in his death.
Are these lines read by any of her sex who con
template conjugal union with those of whose conversion to God there is no reasonable hope? If so,
be solemnly warned of your danger in taking so
fearful a step, and be entreated not thus to jeop ardize your happiness and safety; but pray over it,
and seriously calculate probabilities. And let all
whose husbands are unconverted, labor incessantly
for their salvation, instead of following their example, which, alas I is too often the case with religious ladies who are joined in bands of matrimony
with the irreligious. If you are the wife and Christian which you ought to be, you can effect more
in inducing your husband to be religious than the
most eloquent minister, or the most profound theologian of the land.
And, finally, not the least of the considerations
which made the loss of her husband tolerable, was
the personal piety of Mrs. S. She possessed a wellgrounded hope of heaven; and hence her prospect
of meeting her husband again. After marriage, the
obligation to be religious becomes stronger than it
was before. Be exhorted, therefore, to live as she
did, that the sorrows of life may suggest the superior excellences of heaven.
DEATH OF A MINISTER.
BY A N.W CONTRIBUTOR.
WE often read of the "ruling passion strong in
death." The dying chieftain, when told that his
former mortal foe was about to visit him, commanded his attendants to lift him from his couch,
dress him in his armor, and let him face his enemy
as on the battle-field. The imperial Corsican,
whose iron will and strong right hand had carried
him to the dizzy height of almost universal empire,
when, cast down to earth, he came to die on the
lonely ocean isle, while the storm raged around
him, and the fierce thunder was heard, his fiercer
spirit seemed to feel as if once more directing those
armies, whose bursting shock unsettled kingdoms,
and shook down empires. "His glazing eye caught
the heads of his mighty columns as, torn yet steady,
they bore his victorious eagles on, and' Tete d'Armee' broke from his dying lips." "The ruling
passion strong in death!" Often has it been so
with the dying patriot and the statesman.
St. Paul was actuated by a most ardent desire to
do good-to save souls. Next to love for that Being
who met him on the way to Damascus, and said unto
him, "I am Jesus," was an ardent love for his fellowmen. When he came to sing his death-song, it was,
"There remaineth for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give;"
and then adds, "And not unto me only, but to all
them that love his appearing." Love for others reveals itself "strong in death."
It would be strange, if, after the minister of Jesus
has given his whole life to "one work "-to it bending all his energies, that, by reading, writing, and
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DEATH OF A MINISTER.