On Thursday evening, March 13th, he felt so much better, that he went to Sheffield, and gave an address to Christians. His subject was, "The Lord's Coming." He commenced the meeting that evening, by reading, with much emphasis, the hymn beginning with
"'A little while' the Lord shall come,
And we shall wander here no more;
He'll take us to His Father's home,
Where He for us has gone before-
To dwell with Him and see His face,
And sing the glories of His grace." &c.
After the hymn was sung, he prayed earnestly for God's guidance and power by the Holy Ghost in ministering His truth, and for blessing to the hearers. He then took up the burden of Dumah, the words of scorn of those who hated God's people, however low their condition might be, like others who said, "Where is thy God?" or the scoffers now, who say to us, "Where is the promise of his coming?" Turning to Isa. 21, he read, "The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night; if ye will inquire, inquire ye; return, come" (vv. 11, 12). He then showed from various Scriptures, that the hope of God's ancient people, the Jews, is the coming of Messiah and His reigning over them on the earth, and that this will be preceded by judgment and great tribulation—a night of weeping before the morning of joy, when they will be peacefully sitting under their own vine and fig tree. Then will be fulfilled the Scripture that Jesus will reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously (Isa. 24:2323Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. (Isaiah 24:23)). He pointed out how Scripture contrasts the hope of God's earthly people with the Christian's hope of our Lord coming at any moment with a shout to take us up to meet Him in the air, and conduct us, His heavenly people, to our Father's house; and that our present posture should be one of watching and waiting for Him. We shall see His face, be with Him and like Him forever. It may be very soon, for "the night is far spent." In connection with this he read and dwelt on 1 Thess. 4:15-1815For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18). He also said, If any of God's people present are in trial and sorrow, he would ask them to remember David at Ziklag. Not only had he lost almost everything he had in the world, but "the people spake of stoning him," yet withal we are told that" David encouraged himself in the Lord his God," and in three days he was actually in the kingdom. How very near our Lord's coming for us may now be. Let us encourage ourselves in Him, and look for His coming!
He said to a friend sitting near that evening, "I am very unwell. Shall I give out, that I will preach here next Lord's Day evening, if well enough?" "No," replied the friend"; say, if the Lord will." This he did in a most emphatic way, and added, "If I come, I shall hope to preach on the righteousness of God."
But this was his last public address to the saints. It was a remarkably solemn time, and he spoke with great calmness. There was a large company present. Those who knew him, and loved him, little thought it would be the last time they would hear his voice. But so it was. The address had been very impressive, and his hearers were made to feel that, "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand."
After this, he continued unwell, and kept indoors, but often writing to us and to others on the things which concern our Lord Jesus Christ.
The day after he returned from Sheffield, Friday, March 14th, he felt so unwell, that he had serious doubts of being able to preach on the following Lord's Day as he had hoped. He wrote, "I have felt very ill in the night; my throat so bad that I could scarcely speak... my voice is still bad. The Lord will give strength if He will have me go to Sheffield on Lord's Day." He was, however, too unwell to come.
In the following week, March 19th, he wrote, "I am feeling very poorly. My cold is rather worse. All is my Father's best, as dear H. said, and it is true for me."... Referring to a paper for the press he had just revised for a friend, he proposed there should be "added to it a little warm gospel of divine certainty for souls."