By The Editor
I HAVE just come from the death-bed of an old patient of mine: The wife and daughter, one on either side, are watching with tear-dimmed eyes the passing of the loved one He is close to the eternal shores, but he tells us “it is all well, he is rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.” So the earth journey ends, the labored breathing ceases, the hacking cough is over, and the tired traveler of seventy-five is with his God forever. How solemn is the passing of a soul from the worn out tenement of clay! By pathways known only to God the emancipated, spirit seeks its home and rest.
Death, with every passing second, takes its toll of human life; yet how little does death enter into the calculations of human lives. Reader, are you prepared for eternity? Have you no soul longings after God? No desire to be pardoned of your many sins? Have you no wish for a hand to wipe away your tears; for a voice to take all sorrow from your heart? For a love to satisfy every longing, of your soul? Or will you die as the poor maiden did, longing for a light that did not come. She was only twenty; she died just before day break, and she dictated these verses on her death-bed, unable to write them herself:
Death At Daybreak
“I shall go out when the light conies in;
There lie my cast-off form and face.
I shall pass dawn on her way to earth,
As I seek for a path through space.
I shall go out when the light comes in;
“Would I might take one ray with me!
It is blackest night between the worlds,
And how is a soul to see?”
How is a soul to see unless Christ is the light of that soul? Some of you may say, I do not fear death, and I do not believe in hell. “You may say,” If there is a hell, God will he too merciful to send anyone there.” You do not know what sin is, and what the sins of your life have been, or you would not speak in that way. Sin is so terrible in God’s sight that when Christ was made sin for us, God forsook Him. Remember this in God’s presence now, every sin you have ever committed has to bear its punishment. Either you must bear the punishment of your life’s sin down in hell, or you must accept what Christ, the blessed Substitute for sin, has done for you. Either you or Christ must be judged for your life’s sins. Faith says, “He bore my sins in His own body on the tree.” If He bore the punishment for you, you are free from punishment, but your sins cannot pass unchallenged and unpunished by a holy God. Read this: ―
Look, Look, Yea, The Three “So’s”
(Psa. 103 11, 12, 13: P.B. Version).
1. Look, as high as the heaven, so is His mercy. The grandeur and vastness of His mercy.
2. Look, as wide as the East is from the West, so far hath He set our sins from us. The measureless completeness of His pardon.
3. Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children, so the Lord is merciful unto them that fear Him. The marvelous tenderness of God’s Fatherly pity.
M. E.
And now read the following two letters from a young soldier, and learn to trust the Saviour that he trusted.
Two Letters from a Young Soldier
The two following letters were sent for publication by a sister of the soldier. She says, “the testimony is so clear and simple that we trust it may he used of God to the salvation of precious souls. My brother left for Camp Custer, Michigan, on the 24th of June, unsaved and seemingly-unconcerned, though he lived under the sound of the gospel all his life. But from his first day in camp the reality of life and eternity came before him, and he wrote in every letter home that he longed to be able to say that he was saved, and asked us to pray for him.”
1St Letter (over there).
Dear Mother and All, ―This letter leaves me thousands of miles away from my dear little home in U.S.A. But, oh, mother, I am the happiest boy on earth―the good news have come; your prayers are answered. I was saved for time and eternity two days ago; all my burdens are rolled away—praise the Lord! It is wonderful beyond measure how now I can bring all my troubles and cares to Him, and how He bears my many burdens. I am living with a bunch of boys who curse and swear most of the time; this hurts me terrible, but I speak to them when I can, and pray that they may have their eyes opened.
Oh, mother, pray for me in this matter! God has chosen this road for me, and sure ‘twas best, and now His rod is a comfort to me My many prayers have been up to this time that I might return home in safety, but now they are only as the Lord wills. My home is in the glory; praise His name! God has given me good health all the time, and I can trust Him for all that’s to come. Remember me to all my friends with Christian love. ―I am yours, saved for all eternity, BERT.
2nd Letter (over there).
Dear Folks, ―I have so many things I would like to write about, but will only tell you the most important. First, if you have not yet received my other letter, I will tell you the greatest of all news, and that is that mother’s prayers have been answered, and I am saved for time and eternity. I surely feel like the happiest soldier in the army. I am now a soldier of the cross of Jesus Christ. Oh, how He lightens all my burdens! As I lay myself down to rest at night, oh, the wonderful sweet peace He gives me! No more fear for the enemy of this world Death. If it is God’s will that I should return to my dear little home in the West, well; if not, my home is in the Glory, praise His name! I am enjoying good health, thank God. Well, dear mother, all is well. I would like very much to see you all again, but if not, the ways of the Lord are always best. Pray that I may stand fast in the faith, and always speak a word for my Saviour. It is just trust without wavering. Remember me to all my friends. May God bless you all for Jesus’ sake.
―With Christian love, Bert.