BY DR. W. T. P. WOLSTON.
ON the 4th of February, 1891, the mortal remains of Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria, were laid in the tomb at Frogmore. The worldwide interest with which her illness was watched, and the universal and unfeigned sorrow which her death caused, were indeed remarkable. In the British Isles and where’er the British flag floats, everyone who lived under her beneficent sway felt as though a personal friend had been taken away.
The moral beauty and wisdom of her reign poets will sing and historians write, for a consensus of opinion exists that since the world began no monarch has ever, for so long a space, ruled so wisely and so well as Victoria.
She was endeared to the hearts of countless millions by her loving, sympathetic acts and ways, which surely had a spring in something more divine and deep than mere queenly, womanly tact, or human sympathy.
Her long and beautiful reign came to an end, and the question has been asked, “What was her relation to Christ while in life, and where is she now, while her remains lie at Frogmore?” The inscription she had carved on the Mausoleum there, among numberless other testimonies, gives, it seems to me, a beautiful answer.
No place in all the fair domain around the late Queen’s Berkshire home was so dear or more familiar to Her Majesty than the gardens of Frogmore. The Mausoleum she there created for the burial of her beloved Consort, and for the reception of her own mortal remains, reveals little of the gloom of a sepulcher. It consists of a central chamber with four transepts built in the form of a cross. The green dome is visible from the Long Walk, but it is only upon a closer approach that one realizes the stately and ornate character of the structure. Over the entrance this loving and tender dedication is inscribed:— “His mourning widow Victoria, the Queen, directed that all that is mortal of Prince Albert be placed in this sepulcher. A.D. 1862. Farewell, Well beloved! Here at last I will rest with thee, and with thee in Christ I shall rise again.”
What faith and hope do these last eight words express! They are not the language of cold formalism, but of divinely-given belief, “With thee in Christ I shall rise again.” Precious testimony to her faith in the Saviour! I lately heard a lovely incident in her life which reveals the basis of that saving faith which could speak so confidently.
Her Majesty, as was her wont, often visited the humble and the poor. On one occasion she had been seeing a lowly cottager, who was a happy believer in the Lord Jesus, and ere leaving had inquired if she could do anything for her
“I have all I want, thank your Majesty,” said the poor woman.
“But can I not do anything for you?” said the Queen. “I should like to do something for you.”
Again came the response, “I have all I need, thank your Majesty, but if your Majesty would promise me one thing, I would be very glad.”
“I will do that if I can,” replied the Sovereign.
“What can I do for you?”
“Oh, your Majesty, if you would just promise to meet me in heaven.”
Softly, but firmly, came the reply, “I will do that, in virtue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The petitioner was satisfied, and well she might be.
“On the happy golden shore,
Where the faithful part no more,
When the storms of life are o’er,
Meet me there:
Where the night dissolves away
Into pure and perfect day,
I am going home to stay,
Meet me there.
“Here our fondest hopes are vain,
Dearest links are rent in twain:
But in heav’n no throb of pain,
Meet me there:
By the river sparkling bright,
In the city of delight,
Where our faith is lost in sight,
Meet me there.
“Where the hearts of angels ring,
And the blest for ever sing,
In the palace of the King,
Meet me there:
Where in sweet communion blend
Heart with heart, and friend with friend,
In a world that ne’er shall end,
Meet me there.
“Meet me there, meet me there,
Where the tree of life is blooming,
Meet me there:
When the storms of life are o’er,
On the happy golden shore
Where the faithful part no more,
Meet me there.”
The soul that rests upon that precious blood, whether Sovereign or subject, is safe indeed. Its virtues are unlimited, and much as our late beloved Queen may have known of it in life, she knows, thank God, much more now. She has exchanged an earthly crown and a temporal throne for the everlasting joy of the presence of her Lord. Well has the Holy Ghost said, “To depart and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23).
Oh! what untold virtue is in the blood of the Son of God. It cleanses from all sin. It purges the conscience, relieves the heart, cleanses the soul, closes the gates of hell, and opens the doors of heaven. It removes every stain of sin, and makes whiter than snow the one who trusts it. The song of redemption, which will yet fill heaven’s high arches, ascribes all to that blood. What say the countless hosts of Revelation 5, as they cast their crowns before the Lamb and fall prostrate at His feet? “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation” (ver. 9).
Redemption to God can only be by blood. How blessed when the soul can say sincerely, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7), for “Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).
The testimony of Scripture is plain, that “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). But redemption gives title with “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19, 20).
Happy indeed are they who can sing, “Unto Him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5, 6). Of that company, one rejoices to think, the beloved and departed Queen Victoria forms one.
Reader, may I ask how you stand in relation to Christ? Will you meet me in Heaven? By grace I know I shall be there: will you be there also? If in simple faith you look away from self to Christ, and trust Him only, you can make a promise, as happy and as blessed as the Queen’s. May you be able to say, “I will meet you in Heaven, in virtue of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
[We are glad to announce that this excellent Gospel article can be had separately of our Publisher, at the following rates for distribution: Just published. Eight pages, toned paper. Superior Edition, 4s. per 100, post free. The Queen’s Promise; or, “In Virtue of the Blood.” Or Cheap Edition, 2S. per 100, post free.]