DEAR little Ellen Telford was in her usual health and spirits, as far as could be seen, up till January 12th, when she came home from the Sunday School complaining of what appeared to be toothache. It troubled her several times through the night; but on Monday morning she appeared to be all right, and went to school. In the evening, she came home much distressed with the same symptoms. She went to bed, but got no rest. We obtained medical skill on Wednesday evening. The right side of her lower jaw became much swollen, and the doctor thought it would form an abscess outside. She complained of no other pain until Saturday morning about four o'clock, when a severe pain in her right side commenced, there in her shoulder, after this she felt it all over her body, which turned out to be rapid inflammation, and never could be checked. Her suffering was intense up till six o'clock on Lord's Day evening, and whether after that or not we cannot say, as tetanus had set in and she could not speak. She breathed her last the same evening, about nine o'clock, after bearing a blessed testimony to the preciousness of Jesus.
She talked to all who came near her of her assurance of going to be forever with Him, where there would be no more suffering.
On Saturday afternoon, about five o'clock, she called her brothers and sisters, one by one, to her bedside and asked them if they loved Jesus, and requested them to meet her in heaven. On seeing her parents deeply affected at this, she told them not to weep for her; she was going to be with Jesus, which was far better. A dear brother in the Lord, who was standing beside her, said “Ellen, now tell me if you would like to get better, and be spared to your father and mother a little longer, or if you would rather go to Jesus?" She hesitated for a moment, then said with firmness, "I would rather go to Jesus now, for I know my father and mother are coming too.”
The physician who attended her during her short illness was very kind to her, and appeared to have won her confidence. As he was watching over her on Lord's Day, about eleven a.m. she fixed her large intelligent eyes upon him and said, “Doctor, do you know Jesus?” He said, "I hope so, my girl." She then said, “Will you meet me in heaven?"He said, “I hope so, Nelly." She was satisfied with that, and quoted the last verse of the third chapter of St. John's Gospel (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)): “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him," endeavoring to let him see that salvation is a present possession, and if possessed is known.
She said to her aunt, "Aunt Helen, you are coming to heaven;" her aunt replied "Yes, I am." She then gave her a message to take home to her cousins, that she wished them all to meet her in glory, "and tell my grannie, I would like to have seen her here." "But is she not going to heaven too?” "Yes," was the reply; "then tell her I will see her there." A young girl that she was intimate with, was sent for. Ellen was anxious to see her; when she came in, she greeted her with the words, "Do you love Jesus?" and quoted verse 16 of the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." She seemed to be burdened about souls on the Lord's Day-her last days on earth; she cried out twice, at different times, “what lots are going down to the dark, dark pit!”
She was deeply concerned about her eldest brother, and asked some who were about her if they thought John would come to heaven? The reply was, "We will tell God about him, Jesus' Father and yours." She appeared satisfied.
She said to her father, "Father, will you write when I am away, write to Newcastleton," (she had been to school there,) "and tell," she seemed as if she was going to name some one, but hesitated and there said, "tell the school children, tell them all, every one of them, to meet me in glory." She left a similar message for the school she had just been attending at Galashiels.
On seeing any of her friends grieved, she would say, “What are you crying about? I am sure I am not crying; I shall soon be with Jesus and walk with Him in white, and wear a golden crown." She quoted several Scriptures in broken sentences, as her strength was failing fast; such as "never thirst," "no more suffering." Several times she commenced singing with her clear sweet voice. One hymn appeared to be much in her mind:
"Come to the Savior, make no delay;
Here in His word He's shown us the way;
Here in our midst He's standing to-day,
Tenderly saying, Come.”
She sang the chorus several times:-
" Joyful, joyful will the meeting be,
When from sin our hearts are pure and free,
And we shall gather, Savior, with Thee,
In our eternal home.”
She had never doubted the salvation of any who had spoken to her of the Lord Jesus, but said to several who came to see her, "I know you are going to heaven.”
Only eleven years old, she is gone, no more to return to suffer pain here; but now absent from the body, present with the Lord, she knew and loved so well. It was not so much the place as the Person she spoke about, and she knew she was going to be with. Truly, to depart and be with Christ is far better. There was no fear of death, no darkness in the valley to her; she would rather go than stay; she had a desire to depart. How was this? Because she knew the love of God in giving His only begotten Son. She had believed the love God had towards her, and could tell others about it in the midst of sore pain. It was the love of Christ that constrained her; the One who died for all when all were dead, was filling her soul with love and Peace.
And as she thought on the dying love of Jesus, the love strong as death, His life, the life of Jesus, was seen in her mortal body; the words of life were heard from her dying lips to her companion, "Do you love Jesus?" and then telling in that one verse God's wonderful love to the world, so to love this wicked world, men and women, boys and girls, who love nothing but sins, have nothing but hatred in their hearts against the loving God, who gave His Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have, (not hope, but have) everlasting life.
It is by believing what God says about His Son, by receiving Jesus into your heart by faith, you get eternal life. Oh! I do put dear Ellen's question to you Do you know Jesus? Will you meet her in heaven? Are you like the doctor, only hoping? Beware! hoping is not having. The believer hath everlasting life now. It is a reality to know Jesus, to trust Him, to speak to Him, to live with, Him. "Whether we wake or sleep we should live together with Him;" that is, whether we are here in the body, or away from the body, it is our privilege to be in company with Christ, who died for us, and rose again. "And if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." So that we who are left behind do not sorrow as those that have no hope. No hope What a sad, sad state to be in, and oh; how sad for those who are left behind when any one dies without Christ! There is no hope for such. "For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," but the name of Jesus. Jesus means savior. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall cave his people from their sins." There is not one of His own people in sins; even little children have their sins forgiven.
“Around the throne of God in heaven,
Thousands of children stand,
Children whose sins are all forgiven,
A holy, happy band.”
Again, I put the question to you, will you be there? Will you meet Ellen in heaven? It was her dying request, "When I am away, tell the school children, tell them all, every one of them, to meet me in glory." Now, dear children, will you be there in glory where Jesus is, and where all His redeemed will be forever and ever? To be there you must have Christ in you, the hope of glory here. Oh remember, to be hoping you are going to heaven without having Christ here, is a false hope; it is the hope of the hypocrite, and it will not last, like everything here it will pass away. “So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrite's hope shall perish, whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.”
On what are you resting and building for eternity? Are you one of those who live without Christ, without hope, and without God in the world? What a sad state to be in, at peace without, for-getting God This is the condition of most. Are you among the many on the broad road, or among the few on the narrow way? Wrath and everlasting destruction is the end of the paths of all that forget God. "Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end." Now is the time to think about God, and where you will be forever. There is a deliverer now, there is life now, there is peace now, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and everlasting glory with Him soon. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and he says, no man comes to the Father but by Me.
Dear Ellen's mother writes:-There was one very important thing that my little girl said to me; it was on the nineteenth, that day she departed to be absent from the body, present with the Lord. She was lying quiet a few minutes, I was watching her, when she looked up into my face, and said, "Mother, I have seen Jesus by faith," and she talked of two little girls, school-mates of hers, who died about two years ago, at Newcastleton; talked of meeting them in glory. Janet Mitchellhill, one of them bore a bright testimony on her death bed, that she was going to be with the Lord. The other, Isabella Murray, a little girl about eight years of age said; "Mother, I have seen Jesus by faith.”
What a reality to faith Jesus is! and when He is filling the soul, one is free to think of others, even of those who have gone before, and long to be where they are as well as where Jesus is. Dear little Ellen could talk of those two little ones who were asleep before her. It was joy to meet her old, companions, and never to part. But what about those she was going to leave behind, those near and dear to her; she leave them? Yes, she could, to depart to be with Christ is far better, and the sure hope of meeting again. She knew her dear father and mother were coming to heaven, therefore she would rather go to Jesus; trying as the parting was, it would only be for a season. “For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry." Then the dead in Christ will be raised, and the living changed, and all caught up together to meet the Lord in the air: then shall we ever be with the Lord. The chorus of the hymn that was so sweetly sung by Ellen in her last hours will be true:-
“Joyful, joyful will the meeting be," etc.
Surely that will be a joyful meeting. Not one will be wanting, who has trusted Jesus as his or her Savior, whether in the grave, or on the earth alive. In a moment all will be summoned away, and this may take place at any moment; no man knows the day, nor the hour, when the Master will come. What He says to all is “Watch."But what a sad moment that will be for the unsaved, the door shut, their day past, their doom fixed; outer and everlasting darkness will be their sad portion. This was what burdened even a child, “Lots going down to the dark, dark pit." Her own brothers and sisters, cousins, and even grandmother she thought about, and was anxious that they should all meet in heaven. Heaven, to her, was a bright and blessed reality; but hell with all its horrors of darkness was felt; for herself she had no fear, but for those who were not prepared she seemed to tremble. Now, dear reader, where are you going? Up or down? To heaven or hell, which? Can you bear the thought of parting with those you love, forever? Do take Jesus now.
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