No. 4.
“IF thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes” (Luke 6:1919And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. (Luke 6:19), verse 42), ―so spake the sorrowing Saviour―
“Whose heart is filled with tenderness,
Whose very name is Love.”
And what must be the deadening power of sin on the soul, that brought tears of real sorrow from the weeping eyes of Jesus? Precious Jesus, thou didst shed thy blood to save poor sinners; and yet men “reject the counsel of God against themselves,” and perish.
On my visit to the Lock-ward, mentioned in my last, I hinted at another incident occurring at the same time. May God, in the riches of His grace, grant the broken and the contrite spirit through His own word, “which is by the Gospel preached unto” men.
― had been an inmate of this ward for upwards of eight months; she was, while there, of a meek and quiet spirit, and her demeanor at once commended itself to every visitor. She was thankful for every kindness shown, and ever ready to listen to any advice given, and gave an attentive ear to the Gospel whenever spoken. Her fair, transparent-looking face, with the pink color on the cheek, showed signs of an inward disease on the constitution, which at once made her to be an object of interest to every visitor, who always had a word for her. Many were the prayers offered on her behalf, and very much was the Gospel news of salvation to poor perishing sinners poured forth in her ears, which she always received in a quiet and becoming manner; which gave hope to the visitors that their labor had not been “in vain in the Lord.” But, alas! alas! how little we know of the blinding power of Satan, the hardening effects of sin, or the deceitfulness of the human heart.
Not seeing her on a visit one Lord’s-day afternoon, I was told she “was gone out,”―this was a month previous to the visit now referred to, and this being no unusual circumstance, no remark passed. However, on going round to each occupied bed, to speak to and give some Gospel tracts to the unfortunate occupants, I saw one bed wholly covered up, although occupied by someone, and on throwing back the upper part of the quilt to say a word or two for Jesus, I stood amazed at beholding a human being lying there, in a perfectly helpless, unconscious state: the head and face swollen to an immense size, the eyes closed up, and her body too was swollen is the same manner, which seemed rather to resemble a sack of flour than the body of a human creature; no sight, no hearing, no consciousness was left there at all, and with a sorrowful heart I covered over again this wretched woman. “Whoever is this you have here?” said I to the nurse. “Oh, sir,” she replied, “it is come back again.” She died a few days afterward, and on being asked a question by the nurse, as to her future state, she replied, “that if suffered to recover she would go again into the same course of life.”
On a recent visit, one of the inmates, whose heart has been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, said to me, after speaking of this horrible death-bed, “O, sir, the death which took place last in the bed on which I am now lying was a dreadful one. Just before the person died, she exclaimed, “I am going to hell! I am going to hell! I feel the flames! I am going to hell! I am going to hell!! and then died.” Ah! my dear reader, “fools make a mock at sin,” but after death comes the judgment. Death is a reality; judgment is a reality; and how shall we stand before God, if not cleansed with the blood of Jesus? God loves poor sinners, and gave Jesus, His only begotten Son. Do you accept Him? Will you take the Lord Jesus as your righteousness? It is enough for God. What do you want more than this? May God, in grace, lead you to Jesus, and may you believe on Him, and be saved.
And, my dear fellow believer, and fellow citizen, do help, by prayer, those who thus, through grace, visit the sick and dying, that God would hold them up; that He would give them wisdom so to speak, and so to commend Jesus, that hearing, they may receive the message, believe the good news of mercy through Jesus Christ, trust in His blood, and so escape the wrath to come. May they from the heart say―
“Lord Jesus! now to thee I flee,
And seek my hope alone in thee.”
The Jews crucified the Son of God, and kept their own religion.