,Vers. 1-8,-:-Tlie calm sunset of an eve~tjul day. _A man's _death is in keeping with a man's bfe. You cannot have a tropical sunset tn an arct1c zone. It is vain to live the life of the voluptuous, and desire "the death of the righteous." Enoch's death corresponded with Enoch's life. The spirit of Elijah was chnra.cterized by heavenly fire: he ruled men with burning words of truth; it was, therefore, meet that he should depart as a king," in a cha.1iot of flame." Our Lord's whole liJ'e was a crucifixion-sublime self-sacrifice; it was fitting, then, that he shonld die upon a cross. Moses was transcendently great; in native grandeur he towered like a mount.ain above his brethren, To be in the society of God was his delight; hence there was a propriety that he should die alone, and upon the mount with God. I. 'l'HE DEATH OF A GOOD HAN HAS MANY GRACIOUS MITIGATIONS. It is not un- miugled sorrow. The evil in it is reduced to an infinitesimal point. It is a passin"' cloud, while the sun in its strength shines on the other side, and often penetrates th; thin vapour. It is not the valley of humiliation, but the mount of communion. Visions denied to us before are vouchsafed to us now. God is nearer to us than ever yet; and though earthly friends cannot accompany us along the mystic path, strong angels a.re at our side to bear us on their wings to the glory-land. "The chamber where the good man meets his fate Is privileged above the common walks of life; Almost upon the very verge of heaven." D. DEATH OFTEN REVEALS TO us WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE ATTAINED. In the hour of dissolution, Moses saw what he might have enjoyed if he had neglected no opportunity in the past. That faulty past is irrecoverable. We may obtain pardon the most ample and complete; but we cannot regain lost ground. Well for us if, on our death-beds, we have only one fault to bemoan; and yet one fault may entail immeasurable loss, When we stand face to face with death, we shall see the value of life as we have never seen it yet; we shall lament our negligences as we ha\'e never lamented them before. "What illustrious characters we might have acquired ! What conquests of good we might have won! What service for God we might have wrought! Alas I some well-meant purpose still remains immature! . III. DEATH TO A GOOD MAN IS NEEDFUL FOR FULL POS~ESSION, The land which God had sworn to give to Abraham and his seed, Moses was permitted to see, and in part to possess. Yet, llad he gone over Jordan and endured the fatigues of battle and dwelt in the land, his soul wouhl not have been satisfied therewith. As his powers of soul matured and ripened, he would have desired a better inheritance than Canaan could yield. The old yearning would have come back again, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," The soul yearns for knowledge which earth does not permit. We long to pass the barritrs of darkness and tread _the plains of everlasting light. Im- patiently the spirit beats against the bars of this fleshly cag_e, and longs to find her proper winas, We must pass through the dark gateway ot death ere the soul can • e11ter upon the full "inheritance of the saints." 1 Of. Professor Wuce'a 'The Foundations of Faith,' passim, 574 THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. [en. XXXIV, 1-12.
JY. Trm DEATH OF A GOOD IIIAN JS JN PART THE PROCESS OF NATURAL LAW, IN PAHT THE PENALTY OF MORAL LAW. So far as man partakes of nnimal life, BO far he is under the law which rules animal natures. In every animal species ,ve discern the ~la~es of birth, growth, maturity, decay, death. But man is endowed with regal po""crs, which gi,•e him, in some measure, dominion over his animal nature. Yet as a fact, men die before their physical powers have decayed. In earlier ages of huma~ history, hnman life reached to centuries, while now barely to four score years. Moses was called to di,•, but "his eye was not dim, nor had bis natural forcll abated." In his case we arc authoritath·cly informed that his premature decease was due to guilt. The moral connuct of men docs operate, then, in modifying the laws of nature. There is an unseen law-a law of God-which interlaces the laws and forces of the visible world, just as t-he system or nerves interlaces and animates the muscles of human flesh. The time and the mode of the believer's ·death are not the outcome of natural law; they arc fixed by the wisdom and the kindness of our personal God. Y. THE LIFELESS BODIES OF THE SAINTS ARE THE ESPECIAL CARE OF Gori. "God buried him in a valley in the lnnd of Moab." There is a secrecy and a mystery about Moses' burial, which it would be profanity to attempt to penetrate. On a 4i,ter page of Scripture we read that, respecting this body of Moses, Michael had a serious dispute with the de.-il. We feel bound to connect this mysterious disposal of Moses' lifeless body with the appearance of the same glorified body on the Mount of Transfiguration. But the point which concerns us at present is this ; God has manifested in various ways his tender regard for the mortal remains of bis servants. The elementary particles may dissolve, but the personal organization shall survive. "It is sown a natural body; it is rniseil a spiritual body." Yet, by the conSllrving power of Deity, it is a body still, though fitted more completely in the future as a vehicle for perception, intercourse, motion, and free activity. We can be well content to entrust every interest we have in life with him "who counts the very hairs of our head." VI. THE DEATH OF A GOOD MAN IS AN OCCASION FOn EXTENSIVE BOBROW. "The children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days." Although he had often se.-erely censured them, exposed faithfully their faults, and denounced their ,·ices, they knew they bad lost a genuine friend. Never would they look upon their noble leader's face again. His fatherly interest in them could never be replaced. Not till he was gone did they leam what a fount of blessing he had been. Had this coming event been steadily kept before them, they would have treated him \\·itb more generous esteem, and would have rendered to his counsels a more loyal respect. Now they lash themselves with just remorse. A good man's departure leaves a great vacancy in the Church and in the social circle. Shall we be thus missed when death bath laid us low1 Yet the days of mourning even for a good man must cease. There are sterner duties in life demanding unceasing care, and our sorrow for the departed ought to qualify us for future service.-D.