Morning, April 20
Go To Evening Reading
“That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death.”
Hebrews 2:14
O child of God, death hath lost its sting, because the devil’s power over it is destroyed. Then cease to fear dying. Ask grace
from God the Holy Ghost, that by an intimate knowledge and a firm
belief of thy Redeemer’s death, thou mayst be strengthened for that dread hour. Living near
the cross of Calvary thou mayst think of death with pleasure, and
welcome it when it comes with intense delight. It is sweet to die
in the Lord: it is a covenant-blessing to sleep in Jesus. Death is
no longer banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home to the
many mansions where the loved ones already dwell. The distance between
glorified spirits in heaven and militant saints on earth seems great;
but it is not so. We are not far from home—a moment will bring us there. The sail is spread; the soul is launched
upon the deep. How long will be its voyage? How many wearying winds
must beat upon the sail ere it shall be reefed in the port of peace?
How long shall that soul be tossed upon the waves before it comes
to that sea which knows no storm? Listen to the answer, “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.” Yon ship has just departed, but it is already at its haven. It did
but spread its sail and it was there. Like that ship of old, upon
the Lake of Galilee, a storm had tossed it, but Jesus said, “Peace, be still,” and immediately it came to land. Think not that a long period intervenes between
the instant of death and the eternity of glory. When the eyes close
on earth they open in heaven. The horses of fire are not an instant
on the road. Then, O child of God, what is there for thee to fear
in death, seeing that through the death of thy Lord its curse and
sting are destroyed? and now it is but a Jacob’s ladder whose foot is in the dark grave, but its top reaches to glory
everlasting.