One Hour After Death! # 1

One Hour After Death! # 1

The news of the unexpected death of a dear friend has suggested this thought. He is gone. He is in another world.

I too, must die soon. It may be very soon. Let me then, think of death, and of the hour of death. If I die among friends, my eyes will then be closed, my body will be laid out, the white sheet will cover it, and in the quiet chamber it will be left. It is now unconscious, inanimate, a mere mass of matter. It must soon be conveyed to the grave, and there be hidden from the sight of man, or it will become offensive. Yes, the nearest relative, the one who loved me most, will say, "Bury my dead out of my sight!" But the soul, the immortal part, the real man - what has become of him?

One hour after death, WHERE shall I be?

Ah, where! That will entirely depend upon what I am now - what death finds me. Like Judas, each one will go to his own place. Where shall I be?

I may be in hell, lifting up my eyes in torments, grasping for someone or something to comfort me. Dreadful supposition! But it is not impossible. If I die under the guilt of sin; if I die without having experienced a new birth; it is certain. For unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Awful thought - to be in hell one hour after death! Then no prayers will avail, no sufferings will excite pity, nor cries or tears will be regarded. Hope will be forever shut out. Agony and despair must be endured perpetually.

But if I die a believer in Jesus; if cleansed in His blood; if clothed in His righteousness; if sanctified by His Spirit; if united to Her person - then where shall I be one hour after death? Oh, glorious thought - I shall be with Jesus! Yes, I shall hear His sweet voice, see His lovely face, and stand before His glorious throne! I shall be in heaven; the home of the saints; the house of the living God - the region of holiness, happiness, and love. I shall know what heaven is. I shall realize what perfect holiness means. I shall have lost every wish - and be in possession of all I could desire. Oh, to be with Jesus; to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God; to enjoy the company of prophets, apostles, martyrs, and holy ministers forever! What a noble place I shall be in! What glorious company I shall have! What ecstatic joys I shall taste! Oh, what a change I shall experience!

One hour after death, WHAT shall I be?

I shall be a pure and holy spirit, no longer, fettered, imprisoned, hindered, and pained by a body of flesh, or a body of sin and death. I shall be a son of God, realizing my relationship - at home with my Father; surrounded with myriads of my brothers and sisters, all perfectly holy, and perfectly happy. I shall be a saint, fully sanctified, and made fit for my Master's use. To doubt my election, or question my calling, or suspect my sincerity, will be impossible. I shall be as holy as my Father is holy. I shall be perfect, as my Saviour is perfect. I shall be without fault before the throne of God.

Oh, wondrous, mystery, that one like me, so full of faults, so deeply depraved, so dreadfully polluted - should be pronounced faultless bu the Judge of all!

But if I should die out of Christ, without repentance, without holiness - then what shall I be? Ah, what! A lost soul! A ruined sinner! Condemned to suffer God's just wrath, the bitter reflections of my own mind, the fearful lashings of my own conscience - forever! Self-condemned; condemned by all around me; a terrified witness to God's holiness and truth. Ah, then I shall know the meaning of those terrible words, "Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, fire, brimstone, and a horrible tempest." Then I shall experience what is meant by being "cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone," and shall feel all the unknown horrors of the "second death."

What a fearful thing must sin, my sin, be - to demand such tremendous punishment at the hands of a just God; to call for such a terrible infliction from a God who is emphatically love! Oh, the thought, that I should be a lost soul, a companion of devils and damned immortals!

One hour after death, How shall I be EMPLOYED?

How am I employed now? Is Jesus my Master, His service my delight, and His glory my end? If I now live for God, walk with God, and work in order to please God - then I may expect to be employed in praising His name, admiring His love, and adoring His glorious perfections. My employment will be my pleasure, and my service my joy. I shall stand among the ransomed, walk with Jesus in white, and praise His name on my golden harp forever!

~James Smith~

(continued with # 2)