IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V ^ A / v#^^ V > *„. ^ f/j & 1.0 I.I 1.25 3.2 1^ _ |||25 U ill 1.6 V] <^ /a 'c^ 7; Oy^A /A Phol ^ Sci^ces Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4503 1^ \\ vV «■^. > CIHM Microfiche Series (Monographs) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographles) Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. 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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nScessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 32 X 1 2 3 4 5 6 Q THE BELIEVEE ASLEEP IN JESUS. U A SERMON PREACHED IN ST. JAMES' CHURCH, POINTE A CAVAGNOL, ON OCCASION OF THB On Sunday, 29(A My, 1860, BY THB REV. J. W. PYKE, IHaUMBBNT. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 1860. 1 ■ NOT DEAD BUT SLEEPING. >♦ ♦ »» r "And all wept and bewailed her: but He said, weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth."— Sf. Luke, 8th chapter, 62nd verse. " In the mliht of h'fe we are in death ;" thus the sacrod voice of our holy church most appropriately admonishes us, in that most solemn moment when she stands with us beside the grave of some departed member of her communion, engaged in the last sad cere- monial of love and duty : committing the body to the ground, " Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." Yes, beloved brethren, in the midst of life we are in death. How familiar are the words, how often have we heard them read in our sublime burial service, when present on the occasion of some funeral ; but it is then most truly we realise the truth and feel the full force of this most awakening declaration, when some near and dear relative or friend is suddenly removed from us by death. Such has been the case among ourselves within the last few days. A dear relative, a beloved friend, a faithful, important and highly esteemed member of this church and community has, in the dark inscrutable providence of the all-wise God, been suddenly taken away from us. It is, my brethren, as you may all possibly re- member, but a very short time since she appeared here among us, —then " in the midst of life,"— joining us in holy worsliip of our common Father and God, and in the more deeply solemn and sacred duty of sacramental communion. But a few short days have passed, and now she is no more on earth, no longer among us ; the will of an all-wise God hath suddenly arrested her earthly race, called her body to the dust, and her spirit, as we trust, to his blessed presence and his heavenly rest. Such was His will, the will of our heavenly Father, icho dealeth with m as with 'sons, correcting us for our profit, that -we may he parfahers of his holi- ness. " Clouds and darkness are round about him," the workings of his providence are dark and mysterious, but could we penetrate the veil which hides the Ahnio;hty fVon, our view, could we perceive and understand his secret counsel and will concerning us, doubtless brethren, we should see the wisdom and goodness of God mani- fested even in the darkest dispensations of his providence, and would feel constrained to join the heavenly anthem raised by the victorious saints in heaven, " Singing the song of the Lamb, and saying, great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy ways thou king of saints." But turning our thoughts from her whose happy spirit has fled from this world of sin and sorrow, and entered the blissful regions ot eternal blessedness and peace, to ourselves here below, mourners and sojourners in this vale of tears: how shall we comfort one another ? how shall we improve the sad occasion to our own souls- benefit ? It is, dear brethren, fiom that blessed gospel alone, through which "life and immortality have been brought to light;'' It 18 frora that holy, that blessed One who has mercifully revealed Himself to us in his holy word, to our lasting peace and joy and comfort, as " The resurrection and the life, in whom whosoever be- heveth shall live though he die, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall not die eternally;" it is from Jesus and His holy word that we may, and must only, seek and find comfort under aU the sorrows and trials of this painful life. And in respect to the especial sorrow which now oppresses us, and overwhelms the soul with the terrible nature of the affliction and the awful suddenness of the call, no words could be more appropriate, more soothing, and full of blessed comfort than the declaration of our divine Saviour in the text, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth;" "Mt dead but sleeping." How strange a word to the unsanctified unbelieving ear; how strange, how difficult even for poor weak sinful minds to realise I Not dead, but sleeping-and yet we have laid the body in the cold dark chamber of the grave. True still the spirit lives; the earthly house is dissolved, is dead, butthe soul that animated it, gave all its value, its preciousness to it, now " sleeps," « sleeps in Jesus," as we hope and believe, that is 'rests "in joy and felieity" until the morning of the resurrection till " the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of tho nrchangel and with the tramp of God," and then " thorn which shrp in Jmts will God brinnr with him." " Wliere- foro." adds the apostle, " comfort one another with these words," thus teaching us that the trae and only real comfort for all tho afflicted children of earth, and especially for those who mourn for their dead, is to be drawn from the consoling truth that now they " sh'op in Jrsm" now enjoy that blessed joyful rest, that calm un- ruffled heavenly repose of the soul in the paradise of God, the awakening from which will only be on the glorious resurrection morn unto the blessed life eternal, but which must continue till the time appointed for tho consummation of all things " when Christ who is our life shall appear, and then shall they also appear with Him in glory." Hut let ua enquire, how are we to understand the expression sleeping as applicable to death ? Jesus was called to raise from a dying bed the only daughter of Jairus. But before he reached the ruler's house, a messenger came to the father, saying, " Thy daughter is dead, trouble not the Master." Jesus, however, bid the ruler "/car not, only believe" and coming to the house and enter- ing tho chamber of death, in company with the father and the iiiothcr of the maiden, while they " all wept and bewailed her," the Saviour's soothing, comforting voice bid them in the most aftection- nto manner "weep not," for said He, "she is not dead, but sleep- cth." What then was the meaning of our blessed Saviour's words, ".s7((> in not dead?" 'f'd the Lord Jesus mean to convey to the minds of his hearers i'\e idea that the maid was not really anc! literally dead, in the common acceptation of the word ? Certainly not, for then His calling the spirit back again would not have been a miracle in the true sense. Jesus, brethren, spake of tiie soul of tho dead maiden, that it was not dead, was not aniiihilated by death, but still in existence though separated fro- . the earthly tiinement, and ready to obey the will and summons of its Creator, whenever He should call it back to the body. This great, this blessed truth, " life and immortality," was what He came to this world specially to reveal, this the glorious truth which for man's pe!5"e and comfort it was, and is, the great object of His holy gos- pel to inculcate. The sect of the Sadducecs in the time of our } 6 Lord, like the sceptics of more modern days, denied this prcnt truth : both the iinmortality of the soul, and tlie resurrection of the body. And it was, perhaps, with tlie view of confutin-,' tliis vain cliuerlcss notion of dciatli, that our blcsed Lord used tlie ex- pression in the text. Still, beloved brethren, though the divine word, as well as our own daily experience, assures us of the solemn laet that these bodies are mortal and must die, muht return to the ground out of which they were taken, yet is it not a most bhissed hope, u most consoling truth, which we have in Christ who is our life, that the spirit which once gave life and animation to the now senseless body, still lives, its " ///l' /.s huf idth ClinM hi 6W.'» Jesus our heavenly Teacher tells us it is " asleep." The metaphor is a very beautiful one, and full of comfort to all who mourn the pre- sent absence through death of any dear to them. They are asleep : does this mean then that they are in.sonsible, in a state of uncon- sciousness? As regards the mortal part, the body, this is true. The c(.ld lifeless inanimate form of the outward tabeinaele is borne to the grave and laid in dust, yet is the body not so dead, so fallen into decay, so entirely destroyed, as to be beyond the power of God to restore, reform, and raise it ugain in all its com- pleteness. For death and hell have been destroyed themselves by the conqueror of sin, the great captain of our salvation, and there- ibre death shall no more have dominion, that is a lasting dominion, over the body. The grave is only its present prison, the bed where It lays asleep, till the trump of God shall announce the resurrection morn, and then " all that are in their graves shall come forth." Then these mortal bodies " sown in cormption, shall he raised in incornijXion ; sown in dishonor, shall be raised in glory; sown in weakness, shall he raised in power; sown a natural hody, shall he raised a sjnrifml hody." Then will the blessed Saviour fulfil towards His people Ilis own blessed promise to come again and receive them to Himself, and " shall cliange these vile bodies that they may be like unto His own glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things'' to Himself." While the body thus rests in the dark silent chamber of the grave, awaiting this great, this glorious change, " ichen the corruptible shall pat on incorruption, and the mortal put on im- ■ nwrtnUfi/;' say, brethren, is not its present state well described as one of sleep? Thus indeed thouffht the ^rcat Apostle of Jeras Christ, St. Paul, when he penned that most noble and comforting arjj;ument for the doctrine of the resurrection which forms the Lesson in our most consoling service for the Burial of the Dead ; where, speaking of the state of the body in the grave under the same metaplior of sleep, the apostle says, " We shall not all sleep, but wo shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." But how are we to interpret the words of the Saviour as regards the soul? In what sense are we to understand the expression, yallm udc'p in Jems V Certainly not of a state of insensibi- lity and of unconsciousness, for such an idea is utterly inconsistent with various passages of scripture, which plainly suppose the con- trary. Thus in the case of Lazarus, we are told that his soul " urns arr i'ed hy the angels into Abraham's losom end that there he wa om/orted." Now this is plainly inconsistent with the notion that the soul of Lazarus, when separated from the body, remained in a state of insensibility, for how then could he have been " comfortedr' Surely that holy comfort must have consisted in a full and perfect consciousness of the blessedness of the exchange his spirit had un- dergone, in being carried from a condition of misery and suffering here on earth to the holy compa.iy of angels, " tue spirits of the just," to the blissful joys and blessedness of the paradise of God. Again, in the case of the penitent thief upon the cross, did not the Saviour positively assure him, " This day thou shall be with me in paradise." Not, surely, to sleep there unconsciously amid its blessed company, its heavenly joys, and glorious anticipations till the resurrection. No, but to retain its life, its activity, ita consciousness; there to see and know its Redeemer, even as it is seen and known of him. " I am in a strait," says the apostle St. Paul, " between two opinions, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better;" but how could the apostle esteem death to be a better -'.nd more desirable thing, unless he was convinced that he would thereby be called from the service of the God and Saviour he loved in His church here below, to the higher, / \ 8 more blessed, and glorious servioo of Ilim in the temple and sanc- tuary above? Ho hIiows, however, his true moaning in another pasHuge, where, alluding to the trinls and sufferings to which he and his t'aithlul t'ellow-laborers in theliiispel were exposed, he says, " Therefore wo are always confident, knowing that whilst wo are at home in the body, loe are abmntfrom the Lord; we are confident .... and willing rather to bo absent from the body, and prunent with tlie Lord." The plaia meaning of the apostle is, that when death calls away the soul from its present home or earthly house, in the body, it brings it forthwith into the presence of the Lord, into that blessed paradise where the saints of Jesus rest from the toib and sorrows and sufferings of their earthly lot ; where the voice of the Lcrd God is heard among them to their great joy and comfort, and where they await, in joyful anticipation, the blessed hour of their " perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in eternal and everlasting glory through Jesus Christ our Lord." Thus, then, ui.dcrstr.nd what the Lord Jesus meant when He eaid concerning the daughtor of Jairus, " She is mt dead, but sleepeth." The body, though now subject to the present dominion of death, shall yet at the word, and by the power of the Lord of life and death, be set free ; and the spirit, which has entered the future world and there still exists, shall at the command of ita Creator, return to dwell in its earthly tabernacle again, no longer a natural body, but rallied a spiritual body "clothed with glory, honour, and immortality." Then, brethren, those "-^-^ have " fallen asleep in Jesus," who have " died in the Lord," that is, in a full and firm and sincere trust in the all-sufficient merits and mediation of Jesus as a Saviour ar.d an all-prevailing intercessor, these are " not dead, but deeping,'" " absent indeed from the body, but present with the Lord." Most consoling truth for all who mourn the departure from this earthly scene of beloved friends ; they have laid aside the vile garments of corruption for the pure bright robes of heaven ; they have ceased from toil and sorrow and pain, and passed to their peaceful rest in heaven ; they have finished their course of service here in the church below, performed amid much trial and sore conflict with 9 the powers of darkness, and have gone to servo God in His temple, and to join i. he glorious services of " the church triumphant and glorified." Thus, then, we hope our dear departed sister has fled froii\ the pollutions of the world, and the sorrows of this life, to rest and blcasedness in heaven. How comforting for those most near anU dear to her, who now in sadness feel and mourn her absence from them, to know and believe that " she, is not (fmd, but slccjtcth." She hath entered into that holy peaceful beatific " rest which re- mainoth for the people of GoJ,' No comfort could be better or more soothing than this sweet reflection, no consolation stronger than that which so blessed a thought is designed to impart. There- fore, beloved brethren, let me say to you who mourn her departure from among you, '•' Sorrow not as men without hope " for her " who sleeps in Jesus, but comfort one ; M„her with these words." In her removal the church has lost a valuable and consistent member. From the earliest establishment of this church and mis- sion, her heart was with us. .ihc was ever anxious and willing, according to her opportunity ai.d ability, to further the great work of the Church, and the spiritual bonefits and wants of the neigh- bourhood. You have liad her example before you, I need not speak further of that. True piety and devotion to God need no trumpet praise of man; its record is on high, and " he who seeth in secret will reward openly;" "by their fruits" saith the Saviour, ye shall kn.,w them". And when we see professing members of the church, regular and diligent in their attendance upon her sacred ordinances and worship, wo are justified in believing that we see in them that blessed fruit of the sanctifying spirit, which marks them as the true children of God. In her the poor and distressed have lost a kind, sympathising friend. One ever " ready to do good and to distribute " to all in need and necessity. God blessed her with the means of doing good, and with her earthly treasures sanctified by deeds of love and cha- rity, given for Christ's sake " hath she " laid up treasures ir. heaven" enduring treasures, which "the moth and rust cannot corrupt" nor destroy. Memorials these, of hei faith and love, laid up at God's right hand, which shall meet her at the heavenly portals, and prove ^ 10 her welcome, through h Saviour's approbation and merits, to the everlasting liabitations of the just. Truly might it be said of her in death, that the poor ''all wqit and bcwaUid ho:'' Oh, brethren, how much better, how much more honorable, and just, tlius to em- ploy the wealtli of this world in deeds of love and charity to God and man, than to squander our means upon the unsatisfying and destructive passions and desires of the fleshly mind. Tlie one will be sure to meet the approbation and reward of our judge, the other as sure to bring upon the soul liis vengeance. But brethren let me ask you for a moment to consider, how awfully sudden this removal of our late friend and companion has been. Slie left the bosom of lier family, as to all outward appear- ance in her usual health and strength, slie went on an errand of mercy to fulfil that most sacred duty of lt)ve, visiting the sick, and thus while ministering with a mother's tender care to the wants of others, the summons came whicli called her spirit to the heavenly home. Truly then " in the muht of life ive are in death;" how little may we frail creatures of earth, count upon a day or an hour, our time assuredly is in (iod's hand, and though a sudden disease, an accident, or some other cause may seem to hurry on the hour of death, yet beloved, under all these circumstances, we must acknow- ledge the over-ruling providence of God, and bow in humble resig- nation to his holy will. This uncertainty of life however should indeed teach us who survive to remember " fiow short our time is." And since death may come upon as in an hour luhen ice are not aware, oh let us so live, let us strive so to live by the power of the grace of Jesus, and the guiding of his good spirit, that death may not find us unprepared. Our departed sister has left behind her, as I have already said, the good example of a regular attendance on the sacred services and ordinances of tlie church. Let it then brethren be your wisdom to follow that example, to make a faithful, diligent use of the blessed sanctifying means of grace while you are permitted to enjoy them. Thus though you know not what a day may bring forth, yet if you are careful to live as Christians ought to live, in the constant fear to offend in any wise your hea- venly father, and in the sincere desire to please him in all things, though your sunimoas to his awful presence should come to your , I 11 H,ul in un unexpected hour, yet that summons will be welcome, it wxU find you ready. You will fall asleep in Jesus to wake up in the morning of the resurrection in his glorious likeness; to be call- ed from the pit of corruption and transformed into the divine simi- litude when we shall see God " face to face" : " see him as He is " and by seeing him shall be 'changed into the same image" and then shall every desire be satisfied with the fulness of joy, with the exceeding abundance of unutterable glory, . I , I