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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I l-^l 'Mr \: » ese THE BLESSED BEAS: A SERMON, PREACHED IN ST. JAMES CHUIt^H, VAUDREUIL, ■*J' ^^ "a**-'' .^■■ y J0NE 20t», 1847, ON TUB OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH HANNAH BOBlNS, irdo MBD AT 1«B BAKI-Y ACW OP EI.«ViW4rBAMt BY THE EEVEREND JAMES PTKE, ^■n fISontrral: PRINTED BT LOVELL & 4IBS0N, ST. NICHOLAS STBfeB'f. ■'■^^." \ \. \J >-;.>.S tk0 ■ I I ^■»--J'" i' I %. I ■^■;- <> L'>. ■:'*'*WBteK3 >*• THE BLESSED DEAD: A SERAION, PREACHED IN ST. JAMElS CHURCH. VAUDREUIL, JUN'F, -it'Tii. IS47. ON THK OCCAS10> OF THE DKATH OF ELIZABETH HANNAH KOBINS, AVHO DIED AT IHK KARLY AGK OF ELEVKS YKAK9. BY THE REv'EREND JAMES PYKE, I.NCUMBKNT OF ST. JAMSS CUUKGH, TAVDRKVU.. i \ PRINTED BY LOVELL H GIBSCN, ST. NICHOLAS STREItT. 1848. I I I i SERMON. Revelations xiv., 13. " And I he.ird a voice from Heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are th« dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that thej may rest from their labors ; and their Works do follow them." In the Chapter from which the Text is taken, we have a stirring description given us by the beloved disciple of the Lord, of the visions of the future world, vouchsafed to him from God. First, he says, " I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from Heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder ; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps ; And they sung as it were, a new song before the Throne, and before the four beasts and the Elders." The next vision, is that of an Angel sent from Heaven to all the nations of earth, with the everlasting Gospel. This Heavfxly messenger is quickly followed by another, proclaim- ing the fall of Babylon, and saying, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." I T Then, a voice from Heaven, the voice of the Lord God him- self, is heard, speaking in the words of our Text, and declaring the happiness in death of his people,—" Blessnd,'' or as the word might more literally he translated— 7/rt/?/7,y " arc the dead which die in the Iword, from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit." To St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, this blessed Revelation was made ; not for himself alone, but for the conso- lation also of all God's children in this vale of tears, that 80, when any humble mourner, sorrowing under bereavement, should look into the sacred pages of God's Holy Word for consolation, there he might find it written for his comfort, " Weep not for the dead ; for from henceforth, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord ; even so, saith the Spirit." And hath the Spirit of the Lord God thus said ?— hath He indeed pronounced them blessed, happy, who have died in the Lord ? Then, beloved, so far from desiring to have them back from the courts of bliss, and the abodes of glory, let us rather thank God that H*. has removed them from the midst of trial, temptation, and sin, to rejoice in His own all-glorious presence, and to praise him in the highest Heavens. Great as may be the pang of separation — and grievous as is the sorrow that presses down the soul under the hard trial of bereavement — yet, if the Word of God assures us that our departed friends are happy in the presence of God — th:.^, they are not dead, but only asleep in Jesus, " the Resurrection and the Life^' then have we a consolation even in their death, greater, perhaps, than such as we might derive from the pro- longation of their lives ; since, however happy such a blessing might make us, we know, by painful experience, that there L« nought to be found in this world but wretchedness and sin, while In the world to which they are taken, all U peace, happi- ness, and joy. It is quite plain, brethren, why St. John pronounces those to be happy who die in the Lord, because it is evident that the happiness to which they are exalted, must fur exceed anything to be enjoyed on earth. To die in the Lord, simply means to die in the taith of the Lord Jesus Christ, and so in peace with God. Now, that faith consists in the surrender to the Lord of our hearts and lives, loving Him with the whole heart, and striving with all fidelity to serve Him with the life, in holiness and righteousness, before Him all our days. After such faithful service, notwithstanding all its imperfec- tions, which must necessarily be many, by reason of the numerous infirmities of the flesh— by which, however sincere, we are still " sore let, and hindered, in running the race that is set before us,"— after such faithful service, rendering us accep- table through the merits of Christ, death brings the reward of entering into the joy of our Lord. Now, although, my brethren, in our present state, we cannot form even a faint conception of the blessedness of those who thus die in the Lord, yet, the least reflection, aided by the declarations of Holy Scripture, must convince us that their hap- piness is the best, the highest, and the purest that can be. They have left the world ; but the world, brethren, I have already told you, cannot aff'ord any substantial happiness, for even its best joys and pleasures must needs be mingled with a large proportion of sorrow and disappointment. " In the world," said the Saviour, " ye shall have tribulation." But all those who have died in the Lord, are gone to a brighter and a 6 happier world — a world whose sun r ver sets — whose glories are unfading— its pleasures unalloyed— its joys perpetual. Here, surely, if any where, they must be happy, blessed indeed. It is true, that their place on earth knows them no more ; but if an earthly city or place has lost them, yet the golden gates of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, have opened to receive them— a city which has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. There is the habitation of God, the place where His honour dwelleth, where the effulgence of His great glory is displayed— there Jesus the Saviour of lost sinners, reigns, " enthroned in glory everlasting'— there is the blessed Host of Heaven, the Angels and Archangels, God's ministering Servants— there is the holy and happy company of the just made perfect— there is the blessed and united fold of Jesus, the sheep of His pasture, and the lambs of His flock, whom He has already gathered to himself. There they look upon Him, and see Him as he is, deriving all their happiness from being in His immediate presence, and beholding and sharing with Him, His Eternal Glory. There ^Uheij rest from their labors "cease from the harrassing, wearying, painful toils of earth, to engage in labors of a fiir different nature — to join the Seraphs' eternal song of praise— to unite their voices with Cherubim and Seraphim, day by day, uncea- singly ascribing glory, and honor, and blessing to God and the Lamb. There, finally, shall take place, that happy re-union of friends, whom death has separated — a re-union in the life immortal, where death cannot come. This, beloved brethren is what that blessed Gospel, by which life and immortality arc brought to light, teaches us to expect in the world to come. Truly, beloved brethren, when such, according to the declara- tions of God himself, are the future prospects of the just, we may well take up the words of the beloved disciple, and say, '' £Iessed''~yea, " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.'' Your thoughts, my friends, while engaged on such a glorious, delightful, and comforting subject as that of the happiness of the blessed, will naturally turn to that melancholy event, which has plunged into the deepest grief, those families among us, who, justice compels me to say, have evei proved, and I trust ever will, the staunchest members of the Church. To her, whose mortal remains we have but just committed to the dust, there to await the resurrection of the body, in a more glorious form, at the last day-to her memory, this passing tribute at least seems due ; kind, gentle, and of obliging disposition, she won the love and respect of all who knew her ; as a Sunday School scholar, she deserves to be mentioned, as an example to all of her own age ; she was regular, attentive, and correct in all her behaviour ; and by her teachers and pastor, and I doubt not by all her companions as well as friends, will her memory be ever held in " sweet remembrance:' But God, who is wiser than we, designed not that her continuance here should be long; early' even while yet in the bud, has this tender flower, arounV which' perhaps, our earthly affections too fondly clung, been transplanted from earth to Heaven, to ripen and bloom in the Paradise of God. The Lord, in his dealings with us, often works in a mysterious way, acting from counsels of hidden wisdom. But if we cannot tell why He thus deals with us, we do know that He is both just and good ; clouds and darkness are round about him (yet). Righi- eousness and judgment are the habitations of His Throne ; God is love, and again the Scriptures declare, that He chastises us by afflictions, for m/v n^^^t nn.* iVv. ».:- ^i ? ... .,ji., jiij-t ivrt tils pi easure. B 8 Comfort yourselves, then, my sorrowing brethren, with the blessed reflection, — " The Lord gave^ and the Lord hath taken away^ Learn, in humble submission to His Divine Will, to say :— " Blessed be the name of the Lord." The child you mourn has passed indeed away from the eyes of mortals ; and nought now remains to us of her on earth, but her memory and her grave. But, though the earthly tabernacle lies low in its kindred dust, the Spirit that animated it has fled to Heaven. " The maid is not dead^ hut sleepeth;'^ her spirit rests in God, till He shall come " to he glorified in his Saints, and admired in all them that helieve."" For aught we know to the contrary, her happy spirit may even now be looking down from the midst of rejoicing Angels, upon us here assembled in sorrow and trial. " Weep not for the dead'' — saith the Prophet ; " Sorrow not as men without hope^for them that sleep in Jesus''* — saith an Apostle ; Alas ! brethren, if Angels in Heaven could weep, it is they that might well weep for us, not we for them ; we miserable sinners, truly need their sympathy and their tears. But Angels can only rejoice, and they do rejoice over every repen- tant sinner. And among those rejoicing spirits, we have indeed every reason to hope, that our dear young friend is now numbered. Happy in the presence of her God, shall we, or ought we to wish her back to earth ? If she were here, there would be nothing but a weary pilgrimage before her. Earth, with all its temptations, sorrows and trials ; — now her trials are over; her short pilgrimage is completed ; she rests in God. Leave her then, brethren, in the blessed arms of Him, who says, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forhid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven P'' She has passed from earthly love, and earthly arms, to those of her Heavenlv Father, ^ 9 I and there she is, both happier aiiJ more secure than the fondest earthly affection could make her. But to you, my young friends, who survive her, her death brings a solemn warning ; it forcibly reminds you, that " in the midst of life, you are in death ;"— it tells you that you are not too young to die. And may God give you wisdom to learn this lesson from it, and so to live here, serving God, loving your Saviour, and doing all that is pleasing in His sight, that when death comes, you may enter those scenes, and be made partakers of those joys, amid which we sincerely oelieve and trust our lamented young friend now to be. If you seek such things for youselves, then must you seek them by faithful perseverance in well doing ; you must seek God's grace so to live, that you may at the last " die in the Lord"— die in His holy faith, fear and love. You must take care that the works done on earth, which will follow you to the judgment seat, be such as your God can approve. Then you will be blessed in death, and rest from your labors " injoi/ and felicity.'" But, brethren, whether we be young, or whether we be old,— whether just entered upon life, or in the full strength of man- hood, or declining to the grave— let us all pray in the words of the Royal Psalmist, " teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom y" let us learn and strive so to live in the Lord, in His holy faith, and fear, and love, that so we may finally die in the Lord, and rest from our labors, our trials, our sorrows, and all earthly afflictions, in His ptprnal and everlasting Glory, through 'esus Christ our Lord. 'i^ ^^ ^