DEATH-AND AFTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVX, Issue 3094, 3 April 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

DEATH-AND AFTER.

A Sermon preaneO fit St. Paul’#, Great Portland strei, on Sunday evening , Septemler 29th, hing the Sixteenth Sunday ujter TrinityJ

ti S rtrt? fei “Uncti to die, and after this the judgment.'— Hebrews n:., 27.

’ We Steve for thi last month been taking ’ scenes from our lie’s history, and on this, the last evening it which it shall be-my [ great pleasure totuinister in this church for this time, wo have come tp consider ! now a period in tb history of each Iff us, ' the most solemn i-nd*--iinpcrtant to rial!, i There are thousand of brave, afrong men i who fear neither m,n nor God, and yet the words of ray text rveal to strong-hJakted 1 inon —llijld' add br.ve men, so far as thib. world is concerned—an enemy which they [ do fear. 'Whey may not believe that after death there is anyhing, but they must believe that thereis.deatb, It is SUCH A LONELY THINO, it is such a solemn 'hing,' because it is to 1 all the gate to a gnat mystery. To those of us who do believe in a hereafter the ■ words of the text cone with a peculiar kind of pleasure. “ Once to ’die;” only • once; to meet this great ling of terrors only once; to-put igjjOrjihe cpU r S er -f | £ death and“^d^t’&^ltr B clasp ones and^to ■ terror in the hearts of thosa whO-Jbetiflye ? The most painful incicfenJHn all our lifes history can never be repeSteuSi’OMe te-oie. And ere I say that for the closing words of my sermon, there is also great comfort, oh ! yes, there is great comfort. We ate in a land of misunderstanding-;-we are creatures of time and of circumstance and place; our nearest and dearest ones, .do not'always understand us; they-misjudge us-because they cannot read the thoughts andjjpibprtsi of the heart. “Therofwßos° those who are bowed down becjjwe'Vcraro there is light-tifewTie • valleyv-irid there >. the heaviest cloud in of a man to his own f-iui indication of a man s life’s histOTfbefore the assembled worlds. One Judge, no appeaMfom His decision; one sentence,.*' Neither lo X condemn thee/ 1 - and all thSsworld is hushed into silence. is h^^i^nce^^^ill.^ sinful flesh, norbear the sins of the wofral no mo»'.Wjpßaifi«tf«»#e, but Ho will exercise judgment and ' p-ss the sentence, “Come, yejMoved,’’’ or, “Depart,, ye cursed.” ':'TfHßfejsill-be confessed by all that wrigh^^p you, my sisters and of whatever’ age we may be ’ die, or undergo n.' change equivalent--Ito death.' That is certain,wjieuwe will die, bow we will die, where wc'wdir ale, Sail i can tell ? and what does it matter ? \Vhat can it npittfri'wheriWdieif the,.cffnapieneo whisperfcJ*jP£<*M’ adftW oiWfeat.dssss it, I, matter bowYve 'fire; .how wear© tranSpartedi > from this world of sin and sorrow, and .whafrK»n--it ■ matter if we are going to a brighter awiA,, belter home ? What does it matter wllfete we die, whether upon a pillow ofydownor" ■ in a garret or a cellar; what does it matl or , if we die by accident or by disease ? It Is only the lfi|fe ttt j pay for sin, whose Cppje to., die, and the should die in a solemn quesJbm|ftVJiSi| ll tt|uSJ n Jsß ar s in this coi r'ycj\ • tion. ItGriMEil • NOT \ with grea' nr'-carri Grid’* <jom]Vi'«|f o;»n- - ‘ rnil''--beds to-ni-jhl I’rCJtiiifß-'’ that It Vh'.ai!ofeallCiT hence away it i s ’ place where we ■iiv'toji jGhfO. r of pardon passed, but' » Where fixed the doom of an«SqHMMM3 ) And everlasting silence reigns. I wish to impress, you antLaiysoil;,.,with.. _ this great subject; and now we are in .the spirit, for awhile, before the throne ,of s EKe Judge we will review our past histone You and X know something fthout the days of - our youth; what were those days like? You and I know something of our manhood and our riper age; what were those days j like? You and I know the imaginations I that swelled witbijY purVlrieHts to make us say and do and be as we nave said and j done, and as we are.* You and I know the | thousand-andibfib. ptMWgdsl'-..which God baa been pleased to afford us. and only God and ourselves know how we have used those privileges. " “ After-this the judgment.” ] This is the day when men who have j exerted an influence -upon their fellow-men | will be brought to—judgment. Our ex- I has- followed v.o’m-ekaimples, . our seeds of sin that.we'have scattered far i and wide, all' al 6H gf' buiT'l i' path, F r- Ana [ soedSjW.hjcli, wore iiptden.dp—for the spod.of ! .its i spring-time, it never iffisseg, |ts Slimmer.time, Ariel if thjs'fesYrue ley,lpok forward : to a terrible harveat jzneo It ia gathered j n at the la&t .day,.. “I the man, <l against my master, and I slew him.’’ “’hen you and I stand before this great white throne, and we see the companions of the days of oyc-youtU, and the titpe of pur ripe manhood,’And we ga?e info‘their* eyes and flnd that thpy.aro waiting, as we are, perhdpe, foin eternal’ destruction,;w&j shall cry out, “WiTo'slew all those? Did my careless aotannd-sexample. bi'ing them to ruindid the Seeds of, carly,habit9t<jf fsin. which I helped--to' 'Sow in-the hearts and minds bring forth all this greatrhqrvbipt |V [What shall my harvor.t be? The whisper jcomeq dovri! frou'i’tlio throne, ‘‘ God’ ik not 1 (mocked.” We may think;^e^iS.' “ Cfba is. ja'seed be'planted, it will grow arid bring jforth of its "owns kind.. God is not pnocked; whatsoever a’ man sowetb, ” —we, Ido it ourselves, therefore we make opr [harvest —“ that, shall he also reap.” Dp pot let tjs rppirie agafri,sir say if as His will that we shall opme at the last ■flay to thiy great 'Whitg.' throne and find shat by id-Yault 6f ’6ur dwri' we Are lost, fitf jnaUy Jos.fcprnot, vvhye |h'ands 'of-;fihrist press, not while Ha raises therii continually before the throne of: tho.greatditornaliimd, cries, •; Savpfthemffrortt’gping'dbww bit; I have found arrspa.spm.'’ be to blame ? o we. |nij\t kplieya," ■ wif| : ha a ftrarige turning over on the morriirig of th«- Judgment. You and I can - . . -

passs op.

Qn this little sfcagesoJ Ufurmpfinjirhioh we fare to imitate kings and priests andnobles, but It is all acting: .'-We .are' on the/stage .Jjf life,' and' play, ’as' it were 1 , a’Uorfowed part. When the trumpet' pounds I can see the' masks falling ofij I dan see the, gay jfcrappings with winch : V<o figged up bur goula end our boiUe'a, ta make them Appear wUtjl in fhe Sight of men', crumbting before the indgmeat seat of Christ. I pansee your life and my life just as it teaHySsaU being laid bare hivn fcpiritual eyes. Oh, toy/is there a plaob sumoibhtly pttfioimd : ih earth or hell in whibh'the unfaithful soplwould not hide ; itself on.that, day, fi, But all. shall,Ifailf’the be'airens and the .earth 'shall pkts away, with a jfrqat .noise,; and? no more sea, the rocks-iand-the ! mountains shall crumble into dust, and the elements : (shall heal day,' i toil there will ha ope gfe4t leys) pl a lp» ajd one object bn thatplajs-pthe 'great white throve, and One that throne to whom all our eyes will be looking, one thought in every -heath sf.tWhat will the judgment be you will see, the end -ef-all God's disponaations, the. end'ib£fHis r meib%, the last day of Behind us—the.last Bay. ,-of ' preparation gone, the'^lf 'c&y w' 3 hoijb*’go|V, the last Hay - or‘h’'false peace gono, the great mystery pf time 12 ‘ finished, and time itself is finished.' It is elbrnity'smbming. jock on the stage upon which ws stand, oh, how insecure it is J . We haye.huilt_.Qnr temples of fame upon it, we hayi lived upon ft, and we have fifagpd f?pm ife bosom the bread which Easjsustained jig i get hava Used this earth’aa 4 .stags t upcn which to play oiir part, tod hbuvtFe earth is rocking mme Br #aJls9raatoifsrselHfS wpihaye been strife-felsaL faUlti® ; ttthsuw»-baaai-jbuildrng-ionritemple'fOi Ir ‘triits Atjd eternity! All Godless haWKSshm# bcpcF and our plans, Whftt’ shall light up the i Scene on that day f Thefiaminjtof doomed Worlds; the seas and the continents and islands will wrap themselves in, . ,

vnsgjsg, sb3ssb .6* and will cry, with a hissangAdsci f' ITiia!’, and the angels from'their* stiiry 1 heights will loot down upon us; -and taey wiH cr y 4 The last day has Coras# will be no dark shadows thrown by tbit lighf.“lf yon and 1 want to look Upon the faults of a friend we iove/'we hold'tie light, the search-light, ■ so.thah.a deep shadow will fall over £is follies, .and we will excuse them. If we want to use the searoh-light for someone we d° not like, wt change the

-position, and we lot the dark shadow fall .upon thg good trait, in bis character, and .we Jet the .groat blazing light fall upon the 5 %oaP»stSarig:%>ot. Ah! butthis light of ftnrl’.will baffle'us.: XlfiwlU be,above ps, it HplHpathist ifc ‘ atout 'SsTft and open, that day to J3w egaamfiftljr with whom we haya wakes the dead will ’sound the souls, the heavens will together, there will be the thi’Q.rie of Jesus, therri the recorder wliOilms noted day our our some to the left;Afid then the doors wilfibe shut, and no man can open them. oi\- the dread trn geijy. -- in which you and-, I are goingtp.take part! Oh! Um the destroyed! No n IJS ,! or his pen ‘TFIf ’ have •ijbfepigM; fgl-® will fMy'be when they rise WXn .JslesMal choirs? what will they_ be when ’they rise froiu liic, hearts and voices - ~pf th at rn«fli filers otthe redeemed which no ’ ma!f can number, of every tribe and nation, .and wh , en . 7 * o’-'WiIAT- WILL Il’H'E WAILINa ’BE ■ wlieri-alfTiope l"as ‘ffo , d[ancf?ii , B , sßi{lPsS¥lost!' ult isLa'n'.old-fashioned doctrine, but it is in tliaTHhleaiid so we must tell the story ns ’ 'God has told it to us, i- before I close, think about this ; y° u an( i 1 shall take : lpaS' make our calling and :' the day in which hour of the day, Jpmrohd^pßThour, when-: kl&alterfr witffige from Bfis brow, he tliat riffM&e con'Wtero bd ®Dra-wn veins m B And sif&|s‘ tm Mood fig ; gvt»'^|^is.' Rd what Isethe Hto rmikiß, It # 'JW ■ Hr I I will HtieV^S^T^ ’Wat @ns JBi fo»»e, _J__S I®. £.S Tipt oirora pin day—fathers Iffinifd a mother, years ’ - l foreign b i ra a g a ' ra — fathers clasped in your arms, told yen what words farewell “—it has been ” many times, and the only place where "farewells” are sanctified is up .yonder by tho'throne of God. There will %e a n farewell ” day when the words of my text shall find a fulfilment. What will it jhe if you and I have to say “ farewell ”to IQo3, -Wlfo nm glory’ ; !“ farewell” £o Jesus who poured out his [life's blood that H%migfet redeem and save me; “ faro wul 1 ’-’-d: o, liie, Holv.S pi ri 1 of Go4_ IWho has striven with me from the edge or the waters of that I jgrow’in spirit arid lu fatth ; “ farewell ” to ’ ffihe noble martyra*A?'iho. have shed their blood ooriteffding’ fori thfeffaith; “farewell - ”- to chose choiring angel»>ef glory; “ farewell ” to the, brave atmjesi|ho have fought tfor God and for Christ ; “ farewell to y - What will the harvest be ? “ Eixed the idooin of all remairis “-thou. Who is on the iLordig side?' ’Gnoo-to, cross the watery of ideath —only ,on,Q^.smd afterthe judgr fiiost? The Levd alone imow* a «