Service and opportunities for glorifying God. I live — you live; you have no leaf, no flower, no fruit: all the life is in the new tree. Spurgeon. If this is not so it is because we have permitted the un-Christly stamp to get printed on our associations.III. A. (Paxton Hood. The ship broke in pieces, but the passengers came all safe to land. said a Christian brother. They touch. But among his last words, before the hemlock bowl had done its work, was this saddest saying to his friends: "It is now time to depart: — for me to die — for you to live — but which of us is going to a better thing, is uncertain to every one except only to the Deity." Believers are as a lily among thorns; as the dove among the birds of prey.5. And can this be gain? (b) Glory. Here many of our desires are unreasonable and their objects unattainable, or if attained injurious, but in heaven there is no improper desire. If you would get a fair estimate of the happiness of a man, you must judge him in these two closely connected things, his life and his death. It has revolutionized her — it has robbed her of her selfish coquetry, and given to her a selfishness almost divine. These preferred(1)to the dictates of man,(2)and to personal inclinations.2. Solon said, "Call no man happy till he is dead; for you know not what changes may pass upon him in life." True, we shall rest from our labours, but activity and glory will not be labour.3. I am going to bathe in an ocean of purity, and benevolence, and happiness to all eternity. I ARGUE IT THUS: —1. I am in love with this green earth, the face of town and country, the unspeakable rural solitudes and the sweet security of streets. And however much you may enjoy the voyage, and however much you may like your fellow passengers, does your heart sometimes leap up at the prospect of seeing Jesus as he is, and so being ever with the Lord? Yes, brethren, if you are in Christ, as sure as Christ liveth, as sure as God liveth, it is gain. Johnstone, LL. he is a felon and a runaway, whom they are bringing back to take his trial there; and no wonder he is loath to land. PHYSICALLY: freedom from bodily restrictions, pain, and temptation.II. Then repair to friend Martin's, who expects to entertain me, converse and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at 10 o'clock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in glory! A reason of self-interest. Unless we let them. Did not the plant give it birth? No man complains when he is recovered out of a disease, that he needs no more physic.IV. "Yes," said he, "and my strength." When it comes to that, how shall you feel? We shall enter a glorious society.4. (2) Because it brings us to the possession and enjoyment of all desirable, great, and glorious things. Here possession and enjoyment are often separated; but in heaven the objective source of happiness and the subjective condition of the soul will be in harmony.III. The text is altogether against the notion of the soul's sleep between death and the resurrection.1. They shall see Him intellectually with the eyes of their mind, which divines call the beatifical vision; if there were not such an intellectual sight of God, how do the spirits of just men, made perfect, see Him? Directions. Communion with God (1 Thessalonians 4:17). he had better not have acquired it. Watson.Caesar, after his victories, in token of honour, had a chair of ivory set for him in the senate, and a throne in the theatre; the saints, having obtained their victories over sin and Satan, shall be enthroned with Christ in the empyrean heaven. O then be willing to depart out of the tents of Kedar!(T. Religion does not prevent the hissing of the serpent, but it extracts his sting; it does not show another entrance into Canaan than through the Jordan, but it divides the flood.II. Arnot, D. D.)The significance of the apostle's sentimentProfessor Eadie.When did he utter this? SPIRITUALLY. Johnstone, LL. )The means of living ChristW. And as there will be no evil in ourselves so there will be none in our companions. There was one who, that he might not lose a moment's time, had got everything ready for landing long ago; and now he smiles and beckons to yonder party on the pier, who in their turn, are so eager to meet him, that they almost press over the margin of the quay; and no sooner is the gangway thrown across, than he has hold of the arm of one, and another is triumphant on his shoulder, and all the rest are leaping before and after him on their homeward way. But Christ knows His own: He beholds the seed within the heart of the flower: and He will not suffer it to die or to be lost. My friends, there are some of you that grasp at life like that, and for something of the same reason, because you are afraid of the smash when you get down to the bottom.(A. The only adequate explanation of death is that it is the wages of sin. )Death differently viewed by different charactersJames Hamilton, D. D.You have been in a ship when it entered the harbour, and you have noticed the different looks of the passengers as they turned their eyes ashore. Christ is its sustenance. (1)We are naturally impotent. Let a year or two roll round, and look at her again. )Victory after deathT. And however much you may enjoy the voyage, and however much you may like your fellow passengers, does your heart sometimes leap up at the prospect of seeing Jesus as he is, and so being ever with the Lord? Death introduces the Christian to —(1)A more respectable circle of acquaintance. To some men to live is a science. (a)Its cause and sin. H. Pascoe. The conviction stood in the very closest relation with the clause, "To live is Christ." But at death the saints shall arrive at perfection, their knowledge clear, their sanctity perfect, their sun shall be in its full meridian splendour. Boston, D. D.)The antidote of deathJ. (2) Sin is more active in its sphere than grace. There will be no mortification of sin, for there will be no sin to mortify. F. B. Tinling, B. (b)Freedom from sin (1 Corinthians 15:26; Ephesians 5:27; Jude 1:24). We shall be more active in his praise. We shall enter a glorious society.4. When asked, "Can you say that the precious Word which you have been preaching is now your individual salvation?" They are better in heaven, and we shall rejoin them.2. Arnot, D. D.)To die is gainA. Life consists neither in having them nor wanting them. Its nature. (b)Freedom from sin (1 Corinthians 15:26; Ephesians 5:27; Jude 1:24). I would set up my tabernacle here — a new state of being staggers me."(J. He is magnified by the death of His saints, in the support He administers, the consolation He imparts, the triumphant joys He inspires.Conclusion:1. The soul is distinct from the body and is not merely the vigour of the blood (Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 11:7). )Christ and deathW. thou mayst well be reckoned among the treasures of the Christian. James. (4)He is forever with Christ.(J. F. B. Tinling, B. To constitute good human force we need more than energy and self-will. THE MEANING OF THY EXPRESSION.1. But among his last words, before the hemlock bowl had done its work, was this saddest saying to his friends: "It is now time to depart: — for me to die — for you to live — but which of us is going to a better thing, is uncertain to every one except only to the Deity." The intellectual life is Christ's. All is gloomy uncertainty, if not even despair. I would preach this evening at Gloucester, and again at 5 o'clock tomorrow morning. G. Roberts: Be quiet, my son? THE MEANING OF THY EXPRESSION.1. He is as much forgiven on earth as in heaven. Communion with God (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Through Christ's flesh, as through a transparent glass, some bright rays and beams of the Godhead shall display themselves to glorified eyes; the sight of God through Christ will be very complacential and delightful; the terror of God's essence will be taken away; God's majesty will be mixed with beauty, and sweetened with clemency; it will be infinitely delightful to the saints to see the amiable aspects and smiles of God's face.2. "A believer's privilege at deathT. J. Hervey: Oh, welcome death! Bate.Rev. (2) Sin is more active in its sphere than grace. )Death a gainW. Arnot, D. D.)The constancy of Paul's purpose to live ChristA. Strip them all off, and you are no nearer a true life in the Lord. Where do we find succeeding prophets speaking thus of Moses?3. This specific situation is important to understand our text. Spurgeon. B.I. To all but Christians death is everlasting ruin.II. A happy transit from labour to rest. There is no other name but Christ's which has life in it. How this subject should reconcile us to the death of our pious friends.(J. Then the branch of the good is severed from its parent stem. Paul had three reasons for his engrossing consecration to Christ.1. Believers at death shall gain a celestial palace, an house not made with hands. James. Yes, brethren, if you are in Christ, as sure as Christ liveth, as sure as God liveth, it is gain. How this subject should reconcile us to the death of our pious friends.(J. (Archdeacon Hare. (a)A freedom from all misery (Revelation 14:13; Revelation 21:21; Matthew 25:21). Many of our efforts may be repeated, but there is no repetition of death. We may look further and consider these things as they bear upon eternity. What benefits do believers receive at death?I. What benefits do believers receive at death?I. "And your refuge?" A disciple of Christ lives on them, but not for them. G. It is even that which is your strongest love. 12). This gain accrues to all who live to Christ. It places the righteous beyond the possibility of fear, and the ungodly beyond the possibility of hope.3. In the world of morals, politics, science: all these are spheres of Christ's rule.(R. Was it too much, then, when looking over a life thus leavened and pervaded, he said, with a truthfulness of which words were but poor expression, "To me to live is Christ!"(A. What is your life? HOPE IN CHRIST.1. Who goes weeping from a jail? (c)Its accompaniments, forced separation, burial. (2) The intention of the Creator (Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36). What is wanted in the service of Christ is the same unity of purpose which has ruled all men who have won the object for which they lived. A Christian is like a ship that is under sail, and at anchor; grace would sail forward, but sin is the anchor that holds it back. After death hath shot its darts at us, the devil shall have done shooting his; though grace puts a believer out of the devil's possession, only death frees him from the devil's temptation.6. They lose their souls.3. It is the passing from impurity to purity, from imperfection to perfection, from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality, from broken glimpses of joy glancing through clouds of sorrow, to the full ever-beaming sunshine of the presence of God. Infinite, eternal loss. The saints at death shall not only have a sight of God, but shall enjoy the love of God; there shall be no more a vail on God's face, nor His smiles chequered with frowns, but His love shall discover itself in all its orient beauty and fragrant sweetness. Suffering. An apprentice when out of his time is made free: when the saints are out of their time of living, then they are made free, not made free till death.1. A. What benefits do believers receive at death?I. The good man's LIFE.1. And what though the passage through the valley of the shadow of death be troublesome? If you would get a fair estimate of the happiness of a man, you must judge him in these two closely connected things, his life and his death. These words are not unlike those of Paul, but nothing of Paul's hope and assurance glows within them. Fear. The end of his life is Christ; not wealth, respectability.5. In the Church.3. Yet what shall I choose? This makes a believer so desirous to have his pass to be gone; he would fain live in that pure air where no black vapours of sin arise.II. HOPE IN CHRIST.1. thou mayst well be reckoned among the treasures of the Christian. There are few words that have a more powerful influence over human affairs than gain. He gazed with pensive eye on the nearer coast and seemed to grudge that the trip was over. thou mayst well be reckoned among the treasures of the Christian. Let a year or two roll round, and look at her again. who would not be willing to pass a tempestuous sea if he were sure to be crowned so soon as he came to shore? )The gain of dyingJ. Then a great affection enthrones itself, so that it takes possession of all our powers, "body, soul, and spirit;" it sways a sceptre over all, and unites all to itself; it commands the resources of the mind and the heart, and makes them all its own. Not(1) the life of the beasts that perish. On the Socinian hypothesis all this is extravagant and idolatrous. G. (a)The vision of God (1 Corinthians 22:12); 1 John 3:2). Then the branch of the good is severed from its parent stem. (c)A glorious state. Because —(1)He enjoys perfect freedom from sin and temptation. The grander faith's object, and the firmer faith's trust, the nobler the life.3. The farmer asked him, “Are you a good farm hand?”, In his Cornish accent, the little man quipped, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”. J. Hervey: Oh, welcome death! (b)Heaven in the eternity to come.(T. who would not be willing to pass a tempestuous sea if he were sure to be crowned so soon as he came to shore? "A believer's privilege at deathT. He who makes God's glory the one only aim before which all other things bow themselves, is the man to bring honour to his Lord.(C. There is to be no serpent in the upper Paradise. Care. Believers at death shall gain a celestial palace, an house not made with hands. (3) The obligation left upon the creature to love and serve Him that created us.2. We were made out of nothing by Him; all we have, therefore, is His — mind, eyes, tongue, hands, etc. He is magnified by the death of His saints, in the support He administers, the consolation He imparts, the triumphant joys He inspires.Conclusion:1. It is even that which is your strongest love. These would lead a man to regard death as the very reverse. "Gain," because heaven.1. Conclusion: Is it Christ for you to live, or money, sentient pleasure, ambition, indifference, emptiness?(A. But Paul said, "To me to live is Christ!" Murray. Every other step may be recovered, but not this. Life for this man is —1. (7) Sin mingles with our duties and graces; we cannot write a copy of holiness without blotting. Death gain Why, in nature's account book death is sheer loss, the loss of everything, the loss of life, and of all that makes life pleasant and happy, the loss of the green fields and of the blue sky, of the sun and the moon and the stars, of the fresh air, of our homes and our gardens, of health, and strength, and mirth, and thought, and friendship, and love. Here the saints are straitened for room, they have but mean cottages to live in, but they shall have a royal palace to live in; here is but their sojourning house, there in heaven is their mansion house, an house built high above all the visible orbs, an house bespangled with light, enriched with pearls and precious stones. A. There is to be no serpent in the upper Paradise. who would not be willing to pass a tempestuous sea if he were sure to be crowned so soon as he came to shore? There we shall have put away childish things.Two words are descriptive of the heavenly state. The world perceives no difference between the flower that has seed in it, and the flower that has no seed. "To die is gain," said Paul. Glory! Immediate entering into glory (Luke 23:43). Take —1. IMMEDIATELY ON DEATH MAN IS CAPABLE OF GAIN. Pascoe. (2) We have owned Christ's right in baptism (1 Peter 3:21). 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