Thou committed'st me to God- It would harrow up my soul to tell about the shuffling feet, muffled and slowly smuggling in and out again-the soldered coffin, with its precious load the deep-tolling bell-the hearse and nodding plumes-the bright-eyed children and their weeping mothers, crowding to their nursery windows, to look upon our sable procession;-to look again into that "narrow house," and to hear again the rattling of the earth upon the coffin-lid, as "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," pierced my ear-my heart. But I heard, also, "I am the Resurrection and the Life!" and therefore I most gladly turn away from these earthly scenes, to contemplate my mother in her "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."-2 Cor. v. i. There's light in that eternal dwelling, Ear hath not heard the harmonies, To be with Jesus!-in his smile From Christ and holiness,-for ever! This is the secret of the joy! This is the bliss for ever welling! This-this excludes the tear and sigh, And this the theme "for ever telling!" Ah! who on Jordan darkly heaving Would waste a thought, which might be given- But to our Lord-our Home! our Heaven! Who in his soul, with sad repining, In that eternal sunbright sphere? And thou art there, sweet mother! safely there; and thy "tempest-tossed" child shall shortly join thee on that blissful shore, "Where tempests never beat, nor billows roar." Dear reader, wilt thou not meet us there? Dost thou yet believe that "God is love ?" and love to thee? Let us contemplate the precious proposition-" God is love!"-Whatever God is, that He is infinitely. Then he is infinitely love: and he is infinitely love to thee! "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He so loved the world as to undertake our cause; then thinkest thou that, if aught else had been sufficient in all His created universe to expiate our guilt, He would have given up for us his Son ?-Ah no! All creatures were his, and less dear to him than his Son :-therefore, angels might have taken our nature, and suffered in our stead-but the sacrifice of angels would have been insufficient to expiate our guilt. "The soul that sinneth it must die;" and "without shedding of blood there is no remission." Even suppose that, in addition to the sacrifice of the angelic hosts, he had piled world upon world of his intelligent creation, and on the top of the vast pyre had placed his sapphire throne-it had not been enough! No; it required the blood of God's own Son to expiate the mighty mass of human guilt-to be a sufficient satisfaction to Divine justice for the sin of all souls. But this was enough: ah! infinitely more than enough. Had that blood been shed for a universe of guilty and rebellious worlds it were enoughand still infinitely more than enough. It was the blood of God; the Creator of all worlds; before whom the nations are but as the drop of a bucket. Here is an ocean of love-shoreless-fathomless; its depths are in the infinite heart of Deity; its extent is from an eternity past, to an eternity to come. Its showers are the tears of Jesus; its winds-His deep-drawn sighs; its purple tidesHis blood! Hark! how "deep calleth unto deep ;" and what do they call? "Hear! and your soul shall live!" "I have laid help upon one that is mighty!" "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him." And now "The Lord is well-pleased for his righteousness' sake." Turn ye, turn ye; for why will ye die ?" "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased-hear Him!" Deep answereth deephearken! "Lo! I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God.” "All things are delivered unto me of my Father.” "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' "And this is life eternal, that ye believe in God, and in Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." Ah! listen yet again; there are deeper voices still from out the cavernous depths of this ocean of exhaustless love. I hear the first deep answering in mourning and reproachful voice, summoning an intelligent universe to listen:-"Hear, O heaven! and give ear, O earth! for the Lord hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but my people doth not know; Israel doth not consider." "What more can I do that I have not done!" shall I give you up? How shall I deliver you ? Ah! "wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, my Father?" The answering deep is heard: attend again! It is a voice of touching melody, com "How plaining, amid sighs and tears, "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life!" Ah! go! go to your weeping and beseeching Saviour, and mingle your tears with His in joyful reconciliation. Say not your sins are too great-it cannot be. Compare the mass of your guilt to a ship of immense tonnage. True, you cannot move it with all your strength, nor conceal it from view with all your toil. But let it be launched upon this mighty ocean; let it reach the latitude of Gethsemane, and the longitude of Calvary, and then sink itsink ten thousand such into those unfathomed depths, and they are found no more for ever! "There is a fountain filled with blood, And sinners plunged beneath that flood "There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of our God:"-My mother drank thereof, and was made glad. Dear reader, drink you also, and thirst no more for ever! THE FOLLOWING LINES WERE WRITTEN BY MY FATHER, IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED MOTHER. There was a lovely lustre in her eye, That spoke the genial brightness of the mind; In every act munificently kind. All envy, anger, rage in others seen, She could subdue so tenderly, and mild; So winning her suavity of mien, She'd sorrow with the mourners till they smiled; If feuds with friends arose, she'd look them reconciled. These lovely traits were hers,-and yet those eyes, Till He who made her lovely, made her wise, And pointed out all loveliness in heaven. The scroll of Gospel grace unfurled to view,- "Save me, blest Saviour; thou canst all things do; And teach my erring feet to walk thy heavenly way!" But ah! not long to walk; her work was done ;- The ship scarce launched, ere safe it reached the shore. When sinking through a cloudless sky from sight, That his next rising o'er the gloom of night Will be a brilliant course enthroned in splendour bright. Ours are the gladd'ning hopes her rise shall prove There to be learning-loving more; in bliss still rising higher. Eternal Sovereign! are thine angels made And all the scenes of suffering below, From heaven's bright battlements beholding me, And witnessing my wanderings and my woe? Then wilt thou guide me to those streams where life's pure fountains flow. Art thou permitted-spirit of my love- And lastly, lead me to those realms where perfect love first grew. J. UNWIN, GRESHAM STEAM PRESS, 31, BUCKLERSBURY, LONDON. |