WHAT a terrible thing to be within three days of death, within three days of an endless eternity, and still unsaved. Such was the case with Emma B―. And perhaps some whose eyes may fall upon this little paper may be even nearer death and eternity. Oh, if any unsaved soul should read this, may the narrative of Emma B―’s last hours lead such a one to think of eternity, and flee to Christ as the only One who can save from endless woe.
Mrs. B―was a Christian lady living in the neighborhood, who called to see her Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and on Wednesday night sat up with her till she passed into the presence of the Lord.
On Monday Mrs. B― asked her if she suffered much. She said, “No, I am not very sick, but oh, that I knew I had the salvation of my soul.” She then asked Mrs. B―if she had ever passed through times of anxiety about her soul. Mrs. B― told her she had at different times for twenty years been anxious, before she knew what real, lasting peace was; but that now she had settled peace with God which nothing could move or disturb. Then she read to her from God’s Word of the sinner’s lost condition; and also of God’s wondrous love and grace in making provision for the sinner’s need.
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). She also read scriptures to show her, in answer to her questions, that settled peace could be known and possessed in the soul.
Emma thought her sins of too deep a dye to be washed out; and Mrs. B―read to her, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)). “Is that just as it is in God’s Word?” she asked; and then she said, “If this sickness would bring me such peace as you have, it would be the greatest blessing that ever came my way.” She also said, as Mrs. B―was leaving, that she would think of these things.
As soon as Mrs. B―entered on Tuesday afternoon, Emma raised herself up in bed, and said, “Oh, I am so glad you have come. Did you bring your glass along?”
One of her relatives had told her Mrs. B―was a very good woman, but would have nothing to do with anyone who did not see through her glass; and she had replied, “It must be a very good kind of glass, because she (Mrs. B—) got it out of the Bible.” She was delirious when these things were said. After asking Mrs. B―if she had brought the glass along, she turned to her father, and said, “Oh, father, here is a lady who has the most perfect peace, and it is founded on the Bible. I would give the whole world if I could see through her glass. But that would not do; we could not buy it, could we?”
Her father then broke in, and said she had always been a good girl, and if she would continue to do the best she could, she would be all right. “Do: what can I do?” she replied. “You know I have broken God’s law, and Mrs. B―read to me yesterday that there was a curse on every one who had broken even one command.” Her father then told her not to think or worry about these things: she would soon be well, and then there would be time enough to think about these things.
“But what if I do not get well?” she said, and turning to Mrs. B―she asked, “Do you think I ought to quit thinking about these things?” Mrs. B―told her she thought she would rest better if the matter was settled. Then she was delirious for a time, but soon quieted, and asked Mrs. B―to pray for her, after which she spoke of the comfort she had received, and referring to her relatives, said, “But they keep telling me I must strive, and keep on striving: but how can I strive?”
On Wednesday she had been asking for Mrs. B― all day, and wanted to see through her glass, and did not care to talk with anyone else. She had not recognized anyone in the afternoon; but as soon as Mrs. B― entered, her face lighted up, and calling her by name, she said, “I am so glad you have come. I want you to read to me again some of those passages about God’s love. They do not read to me from the Bible: they just keep telling me to do this, and to do that.” Mrs. B―read the passages of Scripture about God’s love; and she said, “Oh, how nice that is.”
Her father, who was present, said, “Now, Emma, do not begin worrying about that again.” Then she gave expression to her feelings in the following words, “Oh that law; that terrible law; that fiery law: I have broken it, and you (turning to her father) would drive me down to hell under its curse, and I could drag you along for misleading me.”
What a terrible rebuke to a father who was making light of sin, and tampering with his daughter’s eternal interests, just as she was about to pass from time to eternity. But he only thought it was delirium, and wished Mrs. B―to desist from talking further to her. Mrs. B—, however, asked liberty to read a little to her from God’s Word, and read Isaiah 53. Emma was then quiet for a time, but rousing up again spoke of the law, and her desire to be delivered from its curse, and addressing Mrs. B―said, “Oh, if I could only see through your glass! I saw through it once, and I was so happy.” Mrs. B―told her that if she had believed in the Lord Jesus, she was saved, and never could be lost, quoting from John 10, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (vers. 27, 28). She said, “Is that in the Bible?” and caught Mrs. B― by the hand, adding, “If I get well, I want to live with you always.”
Soon she became delirious again, and was very wild, but this did not last long; and when she became quiet again, she raised herself up in the bed, her face radiant with joy, and said, “Thank God, now I can see through your glass; and oh, I am so happy.” These were her last words. An expression of calm peace and unspeakable joy rested on her face, which remained to the last―remained even till the body was committed to the tomb, to await the descending shout of Him who redeems the body as well as the soul.
I doubt not, dear reader, Emma B― is in the presence of her blessed Saviour, beholding, face to face without a “glass,” Him who had saved her from the curse of “that terrible, that fiery law.” Oh, let me affectionately ask, have you been saved from that curse? Your sins are of as deep a dye as those of Emma B―. Yet He, who through His own blood washed out her crimson stains, can cleanse you too. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”
You have been ruined by sin, and, as with the serpent-bitten Israelites, there is but one remedy. They looked on the lifted-up brazen serpent, and were healed. For you the Son of man has been lifted up on the cross, as the bearer of sin, that believing on Him you might have everlasting life. Look unto Him, through the “glass” of faith, and everlasting life is yours. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)).
A. R.