A JOYFUL VIEW OF APPROACHING DEATH
From Devout Exercises of the Heart
O Death, where is thy sting! where is thy boasted victory? The conquest is mine: I shall pass in triumph through thy dark dominions; and through the grace of the Son of God, my divine leader, I shall appear there, not a captive, but a conqueror.
O King of Terrors, where are thy formidable looks? I can see nothing dreadful in thy aspect: thou appearest with no tokens of defiance, nor dost thou come with a summons from a severe judge, but gentle invitations from my blessed Redeemer, who has passed gloriously through thy territories in his way to his throne.
Thrice welcome, thou kind messenger of my liberty and happiness! a thousand times more welcome than jubilee to the wretched slave, than pardon to a condemned malefactor. I am going from darkness and confinement, to immense light and perfect liberty; from these tempestuous regions to the soft and peaceful climes above; from pain and grief to everlasting ease and tranquillity. For the toils of virtue, I shall immediately receive its vast rewards; for the reproach of fools, the honour and applause of angels. In a few minutes I shall be higher than yonder stars, and brighter far than they. I shall range the boundless aether, and breathe the balmy airs of paradise. I shall presently behold my glorious Maker, and sing hallelujahs to my exalted Saviour.
And now come, ye bright guardians of the just, conduct me through the unknown and trackless aether, for you pass and repass the celestial road continually; you have commission not to leave me till I arrive at Mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God; till I come to the innumerable company of angels, and spirits of just men made perfect.
Hold out, faith and patience; it is but a little while, and your work will be at an end; but a few moments, and these sighs and groans shall be converted into everlasting hallelujahs; but a few weary steps, and the journey of life will be finished. 0ne effort more, and I shall have gained the top of the everlasting hills, and from yond bright summit shall presently look back the dangers I have escaped in my travels through the wilderness.
Roll faster on, ye lingering minutes: the nearer my joys, the more impatient I am to seize them: after these painful agonies, how greedily shall I drink in immortal ease and pleasure! Break away, ye thick clouds! begone, ye envious shades, and let me behold the glories ye conceal: let me see the promised land, and survey the happy regions I am immediately to possess. How long will ye interpose between me and my bright sun””between me and the unclouded face of God? Look up, my soul, see how sweetly those reviving beams break forth! how they dispel the gloom, and gild the shades of death.
O blessed eternity! with what a cheerful splendour dost thou dawn on my soul! With thee comes liberty, and peace, and love, and endless felicity: but pain, and sorrow, and tumult, and death, and darkness, vanish before thee for ever. I am just upon the shores of those happy realms where uninterrupted day and eternal spring reside; yonder are the delectable hills and harmonious vales which continually echo to the songs of angels. There the blissful fields extend their verdure, and there the immortal groves ascend. But how dazzling is thy prospect, O city of God, of whom such glorious things are spoken! In thee "there shall be no more night, nor need of the sun or moon, for the throne of God and of the Lamb is in the midst of thee; and the nations that are saved shall walk in thy light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into thee; and there the glorious Lord shall be to us a place of defence, a place of streams and broad rivers;" and the voice of joy, and the shout of triumph, shall be heard in thee for ever.
There holy souls perpetual Sabbaths keep, and never are concern'd for food or sleep: There new-come saints with wreaths of light are crown'd, while ivory harps and silver trumpets sound: These flaming seraphs sacred hymns begin, and raptur'd cherubs loud responses sing.
"My eyes shall there behold the King in His beauty;" and Oh! how ravishing will the aspects of His love be! What unutterable ecstasies shall I feel, when I meet those smiles which enlighten heaven, and exhilarate all the celestial regions; when I shall view the beatific glory, without one interposing cloud to eternity””when I shall drink my fill at the fountains of joy, and in those rivers of pleasure that flow from His right hand for ever.
Elizabeth Rowe