Is It wonderful that as life closes in, especially when
protracted to a good old age, the human spirit should feel an
instinctive consciousness of approaching dissolution? or that the aged
Christian, after long and patient endurance in his Master's service,
should joyfully anticipate the hour of _rest?_ Yes, REST, not death;
"For whosoever liveth, and believeth in me," saith the Saviour, "shall
never die." Christ has tasted death for him, and the bitterness, which
is the reality of death, is passed away. His stedfast faith prevents
the dawn of a brighter day, and what matters it, whether his sleep
continue but a few hours, or be protracted through a period of
centuries? The body can be sensible of no difference, and the spirit,
transported far beyond the regions of dream-land, enjoys a happy and
conscious existence in the presence of Him, who died, "That whether we
wake or _sleep_, we might live together with Him." Mrs. Lyth looked,
nay longed for the time of her departure; and as the hour drew on,
seems to have had some pleasant premonitions of its approach. About a
month before it occurred, she writes, "My first thought this morning
was,
'We soon shall be landed, for death is in view,
Almighty protection shall comfort us through;
Released from our prisons, to heaven we fly,
Exchanging all sorrows for mansions on high.'"
"A few days of beautiful spring weather permitted her to enjoy an
occasional walk, which was generally made subservient to some higher
purpose than that of mere refreshment.
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