November 28

"Man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?"—Job 14:10.

IN this verse three things are referred to with regard to man's death. What occurs before death? "He wasteth away." What takes place at death? "He giveth up the ghost;" and what is the inquiry after death? "Where is he?" Here is

A SOLEMN STATEMENT. "Man giveth up the ghost;" the body returns to the earth, and the spirit is given up to God. Death is solemn in its nature. We cannot contemplate it aright, without feeling our minds awed and impressed. If it is terrible to nature, it is serious to grace. What a solemn spectacle is death, as viewed in our beloved friends and connections! It is universal in its ravages. Death is called "the king of terrors," and he has a vast dominion. Xerxes, after destroying all the temples of Greece, spared that of Diana, on account of the elegance of its structure; but nothing can avert the relentless hand of death. It is not, observes one, to be restrained by infant cries, or by beauty's tears; by manly eloquence, or by the sage importunity of hoary age. The scythe of death mows down the full-bloom flower and the medicinal herb, as well as the poisonous weed. It is certain in its approach. The period of it is uncertain, but the event is sure. Its certainty is confirmed by the testimony of Scripture, past history, and daily observation. It is eternal in its results. It is not so much the article of death itself, as that which comes after it, that excites the fears and alarms of mankind. As the tree falls, so it must lie; as death leaves us, judgment will find us. But here is

A MOMENTOUS INQUIRY. "Where is he?" The body is conveyed to the silent grave, but the soul! the thinking and imperishable part of our nature, where is it? This depends on the character and state of the individual. Here is the grand alternative.

If a saint, he is in the realms of glory. No more pursuing the lawful avocations of life — no more enlivening by his piety and devotedness the domestic circle — no more the subject of trials and sorrows, doubts and fears — he has gone home, and is no more a stranger and pilgrim on the earth.

If a sinner, he is in the regions of the lost. It is in vain to look for him in his old haunts of iniquity, vice, and dissipation. Where is he? Not in the company of the gay and licentious, not in the giddy throng, among the sons of unhallowed mirth, and the lovers of sinful pleasure. Where is he? Not in the theatre, the ball-room, or at the card table, but with the devil and his angels, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I am hastening to the margin of time, and standing, as it were, on the brink of eternity; what are my views, thoughts, and feelings? Have I made preparation for the solemn events that await me? Let me flee to Him who is the resurrection and the life, and seek to die daily.