then by the rule of contraries—a wicked man's last day must be his
speaking, and tender. See that Christ be your Lord and Master. See
that all reckonings stand right between the Lord and your souls. See
that you are fruitful, faithful, and watchful—and then your dying-day
shall be to you as the day of harvest to the farmer, as the day of
deliverance to the prisoner, as the day of coronation to the king, and
as the day of marriage to the bride. Your dying-day shall be a day of
triumph and exaltation, a day of freedom and consolation, a day of
rest and satisfaction! Then the Lord Jesus shall be as honey in the
mouth, ointment in the nostrils, music in the ear, and a jubilee in the
heart.
4. The last use then is this—If a believer's last day is his best day,
then by the rule of contraries—a wicked man's last day must be his
worst day, for he must there face judgment with all the sins of his
life. [A great man wrote thus a little before his death: "Hope and
fortune farewell."] Death shall put an end to all the benefits and
comforts that now you enjoy. Now you must say, "Honors, friends,
pleasures, riches, credit, etc., farewell forever! I shall never have one
more happy moment! I shall never be merry again! My sun is set, my
glass is out, my hopes fail, my heart fails; all offers of grace are past,
the Spirit will never more strive with me, free grace will never more
move me, the brazen serpent shall never more be held forth! Death
will be an inlet to judgment, yes, to an eternity of misery! [Sigismund
the emperor and Louis the Eleventh of France straitly charged all
their servants that they should not dare to name that bitter word
'death' when they saw them sick, so dreadful were the very thoughts
of death to them.]
What the voice of God was to Adam upon eating the forbidden
fruit; what the coming of the flood was to the profane men of the old
world; what the waters of the Red Sea were to Pharaoh and his army;
what the fire from heaven was to the captains who came up against
Elijah; what the burning furnace was to those who cast in Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego—the same will be the day of death to
profane wicked souls.
Ah, sinners! my prayer for you shall be, that the Lord would
awaken you, and set up a choice light in your souls, that you may see
where you are, and what you are; that he would grant you to break
off your sins by repentance, and give you a saving interest in himself;
so that "for you to live may be Christ, and to die may be gain," Phil.
1:21; that in life and death Christ may be advantage to you; and that
death may be the funeral of all your sins and sorrows, and an inlet to
all that joy and pleasure, that blessedness and happiness—which is at
God's right hand!
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A Believer's Last Day, His Best Day by Thomas Brooks , Copyright
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