Are you prepared to die?

‘How wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?’ Jeremiah 12:5

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1–10

You that are in Christ, ‘How will you do in the swelling of Jordan?’ Why, you will do as a man does who has had a long day’s walk, and he can see his home. You will clap your hands. You will sit down upon the next milestone with the tears in your eyes, and wipe the sweat from your face and say, ‘It is well, it is over. O how happy it is to see my own roof-tree, and the place where my best friends, my kindred dwell. I shall soon be at home, at home for ever with the Lord.’ How will you do? Why, we will do as a soldier does when the battle is fought; he takes off his armour and stretches himself out at length to rest. The battle is all over. He forgets his wound, and reckons up the glory of the victory and the reward which follows. So will we do. We will begin to forget the wounds, and the garments rolled in blood, and we will think of the ‘crown of glory that fadeth not away.’ How will we do in the swelling of Jordan? We will do as men do when they launch for a foreign country. They look back upon those they leave behind, and wave their handkerchiefs as long as they can get sight of them; but they are soon gone. And we will bid adieu to dear ones; they shall have the tears, but we shall have the joy, for we go to the islands of the blessed, the land of the hereafter, the home of the sanctified, to dwell with God for ever. Who will weep when he starts on such a voyage, and launches on such a blessed sea? What will we do when we come into the swelling of Jordan? Why, dear friends, we shall then begin to see through the veil, and to enjoy the paradise of the blessed which is ours for ever.

For meditation: Naturally we look upon death in a negative light, but Christ’s death makes all the difference for the believer (Hebrews 2:14–15). The Christian can adopt a positive attitude and use words such as ‘conquerors’ (Romans 8:37), ‘present with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8), ‘gain … far better’ (Philippians 1:21,23), ‘blessed’ and ‘rest’ (Revelation 14:13).

Sermon no. 635
19 November (Undated Sermon)