{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39112/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39112","id":"gutenberg_39112","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39112","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Cunningham, Francis, Mrs., -1855 -- Death and burial -- Sermons","Funeral sermons","Sermons, English -- 19th century"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1855 John Colbran edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                           \u201cTHE BLESSED HOPE.\u201d\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 A SERMON\n\n                            ON OCCASION OF THE\n\n                    DEATH OF MRS. FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  BY THE\n                           REV. E. HOARE, M.A.,\n            _Incumbent of Trinity Church_, _Tunbridge Wells_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                             Tunbridge Wells:\n              PRINTED BY JOHN COLBRAN, LIBRARY, HIGH STREET.\n\n                                  1855.\n\nThe substance of the following Sermon was preached at St. Peter\u2019s,\nLOWESTOFT, on Sunday, the 19th of August, 1855, after the death and\nfuneral of MRS. FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM, the beloved wife of the beloved Vicar\nof the Parish.\n\nWith great animation of spirit, and remarkable energy of natural\ncharacter; with an unwearied watchfulness over the young, and a no less\nlaborious care for their parents; with a fervent missionary spirit, only\nequalled by her zeal in the work at home; with real natural eloquence,\nand an admirable tact in her intercourse with all kinds of character;\nwith a tender sympathy for the afflicted, and a most friendly kindness to\nall who needed friendship; and above all, with an unceasing spirit of\nbelieving prayer, she laboured for forty years in the parishes of\nPakefield, Kirkly, and Lowestoft, in the happy service of the Saviour\nwhom she loved; till at length after meekly receiving at her Lord\u2019s hand\nthe gradual decay of voice and strength, she peacefully fell asleep in\nHim on August the 12th, 1855.\n\n\u201cThe path of the just is as a shining light, which shineth more and more\nunto the perfect day.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                        1 THESSALONIANS, 4. xiii.\n\n    \u201c_But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren_, _concerning them\n    which are asleep_, _that ye sorrow not_, _even as others which have\n    no hope_.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\nThis world is full of sorrow, for the simple reason that it is full of\nsin, and wherever sin is, separation and sorrow are certain, sooner or\nlater, to follow in its train.  So have they followed at this present\ntime, for the event that has brought us together is a separation that has\ncalled forth a general sorrow throughout the place.  It has not been\nmerely respect that has led to so kind and almost universal an exhibition\nof feeling throughout your town, for respect is, after all, but a cold\nthing, and there has been nothing cold on this occasion.  There has been\na deep and tender sympathy, the mournful sense of real bereavement in\nvery many affectionate hearts.\n\nNow let us none suppose that real, true, heartfelt, and sympathizing\nsorrow is inconsistent with the christian character, for if such a\nthought could be for a moment entertained, it would be removed at once by\nthe one simple statement, \u201cJesus wept.\u201d  The tears of true sorrow,\ntherefore, are in perfect harmony with the character of Christ.  Sorrow\nis not eradicated by the Gospel, but has its character changed by it.\nThe Holy Spirit does not harden the heart against grief, but comforts the\nmourner in the midst of it.  The deep waters are not frozen, so that the\nchild of God can coldly walk across dry footed; but they retain their\ncharacter, and are deep waters still; and the believer is held up in\npassing through them, so that, though deep, they cannot overflow him.\nThe effect is much the same as that of the coloured glass upon the light;\nthe light shines still, but a new hue is given to it.  Just so is it with\nsorrow.  Like the light it remains within the soul, and is not\nextinguished by the power of grace; but like the light passing through\nthe coloured glass, it acquires a new colouring, and is beautifully\nsoftened by the sacred hope presented to us in Christ Jesus.  Thus the\npassage does not simply say \u201cthat ye sorrow not,\u201d for if it did, it would\nimply that grief was sinful, but it says \u201cthat ye sorrow not even as\nothers that have no hope,\u201d so teaching us that through still felt, sorrow\nmay be softened within the heart.\n\nThe passage also teaches what is the principle by which this change is to\nbe effected, viz: hope; for when there is no hope, there is nothing left\nbut the sorrow of the world.  I feel therefore that I cannot select a\nsafer subject for our careful study on this solemn day.  The Spirit\nindeed appears especially to have stamped it with his own authority as\npeculiarly suitable for such a season, for He has said in v. 18,\n\u201cWherefore comfort one another with these words.\u201d  May He grant then his\nown blessing on the words which shall be now spoken!  May He raise our\nthoughts to things above!  May he teach us to realize the blessed hope!\nAnd may He so make use of the present sorrow as to prepare our souls for\na tearless re-union before the throne of Jesus!\n\nI.  The first thing to be noticed in the passage, is the light which it\nincidentally throws on the _present state of departed believers_.\n\nThe prominent point of hope presented to our view is very clearly the\nglorious coming of our blessed Lord, with the accompanying resurrection\nand reunion of his saints.  But the present position of the soul is three\ntimes incidentally mentioned, and each of these times is described under\nthe beautiful figure of sleep.  Twice are our dear brethren described as\nthose \u201cwhich are asleep,\u201d and once as those \u201cwhich sleep in Jesus.\u201d\n\nWhat then are we to understand by this expression?  Are we to regard it\nas proving their present state to be one of unconsciousness or stupor?\nGod forbid! for then how could such a spirit as hers that has now left\nus, say, \u201cTo me to live is Christ, to die is gain.\u201d  She could truly say\nduring her life time, \u201cI delight to do thy will O Lord,\u201d and it could be\nno gain to such an one to sink down into stupor and inactivity.\n\nBut still they are said to sleep in Christ, and the beautiful suitability\nof the expression may be seen from two points of view.\n\nIn the first place, death is the separation of the immortal spirit from\nthe mortal body, and the body alone now lies sleeping in the grave.  When\nwe assembled around that opened grave on Friday, it was to leave there\nthe body.  We committed her body to the grave, \u201cearth to earth, dust to\ndust, ashes to ashes.\u201d\n\nAnd this body may be justly said to sleep.  It sleeps, for it is without\nfeeling.  There is no pain or languor now, no advancing illness, or\nexhaustion from decaying strength.  This is all over now, and the poor\nbody sleeps in Jesus.\n\nThen again it is a sleep, for the time of labour has now passed.  That\nbeautiful and cheerful activity which for twenty-five years has been such\na blessing and example to this place, is now over.  The night is come\nwhen she cannot work, and let us who remain learn the lesson that while\nthe day lasts, we must be, like her, most vigorously employed for God.\n\nAnd lastly it is a sleep, for it is not permanent, but only for a time.\nThe night is quickly passing; already we see the streaks of morning; and\nwhen the Son of Righteousness appears, the sleeping body shall spring\nfrom the couch of its slumber, and take its place in the great company\nbefore the throne of a risen Lord.\n\nThus the body may be well said to sleep in the tomb.  But the immortal\nspirit who shall fetter, who shall entomb it?  The immortal spirit never\nsleeps, it needs no sleep, for it knows no fatigue, and the language of\nthe Scripture is, \u201cThey rest not day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy,\nLord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.\u201d  Rev. iv, 8.\n\nBut again, with reference to the soul itself, the present state is well\nrepresented by the figure of sleep, and for this reason: that sleep is\nthe season of repose, and the repose of those we love above is perfect.\nYou remember the voice heard from heaven, the voice of the Holy Ghost\nbearing testimony on this peaceful subject, \u201cI heard a voice from heaven\nsaying unto me, \u2018Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from\nhenceforth: Yea saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours.\u201d\nThey rest, therefore, in sweet repose, but repose is not insensibility.\nIt involves no want of consciousness, and accordingly you have two\npassages apparently conflicting, but really in perfect harmony, the one\nsaying that they rest, the other that they rest not, for the one refers\nto labours, the other to thanksgiving; the one describes the perfection\nof repose, the other the equal perfection of joyous, unceasing, and\nunfatigued activity.\n\nThus as to all that shall harass, distress, and grieve, there is repose\nor sleep.  The world may be distracted by war and all its horrors, but\nthe soul above is undisturbed by the tumult, for no storm can ruffle the\ncalm surface of the sea of glass.  There may be bitter sorrow filling\nmany a broken heart, but it is unknown there, for as God himself has\nundertaken to wipe away all tears from their eyes.  No fears or doubts\nare known there, for they are all allayed and scattered by the actual\npresence and perceptible love of their Saviour himself in the very midst\nof them.  Above all there is no sin there.  While sin lasts there can be\nno repose; but there, sin never enters; it may be sought for, but cannot\nbe found, for it is all blotted out by the blood of the Lamb, and is\nremembered no more before the throne of God.  And so it is with the\nbeloved spirit now departed.  She has wept, and those who knew her best\nremember well what a true mourner she was, and how deep was her feeling\nof heartfelt grief when it pleased God to remove from her the dear\nrelatives whom she tenderly loved.  But she weeps no more; every tear is\ndry, and every sorrow passed for eternity.  She has had her fears, her\ndoubts, her conflicts of soul, but there are none now; her race is run,\nshe rests in her Lord, she sleeps in Jesus.  She has struggled against\nsin, she has wrestled with God for holiness, as many of you know well,\nwho have had the privilege of uniting with her in the outpourings of her\nsoul before the throne.  But it is all past now.  There is not a spot in\nthe white robe: she reposes a spotless conqueror before God.\n\nAs to all that may distress, therefore, there is repose.  But as to the\nsinless emotions of a living soul, we have the clearest evidence of\nScripture that there is all the joy of activity without fatigue.  No!\nthere is no stupor, nor any want of consciousness to that light and\nlovely spirit.  It is all life now, and life unfettered by the clogs and\nhindrances of decaying flesh.  Memory is not dormant, for remember the\nvivid glow of gratitude with which the living ones before the throne\nadore the Lamb for having redeemed them by his blood from the various\nnations of mankind.  Nor hope, for in that same song we find the joyful\nanticipation of their future reign.  Nor praise, for the language of\nheaven is full of praise; and wherever the ransomed spirits speak it is\nin praise.  Think not that the love is lost or deadened, for these sweet\nhymns in which so many amongst you have so often rejoiced to join with\nthe departed.  It is dangerous in such a matter to attempt to draw aside\nthe veil, and we must not venture to let go imagination; but yet it seems\nas though we could almost perceive the new joy at the new song; the deep\nemotion, the elevated expression, and the hallowed animation with which\nshe has already taken her place in the blessed chorus before the throne\nof her Lord.\n\nWhen, therefore, we speak of sleeping in Christ, we must not understand a\nstate of insensibility, or any want of consciousness; but of sacred rest,\nof conscious, intelligent rest, in the peaceful enjoyment of the presence\nof the Lord.  But as stated already, this rest, however glorious, is only\nthe intermediate state, and it is mentioned as it were, incidentally,\nwhile drawing your thoughts to the crowning point\u2014the grand expectation\nof the church of Christ.\n\nII.  Let us consider then, secondly, _The bright hope of the whole\nfamily_.\n\nBy the whole family, we mean the whole vast multitude of the children of\nGod, \u201cthe whole family in heaven and earth;\u201d now divided for awhile into\ntwo classes, the living and the departed; but really one in Christ, and\nabout to be one in their common enjoyment of the blessings of his advent.\nOf these two portions neither has reached beyond the range of hope.  The\nblessedness of the departed is unbounded now, but there are greater\nthings in store for them; their cup seems full, but it shall be fuller\nstill when Christ comes.  The resurrection, not the death-bed, is the\nhope of the believer.  We look not so much to the day when we enter the\ngrave, and dear friends in bitter weeping part with us, as to the happy\nhour when we shall quit it, and those same friends rejoicing rise with\nus.\n\nTo this long expected hour the passage clearly refers, \u201cFor if we believe\nthat Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus\nwill God bring with him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the\nLord, that we which are alive and remain, shall not prevent them which\nare asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,\nwith the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead\nin Christ shall rise first.\u201d\n\nThe first point to be here noticed is clearly _the resurrection_.  Death\nhas been already said to be but a sleep, for it is not permanent.  \u201cShe\nis not dead but sleepeth,\u201d may be applied to her whom we left in the\ngrave on Friday.  That grave shall shortly give up its tenant, and very\nbody, that tendering beloved body, shall arise again in fresh life and\nbeauty.  As the springs from the acorn, and the butterfly from the\nchrysalis, so shall that animated form rise forth with a fresh and\nheavenly animation; that very hand shall hold the palm, and that very\nvoice unite once more in the praises of her Lord.\n\nBut though the same, it will be infinitely more glorious.  You have seen\nlately a beautiful planet shedding its soft light over the ocean, and,\nevening after evening, it has appeared very lovely, but yet how far does\nit fall short in splendour of a summer\u2019s sun in a cloudless sky!  Just\nsuch we are taught in 1 Cor. xv, 41, is the wonderful difference between\nthe dying and rising body.  It was a bright and beautiful star that has\nbeen shedding forth its lovely light these many years in the midst of\nyou; but, though beautiful, it is not to be compared to what we are about\nto behold in the resurrection.  It was sown in corruption, little by\nlittle laying her low; but it shall be raised in incorruption, no more to\nbe silenced by disease, or to give up through decay of strength.  It was\nsown in dishonour and though dearly loved must be buried from the view;\nbut it shall be raised in glory, to form a part of the triumphant retinue\nof the King of Kings.  It was sown in weakness, and perhaps it was one of\nthe most beautiful features of her character that that weakness was so\nmeekly met, and so cheerfully submitted to; but it shall be raised in\npower, the power of undying strength, and everlasting life from God.  It\nwas sown a natural body, subject to the multiplied infirmities of a\nruined, fallen, sin-stricken humanity: and none felt their hindrances\nmore than she did; but it shall rise a spiritual body, fully fitted for\nspiritual work, without impediment and without decay.  Can we wonder then\nthat with such a prospect full in view, the Apostle should write to the\nbereaved Thessalonians, and remind them \u201cconcerning those which are\nasleep, that they sorrow not even as others which have no hope?\u201d\n\nBut this is not all.  There is another blessing promised, and that is\n_reunion_.\n\nThe great sorrow of this day is separation.  It is a sense of separation,\nof loss, and bereavement, that has drawn forth so many tears.  Indeed\nthere is little besides to cause a tear.  As far as she is concerned\nthere is no cause for sorrow.  If ever there was one of whom it might be\nsaid \u201cshe fought a good fight, she has finished her course, she has kept\nthe faith,\u201d it was of her.  She was one who walked before God faithfully,\nwho loved affectionately, who laboured cheerfully, who trusted simply,\nwho rejoiced unfeignedly, and now she has sunk gently into the arms of\nher Lord, to repose there in perfect peace till the time comes when she\nshall be called forth to accompany His advent.  Can we say there is\nsorrow in all this?  Can we exclude the thoughts of even joy at such a\nconclusion of such a course?  Yes, there is sorrow, and that because\nthere is separation, and wherever there is true affection, the\nseparation, however peaceful, must leave a void which nothing else upon\nearth can fill.  The home is left desolate after all, and however sweet\nthe assurance for the departed above, the heart still aches when left\nalone to tread a solitary path below.  How beautifully then is this met\nin the passage!  There is to be a reunion as well as a resurrection.  We\nshall not rise separately, but as a reunited body in Christ.  There is\none beautiful clause that clearly teaches this,\u2014\u201cThen we which are alive\nand remain, shall be caught up, _together with them_, in the clouds.\u201d  So\nthat our blessed Lord when he comes against will not merely restore life,\nbut companionship.  He will undo all that death is doing.  Death kills,\nHe raises; death divides, He unites; death keeps us at a distance from\nthose who are gone before, He brings us once more together, so that with\nthem we should have the joy of one common life and glory.  Nor will the\nties of life be lost or forgotten in that new and sacred fellowship.  The\nstrong affections which God has planted will not be obliterated in the\ngrave; for you remember that remarkable passage in this very epistle, in\nwhich the Apostle anticipates the joy of meeting these very Thessalonians\nat that blessed hour.  In chap. ii, 19, he says \u201cWhat is our hope, or\njoy, or crown of rejoicing?  Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord\nJesus Christ at his coming?\u201d  He clearly then expected to meet and\nrecognize these converts at that day.  For nearly 1800 years both he and\nthey have slept in their graves, but the close and intimate tie that then\nunited them shall appear with undiminished strength in their\nresurrection, and the risen Apostle shall rejoice in his risen converts\nbefore the Lord.  Then will be the day for the regathering of broken\nfamilies, and the healing of broken hearts.  Then will be the reunion of\nthe minister with the people, of the parent with the child, of the\nbrother with the sister, of the husband with the wife; a reunion without\nthe possibility of separation, for there shall be no more death, and the\npromise is that together with them we shall ever be with the Lord.\n\nBut the passage carries us one step higher still, viz: to _the\nuninterrupted enjoyment of the presence of our Lord himself_.\n\nThere is first the resurrection, then the reunion, but the crowning\npromise of the whole is an everlasting fellowship with Christ himself.\n\u201cSo shall we ever be with the Lord.\u201d  Now this must ever be the longing\ndesire of the child of God.  Nothing created can ever satisfy the soul\nthat is born again of the Spirit.  Friends may cheer, and counsel, and\nanimate, and sympathize, but they cannot really satisfy, and a union with\nChrist is the only thing that can give abiding peace.  You, whose\nprivilege it was to kneel beside the loved and departed one in prayer,\nand to unite in the outpouring of the soul before her God, you can well\nremember how ardently she thirsted for Him; not merely for his gifts but\nfor himself, that we might be satisfied with his love and filled with his\nSpirit.  It was this ardent desire that led to her early rising in winter\nand summer, in order that she might make use of the blessed privilege of\ncommunion with God.  It was this that made the Lord\u2019s day a delight to\nher soul, for she could rejoice in it as one altogether separated unto\nhim.  She thirsted to have her soul filled with the love of Christ, and\nwhen we reflect on such a character, what a power is there in the\npromise, \u201cSo shall we ever be with the Lord\u201d!  Then all thoughts will be\nabsorbed in him, all hearts satisfied in him; and whether we be found\namong the living to be changed, or the dead to be raised, all will be one\nin him, to behold his glory, to hear his voice, to wonder at his love,\nand though faintly, yet sinlessly, to reflect his character.  \u201cBeloved\nnow are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be,\nbut we know,\u201d we do not merely think, or hope, but we _know_, \u201cthat when\nhe shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.\u201d\n\nSuch then is the blessed hope with which our God has directed us to\ncomfort each other in the day of sorrow; and though our perception of it\nbe but imperfect, we must all admit that it is sufficient.  If this be\nnot enough what more can we require?  But before we close it is important\nthat we all bear in mind that there is a limitation to the promise; not\nindeed as to the excellence of its rich gifts, but as to the persons by\nwhom these gifts will be enjoyed; and there are two short clauses in the\npassage, which though short are very full, and mark with the utmost\nclearness who those are that shall be partakers of this blessed life.\nThey are those who \u201csleep in Jesus\u201d; or in other words those who are\n\u201cdead in Christ.\u201d  The whole work is the simple result of the great and\nperfect redemption wrought out by our Blessed Lord.  If it had not been\nfor the atonement there could have been no forgiveness, and no fellowship\nwith God; and without his resurrection there could be none to follow for\nhis people.  All springs from redeeming Love, and all is enjoyed simply\nthough Christ.  Those that are without Christ must be given up to\nhopeless sorrow, for to them the passage is without its joy.  But to\nthose who are in him; not merely in his church, but in him; forgiven\nthrough his blood, justified through his righteousness, baptized by his\nSpirit into his body, to them the words are full of inexpressible\nconsolation, and present a prospect so brilliant that it may well raise\nthe heart above the sorrow of the intervening separation.\n\nThe great, grand, lesson for the day is therefore this, that we each one\nseek, and that without delay, for this unchanging union with Christ.  You\nhave seen amongst you the fruits of such a union, you have had residing\nin your midst for the last twenty-five years one who was without a doubt\nin Christ; who, I would rather say, is in Christ, who is with Christ, and\nwho will rise in Him at his appearing.  You have seen the character\nformed on such a union.  You have witnessed the holy peace, the warm\naffection, the brightness of Christian joy, the tender and ever ready\nsympathy, the untiring zeal for souls, the patient labour, and the\nearnest endeavour to bring poor sinners to their Saviour.  All this you\nhave seen yourselves.  Nor must we lay it down simply to natural\ncharacter or inborn qualifications.  We do not exclude these, for there\nwas undoubtedly a beautiful character as the basis; but it was the union\nwith Christ that gave to all its true beauty.  It was the gift of the\nHoly Spirit earnestly sought in unceasing supplication before God.  There\nnever yet was one more ready to confess her own utter nothingness, or who\nfelt more deeply that Christ Jesus, and Christ Jesus alone, was her every\nand only hope.  And we must enjoy the same union if we would glorify God.\nDo we wish to walk in the steps of those that are gone before, or rather\nto follow Him whom they followed?  We must seek the strength to do so in\nthis union with Christ.  Do we want to overcome sin, to fight manfully\nagainst the corruption of a depraved and fallen nature?  Our only hope,\nand, thanks be to God! it is sufficient, is in this union with Christ.\nDo we desire to labour for God, and like her that is gone, to spend the\npowers which He has given in the delightful effort to gather in poor\nsinners to his kingdom?  As the work must be for Christ, so the power\nmust be in Christ, and the whole blessing granted through a union with\nHim.  Do we wish to be able to meet the day of sorrow, and when the heart\nis overwhelmed to repose peacefully in the sure fidelity and tender\nsympathy of a gracious God who has loved us with an everlasting love?\nAgain are we driven to the necessity of the same union, for through Him\nit is that the Holy Comforter descends into the soul.  And do we desire\nto pass peacefully through the valley of the shadow of death, to be kept\nat peace when all around us fails, when the outward man decays, when the\nvoice becomes silent, and the eye dim?  Do we wish then to fall asleep in\nperfect safety?  Our hope must be in that same blessed union with that\nsame blessed Saviour; for not merely in the present may we then look up\nand say \u201cI will fear no evil for thou art with me,\u201d but we may look\nbeyond the valley and add \u201cThem that sleep in Jesus will God bring with\nhim.\u201d\n\nLet this then be the deep impression produced by the day.  Let us go home\nto consider well the nature and evidence of our own union with Christ.\nYou, dear children in the schools, for whom it may be well said, that she\n\u201ctravailed in birth till Christ be formed in you.\u201d  You young persons\nthat have grown up under her care, and over whom she has watched with\nalmost a maternal interest, since the day that you first crossed the\nthreshold of the infant school.  Take good heed every one of you to this\ngreat subject, and God grant that when Christ comes, like her, you may be\nfound in Him.  You that have been members of her different classes, and\nhave had the privilege of uniting with her in the sweet communion of\nprayer and Christian intercourse, let the savour of those sacred hours\nlong remain with you, and let the recollection ever rouse you to fresh\nand vigorous watchfulness as to your own union and abiding fellowship\nwith Christ.  Ye that are mourners here this day: ye that have come to\nthis house of God with bleeding hearts.  Dear Brethren, let your hearts\nbe comforted.  Think of her union with Christ.  Remember well her past\nfellowship with him.  Think of her now as sleeping with him, and soon\nabout to return with Him.  See what He has already done for her, and let\nthe thought serve to raise your own heart heavenwards.  Let it tend to\nsatisfy your own soul in Him.  Let it lead you to say, \u201cAll my fresh\nsprings are in _thee_,\u201d and may He \u201csupply all you need according to his\nriches in glory by Chris Jesus!\u201d\n\nAnd, lastly, you that are still strangers to that blessed Saviour; still\nunconverted persons, with the burden of sin still on you; with no hope in\nthe advent, and quite unprepared to die; let the death speak to your\nheart now if the life has failed to reach it.  Perhaps you may be young\npersons trained in the schools, and under her influence from your very\nchildhood, but still strangers to Christ.  Remember then the earnestness\nof her exhortations, and the fervour of her prayers.  Remember how she\nlonged for your souls, and let this be the last day either of hardness or\nindifference.  Could that voice speak from the grave how earnestly would\nit now appeal to you, and let the recollection of that voice now silenced\nmove each stubborn heart to turn to God.  The offer is now made to you,\nand none can say he is excluded.  The atonement was made for all, and the\noffer is made freely to each individual.  \u201cHear, and your soul shall\nlive.\u201d  It is impossible that any offer more magnificent could be made to\nthe sinner.  Here is pardon, peace, joy, union, resurrection, and\neverlasting fellowship with God, all offered to the most guilty sinner,\nand all without money and without price.  Shall men remain hardened?\nShall the sinner remain indifferent?  Shall there be none this day\nresolved to cast themselves at his feet, that all sin may be blotted out\nthrough his blood, that when they depart hence, they may sleep in Him;\nand that when the trumpet shall sound, they may rise at his bidding, and\nspend eternity in the full enjoyment of his everlasting love?\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n           John Colbran, Printer, High Street, Tunbridge Wells.","title":"The Blessed Hope: A Sermon on the Death of Mrs. Francis Cunningham","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5103}