The Tent Dissolved and the Mansion Entered

The Tent Dissolved and the Mansion Entered

(No. 1719)

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 6, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens." 2 Corinthians 5:1.

PAUL ranks among the bravest of the brave. We note, also, with
admiration, how the hero of so many dangers and conflicts, who could
glow and burn with fervor, was yet among the calmest and quietest of
spirits. He had learned to live beyond those present circumstances
which worry and disturb. He had stolen a march upon the shadows of time
and entered into possession of the realities of eternity! He looked not
on the things which are seen, but he set his whole regard on the things
which are not seen–and by this means he entered into a deep and joyful
peace which made him strong, resolute, steadfast, immovable. I would to
God that we had all acquired Paul's art of being "always
confident"–his habit of having the inward man renewed day by day!

The most of us are far too like the insect of the summer hour which
sports away its life of moments among the flowers and lo, all is over!
Are we not too apt to live in the immediate present which is revealed
by the senses? The ox projects no thought upward or beyond–to stand in
the cool brook or lie down in the fat pasture is its all in all–even
thus is it with the mass of men, their souls are tethered to their
bodies, imprisoned within the circumstances of the day! If we could be
completely delivered from the thralldom of things seen and felt, and
could feel the full influence of the invisible and the eternal, how
much of Heaven we might enjoy before the celestial shores are reached!

Paul's life was rough and stormy, yet who might not desire it? Had
there been no life to come, he would have been, of all men, the most
miserable, for he was one of the poorest, most persecuted, most
despised, most slandered, most wearied and most suffering of mortals!
And yet, if I had to put my finger upon happy lives, I should not
hesitate to select among the foremost, the life of the Apostle Paul,
for whom to live was Christ! It is also to be especially noted, as to
his happiness, that he had a reason for it. My text begins with the
word, "For." Paul is always argumentative–the leaning of his mind is
in that direction. Therefore, if he is cast down, he has a reason for
it and if he is calm, he can show just cause for his peace.

Some religionists are deliriously happy, but they cannot tell you why.
They can sing and shout, and dance, but they can give no reason for
their excitement. They see an enthusiastic crowd and they catch the
infection–their religion is purely emotional! I am not going to
condemn it, yet I will show you a more excellent way. The joy which is
not created by substantial causes is mere froth and foam and soon
vanishes away. Unless you can tell why you are happy, you will not long
be happy. If you have no principle at the back of your passion, your
passion will burn down to a black ash and you will look in vain for a
living spark. Some professors have not enough emotion–their hearts are
too small. Though I cannot say that their heads are too large, there
are others whose hearts are their main force, who are soon on fire,
blazing away like shavings and brushwood when first the flame lights
upon them. But their brains are an uncertain quantity, never sufficient
to manage the furnace of their emotions.

It was not so with Paul–he was a well-balanced man. If able to defy
the present and rejoice in prospect of the future, he had a solid
reason for doing so. I like a man who is fervent and enthusiastic and
yet in his fervor is as reasonable as if he were some cool logician.
Let the heart be like a fiery, high-mettled steed, but take care that
it is curbed and managed by discretion. An instructed Christian man is
rational even in his ecstasies–ready to give a reason for the hope
that is in him–and that hope seems to rise above all reason. He is
glad, most glad of the glad, but he knows the why of his gladness. And
so he can bear the cruel tests to which the world exposes spiritual
joy. The true Believer's peace can answer the quibbles of time or
devils. It can justify itself in its opposition to all appearances.
This is a house built upon a foundation,

a tree which has a firmly settled root, a star fixed in its sphere–and
thus it is infinitely superior to the house upon the sand, the tree
plucked up, the fleeting vapor of mere emotion.

May God, the Holy Spirit instruct us so that we may know the Truth of
God out of which solid happiness is sure to grow! I see in the text
before us, first of all, a catastrophe which Paul saw to be very
possible–"If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved."
Secondly, the provision which he surely knew to be made should that
catastrophe occur–"We have a building of God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens." And thirdly, I shall dwell for a minute
or two upon the value of this knowledge to Paul and to the rest of us
in our present trying condition.

I. First, then, consider THE CATASTROPHE WHICH PAUL SAW TO BE VERY
POSSIBLE–"If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved." He
did not fear that he, himself, would be dissolved! He had not the
slightest fear about that. The catastrophe which he looked forward to
is known among us by the name of "death," but he calls it the
dissolving of the earthly house of his tabernacle–the taking down of
his tent-house body. He does not say, "If I were to be destroyed," or,
"If I were to be annihilated." He knows no supposition of that
character. He feels assured that he, himself, is perfectly safe.

There is latent within the text an element of deep quiet as to his real
self. "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God." The "we" is all unharmed and
unmoved. If our house were dissolved we should not be undone. If we
were to lose this earthly tent we have "a building of God, eternal in
the heavens." The real man, the essential self, is out of harm's way
and all that he talks about is the falling to pieces of a certain
tabernacle, or tent, in which, for the present, he is lodging! Many
people are in a great fright about the future, yet here is Paul viewing
the worst thing that could happen to him with such complacency that he
likens it to nothing worse than the pulling down of a tent in which he
were making ready to reside in for a little season. He was afraid of
nothing beyond that– and if that happened he had expectations which
reconciled him to the event–and even helped him to anticipate it with

joy!

Paul was not absolutely sure that his body would be dissolved. He hoped
that he might be alive and remain at the coming of the Lord–and then
he would be changed and be forever with the Lord, without passing
through death. Still, he was willing to leave this in the Lord's hands.
And when he saw it to be possible that he should be numbered among the
blessed dead who die in the Lord, he did not shrink from the prospect,
but bravely found a metaphor which set forth the little fear which he
entertained concerning it. The Apostle perceived that the body in which
he lived was frail in itself. Paul was accustomed to make tents. I do
not suppose he ever manufactured any very large or sumptuous
ones–probably he did not have enough capital for that–but he was a
tent worker and mender.

The use of tents was common enough among the Roman people in Paul's
day. The gentry delighted in bright pavilions which they could set up
at pleasure–and the common folk found pleasure in spending a part of
their time under canvas. While he was sitting writing this letter, it
is most likely that Paul had a tent or two to repair lying near, and
this suggested to him the language of the verse before us. When a tent
is newly placed, it is but a frail structure, very far removed from the
permanence of a house–in that respect it is exactly like this feeble
corporeal frame of ours which is crushed before the moth! Paul felt
that his body would not need any great force to overthrow it–it was
like the tent which the Midianite saw in his dream–it only needed to
be struck by a barley cake, and lo, it was down!

A house of solid masonry may need a crowbar and a pick to remove its
stones from their places, but feebler tools will soon overturn a tent
and make a ruin of it. The body is liable to dissolution from causes so
minute as to be imperceptible–a breath of foul air, an atom of
poisonous matter, a trifle, a mere nothing may end this mortal life! I
hope that you and I duly remember the frailty of our bodies. We are not
so foolish as to think that because we are in robust health, today, we
must necessarily live to old age! We have lately had among ourselves
abundant evidence that those who appear to be the healthiest are often
the first to be taken away–while feeble persons linger on among us,
whose lives are a continued wonder and a perpetual struggle! When we
think of the brittle ware of which our bodies are made, it is not
strange that they should soon be broken.

Is it not a wonderful thing that we continue to live? Much more
wonderful than that we should die? Dr. Watts has wisely said–

"Our life contains a thousand springs, And dies if one is gone.

Strange that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long!"

Some small affair interferes with a minute valve or organ of secretion,
mischief is engendered by it, the whole current of life is hindered
and, by-and-by, death ensues. It is a very delicate process by which
dust remains animated! A thousand things can stop the process and then
our body is dissolved! Paul, therefore, because he saw his body to be
frail as a bubble, looked forward to the time when the earthly house of
his soul would be dissolved. When he was writing this Epistle, he had
many signs about him that his body would be dissolved. His many labors
were telling upon him. He was worn down with fatigue. He was spent in
his Master's service.

He was so full of the heavenly fire that he could never rest! After he
had evangelized one city, he was forced to hasten to another. If he
were driven out of one village, he hurried to the next, for he was
eager to deliver the message of salvation. He wore himself out with
labor and he felt, therefore, that the day would come when his body
would give way under the intense excitement of his life-agony. In
addition to this, he endured cold and hunger, nakedness and sickness
brought upon him by his missionary sacrifices. He had a hard time of it
as to physical endurance and I should think there was scarcely a limb
of the man that did not suffer in consequence of the imprisonments,
scourging, stoning and other hardships which he had suffered. He felt
that one of these days, in all probability, the house of his tent would
come down through the violence of his persecutors.

Once he most touchingly spoke of himself as, "such an one as Paul the
Aged"–and aged men cannot get away from the consciousness that their
body is failing. Certain crumbling portions warn the old man that the
house is dilapidated; the thatch which has grown thin or blanched tells
its tale. There are signs about the aged which warn them that their
earthly house was not built to stand forever–it is a tabernacle or
tent set up for a temporary purposes–and it shows signs of waxing old
and being ready to pass away. Therefore Paul was led to feel that both
from the natural frailty of the body and, also, from the injuries which
it had already sustained, there was before him the evident probability
that the earthly house of his tabernacle would be dissolved.

Besides, Paul's frail body had been subject to exceedingly great
perils. I saw, the other day, an encampment of gypsies out upon the
common. Many of this wandering race were sitting under a coarse
covering sustained by sticks. I should exaggerate if I called them
poles–and I could not help feeling that such an abode was all very
well on a warm day, but not at all desirable when the east wind was
blowing, or a shower of sleet was driving along, or a deluge of rain
descending. The Apostle's body was a tent which was subjected to great
stress of weather. God had not screened him, though one of the most
precious men that even lived! He was exposed to more danger than almost
any other of the Lord's servants.

Here is his own account of the matter–"Thrice was I beaten with rods;
once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I
have been in the deep; in journeying often, in perils of waters, in
perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils
in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and
painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often,
in cold and nakedness." Well might he reason that before long his poor
shepherd's shanty would give way under such rude blasts! Besides, Paul
knew that so many others whom he had known and loved had already died,
and he gathered from this that he would, himself, die.

There used to sit in this house a Brother who has often assured me that
he would not die, and that if any Christian man did die it was because
he grieved the Lord. I am sorry to say that I have missed that Brother
for many months. I hope he has not yet disproved his own theory, but I
am sure that he will do so, sooner or later, unless our Lord should
hasten His advent. Whenever I meet with an enthusiast who boasts that
he shall never die, I find it best to let him wait and see. One fine
old Irish clergyman has frequently sought to instruct me in the art of
being immortal! And he has been grieved and angry because I never set
much store by the long life which he offered me. Though an old man, he
assured me that he would never die–he expected, in a short time, to
throw out all the infirmities of his years in the form of a rash–and
then to be as vigorous as ever!

Alas, the good rector is buried and his crazy brain is at rest. It is
appointed unto men once to die. I should have thought that since so
many of the excellent of the earth have fallen asleep, nobody would
ever have been so mad as to raise a question about its being the common
lot. Our crowded cemetery supply 10,000 arguments why each one of us
may expect to die in due time. This earthly house of our tabernacle
will be dissolved–all things unite to warrant the belief.

Now, Brothers and Sisters, this was all that Paul expected on the sad
side and, truly, it is not much, is it? Certain Swiss peasants not very
long ago were feeding their flocks on one of the lofty upland valleys.
On one side of the pasture stood a number of chalets, or wooden huts,
in which they were accustomed to live during the summer. They were poor
shelters which they left as soon as the winter set in. One day they
heard a strange rumbling up in the lofty Alps and they understood what
it meant–it meant that a mass of rock or snow or ice had fallen and
would soon come crushing down in the form of an avalanche. In a brief
space, their fears were realized, for they saw a tremendous mass come
rushing from above, bearing destruction in its course. What did it
destroy? Only the old, crazy chalets–that was all. Every man of the
shepherds was safe and untouched–the event was, to them, a matter
which caused a Te Deum to be sung in the village Church below rather
than a subject for mourning and sorrow. They said, "The avalanche is
terrible, but it has not slain the aged mother, nor crushed the babe in
its cradle. It has injured none of us, but only buried a few hovels
which we can soon rebuild."

Their case is a picture of ours. The avalanche of death will fall, but
O you saints, when it comes, this is all it will do for you–your
earthly house will be dissolved! Will you fret over so small a loss? No
evil will come near to you! The poor hut of the body will be buried
beneath the earth, but as for yourself, what will you have to do but to
sing an everlasting Te Deum unto Him who delivered you from death and
danger–and raised you to His own right hand? It would not long affect
a man if his tent should be overthrown–he would shake himself clear of
it and come forth–it would not otherwise disturb him. So death shall
not affect us for the worse, but for the better! The dissolution of
this hampering frame shall give us liberty! Today we are like birds in
the egg–so long as the shell is whole, we are not free–death breaks
the

shell!

Does the fledgling lament the dissolution of the shell? I never heard
of a bird in its nest pining over its broken shell! No, its thought
runs otherwise–to wings and flight and sunny skies! So let it be with
us. This body will be dissolved. Let it be so–it is good it should be!
We have been glad of it while we have needed it and we thank God for
the wondrous skill displayed in it–but when we no longer require it,
we shall escape from it as from imprisonment and never wish to return
to its narrow bounds! Death, as it pulls away our sackcloth canopy,
will reveal to our wondering eyes the palace of the King in which we
shall dwell forever and, therefore, what cause have we to be alarmed at
it? I have set out the whole catastrophe before you–and surely no
Believer trembles in view of it!

II. So now we pass on to the second head–THE PROVISION OF WHICH THE
APOSTLE PAUL MOST SURELY KNEW. He knew that if his tent dwelling was
overthrown, he would not be without a home! He knew that he would not
have to open his eyes in a naked condition and cry, "Woe's me, where am
I to fly? I have no dwelling place!" No, he knew that if this
tent-house were gone, he had "a building of God." Paul was not afraid
of going to "purgatory"–though of late, some, even among Protestants,
have, in a modified form, revived that grim lie and have told us that
even Believers will have much to bear before they will be fit for
eternal happiness! The Apostle held no such opinion! On the contrary,
he wrote–"We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God."

He did not expect to be roasted alive for the next thousand years and
then to leap from "purgatory" to Paradise. But he did expect to go, as
soon as ever his earthly house was dissolved, into his eternal house
which is in the heavens! He had not even the thought of lying in a
state of unconsciousness till the Resurrection. He says, "We know that
if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have [we
have already] a building of God." He says not, "we shall have it," but,
"we have it"–"we know that we have it." The picture seems to me to be
as though one of you should dwell in his garden, in a tent, for a
while. Somebody inquires what would happen if a gale of wind should
blow your tent away in the night. "Oh," you say, "I have a house over
yonder. I would go within doors and live there."

What a comfort to know that whatever occurs to our temporary gear, we
have a fixed and settled abode to which we can at once repair! This
makes us feel independent of all dangers and helps us joyfully to
welcome the inevitable, come when it may! What did the Apostle mean,
however? For this text is said to be a very difficult one. He meant,
first–the moment his soul left its body, it would at once enter into
that house of which Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you." Do you want to
know about that house? Read the Book of the Revelation and learn of its
gates of pearl, its streets of gold, its walls of rarest gems! Read of
the river which winds through it and of the trees which bear their
fruit every month! If, after that, you desire to know more concerning
this house, I can but give you the advice which was given by John
Bunyan in a similar case.

One asked of Honest John a question which he could not answer, for the
matter was not opened in God's Word and, therefore, Honest John bade
his friend live a godly life and go to Heaven and see for himself.
Believe no dreams, but bide your time, believing in the Lord Jesus, and
you shall shortly know all about the house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens! Paul, however, meant that in the fullness of time he
would again be clothed with a body. He regarded the waiting time as so
short that he almost overlooked it, as men forget a moment's pause in a
grand march. Ultimately, I say, he expected to be housed in a body–the
tent-house which was blown down and dissolved would be developed into a
building so rich and rare as to be fitly called, "a building of God, a
house not made with hands."

This, also, is our prospect. At this present time, in this mortal body,
we groan being burdened, for our spirit is liberated from bondage, but
our body is not yet emancipated, although it has been bought with a
price. We are "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body" and so, "the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life
because of righteousness." Our soul has been regenerated, but the body
waits for the process, which, in its case, is analogous to
regeneration, namely, the resurrection from the dead. Disembodied
saints may have to wait a few thousand years, more or less, dwelling in
the Father's house above–but there shall come, eventually, the
sounding of the trumpet and the raising of the dead–and then the
perfected spirit shall dwell in a body adapted to its glory. The
certainty of the resurrection raises us above the dread which would
otherwise surround the dissolution of our body.

A child sees a man throwing precious metal into a melting pot and he is
sad because fair silver is being destroyed. But he that knows the
business of the refiner understands that no loss will come of the
process–only the dross of that silver will be taken away–and the pure
molten mass poured out into a comely mold will yet adorn a royal table!
Well, my Brothers and Sisters, are we assured that to lose this vile
body is clear gain since it will be fashioned according to the glorious
Body of the Lord Jesus? Let us pass on to consider how Paul could say
he knew this. This wonderfully enlightened 19th Century has produced an
order of wise men who glory in their ignorance! They call themselves
"Agnostics," or know-nothings! When I was a boy, it would have seemed
odd to me to meet with a man who gloried in being an ignoramus and yet
that is the Latin for that Greek word, "Agnostic."

Is it not singular to hear a man boastfully say, "I am an ignoramus"?
How different is our Apostle! He says, "We know." Where did this
confidence come from? How did he know? First, Paul knew that he had a
Father in Heaven, for he felt the spirit of sonship. He knew, also,
that his Father had a house and he was certain that if ever he lost the
tent in which he lived, he would be sure to be welcomed into his own
Father's house above! How do our children know that if ever they are in
need of a house they can come home to us? Did they learn that from
their tutors at school? No, their childhood instincts teach them that
our house is their home, just as chickens run under the mother hen
without needing to be trained. Because they are our children, they feel
that as long as we have a house, they have a house, too. Paul,
therefore, unhesitatingly said, "We know."

And Brethren, we know the same through like confidence in our Father's
love. In the house of the many mansions we feel quite sure of a hearty
welcome in due time! We cannot be shut out from our Father's home! We
cannot be houseless wanderers while our royal Father dwells in His
palace! We are not merely hopeful on this matter, but certain! And,
therefore we say, "I know." Paul knew, again, that he had an elder
Brother and that this Brother had gone before to see to the lodging of
the younger brothers and sisters. Paul remembered that Jesus had said,
"I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am you
may be also." So Paul had no question whatever! If the Lord had gone to
prepare a place, there would be a place for him, for he never knew his
Divine Lord to set about anything and fail therein!

Can we not all trust our Forerunner? Have we any doubts of Him who has
entered within the veil as our Representative? No! As we are sure that
Jesus has passed into the heavens on our behalf, so are we sure that
when this tent-house body is dissolved, there remains a rest and home
for our souls! Doubtless, Paul also thought of the Holy Spirit, that
blessed One who deigns to live with us in this frail house of clay
which is, in many ways, an uncomfortable and unsuitable abode for Him
by reason of the sin which has defiled it. He condescends to dwell in
these mortal bodies and, therefore, when we leave our earthly house, He
will leave it, too! And we are persuaded that a place will be found
where we may still abide in fellowship. As our bodies have been honored
to entertain the Holy Spirit, we may be sure that in our hour of need
He will find an abode for us. He has been our guest and, in His time,
He will be our Host!

This we know, for we know the love of the Spirit. He who has made our
body His temple will find a rest for our souls. Thus, from the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit, we gather assurance that we shall not
wander to and fro unhoused, even though this mortal frame should be
dissolved! Besides, let me tell you something. Paul knew that when he
died there was a Paradise prepared, for he had already been there! You
remember how he locked up that story till he could keep it no longer
and, then, 15 years after its occurrence, he let out the blessed
secret? Let me read his words, "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen
years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the
body, I cannot tell: God knows). Such an one caught up to the third
Heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the
body, I cannot tell: God knows), how that he was caught up into
Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to
utter."

He says he was taken up to the third Heaven! It was, therefore, idle to
tell Paul that there was no home for him hereafter, for he had seen the
place! "Well" you say, "I have not seen it." No, but you fully believe
the witness of Paul, do you not? For my own part, I am sure that Paul
would not say that which is false and, inasmuch as he went into the
third Heaven or Paradise, and saw it, I believe that there is such a
place! Remember that this is the place to which the Lord Jesus admitted
the dying thief, "Today shall you be with Me in Paradise." This is the
place where Jesus is and where we shall be with Him forever, when the
earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved! Yet, again, dear
Brothers and Sisters, you and I know that when this earthly tabernacle
is dissolved, there will be a new body for us, because our Lord Jesus
Christ has risen from the dead. In my mind the ultimate answer to my
deepest unbelief is the fact of the rising of Jesus from the dead!

No matter of history is anything like so well attested as the fact that
our Lord was crucified, dead and buried–and that He did, on the third
day–rise again from the dead. This I unhesitatingly accept us a fact
and this becomes my anchorage. Inasmuch as Jesus is the Representative
of all who are in Him, it is as certain that the Believer will rise
since Jesus has risen. The Apostle says, "We know," and remembering
these grand Truths of God, I am sure that his words are not a bit too
strong! No, if I knew any word in the English language which would
express more assurance than the words, "to know," I would use it this
morning for myself! Much more, then, might the Apostle use it for
himself. This we are also sure of, namely, that if our Lord Jesus is
alive and in a place of rest, He will never leave His chosen and
redeemed ones without house or home! Where He has found a Throne, His
people shall find a dwelling!

Delightful is our old-fashioned ditty–

"And when I shall die, Receive me, I'll cry, For Jesus has loved me, I
cannot tell why. But this I do find, we two are so joined, He won't be
in Glory and lea ve me behind." There is such an attachment between
Christ and the Believer–yes, more–such a vital, essential,
indissoluble, tender marriage union that separation is impossible! As
no man among us would ever be content to see his wife in prison if he
could set her free, or to leave her outside in the cold when he could
bring her to his fireside in comfort, so Christ, to whom our soul is
espoused in eternal wedlock, will never rest until He has brought every
one of His own beloved to be with Him where He is–that they may behold
His Glory–the Glory which the Father has given Him. No Believer in
Jesus has any doubts about that! I am sure you can all say, as Paul
did, "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands."

"Ah," asks one, "but how is a man to know that he has an interest in
all this? Suppose I know that the children of God are thus favored, how
am I to know that I am one of them?" I invite you to self-examination
on this point. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all your
heart? Then it is written, "He that believes in Me though he were dead,
yet shall he live. He that lives and believes in Me shall never die."
Having believed in Christ, the Apostle knew that he was safe, for the
promises are to Believers, and if any man is a Believer, every promise
of the Covenant belongs to him. We obtain further assurance of this by
our possessing the new life. Dear Friend, have you entered into a new
world? Do you feel within you a new heart and a right spirit? Have old
things passed away and have all things become new? Are you a new
creature in Christ Jesus? Then it is all right with you! That new life
cannot die, your new-born nature must inherit everlasting bliss. "Fear
not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom."

In addition to this, do you commune with God? Do you speak with Christ?
None perish who commune with the Father and the Son. Jesus cannot say,
at the last, "I never knew you; depart from Me," for He does know you,
and you know

Him. "Oh," you say, "He knows enough of me, for I am always begging."
Just so, go on with that trade! Be always a spiritual mendicant. The
Lord of Love will never cast away a pleading suppliant! He who
frequents the Throne of Grace shall infallibly reach the throne of
Glory! Beside, does not the Spirit, Himself, also bear witness with our
spirit that we are the children of God? And if children and heirs, are
we afraid of being left naked in the world to come? I hope that many of
us have now reached the full assurance of faith so that we believe and
are sure. Can you not say, each one for himself– "I know whom I have
believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have
committed to Him

until that day"?

These are the ways in which Believers know that they are Believers! And
then, by the Word of God they know that all things are theirs, so that
if their earthly house should fail they would be received into
everlasting habitations.

III. Lastly, as to THE VALUE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE TO US. To be sure that
when this body dies, all is well–is

not that worth knowing? Secularists accuse us of taking men's minds
away from the practical present that they may dream over a fancied
future. We answer that the best help to live for the present is to live
in prospect of the eternal future. Paul's confident belief that if his
body should be dissolved, he would be no loser, kept him from fainting.
He knew what the worst would be and he was prepared for it. Great
storms were out, but the Apostle knew the limit of his possible loss
and so was ready. All we can lose is the frail tent of this poor body.
By no possibility can we lose more. When a man knows the limit of his
risk, it greatly tends to calm his mind. The undiscoverable and the
unmeasured are the worst ingredients of dread and terror–but when you
can gauge your fears, you have removed them.

Our Apostle felt that he had been sent into the world with the great
design of glorifying God by winning souls and building up saints–and
he was fully resolved to keep to the ministry which he had received. He
argues with himself that his most dangerous course would be to faint in
his life-service, for perseverance in his calling could bring with it
no greater risk than death–and that he summed up as losing a tent and
gaining a mansion! The Roman emperor might strike off his head, or a
mob might stone him to death, or he might be crucified like his
Master–but he made light of such a fate! It was to him only the coming
down of the old tent–it did not affect his undying spirit–he smiled
and sang, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

The prospect of his heavenly house made his present trials seem very
light, for he felt like a man who sojourns for a night at a poor inn,
but puts up with it gladly because he hopes to be home on the morrow.
If we were trying tent life for a season we should probably cry out, "A
fearful draft comes in at that corner! How damp it is under foot! How
cramped one feels!" Yet we should smile over it all and say, "It will
not be for long. We shall soon be in our house at home." Ah, Brothers
and Sisters, an hour with our God will make up for all the trials of
the way! Be of good courage and press on. This changed, for Paul, the
very idea of death–death was transformed from a demon into an angel!
It was but the removal of a tottering tent that he might enter into a
permanent palace!

Some of God's own children are much troubled through fear of death
because they do not know what it is. If they were better taught, they
would soon discover, in their present source of sorrow, a subject for
song! I would like, here, to say that I have known some of my Master's
doubting and fearing servants die splendidly! Do you remember how Mr.
Feeble-Mind, when he crossed the river, went over dry-shod? Poor soul,
he thought he should surely be drowned, and yet he scarcely wet the
soles of his feet! I have known men of God go like Jacob all day long,
weary and faint, feeling banished from their Father's house–and yet
when they have laid their head down for their final sleep, they have
had visions of angels and of God! The end of their journey has made
amends for the rough places of the way.

It shall be so with you, Brother and Sister Believer. There is usually
a dark place in every Christian's experience. I have seen some travel
in sunlight almost the whole of the way and then depart in gloom. And I
have thought none the worse of them for it. And I have seen others
struggle forward through a fog for the first part of their pilgrimage
and then come out into cloudless day. At one period or another beneath
these lowering skies the shadow falls across our way, but surely,
"light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in
heart." As I have thought of some of my dear Brothers and Sisters that
I have seen die very sweetly, and I have remembered that they were, in
life, lowly and self-distrustful, I have compared them to persons who,
when they drink their tea, forget to stir the sugar at the bottom of
the cup. How doubly sweet the drink becomes as they near the
bottom–they have more sweetness than they can well bear!

Would it not be wise to stir the tea at once and enjoy the sweetness
from the brim to the bottom? This is the benefit of faith as to the
future, for it flavors the present with delight. But what if saints
should miss immediate comfort for a

while–how richly will they be compensated! What will it be to open
your eyes in Heaven! What a joy to fall asleep on the bed of
languishing and to wake amid the celestial choir of Hallelujahs! "Where
am I? Ah, my God! My Christ! My Heaven! My all! I am HOME!" Sorrow and
sighing shall flee away! Does not this view of things give a
transfiguration to death? O you poor unbelievers, how I pity you, since
you have no such glorious hopes! O that you would believe in the Lord
Jesus and enter into eternal life!

Faith had such an effect upon Paul that it made him always calm and
brave. Why should he be afraid of a man that could not do him harm?
Even if his persecutor killed him, he would do him a service! What had
he to fear? This made Paul wise and prudent. He could use his judgment,
for he was not fluttered. He was not like some of you that are only a
little ill and straightway you are filled with fright–and you make
yourselves worse than you otherwise would be, so that the doctor has to
contend with a frightened mind as well as a diseased body! He who is
calm, restful and happy is already on the road to a cure. He is quiet
because he is in his Father's hands, and whether he lives or dies, all
is well–and this conviction helps the physician to remove his bodily
malady. I say again, there is no way to live like learning to die! And
he who can afford to be careless whether he lives or dies is the man
who will so live as to die triumphantly. Oh, that all of you felt the
quiet which comes of trusting in the Lord Jesus!

How sad to know that you may die at any moment and to be unprepared for
the change! I do not wonder that you are unhappy! You have good reason
for being so. Oh that you were wise and would make the future sure by
faith in the risen Lord! In Martin Luther's time and before his era,
men who had lived evil lives were often in great fear when they came to
die–and in their terror they would send to a monastery and procure a
monk's robe in which to be buried. What a foolish fancy! Yet so it was
that they hoped to fare better in the day ofjudgment for being wrapped
in brown cloth and covered with a hood! Be ours a better garment! Here
is a wish of holy Rutherford–"His believed love shall be my winding
sheet and all my grave-clothes. I shall roll up my soul and sew it up
in the web of His sweet and free love."

Is not that your idea? It is surely mine! If we are laid to sleep in
such a cloth, there will be no fear of our waking! It will happen to us
as to the man who was laid in Elisha's grave and at once arose as soon
as he touched the Prophet's bones. No man can lie dead if wrapped up in
the love of Christ, for His love is life! He that has touched the love
of Christ has touched the heart of the life of God and he must live! So
let us give ourselves up to that Divine love and, trusting in our Lord,
let us go onward to eternal bliss till the day breaks and the shadows
flee away! Let us triumph and rejoice that there is prepared for us a
"building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."