To be near unto God - pagina 611

the

case

of

those

who

die

unconsciously in a

swoon; sometimes very strongly with the sick, whose pulse is almost gone, and whose breath can And of these no one may say scarcely be felt. that, on account of this, their soul passed away Omnipin secret, and was estranged from God. otence and grace are able to do in holy secrecy what can not be observed by human eye or ear. The consciousness of him who died depended from the nature of the case upon the strength that still operated in his brain. But suppose the brain refused, should the inner life of the soul on this account be deprived of grace? Presently the brain shall refuse to function altogether, when without a clouded mind the soul shall know and glorify God. "To be near unto God" in dying, even if not discerned by any outside person is nothing else than already an entrance here in part upon that which after death becomes altogether and wholly so; the beginning of the new condition, when separated from the body, entirely incorporeal, our person is and companies with God. But apart from this, while we continue our pilgrim journey on earth, the Divine ministries in behalf of the dying are deeply significant to us as a memento mori. This is what Asaph's mes"Whom have I in heaven but sage implied: Thee?" (Ps.73:2o). By itself this means to know nothing in heaven but God, which is quite the same as to love God with all the mind and soul and heart. But Asaph's question puts the matter still more clearly before us. The struggle of our heart on earth is, that it goes out after all sorts of tilings, including God. This struggle is laid upon us, inasmuch as God himself has related our heart 603

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