How grand, my brethren, does faith render the righteous on the bed of death; how worthy of God, of angels, and of men, is the sight of the upright soul in that last moment! It is then that the faithful heart appears master of the world, and of all the created; it is then that, participating already in the greatness and the immutability of the God to whom he is on the eve of being united, he is elevated above all; in the world, without any connexion with it; in a mortal body, without being chained to it; in the midst of his relations and friends, without seeing or knowing them; in the midst of the embarrassments and changes which his death opens to his sight, without the smallest interruption to his tranquillity. He is already fixed in the bosom of God, in the midst of the destruction of all things. Once more my brethren, how grand is it to have lived in the observance of the law of the Lord, and to die in his fear! With what dignity does not faith then display itself in the righteous soul! It is the moment of his glory and triumph; it is the centre at which the whole lustre of his life and of his virtues unite.
How beautiful to see the righteous man, then, moving with a tranquil and majestic pace toward eternity! And with reason did the false prophet cry out, when he saw the triumphal march of the Israelites into the Land of Promise, — " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his." Numb, xxiii. 10.
And behold, my brethren, what completely fills with joy and consolation the faithful soul on the bed of death: it is the thought of futurity. The sinner, during health, looks forward to a future state with a tranquil eye: but in this last moment, beholding its approach, his tranquillity is changed into shudderings and terror. The upright man, on the contrary, during the days of his mortal life, durst never regard, with a fixed eye, the depth and the extent of God's judgments: he wrought out his salvation with fear and trembling; he shuddered at the very thought of that dreadful futurity, where even the just, if judged without mercy, shall hardly be saved: but, on the bed of death, ah! the God of peace, who displays himself to him, calms his agitations; his fears immediately cease, and are changed into a sweet hope. He already pierces, with expiring eyes, through that cloud of mortality which still surrounds him, and sees the throne of glory, and the Son of Man at his Father's right hand, ready to receive him; that immortal country, for which he had longed so much, and upon which his mind had always dwelt; that holy Zion, which the God of his fathers filleth with his glory and his presence; where he overfloweth the elect with a torrent of delights, and maketh them for ever to enjoy the incomprehensible riches which he hath prepared for those who love him; that city of the people of God, the residence of the saints, the habitation of the just, and of the prophets, where he shall again find his brethren, with whom charity had united him on the earth, and with whom he will bless eternally the tender mercies of the Lord, and join with them in hallelujahs to his praise.
Ah! when also the ministers of the church come to announce to
