A MODEL FUNERAL SERMON.
By Jos. Clarke
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4: 13–18. The above is from the great and good apostle Paul, whom no Bible reader will contradict; and it is a beautiful comment upon the occasion of the death of a good person. It is clear in its doctrinal points; yet it is at the same time a touching tribute to the virtues of the departed. Such a funeral sermon as the above ought to silence forever the doctrines we often hear at the time of burial of our dear friends. Here, in verses 13, 14, and 15, Paul calls death a sleep; three times, in this funeral eulogy, death is termed a sleep. And after describing in the fourteenth verse how Jesus died and rose again, he says, “Even so” them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. “Even so;” how was it? Why, Jesus was laid in the grave, and the third day his veritable body arose, appeared to the brethren at different times, spoke to them, gave them instructions; then in the presence of many he arose in a cloud, and ascended on high. Holy angels then assured the bereaved company that he would appear again in the same manner. See Acts 1: 4–11. “Even so,” as Jesus died and rose again—“Even so them also which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him.” How did he die? How did he rise? Was it an invisible, immaterial spirit, thinner than the air itself? No; it was the very same body the apostles had looked upon with awe and reverence and love many times. It was the same person who, with a look or a touch or a word, raised the dead, or gave sight to the blind, or hearing to the deaf. “Even so” will the dead arise; and their bodies, glorified as was Christ’s, will appear in all their personality and materiality, only changed to a glorified body, as was Jesus Christ’s, visible to the sight, present to the sense of touch. Is this according to the teaching of the present day? Does this sermon of Paul’s endorse the view of many that the soul can exist independent of the body? Does Paul say here that death affects only the body, and that the soul is deathless? and does he here state, or give the least foundation for the statement, that the body is only a clog, a fetter to the soul? that it is now happier, more intelligent, than ever? No; certainly not. There is not the slightest intimation in the words of Paul that the soul can exist in a conscious state separate from the body. But as to the time of the resurrection; does the apostle say it is at death? Certainly not. Does he say it was at the resurrection of Christ? This cannot be; for he places it in the future, thus: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” This agrees with Rev. 20: 5, 6, and goes to prove that there are two resurrections,—one of the righteous, the other of the wicked. But as to being with the Lord, of which he speaks in verse 17, how are we to be with him? Are we to be taken to Heaven, as is generally taught, at death? Let us see what Paul teaches. He says, in verse 17, “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” How is it? So; that is, in the manner above described. Christ descends with a shout. Did he do this at the death of your friend or mine? Did this great voice, this shout, ring through the earth at that time? Who has heard that shout? and who has heard the trump of God? But Paul says that we shall be with the Lord in this way: The dead are to be raised with great pomp and unearthly splendor. Verses 14 and 17 give us precisely his view of the matter, that is, as Christ arose, and with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. And to close up his funeral discourse, he tells them how to comfort one another. Is it by saying to them, Your friend is now tuning his harp of gold before the great white throne in Heaven; he is no longer chained down to earth by his clayey tabernacle, but is now freed from his poor, sickly, decaying body? No! No! It is, “with these words.” What words does he mean when he says, “Comfort one another with these words”? Ah! every one will see at once; it is the words we have been considering; the allusion to the grand, sublime, and glorious descent of the Lord from Heaven, in all the splendor of the advent. Amen, and amen. Jos. CLARKE.