COMFORTING WORDS by J. D. Pegg

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 13, 1878

COMFORTING WORDS.

By J. D. Pegg

“Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Jer. 31:16, 17.

I was forcibly reminded of the comfort contained in this and kindred passages of Scripture on witnessing the death of a dear boy about eight years of age, the only son of Bro. and Sr. O. M. Olds. He was taken with diphtheria, and died, after suffering five days, on Friday, the 17th of May.

Amos was a praying child, and has taken part with his parents in family prayer ever since he was three years old. He was a boy of more than ordinary promise. When asked by his father if he was willing to die, he replied, Yes, if the Lord wants me to. He then asked his father to pray that the Lord would forgive him for a bad word he had hastily spoken a few days before, and that the Lord would let him die easy. As we bowed in prayer around his bed he bowed himself upon his hands and knees, and remained so during prayers. So meltingly did he confess himself a sinner, his love for and confidence in God, and his hope of a resurrection, that the stout heart of an ungodly man, the attending physician, was broken, and he retired to an adjoining room to weep aloud.

An hour after he requested his father to take him in his arms and walk with him. It was a touching sight to see the weeping parents, as they paced the room with their dying boy, their last walk together along the shades of the dark valley. “This is a terrible walk,” exclaimed the father, “our last walk on earth, my son.” “Yes, papa; our next walk with each other will be in the city of God, and it wont be long till that time either.”

As he twined his little arm around his father’s neck and pressed his cheek, and spoke of the angel who would stand by his grave to receive him, his confidence that the Lord would come, and that he would meet his parents again where there would be no more sickness, but they would live together forever, I thought, Oh, glorious hope! Though the king of terrors may have us in his icy embrace, yet we can look forward to a glorious resurrection soon to come. Only Adventists can have this cheering hope which gives consolation to Bro. and Sr. Olds in their affliction. Little Amos will come again from the land of the enemy, and it wont be long either.

His prayer for an easy death was answered in a remarkable manner. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

J. D. Pegg. Marshalltown, Iowa.