0362. A SAD FUNERAL.

A SAD FUNERAL.

"I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy" (Ecc_8:9).

Death is a busy worker, and funerals are no uncommon sight. But some funerals are infinitely more sorrowful than others because of the character of the life that has been lived. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord," but cursed are the dead that die out of Him.

I. A Solemn Sight. "A burial." There is always something mournful about a burial, whether the body be that of a prince or a pauper, and surely the inhabitants of both Heaven and hell are interested in the departure of every soul.

II. A Solemn Reflection. "I saw the wicked buried." There are some who never seem to see the wicked buried, they always seem to be turned into saints, either immediately before or after death. "Where are all the bad people buried?" said a little girl to her mother as they walked through the cemetery. We see the funeral of one such in the sixteenth chapter of Luke.

III. A Solemn Warning. "I saw the wicked buried who had come and gone from the place of the holy." He had seen them coming and going from the Temple, the house of prayer, just as the faithful and the holy did They came and they went, and they went as they came, and were buried as wicked persons. I saw the wicked buried who had come and gone from the communion table. Alas, this is no uncommon sight! Many "come and go," and go as they come, from the house of God, thinking that their coming and going is all that is needed. But it may be that our churches are largely blameworthy for many that are buried as wicked, because they have "come and gone," and have failed to hear the saving Gospel of God. Many come and go through force of habit, having been trained from infancy. Others, because it helps their respectability in the eyes of men. Others to make a display of themselves. Others because they love and fear God. Unless our coming brings us to Christ, and our going takes us out to His service, what shall it profit?

Autor: James Smith