Topic : Last Words

Appreciation of heaven is frequently highest among those nearing death. Suffering both increases our desire for heaven and prepares us for it. John Bradford (1510-1555), less than five months before his fiery departure from life for preaching the gospel in violent times, wrote to a friend of the glories of heaven he anticipated:

I am assured that though I want here, I have riches there; though I hunger here, I shall have fullness there; though I faint here, I shall be refreshed there; and though I be accounted here as a dead man, I shall there live in perpetual glory.

That is the city promised to the captives whom Christ shall make free; that is the kingdom assured to them whom Christ shall crown; there is the light that shall never go out; there is the health that shall never be impaired; there is the glory that shall never be defaced; there is the life that shall taste no death; and there is the portion that passes all the world’s preferment. There is the world that shall never wax worse; there is every want supplied freely without money; there is not danger, but happiness, and honour, and singing, and praise and thanksgiving unto the heavenly Jehovah, “to him that sits on the throne,” “to the lamb” that here was led to the slaughter, that now “reigns” with whom I “shall reign” after I have run this comfortless race through this miserable earthly vale.

John Gilmore, Probing Heaven, Key Questions on the Hereafter, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989, pp. 26-27.

Charles Simeon, the great 19^th-century English preacher, lived in this hope to the day of his death. As he lay mortally ill in his Cambridge home, he realized that his time on earth was fast slipping away. He turned to those at his bedside and asked, “Do you know what comforts me just now? I find infinite consolation in the fact that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

His friends asked him how that thought could give him solace as he faced death. He answered with the confidence of one about to meet his Lord, “Why, if God can bring all the wonder of the worlds out of nothing, He may still make something out of me!” - P.R.V.

Our Daily Bread, April 20

John Huss, the Bohemian reformer, was burned at the stake in 1415. Before his accusers lit the fire, they placed on his head a crown of paper with painted devils on it. He answered this mockery by saying, “My Lord, Jesus Christ, for my sake, wore a crown of thorns; why should not I then, for His sake, wear this light crown, be it ever so ignominious? Truly I will do it willingly.”

After the wood was stacked up to Huss’ neck, the Duke of Bavaria asked him to renounce his preaching. Trusting completely in God’s Word, Huss replied, “In the truth of the gospel which I preached, I die willingly and joyfully today.” The wood was ignited, and Huss died while singing, “Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, have mercy on me.” - P.R.V.

Our Daily Bread, March 7

Oh that I was to lie a thousand years upon the fire that is never quenched to purchase the favor of God...But it is a fruitless wish. Millions and millions of years would bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour! Oh, the insufferable pains of hell!

Sir Francis Newport, who ridiculed Christianity during his life.

With his health failing, Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott summoned his son-in-law to his bedside. “I may only have a few minutes with you,” he said, “so be a good man. Be virtuous, be religious, be a good man. Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie here.”

Today in the Word, December 3, 1995, p. 8.

David Brainerd, pioneer missionary to the American Indians, lay ill. Plagued by health problems throughout his life, Brainerd was facing death at the age of only 29.

With his affairs in order, Brainerd was eager to join his Lord: “O, why is his chariot so long in coming? I long to be in heaven, praising and glorifying God with the holy angels.”

On October 9, he passed from this life to the next.

Today in the Word, November 12, 1995, p. 19.

Listen to the difference in the recorded testimonies of those who died without Christ and those who died with Him. First are those who sowed their lives against the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth of the Word of God, and here is what they reaped in death.

1. Talleyrand Perigord: "I am suffering the pangs of the damned.

2. Merabeau: "Give me laudanum that I may not think of eternity."

3. Francis Newport: "Oh, that I was to lie a thousand years upon the fire that never is quenched, to purchase the favor of God, and be united to Him again! But it is a fruitless wish. Millions of millions of years would bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour. Oh, eternity, eternity! forever and forever! Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell!"

4. Thomas Hobbs: a skeptic: "If I had the whole world, I would give it to live one day. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at. About to take a leap into the dark!"

5. Thomas Paine: the noted American infidel and author: "I would give worlds if I had them, that The Age of Reason had never been published. O Lord, help me! Christ, help me! O God, what have I done to suffer so much? But there is no God! But if there should be, what will become of me hereafter? Stay with me, for God’s sake! Send even a child to stay with me, for it is hell to be alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one."

6. Francois Voltaire: the noted French infidel. He was one of the most fertile and talented writers and strove to retard and demolish Christianity. His cry in health concerning Christ was, "Curse the wretch!" He said once, "In twenty years, Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear." Some years after his death, his very printing press was employed in printing New Testaments.

The Christian physician who attended Voltaire during the last illness, has left a testimony concerning the departure of this poor lost soul. He wrote to a friend as follows: "When I compare the death of a righteous man, which is like the close of a beautiful day, with that of Voltaire, I see the difference between bright, serene weather and a black thunderstorm. It was my lot that this man should die under my hands. Often did I tell him the truth.

’Yes, my friend,’ he would often say to me, ’you are the only one who has given me good advice. Had I but followed it I would not be in the horrible condition in which I now am. I have swallowed nothing but smoke. I have intoxicated myself with the incense that turned my head. You can do nothing for me. Send me a mad doctor! Have compassion on me-I am mad!’

The physician goes on to say: "I cannot think of it without shuddering. As soon as he saw that all the means he had employed to increase his strength had just the opposite effect, death was constantly before his eyes. From this moment, madness took possession of his soul. He expired under the torments of the furies."

At another time his doctor quoted Voltaire as saying: "I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I am worth if you will give me six months’ life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!"

7. Charles IX: This cruel wretch, urged on by his inhumane mother, gave the order for the massacre of the Huguenots in which 15,000 souls were slaughtered in Paris alone, and 100,000 in other sections of France, for no other reason than that they owned Christ as their master. The guilty King died bathed in blood bursting from his own veins. To his physicians he said in his last hours: "Asleep or awake, I see the mangled forms of the Huguenots passing before me. They drip with blood. They point at their open wounds. Oh! that I had spared at least the little infants at the breast! What blood! I know not where I am. How will all this end? What shall I do? I am lost forever! I know it. Oh, I have done wrong. God pardon me! "

8. David Strauss: outstanding representative of German rationalism, after spending years of his life trying to dispense with God: "My philosophy leaves me utterly forlorn! I feel like one caught in the merciless jaws of an automatic machine, not knowing at what time one of its great hammers may crush me!"

9. Sir Thomas Scott: "Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty."

10. M. F. Rich: an atheist: "I would rather lie on a stove and broil for a million years than go into eternity with eternal horrors that hang over my soul! I have given my immortality for gold; and its weight sinks me into an endless, hopeless, helpless hell."

John W. Lawrence, Life’s Choices, Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon 1975, pp 54-59.

Now let us take the contrast. Here are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have accepted the grace of God for salvation for both time and eternity.

1. Jordan Antie: "The chariot has come, and I am ready to step in.”

2. Margaret Prior: "Eternity rolls up before me like a sea of glory."

3. Martha McCrackin: "How bright the room! How full of angels."

4. Dr. Cullen: "I wish I had the power of writing: I would describe how pleasant it is to die."

5. B. S. Bangs: "The sun is setting: mine is rising. I go from this bed to a crown. Farewell.

6. John Arthur Lyth: "Can this be death? Why, it is better than living! Tell them I die happy in Jesus."

7. Trotter: "I am in perfect peace, resting alone on the blood of Christ. I find this amply sufficient with which to enter the presence of God."

8. Mrs. Mary Frances: "Oh, that I could tell you what joy I possess! I am full of rapture. The Lord doth shine with such power upon my soul. He is come! He is come!

9. Philip Heck: "How beautiful! The opening heavens around me shine!"

10. Sir David Brewster: inventor of the kaleidoscope: "I will see Jesus: I shall see Him as He is. I have had the light for many years. Oh, how bright it is! I feel so safe and satisfied!

11. Charles Wesley: author of over 4,000 published hymns: "I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness. Satisfied!"

12. John Wesley: "The best of all is, God is with me."

13. Abbott: "Glory to God! I see heaven sweetly opened before me."

14. Augustus Toplady: author of "Rock of Ages": "The consolations of God to such an unworthy wretch are so abundant that He leaves me nothing to pray for but a continuance of them. I enjoy heaven already in my soul."

15. John Quincy Adams: When John Quincy Adams was eighty years of age a friend said to him: "Well, how is John Quincy Adams?" "Thank you," he said, "John Quincy Adams is quite well. But the house where he lives is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it, and it is becoming quite uninhabitable. I shall have to move out soon. But John Quincy Adams is quite well, thank you." At death he said: "This is the last of earth. I am content."

16. Mrs. Catherine Booth: wife of the general of the Salvation Army: "The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over. Do not be concerned about dying; go on living well, the dying will be right."

17. Elizabeth B. Browning: an English poetess who had said: "We want the touch of Christ’s hand upon our literature." At death’s door, she said: "It is beautiful!"

18. John Bunyan: author of Pilgrim’s Progress: "Weep not for me, but for yourselves. I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will, through the mediation of His blessed Son, receive me, though a sinner, where I hope we shall meet to sing the new song, and remain everlastingly happy, world without end."

19. John Calvin: the French Protestant Reformer at Geneva: "Thou, Lord, bruisest me, but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand."

20. Adoniram Judson: American missionary to Burma. He wrote: "Come, Holy Spirit, Dove Divine," and other hymns. He died at sea and his body was committed to the great deep. He said: "I go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from school. I feel so strong in Christ."

21. A. J. Gordon: As he lay in the chamber in West Brookline Street, Boston, looked up and with one radiant burst of joy cried: "Victory! Victory!" and so he went home.

22. Dr. William Anderson: of Dallas, Texas: He seemed better though still very ill. His mother was sitting in the room with him. He gently called to her, "Come over here a minute." As she approached his bed, he said, "I want to tell you something. I am going to beat you to heaven." And with a smile he shut his eyes and was gone.

23. Dr. Sewall: an old Methodist, when dying shouted aloud the praises of God. His friends said, "Dr. Sewall, do not exert yourself; whisper, doctor, whisper." "Let angels whisper, " said he, "but the soul cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ, a soul redeemed from death and hell, just on the threshold of eternal glory—oh, if I had a voice that would reach from pole to pole, I would proclaim it to all the world: Victory! Victory! through the blood of the Lamb!"

24. Samuel Rutherford: When he was dying said: "I am in the happiest pass to which man ever came. Christ is mine, and I am His; and there is nothing now between me and resurrection, except—Paradise."

When you die, on which side of the ledger will your words be'

John W. Lawrence, Life’s Choices, Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon 1975, pp 54-59.

• On his death bed, the German poet Heinrich Heine said this, and then no more: “God will pardon me...It’s his job...”
• When Thomas Hooker lay dying, a friend said, “Brother, are you going to receive the reward of your labors.” He humbly replied, “Brother, I am going to receive mercy.”
• “Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.” (Karl Marx, to his housekeeper when she asked if he had a final message.)

Sources unknown

The first date Jim (Elliot) asked me for was to a missionary meeting at Moody Church in Chicago, late in April. Not surprising that he would choose an event like this rather than a concert or dinner out. The speaker was one of the daughters of the famous missionary to Africa C. T. Studd. She told of her father’s last hours. He lay on his cot, gazing around the little hut and at his few possessions. “I wish I had something to leave to each of you,” he said to the handful of people present, “but I gave it all to Jesus long ago.”

Passion and Purity, Elizabeth Elliot, Revell, 1984, p. 43

Ray had been in a coma for four days. Once powerful and muscular, his arms lay quietly at his flanks. Physically exhausted and consumed by his two-year struggle with colon cancer, he lay in his hospital bed motionless, a living chrysalis in an inverted cocoon. He would soon die, most likely within the day.

My hospital visit that morning brought me to Ray’s room at 5:30. The nursing station and patient rooms were quiet and, in one of the paradoxes of hospital life, even peaceful—if such a thing as peace is possible in a place where life and death constantly vie for dominance. Sitting silently at his bedside, Ray’s wife of 40 years, Jean, had placed her small hand softly on her husband’s right shoulder. No examination would be necessary today. In deference to Jean’s vigil, I pulled a chair abreast of hers and joined her silent watch, conjointly marveling at the physical stamina and endurance of the human body and pondering the mystery of the approach of physical death. Lost in our private thoughts and beset by personal memories of this marvelous man, we sat together, bonded by our grief and captivated by the drama slowly unfolding before us.

Suddenly, an awesome thing happened. Lasarus like, Ray sat bolt upright in his bed. Fiercely clutching the sides of his bed, Ray contracted his arms as he gasped with apparent abject horror into the void at the foot of his bed. This totally unanticipated activity was immediately followed by an equally unexpected loosening of his vocal cords—silent for these four days—in a terrifying scream that cascaded down the quiet hospital corridor.

In four short clauses that reverberate even today in my mind as I reflect on his death ten years ago, Ray screamed into the early morning surrounding his bed: “No! I don’t want to go...I don’t want to die...I won’t go!” Completely exhausted by this emotional and physical outburst, Ray collapsed into the bed, gasped the humid air of the hospital room two or three times, and died.

King Hezekiah would understand.

The Enemy, Norwood R. Anderson, in Christianity Today, February 7, 1994, p. 36

The deceitfulness of sin is vividly seen in the life of the French philosopher Rousseau. He declared, “No man can come to the throne of God and say, ‘I’m a better man than Rousseau.’” When he knew death was close at hand, he boasted, “Ah, how happy a thing it is to die, when one has no reason for remorse or self-reproach.” Then he prayed, “Eternal Being, the soul that I am going to give Thee back is as pure at this moment as it was when it proceeded from Thee; render it a partaker of Thy felicity!”

This is an amazing statement when we realize that Rousseau didn’t profess to be born again. In his writings he advocated adultery and suicide, and for more than 20 years he lived in licentiousness. Most of his children were born out of wedlock and sent to a foundling home. He was mean, treacherous, hypocritical, and blasphemous.

Our Daily Bread

As a lawyer, as a congressman, as Governor of Ohio, and as President of the United States, William McKinley had a close relationship with his mother. He either visited her or sent a message to her every day.

When she became seriously ill, he arranged to have a special train standing by, ready to take him to her bedside. Mrs. McKinley died December 12, 1897, in the arms of her 54-year-old son. Her gentle, Christian virtues helped mold the President’s character, for when he was gunned down in Buffalo, New York, about 4 years later, he showed no bitterness toward his assassin. With Christian courage he said, “God’s will be done.” Before he died, he asked to hear once again the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which his mother had taught him.

Our Daily Bread, May 14, 1995

A little over a month before he died, the famous atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would say to himself, “I know I shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he would add, “But hope needs a foundation.”

Our Daily Bread, April 17, 1995

On his deathbed, British preacher Charles Simeon smiled brightly and asked the people gathered in his room, “What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?”

When they all remained silent, he exclaimed, “The creation! I ask myself, ‘Did Jehovah create the world or did I?’ He did! Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe, He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus’ hands I can safely commit my spirit!”

Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, in the closing months of his life said to a friend, “I am so weak. I can’t read my Bible. I can’t even pray. I can only lie still in God’s arms like a little child and trust.”

Our Daily Bread, January 1, 1994

Thursday, December 21, 1899, after cutting short a Kansas City crusade and returning home in ill health, D. L. Moody told his family, “I’m not discouraged. I want to live as long as I am useful, but when my work is done I want to be up and off.”

The next day Moody awakened after a restless night. In careful, measured words he said, “Earth recedes, Heaven opens before me!” His son, Will, concluded his father was dreaming. “No, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go.”

Moody, December, 1993, p. 70

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic. One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley’s heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn’t even have a bed. Yet he was an unusually happy person , filled with gratitude to God. Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man’s misfortunes. “And what else do you thank God for?” he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, “I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all a constant desire to serve Him!”

Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness. Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88. Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley’s extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, “I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath.”

Our Daily Bread, December 12

1. John Bacon, eminent 18^th-century English sculptor, said on his deathbed, “What I was as an artist seemed to be of some importance while I lived, but what I really am as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing of importance to me now.”

2. English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was asked, “Have you ever pondered by yourself what will be your occupation in the next world?” Faraday hesitated awhile and then responded, “I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.”

3. The 17^th century Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford gave this triumphant testimony before he stepped into eternity: “Mine eye shall see my Redeemer. He has pardoned, loved, and washed me, and given me joy unspeakable and full of glory. Glory shines in Immanuel’s land!”

Daily Walk, April 10, 1992

On the day of her (Idelette’s) death, John Calvin was impressed with her serenity. “She suddenly cried out in such a way that all could see that her spirit had risen far above this world. These were her words, ‘O glorious resurrection! O God of Abraham and of all of our fathers, the believers of all the ages have trusted on Thee and none of them have hoped in vain. And now I fix my hope on Thee.’ These short statements were cried out rather than distinctly spoken. These were not lines suggested by someone else but came from her own thoughts.”

An hour later she could no longer speak and her mind seemed confused. “Yet her facial expressions revealed her mental alertness,” John recalled later. “I said a few words to her about the grace of Christ, the hope of everlasting life, our marriage and her approaching departure. Then I turned aside to pray.” Before long she quietly “slipped from life into death.”

Christian History, Vol 5, No. 4, p. 15

The last days of British statesman and colonial leader Cecil Rhodes were marked by grave disappointment. He died from heart disease at a time when he was beset by personal scandals and discredited by unwise political decisions.

Lewis Mitchel, who as at Rhodes’s bedside in his cottage near Cape Town, South Africa heard the dying man murmur, “So little done, so much to do.” Yet there’s more than this to the story of Cecil Rhodes. He migrated to South Africa from Britain for health reasons. It was there that Rhodes made a vast fortune in gold and diamond mining. Even though he died feeling he had much more to do, he has left a lasting legacy because he used part of his fortune to endow the famous Rhodes scholarship program.

Today in the Word, July 28, 1992

1. Let me pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.General T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson—wounded by his own men, he died shortly after.

2. I am not come hither to deny my Lord and Master. Anne Askew—July 16, 1545—burned at the stake after torture on the rack, at the age of 25

3. “Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation: God is the Lord by whom we escape death.” - Martin Luther

4. “Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death.” - John Knox

5. “Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand.” - John Calvin

6. John Wesley, just before he died in his 88^th year, sat up, looked at his loved ones weeping at his bedside, and said, “Best of all, God is with us. Farewell, Farewell!”

7. “I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness—satisfied, satisfied!” - Charles Wesley

8. I have only a little longer of earthly darkness, and then the sunshine of the Father’s throne. God is love. Good night, good night. - Ira Sankey (who lived in Brooklyn the last years of his life and after years of blindness died in 1908).

9. Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out ... Father of heaven, receive my soul! - Hugh Latimer—October 16, 1555—burned at the stake for the gospel.

10. Lord, however Thou dispose of me, continue and go on to do good for them. Pardon Thy foolish people! Forgive their sins and do not forsake them, but love and bless them. Give them consistency of judgment, one heart, and mutual love; and go on to deliver them, and with the work of reformation; and make the name of Christ glorious in the world. Teach those who look too much on Thy instruments, to depend more upon Thyself...And pardon the folly of this short prayer. And give me rest for Jesus Christ’s sake, to whom, with Thee and Thy Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and forever! Amen. - Oliver Cromwell—September 3, 1658—before died as a result of a fever

Sources unknown

Herman Lange, a German Christian was to be executed by the Nazis during WWII. In his cell on the night before he was to be killed, Lange wrote a note to his parents. He said two feelings occupied his mind: “I am, first, in a joyous mood, and second filled with great anticipation.” Then he made this beautiful affirmation: “In Christ I have put my faith, and precisely today have faith in Him more firmly than ever.” Finally he urged his parents to read the New Testament for comfort: “Look where you will, everywhere you will find jubilation over the grace that makes us children of God. What can befall a child of God? Of what should I be afraid? On the contrary, rejoice!”

Michael Green, Running From Reality.

A few days before his death, Dr. F. B. Meyer wrote a very dear friend these words: “I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning.”

Quoted in Consolation, by Mrs. C. Cowman, p. 70.

Mark Twain, became morose and weary of life. Shortly before his death, he wrote, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last—the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them—and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,...a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.”

Source unknown

John Wesley preached his last sermon on Feb. 17, 1791, in Lambeth on the text “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Is. 55:6). The following day, a very sick man, he was put to bed in his home on City Road. During the days of his illness, he often repeated the words from one of his brother’s hymns: I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me! His last words were, “The best of all is, God is with us!” He died March 2, 1791.

Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 245

“Someday,” D. L. Moody used to say, “you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield is dead. Don’t believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now!”

He preached his last sermon in Kansas City on Nov. 23, 1899, from the text Luke 14:18: “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” When he gave the invitation, fifty stood to their feet and went across the street into the inquiry room. He was too ill to continue the Kansas City campaign, so he took the train back to Northfield. On Friday, Dec. 22, he went “home.”

Five years before his homegoing Moody had said, “If it can be said, faithfully said, over my grave, ‘Moody has done what he could,’ that will be the most glorious epitaph.” Instead, 1 John 2:17 was chosen: “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 209

Since it is God’s will that you should outlive me, remember our friendship. It was useful to God’s church and its fruits await us in heaven. I do not want you to tire yourself on my account. I draw my breath with difficulty and expect each moment to breathe my last. It is enough that I live and die for Christ, who is to all his followers a gain both in life and in death.

John Calvin—May 27, 1564—died of old age

In age and feebleness extreme,
Who shall a sinful worm redeem'
Jesus, my only hope thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart;
Oh, could I catch a smile from thee,
And drop into eternity!

Charles Wesley—Late March, 1788—died of old age

King Henry VIII of England claimed to be a Christian, but in many cases he made laws that went against God’s law. He also demanded that his religious and political advisers agree with him. Those who chose to obey God rather than the king were often killed. John Fisher, a close friend of the king, chose God’s law above Henry’s. He was sentenced to die. On the day of his execution, he asked to be brought his best clothes. “This is my ‘wedding day,’” he explained, “and I ought to dress as if for a holiday.” Carrying his New Testament, he was led to the execution platform. There he prayed, “Lord, grant that I may find some word of comfort so that I may glorify You in my last hour.” The first words he saw as He opened the Scriptures were these: “Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). “That will do,” he said. “Here’s learning enough to last me to my life’s end.” Within minutes, he was dead.

Family Walk, February, 1995, p. 20

A dear Christian lady was close to death when her minister came to visit her. He softly asked, “Sister, are you sinking?” She looked at him in disbelief and said nothing. Again he said, “Sister, are you sinking?” She still could not believe that he would ask such a question. Summoning all her remaining strength she raised herself up a little in her bed and said, “Sinking? Sinking? Did you ever know a person to sink through a Rock?”

Source unknown

Charles IX of France had a loving, sensitive nature as a young person, but he gradually became evil through the influence of his villainous mother. Eventually he grew so wicked that he issued an order which led to the death of more than 25,000 Huguenots in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. Many years later, when Charles was on his deathbed, the memory of this terrible deed caused him to cry out, “Asleep or awake, I see the mangled forms of the Huguenots passing before me. They make hideous faces at me; they point to their open wounds, and mock me.” He died this way.

Our Daily Bread