Wesley Corpus

while they are tearing it in pieces, and there is none to help thee? Indeed they are not fully let loose upon thee: And while thou seest the light of the sun, the things of the world that surround thee, or the pleasures of sense, divert thy thoughts from them. But when thou canst eat and drink no more, when the earth, with the works thereof, is burned up, when the sun is fallen from heaven, and thou art shut up in utter darkness, what a state wilt thou be in then Mayest thou never try ! Seek thou a better habitation, a house of God, eternal in the heavens. 5. There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest. For God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain, but ever lasting joy upon their heads. But this joy our ears have not yet heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man to conceive. Yet a little of it the children of God can conceive, from what they already enjoy. For the kingdom of heaven is within them. God has given them eternal life; the life which is hid with Christ in God. They have heaven upon earth; “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Their souls are renewed in the image of God. They love God. They are happy in him; and they love their neighbour (that is, every man) as themselves, as their own souls. Being justified by faith, they have peace with God, yea, a peace which passeth all understanding. And they rejoice in him, knowing their sins are blotted out; that they are accepted in the Beloved; and that they are going to “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.” 6. Will you reply to all this: “But I am a soldier, and have therefore nothing to do with these things?” Hold ! Have soldiers nothing to do with death? How so? Do soldiers never die? Can you fright death away? No, my friend; he will not regard all your big words and looks, nor all the weapons of your warfare. You can neither conquer nor escape him. Your profession may excuse you from many other things; but there is no excusing yourself from death.