THE WALK AND THE PATH

Psalm 23:1-4 (to “with me”); Proverbs 4:18

It may seem a wonder to some who are gathered here today how a person can “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, yet they “fear no evil” and their path is “going on and brightening until the day be fully come”. Such was the path of our dear brother, who has been taken to be with the Lord.

He very well knew that he was walking in the valley of the shadow of death. From personal contact, I and many others here can verify that he feared no evil. He was comforted in the enjoyment of a precious link with his Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. I can also say that in the latter years of our brother’s life it was very evident that his path was going on and brightening in view of the day being fully come.

What was the secret? It lies in the enjoyment of a personal link with Jesus. I am a little older than our brother was, and I too am conscious that I am walking in the valley of the shadow of death. But I have a link with that same precious Saviour, and death holds for me no fear. It may be that some here are fearing death, and what lies after it. That is clearly outlined in scripture for the sinner who has no link with Jesus: it says, “And forasmuch as it is the portion of men once to die, and after this judgment”, Heb.9:27. That is a solemn thing. But dear friend, I would like to say to you and all present that there is opportunity now for blessing by trusting in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came here as a blessed Man to accomplish redemption, through meeting every requirement of God’s holy will and by shedding His precious blood so that our sins might be washed away as trusting in Him. He went into death and vanquished its power.

It was said in prayer at the beginning that for our brother who has departed to be with Christ, there is no longer a mix of sorrow and joy, but he is in a place where there is only joy. How true that is. There is no shadow of death in the resurrection sphere, the heavenly realm, because Christ has vanquished the power of death. “Many waters cannot quench love, Neither do the floods drown it”, Song of Songs 8:7. Such is the preciousness and stability and permanence of the wonderful love of Jesus.

Our brother who has been taken found much joy in singing, for as long as he was able. He sang hymns with personal joy and in adoration of the Saviour whom he loved. Some of us had the joy of singing with him a very little time before he was taken to be with the Lord. One of the verses he enjoyed says,

‘With a perfect love He loves us,

Nought its ceaseless flow can stay;

For His pleasure He has bought us,

He Himself is ours for aye.’ (Hymn 111)

What a wonderful thing to have a link with the Saviour whose precious love can never be interrupted. Its permanency and abiding joy will be ours forever. We will trust in Him. May it be your happy portion too, if you have not already trusted in Him. I have said that I am a little older than our brother, but I might ask this question: ’When does someone commence to walk in the valley of the shadow of death?’ You may be a young person; you may have good health, and what I am saying may not seem very meaningful to you, but the truth is that death lies upon this whole scene. There is not a soul here who can truthfully say ‘Death has nothing to do with me’. Every one has to face death and what it may involve. But oh, how precious to have a link with the Saviour who has vanquished its power, and who has risen victorious from among the dead! How triumphant is our blessed Saviour whom we await, who is coming for us.

Our brother, whose body lies here but whose spirit has departed to be with Christ, is awaiting His shout, as are all of us who are living and remain and who have trusted in the Lord (see 1 Thess.4:14-17). We shall hear that voice: there is no doubt that voice will in its rousing power call those who love the Lord, whether amongst the dead or the living, so that we “shall be always with the Lord”. What a very precious thing!

It is also true to say (and I trust this is true of us all) that our brother’s pathway was “going on and brightening until the day be fully come”. What is the day that is referred to? From one point of view it is the day of death, because our pathways cease at that point. But I suggest that it is rather connected with what the apostle Paul says: “For for me to live is Christ, and to die gain”, Phil.1:21. He desired to depart so that he might be with Christ; he says, “for it is very much better” (v.23). Being with Christ is “very much better”.

That day of going to be with Christ is the fulfilment of the believer’s hope. The Lord will gather His own together. We shall be united, the dead in Christ with the living, so that we should be always with the Lord. The culmination of our hope is the goal which the apostle Paul pursued: “the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”, Phil.3:14. May we be preserved in such a pathway that goes on and brightens. May it be the portion of all of us, and may we be encouraged. Do you feel as if you are flagging a little in the Christian way? Have you turned aside a little from days of earlier brightness? May the Lord awaken your heart today, especially in the circumstances that are before us, so that all of us may be “going on and brightening until the day be fully come”.

It must be so that the pathway of the Christian brightens, because the closer we come to the presence of Christ the closer is the radiance of the light that will flood the universe for the pleasure of God. May it flood all our hearts today and encourage us so that we may tread in the steps of faith in the path that is “going on and brightening until the day be fully come”. We pray, too, that it might be for the comfort of those who sorrow: we think of our sister and others of the family who feel the sorrow and the loss. But this is not the end – our brother has not departed into some vague unknown: he has gone to be with Jesus, with the One who has vanquished death’s power and who is the Object of our hearts’ affections. The Lord Jesus Christ will fill that universe as He will fill our hearts – with joy for ever.

May it be the present joy of our hearts to tread the pathway in the brightness of faith and to go on and brighten until the moment comes.

John Laurie