An officer in the navy, who held me in derision on account of religion, fell dangerously ill. To my great surprise he sent for me. I found him in distress of soul: spoke freely to him of our lost estate, of Christ's love and salvation, and prayed with him. He wept sore, and clapping his hands to his breast, cried out, "O my God, have I a soul?" as though he had never known it before He soon added, "Where have I lived that I never heard these things before? O, I shall never forget what I have heard this night!" I visited him to his last moments, and trust he died in the faith, and hope to see him in glory. "Heaven is a house full of the miracles of Christ's grace," says one. There is the once idolatrous Manasseh; the murdering David; the persecuting Saul; the Christ-denying Peter. O my God, shall wretched I be there? Yes, if I die in the faith of Christ, my vileness, sinfulness, and unworthiness his blood shall wash away. Christ, by his grace, qualifies me for heaven.
See the nature of this faith: it looks to precious promises: though seen afar off, yet it brings assurance of their existence into the mind, and the soul embraces them. O christian, when you complain of your faith, you forget the great and precious promises which are its ground and support. It not only views Christ in the promises, but it receives Christ, in whom "all the pro-raises are yea and amen, to the glory of God." 2 Cor. 1:20. When Christ dwells in the heart by faith, we con fess ourselves strangers and pilgrims in the earth: we see that we have a heavenly inheritance, and are only passing through this world to it. This world is not our home: we are not of the world: our hearts are above the world: our souls cry to be at home with our Father, God; with Christ; and with our brethren in glory. Like Abraham, we see the day of Christ. He saw the first coming of Christ long before his advent: we by faith see his second coming to take us to himself in glory hence we rejoice. O the comfort of living, O the joy of dying in this faith: it realizes heaven and glory to the soul: hope is its constant attendant; and by faith and hope in the promises, love springs up in the heart. Thus the sinner is fitted for the enjoyment of God. Die when he may, he dies in faith–dies in the Lord, and shall live eternally with the Lord. "By grace ye are saved, through faith." Ephes. 2:8.