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    MRS. WHITE’S ADDRESS

    I want to say a few words to those present on this occasion. My dear Saviour has been my strength and support in this time of need. When taken from my sick-bed to be with my husband in his dying moments, at first the suddenness of the stroke seemed too heavy to bear, and I cried to God to spare him to me, — not to take him away, and leave me to labor alone. Two weeks ago we stood side by side in this desk; but when I shall stand before you again, he will be missing. He will not be present to help me then. I shall be alone, and yet not alone, for my Saviour will be with me. When my husband was breathing out his life so quietly, without a groan, without a struggle, I felt that it would be selfishness in me to wish to throw my arms of affection around him and detain him here. He was like a tired warrior lying down to rest. My heart can feel to its very depths, and yet I can tell you I have no tears to shed for the dead. My tears are for the living. And I lay away my beloved treasure to rest, — to rest until the morning of the resurrection, when the Lifegiver shall call the captives from the prison-house to a glorious immortality.IMJW 40.3

    And now I take up my life-work alone. I thank my Saviour I have two sons he has given me to stand by my side. Henceforth the mother must lean upon the children; for the strong, brave, noble-hearted husband is at rest. The turmoil with him is over. How long I shall fight the battles of life alone I cannot say; but there is one thing that I will say to you, and that is, that when I saw my husband breathe his last, I felt that Jesus was more precious to me then than he ever had been in any previous hour of my life. When I stood by my firstborn, and closed his eyes in death, I could say, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And I felt then that I had a Comforter in Jesus Christ. And when my little one was torn from my arms, and I could no longer see its little head upon the pillow by my side, then I could say, “The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”IMJW 41.1

    And now he upon whose large affections I have leaned, with whom I have labored, — and we have been united in labor for thirty-six years, — is taken away; but I can lay my hands upon his eyes and say, I commit my treasure to Thee until the morning of the resurrection.IMJW 42.1

    When I saw him passing away, and saw the many friends sympathizing with me, I thought, What a contrast to the death of Jesus as he hung upon the cross! What a contrast! In the hour of his agony, the revilers were mocking and deriding him. But he died, and he passed through the tomb to brighten it, and to lighten it, that we might have joy and hope even in the event of death; that we might say as we lay our friends away to rest in Jesus, We shall meet them again.IMJW 42.2

    And now I appreciate the Christian’s hope, and the Christian’s Heaven, and the Christian’s Saviour, as I have never appreciated them before. And to-day I can say, “There is rest for the weary.” When we were looking, but a short time ago, to Colorado, and to the Atlantic coast, and to the Pacific, for rest, my husband said, “Let us not be over-anxious. We know not what a day may bring forth. God may open up a way before us that now seems indistinct and cloudy. But,” said he, “I shall have rest, I shall have rest. All our ways are hid in Jesus Christ, and he will open up the way before us if we only trust him from day to day. Let us now trust in him.” And there [turning toward the coffin] my husband has found rest; but I have yet to battle. I cannot yet lay off the armor of the Lord. When I fall, let me fall at my post of duty; let me be ready; let me be where I can say as he said, “All is well. Jesus is precious.”IMJW 42.3

    And, friends, we all want this hope. In Jesus Christ all our hopes of eternal life are centered, so then let us ever labor for him. He from henceforth is my Guide, and my Husband, and my Counselor, and my Friend. He will walk with me through the thorny paths of life, and at last we shall meet again, where there is no parting, where there is no separation, and where none shall any more say, “I am sick.” I yield my precious treasure; I bid him farewell; I do not go to his grave to weep. Nor can I shed any tears over my youngest nor my eldest son. The morning of the resurrection is too bright. And then I look to that morning when the broken family links shall be re-united, and we shall see the king in his beauty, and behold his matchless charms, and cast our glittering crowns at his feet, and touch the golden harp and fill all Heaven with the strains of our music and songs to the Lamb. We will sing together there. We will triumph together around the great white throne.IMJW 43.1

    At the close of Sister White’s remarks, an appropriate hymn was impressively rendered, after which the congregation took a last look at the remains, when they were borne to their final resting-place in Oak Hill cemetery, accompanied by the long foot procession of Office employees, and a train of ninety-five carriages.IMJW 43.2

    In the burying-ground busy hands had labored to rob the occasion, as far as possible, of its repelling aspects. An arbor of evergreens had been constructed over the path leading from the carriage-way to the grave. The grave itself, and all the contiguous space, were lined with the same, while beautiful floral symbols, an anchor at the head of the grave, and a cross at the foot, suggested the faith and hope that will linger around the last resting-place of the worn pilgrim and faithful soldier. It was as if he were lying down to rest upon a bed of roses. The flowers that spring forth here to gladden us for a moment with their presence, we know will soon droop and fade; but their brightness and beauty are enough at least to remind us of that land where the flowers never wither, and to kindle in our hearts new longings for that immortal shore.IMJW 43.3

    As we lay the dead away, a train of long years of the past, with all their associations, comes up before us. Memory brushes the dimness, accumulating through the lapse of time, from numberless deeds of kindness received at his hand. An overpowering sense of loss presses upon us. But duty still presents its claims, and we cannot linger. In the language of the beautiful hymn on the burial of one of the sainted Judsons, we can say,—IMJW 44.1

    “Now ye have buried him, up and depart
    To life and to duty, with undismayed heart.”
    IMJW 44.2

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