A Dying Man’s Prayer

Posted on August 13, 2021 by blund

and make the death of thy Son Jesus Christ effectual to my redemption at the hour of my death

Samuel Johnson (b. 1709) is an interesting figure for a number of reasons, but I wanted to post a prayer he wrote in his dying days. Having held a variety of beliefs, and only coming around to biblical orthodoxy in his later years, to see him grapple with his beliefs and end in certainty on what the Scriptures say is gratifying to behold. As his positions on God, man, Christ, and the truth became more certain, his attending physicians noticed the change in his speech – about doctrine – and in his behavior. In the last week of his life, Johnson composed the following prayer:

Almighty and most merciful Father, I am now, as to human eyes, it seems, about to commemorate, for the last time, the death of thy Son Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. Grant, O Lord, that my whole hope and confidence may be in his merits, and thy mercy; enforce and accept my imperfect repentance; make this commemoration available to the confirmation of my faith, the establishment of my hope, and the enlargement of my charity; and make the death of thy Son Jesus Christ effectual to my redemption. Have mercy upon me, and pardon the multitude of my offences. Bless my friends; have mercy upon all men. Support me, by thy Holy Spirit, in the days of weakness, and at the hour of death; and receive me, at my death, to everlasting happiness, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jeremy Larson “Samuel Johnson and Presbyterianism” Pro Rege Vol XL, No 3 (March, 2012) p. 23.

May we all go to our final moment, before our eyes close, with such clear-sighted faith!

Athanasius: Christ Drives Out Fear of Death

Posted on April 2, 2018 by blund

Sometimes you run out of room or time in your Lord’s Day sermon, and so “Monday Morning Pulpit” is a chance to expand upon or reinforce ideas you didn’t have a chance to finish during the sermon.

On Resurrection Sunday, I preached from Hebrews 2:14 – 15; “that through death Christ might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” The following Athanasius quote is MONEY for the sanctification of the fear of death, but I wasn’t able to read the whole quote in the sermon. Enjoy!

“For that death is destroyed, and that the Cross is become the victory over it, and that it has no more power but is verily dead, this is no small proof, or rather an evident warrant, that it is despised by all Christ’s disciples, and that they all take the aggressive against it and no longer fear it; but by the sign of the Cross and by faith in Christ tread it down as dead. For of old, before the divine sojourn of the Saviour took place, even to the saints death was terrible, and all wept for the dead as though they perished. But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible; for all who believe in Christ tread him under as no naught, and choose rather to die than to deny their faith in Christ. For they verily know that when they die they are not destroyed, but actually [begin to] live, and become incorruptible through the Resurrection. And that devil that once maliciously exulted in death, now that its pains were loosed, remained the only one truly dead. Continue reading →

Oh! Why should the spirit of mortal be proud

Posted on October 24, 2012 by blund

Last Sunday, I concluded Genesis 25:1 – 11 reflecting on Abraham’s death entitled “End of the Pilgrimage Road.” By common grace, many have reflected beautifully on the unfaltering march of time, and our mortal coil. A favorite poem of Abraham Lincoln, Knox’s words capture the spirit of “all flesh is grass,” but it lacks the hope of “but the Word of the Lord remains.” Nevertheless, his words capture a peculiar beauty, and a message that our death-ignoring would do well to remember.

OH! WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORTAL BE PROUD

by: William Knox (1789-1825)

OH! why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud,
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
Man passeth from life to his rest in the grave.

The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
Be scattered around, and together be laid;
And the young and the old, and the low and the high
Shall molder to dust and together shall lie.

The infant a mother attended and loved;
The mother that infant’s affection who proved;
The husband that mother and infant who blessed,–
Each, all, are away to their dwellings of rest.

The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,
Shone beauty and pleasure,–her triumphs are by;
And the memory of those who loved her and praised
Are alike from the minds of the living erased. Continue reading →

John Calvin on the Raising of Lazarus

Quote

Posted on August 9, 2012 by blund

Christ does not approach the grave as an idle spectator, but as a champion who prepares for a contest; and therefore we need not wonder that he again groans; for the violent tyranny of death, which he had to conquer, is placed before his eyes.

(HT: CPC)

Funeral Sermon for Dr. R.A. Lund

Posted on May 25, 2012 by blund

Last December my grandfather died, and I had the privilege of explaining the Scriptures for the service. The funeral was held at Bethel Ev. Free Church in Fairmont, MN. My sermon text was Psalm 37:23 – 24:

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.

You can find the video on the sermon page at the bottom.

Leaving A Legacy: My Grandpa Dr. R. A. Lund

Posted on December 9, 2011 by blund

On Friday, my grandfather’s body will be placed in the ground. We do so because we believe we are planting a seed, and that the Lord Jesus Christ will be harvesting humanity and raising us to new life. I’ve been so blessed by my grandpa, and what follows is his obituary and funeral service order. The notice at the funeral home is here.

A celebration of life service for Dr. R. A. (Rod) Lund, 91, of Fairmont, MN, will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, December 9, at the Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Fairmont. Interment will be in Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont with Military Honors by the Lee C. Prentice American Legion Post 36 and Martin County V.F.W. Post 1222. Visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. on Thursday, December 8, at the Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont, MN, and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Dr. Lund passed away on Friday evening, December 2, 2011, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont. Rodney Alton Lund was born on March 19, 1920, in Opheim, Montana, the son of Charles and Maia (Bollum) Lund. He grew up in South Dakota, primarily Watertown, and then moved to Detroit Lakes, MN, in 1934, where he graduated from Detroit Lakes High School. In April of 1942, he graduated from the Minneapolis Chiropractic School. That same year he was inducted into the U.S. Army and was united in marriage to Mildred Melberg on June 5, 1942, in Little Rock, AR. Continue reading →

Donne’s Holy Sonnets

Posted on October 1, 2011 by blund

Thou hast made me, and shall thy work decay?
Repair me now, for now mine end doth haste,
I run to death, and death meets me as fast,
And all my pleasures are like yesterday;
I dare not move my dim eyes any way,
Despair behind, and death before doth cast
Such terror, and my feeble flesh doth waste
By sin in it, which it t’wards hell doth weigh;
Only thou art above, and when towards thee
By thy leave I can look, I rise again;
But our old subtle foe so tempteth me,
That not one hour my self I can sustain;
Thy Grace may wing me to prevent his art,
And thou like Adamant draw mine iron heart.

A Father to the Fatherless

Posted on August 2, 2011 by blund

One of the ladies in our congregation recently lost her father, and in counseling and encouraging her, I’m reminded of what the great American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 58) wrote. Having contracted smallpox through a botched innoculation, Edwards wrote to his daughter the last words of his that we have.

And as to my children, you are now to be left fatherless, which I hope will be an inducement to you all to seek a Father who will never fail you.

Jesus says in Matthew 19:29:

And everyone who loses houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Amen. May it be so for all of us.