Many of them may have been near and dear to us in
this life; and of these, many again may now suffer because of us;
whether it was that we led them directly into wrong-doing, or whether
it was that, in their loving kindness for us, they connived at,
permitted, aided or abetted us, in what their consciences had whispered
them not to be right. In each and every case it is our bounden duty to
do all in our power to assuage sufferings to which we may have been
accessory. In heart-rending accents do they cry out to us: "_Have
pity on me, have pity on me, at least ye my friends!_" [1] And as we
would have others do by us under like circumstances, so should we not
turn a deaf ear to their petition.
[Footnote 1: Job, xix. 21.]
VI.
Daily does the Angel of Death enter our houses, and summon from us
those that are rooted in our affections, and for whom our heart-throbs
beat in love and esteem. Daily must we bow our heads in reverent
silence and submission to the decree that snatches from us some loved
one. Perhaps it is a wife who mourns the loss of her husband. She finds
comfort and companionship in praying for the repose of his soul; in the
words of Tertullian, "she prays for his soul, and begs for him in the
interim refreshments, and in the first resurrection companionship, and
maketh offerings on the anniversary day of his falling asleep.
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