JAMES C. SUMNER, 
 
 THE 
 
 • • TOUNG SOLDIER READY- FOR DEATH. 
 
 By REV. W. H. McINTOSH, Marion, Ala.' :. 
 
 •'' Therefore be ye also.ready ; for in such' an hour as ye think not, the- 
 Son of Man cometh." Mat : xx.iv-19. 
 
 "W'ebe these words addressed to us by some 'venerable patri- 
 arch, who had- himself been permitted to pass the usual boundary of 
 human life, and who had seen generation after generation melt av.ay 
 as morning clouds; who had seen the young and the beautiful 
 /sicken and die, the strong man arrested by the last enemy, the tged 
 falter, and go down beneath the blows of the destroyer, they would 
 surely demand the most serious attention. Or if some inhabitant of 
 . the land of spirits had been dispatched, to warn %s how near our 
 careless leet are daily treading to the confines- of two worlds, aid 
 nearer ever/ day, who would not listen to the kind admonition? 
 
 One greater, infinitely more far seeing than either patriarch or 
 
 prophet, or angel, He who speaks as "never man spake," addresses 
 
 (us in my text, and is ever repeating the warning in his providence 
 
 ' He who from the depths of the eternal past to the dawn of time, 
 
 and tcu its last setting sun, and through the everlasting ages of the 
 
 future, has seen with the eye of omniscence the destiny of the soul, 
 
 and has estimated its value— He it is who says to /us in tones of 
 
 1 tender solicitude, ■'" Be ye .also ready." 
 
 Our own experience too, though young, we may be, teaches us. 
 the mutability of all earthly things, and among all the uncertain 
 ties of life, that nothing is more uncertain than life itself. However 
 bright the prospect before us, whatever inducements we' may have 
 to desire .length of days, however strong the* ties that bind us to the 
 .relationship of earth, none of them afford exemption from' the in- 
 exorable decree, " dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." 
 The places that were yesterday scenes of festivity, are to-day houses 
 of mourning — hoped that now bud with beautiful promises for the 
 future, may to-morrow lie at our feet, withered and crushed as if 
 'blasted by fire from heaven. The paths of our pilgrimage at every 
 vperiod in life- are whitened with the bones of the dead, and moist 
 with the tears of the living.- How appropriate then that we lay to 
 Tieaft the solemn words of inspiration, " be ye also ready ;" and how 
 important that we be prepared to endure the scrutiny of the judg- 
 ment that follows death, and how gravely interesting becomes 
 
 I. Tlie enquiry naturally suggested by the text : What is meant' 
 by being prepared 1m the coming of the §oa of Mm ? 
 
In this chapter the Saviour describes the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem, and the end of the world, and from one to the other the transi- 
 tion is almost imperceptible, so thjat the two objects seem to bj- 
 blended together, while they are really perfectly distinct. The 
 coming of the Son of Man refers particularly to the second appear* 
 ance of Christ upon earth, when he shall descend m power and 
 glory to judge its inhabitants, and to give to each the reward' of histf 
 deeds, whether good or evil. With us, as with those to whom he 
 
 r spoke, it will not be, I apprehend, to determine the destiny of the 
 soul but to consummate its happiness or its woe, and in the eyes of 
 the assembled universe, to give expression to his approval or con- 
 demnation. The question as to which class we may belong, the 
 righteous or the wicked, will have been settled long before the arch- 
 angel's trumphet shall summon the generations of time to the tribu- 
 
 " n n l of the final day. In Eccl. xxi: 7 it is written, " Then shall the 
 dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto 
 God who gave it." This evidently is the state of man immediately" 
 after death, for preceding the final judgment, and in connection with 
 it, the resurrection of the body shall occur, and that ■ body shall be 
 immortal am die no more.. Nor can we suppose that the spirit 
 which is said to return to G-od, shall, prepared or unprepared, dwell 
 with him until the revelations of the last day, nor that it is to remain 
 in some intermediate state, neither happy nor miserable, nor yet in. 
 a condition preparatory to its future destiny receiving a measure of 
 joy or suffering. The same elements of character which will qualify 
 or disqualify it for the presence of God, and the enjoyment of his _ 
 love after the judgment exist before it. • » 
 
 But we are not left to the' wild fancies of imagination, or the 
 uacertain light of unassisted reason. The scriptures are not silent 
 here.' The Saviour assured his disciples, John xiv.-23, "I goto 
 prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I 
 .will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there 
 ve may be also."- A few years after, the disciples died, their bodies 
 
 / were given to" the dust. Are their spirits wanderers and aliens from 
 the mansions of which he told them there were many m his Father's 
 house*? In the ecstasy of his- dying hour the martyr Stephen said, 
 Acts 7.56: "Behold I see the heavens- opened, and the Son of Man 
 standing on the right hand of God;" and with the glorious vision 
 "before his eyes cried, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit.". Did Christ 
 reveal himself to the dying saint but to disappoint him, and to leave- ■ 
 his soul in exile to this hour? Paul says, 2 Tim. 4.6: "The tirr.e 
 qf my departure is at hand." "Whither ? He tells us in another^ 
 place! 2 Cor. 5.1 : "For we know that if our earthly house of this* 
 tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house net 
 made with hands eternal, in 'the heavens." . There is the dwelling 
 for which his spirit longed when he wrote to the Phillippians, 1.23 i 
 " having a desire to depart and to-be with Christ, which is Tar better."*' 
 Christ inform^ us, Luke. 16.22.23,®that the "beggar died, and wasf 
 carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. -The rich man also i 
 
 m 
 
3 
 
 Jflied arid was buried, and in hell lie lifted up his eyes being in tor- 
 ment." -Their bodies wasted into duit and their spirits went to the 
 
 'places for which they were' prepared. 
 
 De-ath then whenever it co^mes, introduces the soul into that 
 
 ''state for which it is fitted. To' ue ready for that event which must 
 happen alike to all, is to be reconciled to God, to lave Jesus as 
 our. Saviour, to know the cleansing efficacy of hiS blood, to bear 
 withtn us the 'power of his, grace, restraining from sin, and leading 
 to love and holiness and good fruits. "Therefore being justified by 
 faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," 
 
 * Komi 5.1. The carnal mind is ever striving to find some substi- 
 tute* for the method of reconciliation with God which he has adopted, 
 and announced for the good -of mankind, or else the subject is post- 
 poned for future consideration. Thus if the claims of the soul- are 
 entertained at all, it is not unusual" to find a man relying upon his 
 fidelity to the relations and duties of life, his morality, to reach the. 
 end for which Christ died, losing sight of the fact that he defies the 
 authority, and discredits the end of God which declares, Acts 4.12, , 
 that "there is none other name (than Christ) under heaven given 
 among men whereby we must be saved." 
 
 In these days some entertain tbe wicked delusion that he who 
 
 I dies for his country will be saved by virtue .of his patriotism. I 
 
 respect integrity, and all those traits of character that elevate and 
 
 I ennoble man. I appreciate the patriotism of our noble army of 
 
 defenders, whose brave bosoms are bared to the storms of battle. 
 
 V 'Their lofty courage, their unflinching endurance, their gallant deeds, 
 
 their sacrifice and their perils, endear them to every heart th'as 
 
 loves liberty. They deserve the admiration of their race; but what 
 
 has integrity as between man and man, or love cf country, to do with 
 
 justification before God? "What do they accomplish towards the 
 
 salvation of the soul? Nothing, for they leave their possessor just 
 
 • where they found him, a transgressor against God. A man acpused 
 of murder might wi'Ji as much reason plead that he is- not a thief, 'or 
 if charged with treason, answer to the indictment that he loves his 
 family. Innocence of one crime, is no plea against another which 
 has been perpetrated! Is it not strange and sad that men will stultify 
 themselves upon a subject with regard to whbh they should be the 
 most candid. 
 
 All are offenders against God, "not subject to his law," and 
 
 *<9- under condemnation. Faith alone in him who " was wounded for 
 
 «< ,our transgressions," reconciles to God, a faith that renounces sin 
 
 .•*>• and self -righteousness, and embraces Jesus with the whole heart, 
 
 <4 that lays every gift and grace of mind and body upon the altar of 
 
 V) love, and says, "here Lord am I— all that I have is thine," There 
 
 t is but one way to the gates of the celestial city — that which 
 
 leads beneath the cross. There is but one wedding _ garment 
 
 , that the Master of the great assembly will recognize — the righteous- 
 
 ■ness of him who " bore our griefs and carried our sorrows," Is. 53.4 
 
 — but one mark which in all the universe will designate an heir of 
 
heaven: — the blood of the Lamb. "With them justice will smfle- 
 upon the " chief of sinneis," without them Paul would be an outcast. . 
 Do not flatter yourself that by any act of yours you may win the 
 favor of God, or behold his glory, or taste the bliss of his love. To 
 be ready for the coming of the Son of Man, your conscience must 
 be cleansed from sin, and your guilt atoned for by his bleod, and 
 your nature renewed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Thus, and 
 thus only by repentance, faith, and holiness, can you heed the- 
 gracious warning of the text : " Be ya also ready, for in such an, 
 hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." - • 
 
 A part of a Christian's life consists in watching — "watch there- 
 fore ; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come,'' Mat. 
 24.42 ; '-'And what I say unto you, I say unto all — watch," Mark 
 13.37. Christians may and often do become languid and drowsy. 
 The wise virgins slumbered while the bridegroom ■ tarried. And 
 hence God's people are often surprised by the approach of death. 
 It»is' lamentably true, that they become so much engrossed with the 
 cares of the world, and are so beguiled ' by the ''deceitfulness of 
 riches, and the lust of other things" that the Son of Man is knock- 
 ing at the door when they least expect, him. • My brethren, if we 
 would live in readiness to die, we must live near to God. No one 
 is startled by death who has made the cross his refuge, and who 
 never leaves his refuge. It is when weiorsake our place of security, 
 and death, like a cunning enemy, comes between the soul and the 
 cross, that dismay fills the mind. If we keep habitually so near our 
 stronghold that upon the first signal of danger we step into 'it, we 
 'shall never be seriously alarmed. But if we wander from it, and 
 permit ourselves to become absorbed in other things,- we may find it 
 difficult to return, Jesus will not forsake his chosen, nor leave 
 them to perish, but when they pursue paths which lead from him, 
 they plant thorns to pierceitheir hearts with many sorrows. If we 
 would meet; the last enemy undismayed, we -must meet him under 
 the banner of the "Prince of peace." Our security is where David 
 found his 'under the shadow'of the Almighty,' Ps. 91.1 Then when 
 death shall come, it will not be the stern executioner of a sentence ■ 
 long delayed but sure, as the messenger which our Father sends 
 to conduct us to his presence that we may be crowned with life 
 everlasting. 
 
 J Let me mention, II, Some reasons why we should give heed to 
 the ivarning of the text. 
 
 1. Great interests are involved in it. . 
 
 The eternal condition of the soul depends' upon the attention 
 which we give to what the Saviour has said. If we listen and obey, 
 all that the most capacious desire can wish, all that immortality can 
 aspire to, shall be gratified and. infinitely moje, for "eyexhath not 
 seen'norear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the 
 things which God hath prepared for them that love him," 1 Cor.: 
 2.9. If we neglect the admonition we not only lose the offered 
 good, but we shall surely suffer the threatened evil — as we sow, so 
 
shall we reap. "He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap 
 corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap 
 life eveTlasting" — Gal. 6.8. To an unperverted mind it would at 
 once present itself as a duty to the soul to prepare for that future 
 state to which we are all going.* . 
 
 It is not a matter ot choice whether you will go there or not. 
 Your only choice is, what that state shall be. You may be there 
 before the sun shall set. That you cannot -control. It is God's 
 prerogative to appoint the time, and * the means of our departure 
 hence, but is it not a matter of the first importance that you be ready 
 for that change ? Is it not a duty which you ,owe to your own nttr* 
 tality to do what God requiresjor its well being* 1 True, you cannot 
 save your own soul and God does not ask this of you, but he com- 
 mands you to repent,' to forsake your sins, to believe in his only 
 begotten son, and he pledges his grace as all sufficient for your re- 
 quirements. 
 
 * You will not deny that it is a man's duty to provide for his 
 body, though that body_ cannot live very long.. You must feed and 
 clothe, and shelter it, and use your best judgment,for the preserva- 
 tion of its health, and I suppose you -will admit that, the man is 
 criminal who failsto do these things. ' Yet that -body is destined 
 • to the grave. In a few^years at best — perhaps in a very few days, 
 or hours it may be — it will require neither food nor raiment" still, 
 you can care for it, and do wisely. But here is the soul that can 
 never die, and will you tell me that it is not your "most sslemn duty 
 to^make provision for that? If you are not a Clristian, you tell me 
 so everyday; and what is still worse, you say to God, the author of 
 both, that you will tenderly care for the body, you will gratify its 
 appetites, you will indulge its tastes, you will cherish and caress it; 
 but as for the soul, it must take care of itself. Strange inconsistency, 
 wonderful delusion, fatal* infatuation with the world. You will find 
 your neglect to be folly, your indifference to be the forerunner of 
 endless woe. . . 
 
 I might speak of the duty which you owe to others, the influence 
 that you exert, and the part which you play in controlling .their con- 
 duct, and thus affecting their eternal destiny; and for which you 
 will beheld responsible by the Judge of all the earth. 1 only 
 allude to it and pass on. ( . 
 
 There is a higher duty than either of which I have spoken, and 
 embraced in it, a purer motive — your duty to God, to love, to serve, 
 to reverence and obey him. You can show no brighter honor ■ to 
 him, you can offer no more acceptable service upon earth' than -by 
 preparing to dwell with him in eternity. Your Master, your Bene- 
 factor, your Bedeemer, He has done you nothing but good all the 
 days of your life, and though ill-requited, the door or mercy^s open 
 still, and still the voice of heavenly love invites you to enter, and be 
 blessed forever. You would not dishonor your father r you would 
 not slight your mother, yet- you do both to one who is more than, 
 father and mother, and all other beings combined, who has borne 
 
wMi your faults, and loved you so tenderly that to save you from 
 the horrors of the second death he gave his well beloved son a 
 ransom for your soul. 
 
 2. You know not at what moment your Lord" may come. 
 The fact that he will come is not doubted by the most sceptical. ' 
 'When he will appear is unknown — it is" his secret. For each one 
 (he hour and the manner of his death are determined. At any 
 moment we may find ourselves confronting the -last enemy. We 
 walk in peril every hour, and know not that 'hand upon the dial may 
 not now point to that which shall close your history, or mine.. " Sure- 
 ly, every man walketh in a, vain show." There may be an appearance 
 of security, and often is, it the instant the fatal blow isstiuek. There 
 are times and seasons for all things else, but death is restricted to 
 to none. . ■ 
 
 "Leaves have their time to fall, 
 * And flowers to wither at the North wind's breath : 
 And stars to set : but all, 
 Thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh Death." 
 
 How frequently, and how sadly are we 'taught the truthfulness 
 of the text: " in such an hour -as ye think not the Son of Man 
 cometh." And especially of late how have the illustrations of the 
 uncertainty of life been multiplied in* our community, and in our 
 church. But .a few days ago this bell rung out v in doleful tones the 
 solemn news that another "gocth to his long home" — not the infirm, 
 the aged, but *lhe young, with the flush of early manhood on his 
 cheek, and before the ho^pes of youth had passed the vanity of life; 
 He went out from us buoyant and-fcopeful, with a noble ambition 
 stirring the blood in his young heart. He came back here sfcon, 
 only to occupy his narrow house among your dead. You understand 
 my allusion to our dear young brother Sumner^-whose face is so 
 familiar m this house, and whose earnest countenance as he listened 
 to the word of God, I can never forget. It was not my privilege to 
 be with, you at his burial, but I must take this occasion to bear my 
 testimony to his consistent walk as a christian, and his worth as a 
 young maD, than whom none gave promise of greater usefulness in 
 the church, and in the world. , , • 
 
 - James C. Sumner, son of Rev*. M. T. and Mrs. G. S'. Sumner, 
 was born at Wilmington, Fluvanna county, Va. ( September 24, 
 1840— and died at Charleston, Tenn., August 25, 1862. He spent 
 a year at Richmond College, Va., and in 1858 removed to this 
 place and engaged in teaching, in which he was unusually success- 
 ful. A diligent student, he was laying a broad foundation for future 
 usefulness, when this cruel war commenced, and in common with 
 the sentiment of t%e times, he felt that it was his duty to lay aside 
 the plans wnich he had marked out for himself, and give his services 
 to the country. He joined the 41st Regiment Alabama Yolunteers, 
 commanded by our fellow-townsman and brother- Col. Talbird, and 
 -by his fidelity, intelligence and kindness of heart soon won the oonfi- 
 
dence and affection of his officers and fellow-soldiers. Though he 
 fell not upon the battle-field, he was not less truly a martyr to 
 liberty. 
 
 He made a profession of religion early in life, and kept it 
 through that critical period from youth to manhood, as a sacred 
 thing. • Modest and retiring irt his disposition and deportment, he 
 would not shrink from any duty. "With manly firmness he com- 
 bined rthe gentleness of a child. In connection with his death, I 
 Will give you the simple, touching, stirring narrative of the lady at 
 whose house he 'breathed his life out,' as embodied in the following 
 letter to his mother : 
 
 Charleston, Tenn., August 26th, 1862. 
 Mrs. Sujiner — Dear Lady : At the request of my mother, I take my pen- 
 to tell you how the Death Angel shadowed our home with his dark wing. 
 
 ,. The 41st Alabama Regiment came here something near three or lour 
 weeks ago. I am happy to say they met with friends at every point as soon 
 as they landed... Quite a number in the regiment were sick, and the number 
 daily increated. Some eight in number were brought to my father's house, 
 among them your son. My mother visited them jegularly three or four times 
 a day, and when your son first saw my mother, he said to her, " you must be 
 my mother noio," and she told him that she would. He seemed to love her 
 so much after that and would often have her called back to his side, before 
 she could get down the steps from first leaving him. He was impressed from 
 the first that his illness would be unto death, and the persuasions of his 
 friends, together with the influence of my mother, could »ot in the least 
 change his mind regarding that. One' evening he grew so happy. The river 
 of love in his heart for God overflowed, and his lips gave utterance to only 
 thenjost beautiful and purest of words. He said he would die but death for 
 him bad no sting. He had her to get the Bible and open at the 23d Psalm 
 and he repeated every word after my mother as she read it. Then he asked 
 her to read the 1 4th chapter of St. John, she told him she would, but he 
 must. not talk any more otherwise he would exhaust himself. - He promised 
 her he would not, and she read it to him. He would occasionally stop her to 
 make some comments upon verses he particularly liked and tell her what a 
 comfort they had been to him He asked' her if she thought it possible that 
 any one could be so near and so sure of death, and yet feel so little fear. The' 
 only things he said that at all troubled him was that he knew how much fath- 
 er, mother, sisters and brothers had loved him, and they would grieve so. 
 " Tell them" he said, ''Mrs. Barrett, that they must not grieve so much tor 
 me. It will only be a little while until we meet in Heaven. I go but a shoit 
 time before them to the Mansion not made with hands. I have a sister, he 
 went on to say, "who was the instrument through God in bringing me to 
 Christ. How I love that sister no one can tell — no one can express — I lova 
 her better than any one on earth.'' Ah ! true sister, is it not a good tho ught 
 to your heart fh at when you, too,, shall have crossed the mystic river and 
 entered the pearly gate, that Jesus shall siy, as he places the starry crown 
 .upon your brow and points to the brightest star, " Thy brother's soul, my 
 child." It seems to me I would willingly suffer every anguish earth can in- 
 flict, to only know, I had won a single soul to Heaven. He said "there are 
 some of my father s household who have not known Christ, tell them to meet 
 me in Heaven — I long to meet them there — to know them in the home be- 
 yond the sick; and. again, he said " tell the Pastor of my church I want him, 
 the first Sabbath after he hears that J am dead, to tell to all from the pulpit, 
 how I died-, and that old Sabbath: school friends are not forgotten" and tell 
 them to live closer to Christ.' He said "tell my Pastor that death had no 
 shadow of a fear for me. T felt I was going straight home;" all the evening 
 
8 
 
 long he talked in the same beautiful way. The last two or three days be- 
 fore he died he was delerious almost all the time, and often called the names 
 of Sabbath schoolteacher and home loved ones. He knew my mother the 
 eveniDg before he died, for she placed some soup to his. lips, and said drink 
 some of this Jimmie, and he looked up in her face acd smiled, then she' said 
 do you know me? and he replied "yes; you are Dr. Barrett." Hi3 mind 
 was not perfectly clear, else; he would not have replied so, yet still it shows 
 he knew her. Believe me, dear lady, we did all in our power to alleviate his 
 sufferings, I would not have you to think he suffered for attention. We of 
 our little village have too many dear ones far from home to close our hearts 
 against stranger soldiers, especially, when we find them kind, and noble and 
 good. His fellow soldiers were to see him all though the days and nights, 
 and I have seen many tears coursing down bronzed checks, a,n 1 filling eyes 
 taut looked unused to weeping as they watched his suffering and listened to 
 QiS mc<$herent words. He died at two o'clock in' the morning, while the 
 holy stars were shining, his soul took the "one step into the darkness — then 
 God's eternal day." ... 
 
 Dear lady may God — He who was the "pillar of cloud" by day and pillar 
 of lire " by night to wandering Israel — be ever to you and family a guide and 
 nratector. In ey^ry time of weakness, as Hie ' sSado^f of a great rock in a 
 weary hind. In every time of trouble, may Jesus be your ftiend. 
 
 " Mother of on ange?" may God bless you ever and forever. 
 
 Your stranger friend, 
 
 Mary L. Barrett. 
 
 Oh! you who leave no hope in Jesus, tell me, could you meet 
 deaih thus? 
 
 He had laid to heart the words from which I have -spoken to you, 
 and when the Master came, he was ready. How much shall we' 
 miss him in the house of prayer, in the Sabbath school, in his own 
 .school and in social life. It is sad to lose one, . so lovely and so 
 promising, but Jesus knows best where to place his children, and 
 should we murmur because he has taken him higher, and nearer to 
 his own person? Rather let us rejoice in his promotion to glories, 
 which we, through older, are not permitted to behold. He '•has' fin- 
 ished 341s course. His sun has gone down while it was yet day." 
 Let us thank God for the brightness of its setting, and pray that our 
 end may be like his, triumphant through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 A mem. , ,