"Words That God Daniel Webster's Attention" - by Rev. Weldon Bares

Daniel Webster was a famous senator and orator in the first part of the 1800s. He practiced prominently as a lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court, and he served as Secretary of State for three United States presidents. He is one of the most famous figures in American history.

Towards the end of his life, he talked about attending a church service in his hometown of Salisbury, New Hampshire. The pastor was a wise older man.

At some point in the worship service, the pastor read from scripture and then said, “My friends, we can die but once.”

Daniel Webster later commented on the sermon by saying, “As weak as these words might seem, at once they were to me among the most impressive and awakening I ever heard.” The phrase struck Webster so deeply that he remembered it for the rest of his life. “We can die but once.”

Thomas à Kempis was a German Dutch monk and theologian. He wrote “The Imitation of Christ” in the early 1400s. It is the most widely read Christian devotional book in history, next to the Bible. Aside from the Bible, it has been translated into more languages than any other book in history.

He wrote: “Very quickly will there be an end of thee here; take heed therefore how it will be with thee in another world. Today man is, and tomorrow he will be seen no more.” (Chapter XXIII)

The words of the old-time New Hampshire preacher should really get our attention today, as they did for the great Daniel Webster. “We can die but once.”