INTRODUCTORY
FEELING it at once a duty and a privilege, to give to the church a brief account of the life, labors, and imprisonment of that beloved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, Manuel Matamoros, I commence my pleasant undertaking by asking the aid and blessing of the Divine Counselor, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, and I look to Him for that guidance which He never refuses to those who feel their own insufficiency and who ‘throw themselves on Him in their hour of need. Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it, and it is for that church that these pages are penned; not only for those members of it now living, but also for those who may come after.
“It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first," to give back to the flock what the Great Shepherd has entrusted to my keeping, even the detailed account of the sufferings and trials and untiring labors of our brother in bonds, with extracts from the many long and interesting letters I have received from him, all which have been carefully preserved from the first.
God's superintending care over this servant has been unmistakably shown in many ways. He said to Israel by Hosea, "Thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for thee," and the dependence and wholeheartedness of the prisoner in being for the Lord, has been one of the secrets of the Lord's unceasing love and tender care for him.
I obtained a knowledge of the Spanish language during a residence of several years in Spain, where I was engaged in the laying out and construction of some of the many lines of railway that now intersect the Peninsula, and having been, by God's good providence, led to know and love the Lord Jesus, I endeavored, while helping in the material progress of the country, to prepare that highway which is called the way of holiness, wherein the redeemed shall walk.
It was in the year 1858 that I left Spain, but ever since I have taken a deep interest and active part in the work of God going on there and latterly, have had the privilege of receiving and communicating to many Christian friends the prison letters of a faithful martyr.
As it is my intention to give to the church some information respecting the recent revival of truth in Spain, it may be interesting to know that a countryman of ours, Dr. Rule, of Aldershot, began some thirty years before to labor for the Lord in Andalusia; his message was honored of God, and received by many Spaniards, and the schools which he then established in Gibraltar, in connection with the Wesleyan body, are thriving to this day. This learned and laborious servant of Christ translated into the Spanish language a tract entitled "Andrew Dunn," which has since been used by God in enlightening many.
The late Dr. James Thompson, an agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, was the next sent by the Lord into Spain; he was at Madrid about the year 1845, as far as I can learn, where he lost his beloved wife; his prayers and activity for the advancement of the Lord's kingdom in Spain were untiring while he lived. He died about the year 1854. His efforts resulted in the formation of the Spanish Evangelization Society at Edinburgh, which continued for some time to labor with success.
At about this period, Mr. Parker, of London, brought out his modest publication, entitled the "Alba," printed in Spanish, with a view to enlighten the Spanish mind as to the errors of Popery, and to introduce the pure gospel of the grace of God. This little messenger did important service in Spain, and the "Spanish Evangelical Record," edited by Mrs. Robert Peddie, of Edinburgh, served to keep the people in this country informed as to the progress of God's work in Spain.
There are at the present time about 14,000,000 Spaniards in the Peninsula, and were we carried by the Spirit into the midst of the open country, we should see it full of bones and very dry, so that we might ask, "Can these bones live" And then the answer of the Word is, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord”
Already, with the feeble efforts that have been made, some results have been obtained, and a goodly band of witnesses has been brought out, ready to testify to their countrymen the glad tidings of the grace of God. But we are only on the threshold, and the bitter opposition, by the adversaries, to the introduction of the truth into Spain, offers no obstacle to the "hosts of the Lord." There are separated unto our David, men of might and men of war, who by God's grace have faces like the faces of lions; He has his Gideon’s now as of old, to whom He has said, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." They have not been wanting in this first glorious campaign who "have jeoparded their lives on the high places of the field," neither shall they be wanting while there is one stronghold to be cast down, or one captive to be set free. The Red Sea is before us, mountains on the right hand and on the left, but the word abideth sure, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord; the Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Even so, Lord Jesus, be it unto thy servants according to thy word.