BIRTH—CONVERSION—SERVICE IN THE GOSPEL —IMPRISONMENT
THE name of Manuel Matamoros will, in the lapse of a century or two, hold an important place in the religious history of Spain.
In a letter I received from him, dated "Cared de la Audiencia, Granada, Feb. 12, 1861," he gives a brief sketch of his life in the following words:—
“I am twenty-five years of age, according to the baptismal record read by the tribunal from the place of my birth, Malaga; and, beloved brother, young as I am, nevertheless, ever since I have had the use of my reason, my life has been one continued chain of suffering. After studying three years in the military college of Toledo, according to the wish of my deceased father, who was a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish artillery, I abandoned that profession, which was so much opposed to my tastes, at least as it exists in Spain, and I came to manage my property, consisting of seven pretty good farms at Malaga and its neighborhood.
“A succession of misfortunes, which happened within a very short time, obliged me to sell five leaving two remaining, of the value of about 10,000 dollars, which were mortgaged to free me from the military service which fell to my lot, and to help me to maintain my mother and her family, and move with them to Barcelona. I now see my poor mother in great straits, which weighs heavily on my spirit; she has hitherto been always pretty well off, but is now obliged to earn her bread by embroidering. May God bless her; she has many virtues.
“The reason of my leaving the service was through a notable circumstance, which placed me in a critical position, even endangering my life, and came about through the confession made by a corporal in my company to the chaplain of the regiment, who gave me much annoyance. To this corporal I had given a copy of the tract, Andrew Dunn,' and had succeeded in convincing him of the truth; he forwarded it to his mother, with the desire of effecting the same change in her mind, but she forced him to retract his opinions, and to confess to the priest, threatening that if he did not comply with her wish, he should lose her favor.”
In the year 1854 there was a revolution in Madrid. At such times I was enabled to do things that I dared not do in ordinary circumstances, such as print and circulate gospel tracts, for doing this I should have been sent out of the country; but, making use of my opportunity, I got a quantity of valuable tracts printed. Then the difficulty was to put them into circulation. So I had recourse to the following novel expedient:—Knowing one of the leaders of the Republican party, and knowing their hatred of priest craft, I proposed to this gentleman to receive packages of good gospel tracts and to send them to all the leaders of the Republican party in the different towns. He did so, and by this plan I had them efficiently circulated when I was utterly helpless myself. Probably it was one of these tracts that was blest to Matamoros.
It appears that Matamoros' first religious impressions were received from hearing the preaching of Don Francisco Ruet, an ordained minister, in the Presbyterian church at Gibraltar, as also by attending the ministry of a Senor B—, at Seville, a convert from Romanism in that town. These impressions, deepened by the reading of the Spanish tract, "Andrew Dunn," caused Matamoros to send in a formal protest against the errors of Romanism, and to inscribe his name in the books of the Presbyterian congregation of Gibraltar.
Don Francisco Ruet was born at Barcelona, and brought up for an advocate, but went to exercise his profession at Turin, where he heard the celebrated De Sanctis, the Italian reformer, preach, and became a convert to the pure faith of the gospel of Christ. He suffered imprisonment at Barcelona in the year 1855, but was afterward, at the end of nine months, set at liberty, and banished from Spain. He went then to Gibraltar and preached, and was instrumental in convincing many Spaniards of the errors of the Roman Catholic faith.
The reception of the gospel of the grace of God by Matamoros was as seed sown in good ground; and from the day he accepted that grace, he became a willing follower of the Lamb: his first inquiry, it would appear, on entering the service of Christ, was, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Ruet directed the steps of our faithful brother to Malaga and Granada, to preach Christ to those who, in those towns, were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death; they have seen "the great light.”
Before undertaking this dangerous mission, Matamoros understood well the immense difficulties that lay in his path, and that bonds and imprisonments awaited him; but he had counted the cost, and, like Paul, had been enabled to say, " None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
Malaga, his native town, was the place in which he commenced his loving and successful labors. In one of his early letters to me he gives an account of his first proceedings in the following terms:—"From the moment I dedicated myself to the holy cause of the gospel, I understood, beloved brother, that its propagation ought not to be an isolated attempt, nor reduced simply to the circulation of books, many of which I have seen thrown into the fire, or used for purposes completely different to those for which they were intended; indeed, I observed that not more than one in every thousand accomplished the end in view; while I desired, on the contrary, that one should be the means of enlightening at least a hundred persons.
“As soon as I arrived at Malaga, and being still in the army, I devoted myself to convincing my fellow countrymen, by discussing with them, and by comparing and drawing deductions from the Word of God; but principally among those persons in whom I had most confidence. As soon as I had succeeded in convincing them, I invited them to unite with the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ; and when they decided on so doing, I showed them the importance of writing a letter, in which they expressed clearly and explicitly their views, and these letters were signed and dated in due order; by this plan we guarded against betrayal, and interested them in the work, and knew with more certainty the faith and conviction of the writer of the document. Having agreed with Senor Ruet, I directed them to write to him, so as to prevent a surprise; and he in his turn answered them and encouraged them in further inquiries, and in deeper study of the Word; sustained their faith; and his letters, being read by many, produced a good effect, and gave excellent results.
“The protests thus obtained at Malaga were the first commenced in Spain. In a short time, dear brother, they became so numerous, that the instruction of all was a task infinitely superior to my ability; nor could I keep alive the faith of such a number of people; so I determined to give an entirely new organization to my labors. I formed a committee from among the most active, best instructed, and most evangelical of the believers, for the purpose of directing and propagating our work on a more solid basis, and for producing the most consoling and blessed results. The total number of brethren were divided into as many congregations as our committee was composed of members, and these semi-missionaries were entrusted with the instruction of these meetings. By this means I succeeded in making our work go forward with renewed activity, and augmented the number of meetings for edification. In a word, at every step we found ourselves approximating more closely to the sacred end to which the blessed cause of the Lord ought to bring us.
" When I received some packages of books, I no longer let them be given away at random, nor did I allow them to be thrown in at the doors of some houses, as had been done elsewhere, neither did I place them in the hands of uncertain individuals; but I handed them over to the leaders, and as they knew the exact state of the church and its wants, the books were divided into as many parts as there were leaders, and each member took that proportion which he required for his congregation. The leaders, knowing most accurately the wants of their respective congregations, distributed the books with the greatest prudence, and thus in two or three days I saw a considerable number put into circulation, all of which seemed to be thankfully received. Never, beloved brother, have I had too many books; on the contrary, I have often had reiterated peremptory demands, and have not been able to meet all the wants.
“It will be easy for you to see that this system given to our work ought to give satisfactory results, and so it proved. Speedily the leaders of the committee found themselves insufficient to carry on the work of preaching; speedily the congregations were firm in faith and well instructed, to such an extent, indeed, that it would have filled you with joy to have witnessed those meetings for simple Christian edification.
“These meetings were commenced by fervent prayer for the presence of the Holy Spirit, and were concluded by thanksgiving, because there was daily manifested a visible improvement in them. I, poor in talent and oratory, and with but little instruction, devoted myself to preaching, which I did two or three times a week, and which did not hinder the members of the committee from going forward with the separate classes, which was always desirable, as our meeting in large numbers was dangerous. One of these meetings was witnessed by Dr. and Mrs. Tregelles, at which there were about ninety-seven present, and among them my dear mother ...
"All the members of our churches are in admirable contact, and know each other well; and immediately when one is unwell, a committee of three attend by turns at the house of the sufferer, visiting him at least once every day, and see after the wants of his family; and to the sick person no care is lacking so that he may be supplied, the expenses being paid out of the general fund of the church for this end; so that the spirit of fraternity is indeed a truth.”
From Malaga, Matamoros proceeded to Seville, Granada, Barcelona, Jaen, and various towns of the province of Andalusia. In Granada particularly his labors were much blessed, and a large, numerous, and influential body of believers was gathered there. At Barcelona, our brother met again Dr. and Mrs. Tregelles, in the month of September, 1860.
Here it is necessary for me to say, that feeling that my knowledge of Spanish was a talent committed to me by God for which I was responsible, I felt desirous' of employing it to his glory, and was impelled one afternoon to kneel down, and pray that He would allow me to use it for the good of Spain. The prayer was short, but it was heard, and was speedily answered. This was at my house at Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire.
In a conversation Mrs. Tregelles had with Matamoros, she mentioned my name to him, and recommended his writing to me, which he did in the month of September, 1860. In answer to this letter, I encouraged him to continue in his self-denying and glorious work, and promised him my sympathy, prayers, and support in every way. The second letter I received from him was from the prison at Barcelona, as follows:—
"Prison, Barcelona, October 17th, 1860.
"RESPECTED AND VERY DEAR BROTHER IN JESUS CHRIST,
“I have received with sincerest joy your kind letter of the 9th, which afforded me infinite comfort in this house of misfortune. The same day on which you were so good as to write to me—the 9th instant—at seven o'clock in the morning I was arrested for the single crime of being a Christian, and loving my fellow men so well as to desire that they also should know the Lord Jesus, by whom alone they can be saved. A charge laid against me in Granada induced the civil governor of that city to send a telegraphic order to the governor of this place for my arrest, and also for the minute examination of my house, etc. After a most rigorous and tyrannical search, there was found in my possession a packet of letters and papers from several places in Spain, and certain other documents which compromised me to a considerable degree. I was brought to this prison, and kept for eight days in a sad and terrible solitary confinement. After two examinations before the whole tribunal, I was relieved from my solitude, that is to say, I am now confined with criminals! I gave my answers without confessing anything but my own faith—so as not to involve others; that faith which shall save me when the one Supreme Judge shall sit upon his throne.
“At this stage of my examination a singular episode occurred—the magistrates believed that I should deny my faith, and that the sight of the enemies of Christ and my tyrants would overwhelm me, but they were mistaken. The questions and answers were as follow:—Question. ‘Do you profess the Catholic Apostolic Roman faith; and if not, what religion do you profess ?’ Answer. 'My religion is that of Jesus Christ; my rule of faith is the Word of God, or Holy Bible, which, without a word altered, curtailed, or added, is the basis of my belief; and in this I am confirmed by the last few sentences of the Apocalypse, and the many distinct charges of the Apostles in their Epistles. The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church not being based upon these principles, I do not believe in her dogmas, still less do I obey her in practice.' The tribunal appeared astonished at these words, and the judge said to me, Do you know what you are saying?' Yes, sir,' I replied in a firm voice, I cannot deny it; I have put my hand to the plow, and I dare not look back.' The judge was silent, and the tribunal rose.
“Nothing, dear brother, alarms me for myself, but I do grieve over the arrests which have been made, both before and since mine took place, in various parts of Andalusia. Oh I they will injure worthy Christian people, honored fathers and virtuous sons! Alas! this oversets my tranquility of mind, and I shall not recover it for many days! And again, my dear old mother, with my two little brothers, are left alone in this strange town. Thus my position is very trying; I suffer, yes, I suffer much!
“Our mission, my dear friend, is not, and has not been, to separate believers from the Church of Rome; it has been to bring souls out of the Roman darkness, and from Atheism or indifference to the knowledge of Christ; to gather together intelligent and evangelical congregations; in a word, to form churches worthy of God and of the world. As you will easily imagine, my spirit is not at rest, and I cannot to-day write you at length upon these topics; but I promise to do so shortly, and give you explicit details.
“You may do much for Catalonia; it requires and promises more than any other part of Spain.
“Although my imprisonment threatens to be a long one, that is, of some months' duration, yet I can labor here also, for the brethren visit me; and from this spot I can give you full information. The work in Barcelona has not suffered in the slightest degree, for all depends upon me, and I would sooner die than cause any one to suffer. In Andalusia they have received a fearful blow; but time will obliterate their panic, and all will go on as before. The seed sown has been abundant and good, and the enmity of Christ's foes is impotent. God is on our side.
“Later, I hope to send you the rules of our organization, but the basis of our existence is the Word of God—the Holy Bible.
“Adieu, dear brother. I would gladly be free to do all that you would wish; but, alas! in Spain, it is a crime to love the gospel! I trust you will soon write to me, you will easily believe that now, more than ever, your letters will be a comfort to me in my present sorrowful and trying position. Counsel and consolation from Christian friends is a necessary of life to me now!
“God be with you, dear friend,
“Your brother in Jesus Christ,
(Signed) "M. M.”