A Narrative of a Man-Of-War’s-Man’s Conversion.
MOST of my readers have doubtless heard of the sudden and strange mischance by which one of “the wooden walls of England” ―or perhaps, as we may now not unaptly transpose the strophe of the old sea song, one of its “iron-bound walls” ―went down under the blue waters of the Irish Sea, about two years ago. The channel was leaving our hay in a thick fog when, by some unforeseen occurrence, H.M.S. Iron Duke came into collision with her consort vessel, H.M.S. Vanguard, and the shock which these two ironclads sustained falling heaviest on the weaker, the Vanguard, after a very brief time, sunk completely under water; but, through the mercy of God, not until all her crew were safely got off.
The Iron Duke had been some little time moored on our coast, after her destructive misadventure, when I became interested in a few Christians amongst her crew; and having been led to send Gospel magazines and little books on board, as the months came round, my desire to know more about these children of God in deep waters increased. I had met one of them where I attended on Lord’s-day mornings, and sometimes seen others at evening meetings. My interest vas particularly aroused on behalf of one young man, who had been (as his brother told me), some time converted, but was still unsettled in his path of service and testimony.
He was anxious and desirous for light and guidance, and Christian friends were holding out helping hands through Bible readings, and other means of encouragement and instruction; but Samuel M―did not seem to see his way clearly for a while, though doubtless going through exercise of soul in secret. He was one of five brothers, four of whom were by the grace of God converted men, and it was his happy lot to be the son of a praying Christian father, still alive and residing in Devonshire.
The Lord was now constraining and dealing in “grace and truth” with this awakened soul, and binding him, I believe, for time and for eternity in “the bundle of life,” and amongst the precious sheaves of the “fruit of his toil.”
To my great joy, I learned one Lord’s day that Samuel M― had resolved to take a more decided step for his Lord, and come to His table to partake of those memorials of that dying love, of which He has left us so precious a legacy in the bread and wine, whereby we show forth the Lord’s death till He come.
I felt more rejoiced at this step on his part, as had received from him a few days previous to it, a little account of his first spiritual awakening and struggles of soul on shipboard. I shall give it in his own words; casting it prayerfully, as “bread upon the waters,” hoping it may be found after many days, “to the praise of His glory, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
“How I Was Brought to the Lord.”
“It was on the 19th of May, 1873, that I arrived safely in Sydney, Australia, after a long voyage of ninety-four days from England. Being acquainted with a merchant seaman―a Christian―belonging to the same ship that I went out in, I soon made acquaintance with many Christian people through him. My desire to become a Christian began to grow, though knowing nothing of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Friends talked to me often, but never do I remember any of them, showing me, or telling me, that I was a sinner, guilty, condemned, lost. Oh! had that been made plain to me, or brought before me, how gladly should I have received it, for my desire grew more and more. I was told, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;’ and I thought I did believe, but not to the saving of my never-dying soul, as I now see. I, like many others, thought I had to do something to become a Christian. Thinking Good Templarism was one good step towards Christianity, I joined the order, and of course had great zeal towards the temperance cause, imagining it to be a religious order. I became religious by works, not by faith in Christ. I soon began to see that Good Templarism was not what I thought, or at first anticipated. No peace did it bring me with God, although at times I felt quite happy; then again fears arose, and I would get into despair. Sometimes calm happiness returned for a while; doubts followed like a tossing ship, up and down still having the desire to become a Christian.
“In 1875 we had orders to return to England, where I arrived with my officer and the crew on the 16th of June of the same year.
“After my leave was out I returned to the receiving ship at Plymouth, and on the 27th of July was sent to the Iron Duke. I believed it was for some wise purpose I was sent to this ship.
“Going into a strange ship brought me to my senses. I looked back, and saw my past life and my history right through―nothing but sin; and not only that, but I found myself a lost and a hell-deserving sinner. How the Spirit strove with me! Dreading sleep, I lay awake for about two hours for three nights, as far as I can remember. I was like this, other nights, dreading sleep. Judgment, eternity, and hell came before me in all their awfulness, knowing if I died as I was I was lost! But the Lord, who is rich in mercy, revealed unto me Jesus on the cross; and that passage, ‘The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)), came to me in full power. Oh! how did I rejoice to get Christ, and see Him as my Saviour on the cross on purpose for me: it gave me that peace which the world cannot give nor take away, and my happiness was as great as I was miserable before. Then could I see plainly that my past life was not faith in Christ, and Him crucified, but sin and wickedness in rejecting Him as my Saviour. And then I could see that ‘Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out’ (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)).
S. J. M.
In but a brief time after Samuel M―’s happy decision, I had a letter from him, telling me that he was under orders for Plymouth, to join another ship. He felt very sorry to leave his Christian shipmates, and friends on shore; but, looking to his Lord for support, he said he believed it was for some wise purpose; for the One who had watched over him for the past years of his life could, and he felt sure would, be with him still; adding, “Being ordered away thus unexpectedly brings to my mind about the Ethiopian eunuch having received the truth, and Philip being taken suddenly from him; I having just come to the Lord’s Cable, and now to be sent to another ship―I trust for the Lord’s glory―I have His promise, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee;’ and though my path here may be a rugged one, yet what is that to the glory hereafter? I trust this going away may be to learn me a lesson that may not yet be learned: perhaps to bring me nearer to Himself; but to be fully dependent on. Him is, I think, a taste of heaven below.”
I wished him God-speed one Lord’s-day morning, after we had met round His table; and if we should not meet again on earth, we shall, believe, when we shall be unclothed of this mortal tabernacle, and clothed upon with life and immortality, and know as known.
And now, to some who happen to read this little paper I would add a concluding word.
If not yet blood-washed and pardoned, would you be thankful to any friend who would honestly tell you that you were in a lost condition, an enemy to God, and unable to bring one figment of righteousness or good works to meet His approbation, or work out your own salvation? Yet, dear soul such is your case.
Are you like the Good Templar in my story, desiring to be a Christian, yet believing you have to do something, or take some moral and reformatory step, before you can come to or belong to Christ? If so, you are mistaken and deceived. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to, the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Incline your ear and come unto me; hear and your soul shall live” (Isa. 55:1,2,31Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:1‑3)). Far be it from me to depreciate the real value of “temperance, soberness, and chastity;” but these virtues are not CHRIST; they ought to be amongst the beautiful fruits of the Spirit showing themselves forth in the converted man, but when trusted in as righteousness by the sinner, who has not bowed to Christ in heart contrition and seen his own vileness and distance from God, they are but Dead-Sea waters, stagnant, briny, and unable to quench his soul’s thirst, or cleanse away the corruptions of his fallen nature.
JESUS said, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13,1413Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13‑14)). Free as the air around us, free as the sunshine above us, which shineth alike on the evil and on the good, is the salvation offered, and even pressed by God upon the ungrateful rebel, as well as the anxious soul seeking to find peace and acceptance through his own vain attempts at reformation. But both must stand on the same platform; they must own and believe themselves lost, and unable to bring one iota of self-merit or human standing to render them acceptable in the eyes of a holy God. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was LOST.” To use a sailor’s phrase (and for such, under the blessing of God, I am now writing), “they must be brought to round turn;” the rope of good works and fancied righteousness, by which they are drifting to a distance from, God, must be pulled in and laid at His feet, and the soul take hold on that “hope which maketh not ashamed” (Rom. 5:99Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9))
― “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even JESUS” (Heb. 6:1919Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; (Hebrews 6:19)).
O anxious sinner seeking to become a Christian! ―if such an one I now address―listen to a sweet proclamation from Christ’s heart of love: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
Ah! do you not often long for rest? When the waves lash and beat against the sides of your tossing vessel, dark clouds and cold winds drifting around, and you far from sight of land, joys of home, and kindly voices of relatives and friends-in the long dreary voyage of life, outward bound, don’t you wish it was all reversed, and that you were moored in a peaceful haven, or sale at home, or even homeward bound instead of outward? Poor soul! If you were resting on Jesus, what an anchor of peace His love would be to you amidst all this. If your feet were but planted, on Christ, the Rock of Ages, should earthly wreck and perils of the deep surround you, death itself would then be but a mist-veiled friend, stretching out a hand to lift you from the horrors of the tempest into that paradise of rest, where the dying thief of old awoke to joy, rapture, and eternal safety, after the tortures of the cross, the great darkness, the earthquake, and the anguish of the broken limbs, to which his fellow-men had recourse to terminate his few lingering hours of life. When terror-stricken companions might be sinking and drowning in despair around you, and their immortal souls passing into eternal woe, you would be welcomed into the presence of Him “who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
To those who have already found Christ, and amongst their number him whose conversion 1 have just been relating, I would affectionately say in parting, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:1313Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)).
K. B. K.