[AN EXTRACT.]
SOME little time ago, after the conclusion of one of Mr. N.'s addresses in Edinburgh, a young man came into the room where he was receiving persons anxious for private conversation, and said to him, " I have heard you preach three times, sir, and I neither care for you nor your preaching, unless you can tell me, Why did God permit sin?”
“I will do that with pleasure," was the immediate reply: because He chose it.”
The young man, apparently taken by surprise, stood speechless; and Mr. N. again repeated, "Because He chose; and," added he, "if you continue to question and cavil at God's dealings, and., vainly puffed up by your carnal mind, strive to be wise above what is Witten; I will tell you something more that God will do; He will someday put you in hell-fire. It is vain for you to strive with your Maker—you cannot resist Rim; and neither your opinion of His dealings, nor your blasphemous expression of them, will in the least lessen the pain of your everlasting damnation, which I again tell you will most certainly be your portion, if you go on in your present spirit. There were such questioners as you in Paul's time; and how did the apostle answer them? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?’”
The young man here interrupted Mr. N., and said, "Is there such a text as that in the Bible?" "Yes, there is," was the reply,” in the 9th chapter of the Romans; and I recommend you to go home and read that chapter, and after you have read it, and seen there how God claims for Himself the right to do whatever He chooses, without permitting the thing formed to say to Rim that formed it, Why had thou made me thus? Remember that besides permitting sin, there is another thing God has chosen to do—God chose to send Jesus. Of His own free and sovereign grace, God gave His only-begotten Son to die for sinners, in their stead, in their place, so that, though they are sinners, and have done things worthy of death, not one of them shall ever be cast into hell for his sins who will accept Jesus as his only Savior, and believe in Him, and rest in His word. I have no time to say more to you now; others are waiting to see me. Go home, attend to what I have told you, and may God the Holy Spirit bless it for Jesus Christ's sake.
This conversation took place on Sunday evening. On the following 'Friday, Mr. N. was sitting in a friend's drawing-room, when the servant announced that a young man wanted to speak to him. On being shown up stairs, he said, "Do you remember me?" "No." "Do you not remember the young man who, on Sunday night, asked you to tell him," Why did God permit sin?" “Yes, perfectly." " Well, sir, I am that young man, and you said, that God permitted sin because He chose it; and you told me to go home and read the ninth chapter of the Romans; and also that God chose to send Jesus to die for such sinners as I am; and I did, sir, what you told me, and afterward I fell down at God's feet, and asked Him to forgive my sins, because Jesus died for me, and to give me His Holy Spirit to put all wicked thoughts out of my head, and He did, and now I am happy—oh, so, so happy, sir and though the devil still comes sometimes to tempt me with my old thoughts, and to ask me what reason I have to think that God has forgiven me, I have always managed to get him away, by telling him that I do not want to judge things by my own reason, but by God's Word, and that the only reason why I know I am forgiven is, that for Christ's sake) God chose to pardon me." The changed expression of the young man's countenance was quite sufficient to account for Mr. N.'s not knowing him again. It was radiant with joy and peace.
Dear reader, the first lesson a poor sinner has to learn, is to trust in the Lord with all his heart, and not to his own understanding,—to trust God not only for what he does understand, and for what is explained, but for what he does not understand, and for what is not explained. This is faith; and such faith honors God and saves the soul. This is receiving the kingdom of God as a little child, who always believes that things mast Be right, if father says them, and father does them; and let 'us ever remember that it is written (and the Scripture cannot be broken), that unless "we receive the kingdom of God as a little child, we shall in no wise enter therein.”