Richard Baxter, the gospel preacher, was riding to a village some distance from his home to preach. Night came on, and in the darkness Baxter missed his way. Finally he saw a lighted house near the roadside. Knocking at the door, he asked if he could spend the night there. The man of the house said he could.
At supper time the man asked his guest what his business was. Mr. Baxter told him in a quiet way, “I’m a man-catcher.”
“Oh,” he replied: “You are the very man I want. I’m the justice of the peace, and I want to catch Dick Baxter, who is to preach tomorrow morning in a nearby house.
Mr. Baxter did not tell the man who he was, but he agreed to go with him to the meeting the next day. The next morning they went to the house where the people had gathered to hear Dick Baxter preach. When the justice of the peace found that Dick Baxter had not yet arrived, he thought, “I suppose he has heard of my plan to arrest him, and he’s not going to show up.”
After a while the justice suggested that his guest should offer a prayer and talk to the people. Then Mr. Baxter began the meeting. He prayed with such power, those present felt that God was there. Then he delivered such a heart-searching message that the juice was melted to tears. As he closed his message, Mr. Baxter turned to him and said, “I am the Dick Baxter you are looking for! Take me!”
But he did not arrest Dick Baxter. God’s Word had broken the man’s heart, and instead of prosecuting the evangelist, the justice himself got saved. He lived to become a testimony for Christ in that village.
ML-02/13/1977