Dedicated to my dear friend, E. Payson Hammond
My life is filled with sad regrets;
No peace attends my way;
Each day the sun in darkness sets,
Oh, hear me Lord, I pray:
Oh, let me not in darkness rove,
But melt my heart of stone;
Accept my faint attempts at love,
And fix my heart on things above.
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove,
Oh, leave me not alone.
Indulgent God of love and power,
To Thee for help I fly;
Be with me at this solemn hour,
And hear my contrite sigh;
Renew my heart and be my Guide
To Thy celestial throne:
Oh, let me see Thy wounded side;
I come to Thee, the crucified;
Lord, condescend to be my Guide,
Oh, leave me not alone.
My heart with inward horror shrinks,
I feel this load of sin;
Far from the shadow of Thy wings,
All darkness is within.
Now, take me, Lord, into Thy care,
And melt my heart of stone;
My load is more than I can bear,
And Thou didst not disdain to hear
The publican in fervent prayer,
Oh, leave me not alone.
I know thou canst not let me go-
Thy blood for me was shed;
Now let me sink beneath its flow,
And raise me from the dead,
And bid me stretch my withered arm
To Thee whose love is shown,
And grasp Thy mantle with its charm
To take from Death its dread alarm,
And then, reclining on Thine arm,
I shall not be alone.
My first prayer to Jesus I shall never forget. It was as follows: "O Lord Jesus Christ, if Thou art the Son of God; if Thou art the Savior of the world: if Thou art the Jews' Messiah for whom we Jews are still looking; and if Thou canst convert sinners as Christians say, Thou canst convert me, for I am a sinner, and I will promise to serve Thee all the days of my life.”
This prayer of mine, however, went no higher than my head. The reason was not far to seek. I had tried to make a bargain with Jesus, that if He would do what I asked Him, I, on my part, would do what I then promised Him. I remained on my knees for about half an hour, and whilst so engaged drops of sweat came running down my face. My head also felt hot, and I put it against the wall of my study to cool it. I was in agony, but I was not converted. I arose and paced to and fro in my room. Then the thought came to me that I had gone too far already, and I vowed I would never go on my knees again. I began to reason with myself, Why should I go on my knees? Cannot the God of Abraham, whom I have loved, served, and worshipped all the days of my life, do for me what Christ is said to do for the Gentiles? I looked at it, of course, from a Jewish standpoint and went on reasoning, Why should I go to the Son? Is not the Father above the Son?
The more I reasoned the worse I felt, and became increasingly perplexed. In one corner of the room lay my phylacteries, which still possessed a magnetic influence over me. I instinctively turned towards them, and I involuntarily fell on my knees again, but could not utter any words. My heart ached, for I had a sincere desire to become acquainted with Christ, if He were the Messiah. I changed my posture time after time, alternately kneeling and then walking about the room from a quarter to ten until five minutes to two in the morning.
At that time, light began to dawn on my mind; and I began to feel and believe in my soul that Jesus Christ was really the true Messiah. No sooner had I realized this than, for the last time that night, I fell on my knees; but this time my doubts were gone, and I began to praise God for a joy and happiness had penetrated my soul such as I had never known before. I had found the true Shiloh, the Ruler of Israel, Emmanuel-God with us." I had believed the report of Isaiah concerning the true Messiah-JESUS-who was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," who was "wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:55But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)). I had looked on Him whom they had pierced, and I knew that I was converted, and that God for Christ's sake had pardoned my sin. I now felt that neither circumcision availed anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (Gal. 6:1515For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. (Galatians 6:15); 2 Cor. 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)).
I arose from my knees and, in my new-found happiness, thought that my dear wife would at once share my joy when I told her of the great change which had come over me. With that thought uppermost in my mind, I rushed out of my study into the bedroom (for my wife had retired to rest, although the gas had not been turned off). I threw my arms around her neck, began to kiss her eagerly, saying: "Wife, I have found the Messiah." She looked annoyed, and, pushing me from her, coldly asked, "Found who?" "Jesus Christ, my Messiah and Savior," was my reply. She spoke not another word, but in less than fifteen minutes was dressed and had left the house, although it was then two in the morning and bitterly cold, and went across the street to the house of her parents, who lived immediately opposite. I did not follow her, but dropped on my knees, imploring my newly-found Savior that my wife might also have her eyes opened as I had and afterward went to sleep. On the following morning, my poor wife was told by her parents that if she ever called me husband again she would be disinherited, excommunicated from the synagogue, and accursed. At the same time, my two children were sent for by their grandparents and told that they must never call me father again; that I, in worshipping Jesus, the "Imposter," was fully as bad as He was.
Oh! the inveterate hatred of the human heart to the Gospel of God. Well might the converted Hebrew of the Hebrews who wrote the Epistle to the Romans declare: "Both Jew and Gentile, they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:9,10,239What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:9‑10)
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). Five days after my conversion, I received orders from the Surgeon-General at Washington to proceed west on government business. I tried all the means in my power to communicate personally with my wife and to bid her good-bye, but she would neither see me nor write to me. She, however, sent me a message by a neighbor to the effect that so long as I called Jesus Christ my Savior I should not call her my wife, for she would not live with me. I did not expect to receive such a message from my wife, for I loved her and my children dearly; and it was with a sad heart therefore that I left home that morning to travel 1300 miles to my sphere of duty without being able to see either my wife or children.
For fifty-four days my wife would not answer any of my letters, although I wrote her one daily, and with every letter sent, I prayed that God would incline her heart to read at least one of them. I felt that if she would but read one of my letters (for Christ was preached and the joy I was experiencing in my soul was told forth in every one of them), she would reconsider what she had said and done before I left home. Never in my experience were Cowper's lines more signally fulfilled:
"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm,”
For it was through the disobedience of my daughter that my wife was converted. My daughter was the youngest of our two children; she was generally considered her father's pet. After my conversion to Christ, a sense of duty to her mother on the one hand and her love to her father on the other kept her mind in continual agitation.
On the fifty-third night, she dreamed she saw her father die. A fear came over her, and she made up her mind that, come what would, she would not destroy the next letter in her father's handwriting. The following morning she waited for the postman at the door. As he handed the letters to her, she took her father's letter, quickly slipped it into her bosom, ran upstairs into her room, locked the door, and opened the letter. She began to read it, and then read it three times before she laid it down. That letter made her sad at heart to such an extent that when she went down stairs her mother saw she had been crying, and asked her the cause of her grief.
“Mother, if I tell you, you will be offended; but if you promise me not to be grieved, I will tell you all about it.”
“What is it, my child?" said her mother.
Taking out my letter from under her dress, she told her mother her dream of the night previous, and added, "I have opened my papa's letter this morning, and now I cannot and will not believe what my grandpa and grandma or anybody else says about my papa being a bad man, for a bad man could not write such a letter as this to his wife and children. I beg of you to read this, mother," she added, as she handed to her the letter.
My wife took the letter, carried it into the next room, and locked it in her desk. That afternoon, she locked herself in her room, and, opening the desk, took my letter and began to read it. The more she read the worse she felt. She afterward told me she read it through five times before she finally laid it down. After the last reading of the letter, my wife returned it to the desk and went back to the room she had just left. Her eyes were full of tears, and now it was my daughter's turn to ask, "Mother, why are you crying?" "Child, my heart aches," was the reply; "I wish to lie down on the lounge." She did so. The servant made her a cup of tea, thinking that was all that was needed to take away the heart-ache of which she complained. There are many cases, doubtless, in which a cup of tea may possibly be a benefit; but it brought no relief to my poor wife.
After a while, my wife's mother came across the street to our house. Thinking my wife to be very ill, she administered some simple home remedies, as mothers frequently do. This also failed to give any relief. At half-past seven in the evening my mother-in-law sent for Dr. D-. He came at once and prescribed for her, but his medicine likewise failed to remove the heart-ache of which my wife complained. My mother-in-law stayed at our house that night attending to my wife until a quarter-past eleven o'clock. I heard my wife say afterward that the desire of her heart was that her mother should leave the room, for she had fully made up her mind to go on her knees, as I had previously done, as soon as her mother had gone. No sooner, therefore, had she left our house than my wife locked the door and fell on her knees by the side of her bed, and in less than two minutes Christ the Great Physician met her, healed her, and saved her.
Like her husband, the moment she came to an end of human effort, worldly wisdom and vain tradition, and surrendered herself, body, soul, and spirit, to God, she found the Holy Spirit ready to open her blind eyes, to turn her from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:1818To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)). The moment she was enabled to "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," she could say with Philip of old, "We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph"; and add with Nathanael, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel" (John 1:29, 45, 4929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (John 1:45)
49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:49)).
On the following morning, I received a telegram worded as follows: "Dear Husband, Come home at once. I thought you were in the wrong and I was in the right; but I have found that you were in the right and I in the wrong. Your Christ is my Messiah, your Jesus my Savior. Last night, at nineteen minutes past eleven, while on my knees for the first time in my life, the Lord Jesus saved my soul.”
After reading the telegram, I felt for a moment as if I did not care one cent for the Government under which I served. I left my business unfinished, took the first express train, and started for Washington. My house at that time being well known there, especially amongst the Jews (for I had frequently sung in the synagogue), I did not wish to create a sensation, and so I telegraphed to my wife not to meet me at the station, for I would take a carriage on my arrival at Washington, and drive quietly home. When I got to the front of my home, I saw my wife standing at the open door expecting me. Her face beamed with joy. She ran to meet me as I stepped out of the carriage and threw her arms round my neck and kissed me. Her father and mother were also standing at their open door across the street, and when they saw us in each others' arms, they began to curse both me and my wife. Ten days after my wife had accepted the Lord
Jesus Christ as her Savior, my daughter was converted. She is now the wife of a Christian and a co-worker with her husband in Christ's vineyard. My son (would to God I could say the same of him as of his sister!) was promised by his grandparents on his mother's side that if he would never again call me "father" or his mother, "mother," they would leave all their property to him, and thus far he has kept his promise.
A year and nine months after her conversion, my wife died. The desire of her heart previous to her death was to see her son, who resided about seven minutes' walk from our house. I sent again and again to him, begging of him to come and see his dying mother. One of the ministers of the city, along with his wife, personally saw my son, and tried to persuade him to grant his dying mother's request; but his only reply was, "Curse her, let her die; she is no mother of mine.”
On Thursday morning (the day of her death), my wife asked me to send for as many members of the congregation where she worshipped as could come, to be with her in her dying hour. At half-past ten, she asked Mrs. Ryle, the minister's wife, who was a very dear friend of hers, to take her left hand, and let all the ladies in the room join hands with her. I stood at the other side of the bed and took hold of the right hand; and the gentlemen joined hands with me, and at my wife's request we formed a circle, about thirty-eight of us, and then we sang,
"Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Savior hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last.”
Very softly, as we began to sing,
“Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
More than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
Heal the sick and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name,
I am all unrighteousness;
Vile and full of sin I am,
Thou art full of truth and grace,”
my wife in a feeble, though clear voice said: "Yes, it is all I want; it is all I have. Come, Lord Jesus, take me home," and she fell asleep.
She who from infancy had been taught to hate the Name of Jesus had by grace learned to value that "Name above every name" as the One who so recently had saved her precious soul, made and kept her happy during the last trying months, and in our presence had given her a triumphant exodus from this world of sin and sorrow into the everlasting habitations prepared for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the redeemed, whether Jew or Gentile.
The manner of her home-going I have sought to describe in the following poem:
O glorious hour! I'm going home,
The gate's ajar for me,
The angels' wings are rustling near,
Their forms I almost see.
The shadows of that sinless throng
Are falling over me;Savior! loving Savior!
I come, I come to Thee.
CHORUS
I am coming, I am coming,
Coming now to Thee;
I am coming, blessed Savior,
Coming now to Thee.
What though this temple slow decays,
And pain is hard to bear,
I have a home not made with hands,
Eternal over there.
Thy Blood alone has purchased it,
Those mansions bright and free,
Jesus! loving Jesus!
O glorious hour! the gates of pearl
Are open wide, I'm free!
The angel songs are ringing clear,
Praise God, praise God with me.
My work is done, I'm going home,
Sinless soon I'll be; Savior! loving Savior!
I come, I come to Thee.
My son would not come to the funeral, nor, so far as I have known, has he ever visited his mother's grave, neither has he called me "father," nor answered any letter of mine since my conversion, although I have three times crossed the Atlantic, from America to Germany, trying to see him and be reconciled, but have failed in every instance, for he would not see me. This, however, has only called forth more fervent prayer on his behalf that he also may be emancipated from the thraldom of Jewish prejudice, and in Jesus "Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (Joh 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)). A fourth visit to Germany in July, 1887, has strengthened and confirmed my faith for my son not only consented to see me, but he shed bitter tears on the remembrance of the past, and at once declared his determination to see his dear sister in America.
I wrote to my mother, who resided in Germany, immediately after my conversion, recounting to her how I had found the true Messiah. I could not keep the good news from her, and in my heart thought she would believe me, the eldest of her fourteen children. Indeed, I may say that the first desire of my heart after my conversion was that all my friends, Jew as well as Gentile, should share with me in my new-found joy. I felt like the Psalmist when he wrote: "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul”
(Psa. 66:1616Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. (Psalm 66:16)). This hope, so far as my mother was concerned, was destined to be bitterly disappointed, for she wrote me but one letter (if a curse can be called a letter), prolonged silence at last awakening within me a suspicion that if she did write at all it would be to send me that curse which every Jew must expect from his nearest relations when he embraces Christianity. This suspicion was only too fully confirmed after a lapse of five months and a half, during which time I was in suspense, for previous to my conversion my mother had written to me once a month.
One morning when the postman brought me my letters, I saw amongst them one bearing the German postmark, and in the old, familiar handwriting of my dear mother. As soon as I saw it, I said to my wife, who was in the room; "Wife, it has come as last." Needless to say I opened that letter first. There was no heading to it, no date, no "My dear Son," as all her former letters to me began, but it read as follows:
“Max-You are no longer my son; we have buried you in effigy; we mourn you as one dead. And now may the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob strike you blind, deaf, and dumb, and damn your soul forever. You have left your father's religion and the synagogue for that Jesus, 'the imposter,' and now take your mother's curse.-CLARA.”
Although I had by this time fully counted what it would cost me in embracing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and knew what I had to expect from my relatives because I had turned my back on the synagogue, I confess I was hardly prepared for such a letter from my mother. My dear wife and I could now, however, more fully sympathize with each other in our new-found life; for, as stated before, her parents had already cursed her to her face for believing in Christ. It was not all sadness, however, for never before did the Psalmist's words seem so full of meaning and encouragement both to my wife and myself-"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”
Let not anyone think that it is an easy thing for a Jew to become a Christian. He must be prepared to forsake father, mother, and wife for the kingdom of God's sake, for the considerations which appeal alike to his affections and to his self-interest are brought to bear upon every Jew who is suspected of looking with favor towards Christianity. Yet such persecution only led me more and more to value the words of my newly-found Master: "Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my names's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matt. 19:28-2928And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:28‑29)).
I answered my mother's letter a few days later in the following words:
Answer to My Mother's Curse
Far away from home, my mother,
Daily I will pray for thee.
Why should I be cursed, my mother?
Why such message sent to me?
Once convinced of sin, my mother,
I cried, "Jesus, set me free!”
I am happy now, my mother,
Christ the Jew has died for me.
Him you taught me to hate, mother,
Him you still "Impostor" call,
Died for me on Calvary, mother,
Died to save me from the Fall.
Let me lead you to Him, mother,
While I pray on bended knee:
“Jesus, now accept my mother;
O Lord Jesus, set her free!”
Be persuaded, dearest mother,
Do not now so hardened be;
Jesus Christ, the Jew's Messiah,
Surely died for you and me.
Can you spurn such mercy, mother?
Can you turn away your face?
Come to Jesus, come, dear mother,
Fly, oh fly to His embrace!
Although she never wrote to me afterward, I was told the last word she uttered when life was ebbing away was my own name, "Max." And who can tell but in the last moments the sad memory of her curse and the soul-craving, unsatisfiable by Judaism, may have led her to find the God-provided Lamb in the true Messiah-JESUS (Joh 4:26; 6:3726Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:26)
37All 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)).
The sequel to "Charlie Coulson" remains to be told.
About eighteen months after my conversion I attended a prayer meeting one evening in the city of Brooklyn. It was one of those meetings when Christians testify to the loving-kindness of their Savior. After several of them had spoken, an elderly lady arose and said, "Dear friends, this may be the last time it is my privilege to testify for Christ. My family physician told me yesterday that my right lung is very nearly gone and my left lung is very much affected, so at the best I have but a short time to be with you, but what is left of me belongs to Jesus. Oh! it is a great joy to know that I shall meet my boy with Jesus in heaven. My son was not only a soldier for his country, but a soldier for Christ. He was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, and fell into the hands of a Jewish doctor, who amputated his arm and leg, but he died five days after the operation. The chaplain of the regiment wrote me a letter and sent my boy's Bible. In that letter I was informed that my Charlie in his dying hour sent for that Jewish doctor and said to him, 'Doctor, before I die, I wish to tell you that five days ago, while you amputated my arm and leg, I prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul.'”
When I heard this lady's testimony I could sit still no longer. I left my seat, crossed the room, and taking her by the hand, said, "God bless you, my dear sister; your boy's prayer has been heard and answered. I am the Jewish doctor for whom your Charlie prayed, and his Savior is now my Savior." A heavenly fervor spread over the meeting at the affecting sight of a Jew and Gentile being made "one in Christ Jesus," and realized His wondrous power in enabling the dying drummer boy to manifest the Spirit of his Master in praying for the enemies of the Cross; in the wonderful answer to the dying lad's prayer and in the glorious prospect of the reunion of the great ransomed multitude which no man can number out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
And there among the saved at last,
Forever blest and glad,
The mother dear and doctor saved
Shall meet the drummer lad.
Writing in October, 1887, the doctor says: "It is with great joy and thankfulness of heart that I record the conversion of my dear son. I firmly believe that the dear Savior had been troubling his heart for some time prior to our meeting in July, 1887. For the first time in fourteen years he called me 'father.'" He wept bitterly at our meeting, and it seemed his soul's desire was to see his sister again. My heart leaped with joy to hear this, for I knew with his sister (a devoted Christian in America), he would be in good hands.
“After traveling with myself and some friends for several days in Germany (during which time he conversed freely with me about his mother, regretting that he had refused to see her before her death, and expressing a desire to see her in heaven), he left for America, where he met his sister on Monday afternoon, August 15th. That meeting can be better imagined than described, for they had not met before for nearly fourteen years. On the following Friday my son begged his sister to accompany him to their mother's grave. My daughter wrote me that same night that her brother's heart nearly broke while standing at his mother's grave, and she concluded her letter: 'Dear father, I thank God my brother is under deep conviction of sin; he fully realizes how he has neglected his duty in the past towards his father, mother, and sister. I am constantly praying for him, so is my husband, and many Christian friends here are praying for his conversion.'
“On Friday, August 19th, he again visited his mother's grave (but this time alone), and while there God in His mercy, for Christ's sake, pardoned his sins and converted his soul. He went home, told his sister the good news, and then wrote to me that same night. Unknown to her brother my daughter also wrote to me, and both letters reached me by the same post, making that day to me indeed a day of good tidings, and granting me some recompense for the many years of sorrow I had endured, causing me to exclaim with our Psalmist: `Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning' (Psa. 30:55For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)).
“And now, in conclusion, I pray that God may spare my life that I may be permitted to hear my only son preach the Gospel of that dear Savior whom he had so long rejected, but who is now his all in all; for in his last letter he informs me that he is now preparing himself for evangelistic work.”
Writing on September 13, 1892, Dr. Rossvally says: "In regard to my son I can tell you this. He is devoting his whole time to the Lord's work. He has no church of his own, as he prefers to do evangelistic work. He is engaged in the same way that I was a few years ago, before my health was so impaired; that is, going from place to place helping poor, struggling churches and missions. I am thankful to say that the Lord has abundantly blessed his labors. He also publishes my tracts for free distribution in America.”
Shortly after his conversion to God, Dr. Rossvally resigned his commission in the United States Army and opened a mission for the conversion of his Jewish brethren. He met with much opposition at first, but persevered, and finally had the joy of seeing quite a number-rich and poor, old and young, Jews and Jewesses-exclaim with one of old: "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, THE CHRIST" (John 1:4141He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. (John 1:41)).
He afterward made a prolonged evangelistic tour, and visited many cities in Europe, America, Canada, Germany, and many other lands, preaching the glad tidings of a free and full salvation in his forceful way to large audiences, his ministry being owned of God in leading not a few-Gentiles as well as Jews-out of darkness into light and from the power of Satan unto God.
A few years of happy service, a few months of severe suffering, and M. L. ROSSVALLY was called to the higher service of heaven in October, 1892.
“He being dead yet speaketh," for several millions of "Charlie Coulson, the Drummer Boy," and some of his other tracts, have been scattered over America, Britain, India, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and other lands, leading many to "know Him whom to know is life everlasting.”
Surely this true and touching narrative of real life in our own day re-affirms the words of the most noted Jewish convert, Saul of Tarsus, who said: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:1616For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)).
Notice it is not the Gospel of Christianity or Judiasm, the Gospel of any church, creed, or party, but the
Gospel of Christ, the Gospel concerning the peerless Person of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who "died for our sins according to the Scriptures...was buried, and...rose again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3-43For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:3‑4)). "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-119Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9‑11)).
The great question for each of us to consider is-Have I, like the drummer boy and the doctor, as an individual, realized my lost condition as "dead in trespasses and in sins" (Eph. 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)), and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior? And do I know, that "God for Christ's sake" has pardoned my sins (Eph. 4:3232And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32))? If not, why not, like Jew and Gentile recorded herein, put the matter to the test? "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)), and you will be able to say, "He was wounded for my transgressions, he was bruised for my iniquities, the chastisement of my peace was laid upon him; and with his stripes I am healed" (Isa. 53:55But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (Joh 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)).
"Whosoever heareth," shout, shout the sound,
Send the blessed tidings all the world around;
Spread the joyful news wherever man is found,
“Whosoever will may come.”
“Whosoever will, whosoever will,”
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
Tis a loving Father calls the wanderer home;
“Whosoever will may come.”
Whosoever cometh need not delay;
Now the door is open, enter while ye may;
Jesus is the true, the only Living Way;
“Whosoever will may come.”
“Whosoever will," the promise is secure;
“Whosoever will," forever shall endure;
“Whosoever will," 'Us life for evermore;
“Whosoever will may come.”
"Having been frequently asked whether all the details of this story are strictly true, I take this opportunity of stating that every particular incident occurred exactly as related." -Dr. M. L. Rossvally
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