A LITTLE boy, who lived in South Africa and who attended a Sunday school there, was thought by his teacher to be in trouble about something, and he thought very likely it might be anxiety about the salvation of his soul.
His name was Frank, and having a Christian father and mother, he often heard things spoken of relating to the Lord Jesus and His interests in this world. Also at gospel meetings he heard the way of salvation explained, but although he heard so much about these things, he could not say he was a child of God, but he was getting very anxious, and really desired to be converted.
But God had His eye upon Frank and loved him, and in rather a remarkable way brought him to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, and that all his sins were gone forever, not only from before his own eyes, but from the eyes of a Holy God.
It all came about in this way. One Lord’s-day afternoon about this time he took home by mistake a Sunday-school hymn-book. On the way home two or three boys seeing him with the hymn-book accused him of stealing it.
Frank was very distressed at the thought of being called a thief, and the moment he reached home he told all his grief to his mother.
She told him to take the book back to his teacher, as he knew where he lived, and apologize for the mistake he had made.
His teacher, who was much interested in Frank, and longed to see him a rejoicing Christian, said,
“Never mind, Frank, you keep the hymn-book, and learn this hymn, and say it to me before all the boys next Sunday,” pointing out a certain hymn in the book, “They will then see that you have made good use of the book while you have had it.”
This he did; he went home and went over that hymn till he had learned it perfectly by heart; but a wonderful thing happened, for while learning the words of the hymn by heart, he learned the truth and meaning of them in his soul. He said nothing to anyone at the time. but during that week his mother could not help noticing that all the cloud and anxious look on his face had disappeared.
So one evening she said to him, “Frank, what has come in to make such a difference with you? You don’t look sad and unhappy now as you did some days ago.”
Tears of joy came to his eyes as he looked up at his mother, and without any other comment, he answered her in the words of the hymn he had been learning: —
“Precious, precious blood of Jesus,
Shed on Calvary;
Shed for rebels, shed for sinners,
Shed for me;”
and he shook his head significantly as he repeated the last two lines.
Thus he was truly brought into God’s secret as to how a guilty conscience can be set at rest, and a troubled heart find joy and peace God’s testimony to the blood had done it.
Now can you imagine yourself at the school on the following Sunday when Frank had to stand up before the whole school and repeat that hymn? I should like to have been there myself, to hear how he would repeat it, Not gabbled off like a parrot, I feel sure, but with deep and sacred feeling, he would give utterance to the words, and I trust they would go home to many a heart there.
I have often joined in that hymn with others, and would urge the readers to sing or read that hymn through and see if it will not bring them the same blessing that it did to Frank.
ML 09/25/1927