LET my reader, be he saved or lost, imagine himself in the presence of a man past the prime of manhood, yet not so enfeebled by age as to render him incapable of work, were it not for an aggravated case of palsy which shook from head to foot that once strong and muscular frame.
There he lay, from morning to night, a helpless, impotent sinner, who had never heard that command, “Rise up and walk;” nor had the pleasant music for a distressed conscience of “thy sins are forgiven thee” ever reached his ear. To such an one the virtue, the power, the fullness of the Gospel were all new, so with the more delight did I preach to him “Jesus and the resurrection.”
An intimation from a friend that I was coming to see him led him to expect me, so on my arrival the express end of my visit was explained.
“Mr. P., has the soul found the desired rest!”
“Sir,” he replied, “that is just what I want.”
Ah! the sound of that word was one which found no echo in that empty heart, and the huge drops, which fell from his eyes almost in streams, were the best expression of what was passing in the soul.
The anxious look, the fixedness of the eyes as they met mine, and the distraction of mind, all betokened a man in earnest, and, as he would at times say, “seeking the way.” Yes, all was darkness, both around and within, but daylight was about to dawn; sorrow filled his heart, but soon would joy succeed.
There was no need to dwell lengthily on his state as a sinner, this first lesson had long been learned, nor were his thoughts of sin other than any child of God would wish to see: the usual cry of a mere living religionist, of a walking epitome of profession without Christ, of shadow without substance, found no place here; sin with its dreary accompaniments was the only tenant of that woeful heart; he was a sinner, in darkness and misery, bearing a weighty load, and would have given his all to know the relief of its removal.
Week after week I visited him, but still no deliverance. At last the light seemed entering, and one could watch the gradual change of countenance as the rays penetrated those dark chambers, forcibly bringing to mind the chaos and confusion, described in the opening book of God’s word, preceding that sublime fiat, “Let there be light, and there was light.”
Two verses, above others, in the much-prized gospel by John, were, as he expressed it, the sheet anchor of his soul, viz., 3:36, 6:44.
The Father was drawing him, and oh how fondly! Yes, and drawing, to no other than the Son.
Reader, if you close your ear, if you defraud God of His right, Christ of His Lordship, the Holy Ghost of His joy, let me assure you, God will call another, for an object is before Him, and gain His end He will. But, thanks be to God, here was one not proving disobedient to the heavenly vision, and nothing would effectually hinder his response, for a godly earnestness characterized his search of a Saviour.
“‘He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.’ Do you believe this?” I asked.
The dear aged one (as though I had thought him very incredulous) summed up all his mental energy and strongly resented such a question.
“Stay my friend, your confidence in God, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word, is not so much what I question, as in that which flows as a consequence of believing. Look at it again.”
“I believe in every Scripture, in every Word of God.”
I took him to task. “Now, Mr. P., you have owned your sins before God, have accepted His Son, the Saviour of sinners, and, as though you were the only being in this world, have confessed that the Saviour is for you and you for Him.”
“Yes,” he replied. “Now read carefully the other part of that verse, ‘Hath everlasting life.’ You, as a lost sinner, but, on the other hand, as a believer in Christ Jesus, have everlasting life. Do you believe this?”
“Oh, the thought is too great! It cannot be true! I that have never merited it, that never for a moment labored for it, that hardly ever thought of my God, and still less thought to serve Him, that he should act thus is too good a thought for me!” These were his words.
“A gift is not a reward,” said I, “were salvation or eternal life a reward, how then would the Giver receive all the glory? this would not be grace, nor the spontaneous gift of God.”
This was enough; the work was accomplished; faith was growing strong, giving glory to God. At last he was resting wholly on the Word, everlasting life was his, God’s free gift to him.
Remember, I beseech you, my reader, that if you are anxious, have really turned to that long rejected Saviour, God declares it to be a fact concerning you, that you have eternal life. Do you doubt it? Then you call in question the truth, His truth! Come brace up the loins of your mind! In malice be a babe, but in understanding be a man. Will God deceive you? Then he has in marvelous grace written for you and me. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
E. J. G.