A FEW years ago I was preaching the Gospel in a little village on the Rhine. The Lord was blessing His Word, and many souls were brought to the Saviour. One evening, as I was on my way to the place in which I was to preach, I came to a house, at the open door of which stood a man, who spoke to me in a very friendly tone, and begged me to come in for a little.
As I was more than an hour too early for the commencement of the preaching, I gladly accepted his invitation. I had seen both the man and his wife at our last Gospel meeting, without knowing anything about them, or whether they were converted or not.
After a short conversation with them, I turned to the husband, and said, “How is it with you, Mr. B—, have you peace with God?”
“I believe in a heaven to come,” was his answer. “Why do you believe that?” I inquired.
“I have suffered so much pain, and had so much sorrow in this world. For years I have had an internal complaint, the agony of which at times is unbearable. Mr. W― can give me no relief. So I have prayed much to Almighty God, and I still do, both morning and evening; and I am looking forward, therefore, to a heaven to come.
I have gone through many bitter sorrows also. I will tell you briefly about some of them.
“I am an overseer of works, and am often away from home. One evening as I was returning home very tired, I found that my house had been burnt to the ground, and a heap of ashes was all that remained to me of my worldly goods. All my savings of many years I lost with my house. But my worst sorrow was yet to come.
“One day at noon,” continued Mr. B―, after heaving a deep sigh,” I was going along the banks of the Rhine to a place where a number of workmen were occupied, under the direction of my only son, in mending some dams in the stream. My son, in a tiny boat, was going from one dam to another, and when he saw me he wanted to put the boat about and come to the shore. He turned the helm round for this purpose, but in a moment it flew back, striking the young man, so that he lost his balance and fell overboard. The rudder had stuck fast in a cleft of the rock. How I felt at that moment I cannot describe to you―my senses seemed to leave me—I could not move a limb, and fainted away. An hour or more passed before they could recover the then dead body of my son.”
Here Mr. B―paused. His voice seemed quite to forsake him, and my heart ached with pity for the poor fellow. Then he once more continued: “From that time forward the world became only a wilderness to me. I went no more into company, but shut myself up with my Bible and prayer-book, and other religious and edifying works. Having suffered so much here, do I not deserve the heaven to come?”
“You have indeed suffered terribly,” I answered; “and only a father’s heart could sympathize with your sorrow. But do you really believe that through these sufferings your sins can be atoned for? That, my dear friend, is quite impossible. Only the blood of Jesus can put our sins away, and our own sufferings have nothing to do with it.”
“But I am quite at rest about eternity; the thought of it gives me no anxiety; I am quite satisfied about myself.”
“But is God quite satisfied about you? for your eternity depends upon what God thinks about you, the God before whom you must appear.”
“I believe that God thinks as I do. After I have suffered so much, and prayed so much, all must be right.”
“Let me, I beg of you, read a few verses to you out of God’s own Word,” I said; ―and taking out my Bible, I opened it at Rom. 3, and read vs. 10 to 23, “There is none righteous, no, not one.... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”― “Here,” I said, “you have God’s judgment pronounced about all men, and therefore about you.”
Mr. B― looked at me a moment, then his head dropped. Evidently the arrow had gone home. The Word of God had done its work, for, after a moment or two of profound silence, he raised his head, with the bitter cry―
“O God! then, after all, I am lost, lost! Thy Word says it!” Tears of anguish streamed from his eyes, and ran down his cheeks, and he cried again― “No, I have no hope! I cannot stand before God!”
“It is true indeed, Mr. B—,” I said “that you cannot stand in your sins before a holy God. Look at Golgotha. There we see what God’s thought about sin is.”
As I said these words I went away, for the hour for the meeting had come. The hall was well filled, and I was thankful to see Mr. Band his wife both enter shortly after I had gone in. I spoke of the love of God for lost sinners, displayed in the gift of His Son, and the atoning work of the blessed Son of God on the cross.
When I came to the same little village a fortnight after, my first visit was to the house of Mr. and Mrs. B―. At the very door Mrs. B― met me. Joy beamed in her face, and before I had crossed the threshold she gave me the glad tidings.
“Oh Mr. S―, I have found peace. I am resting on the blood of Jesus. All my many, many sins God has forgiven, because of that precious blood. Oh! how happy I am! Oh! what love is His―He died for me― even me―on the cross.”
“How has this come about?” I asked.
“When you were here last,” she said, “and were speaking to my husband about the salvation of his soul, the Word went into my heart like a dart. I saw that I was lost. I had no righteousness in which to stand before God; and for many days I was in deep anxiety and misery, I was so restless I knew not what to do. I prayed, and cried to the Lord to have mercy upon me―even upon me―to save me; and at last I found peace in believing and resting upon His finished perfect work upon the cross.”
“How is it with your husband?” I inquired; “has he also got the peace you are enjoying?”
“Ah, my poor husband,” she said,” he is still in deep misery. He sighs night and day; he prays, and is always reading the Word of God, but he remains most wretched. All the glorious verses which have filled me with comfort, and made me so happy, I read to him, but as yet all is in vain.”
I went with her into the sitting-room, where I found Mr. B―sitting in an easy-chair. I inquired most sympathizingly as to his state.
“I am wretched,” he replied, shortly. “I can find no peace―I pray day and night, but it is all in vain. I must wait till God gives me grace, and shows mercy to me. I feel every day more and more how bad and wicked I am in myself.” Oh! if only God would accept my prayers.”
The poor man was still on the ground of bringing something to God. He wanted to become good first before coming to Christ, instead of casting himself as a lost sinner, and utterly helpless, into the arms of Jesus. He did not yet understand that the flesh is enmity to God and always remains so.
Three months later, on my return from a journey, I again visited Mr. B―. With tears in her eyes Mrs. B―came to meet me this time. Holding out her hand to grasp mine, she inquired, “Have you heard nothing?”
“No,” I answered, as I shook her hand.
“Ah! my dear husband has gone home. He was buried three days ago. He went home to the Lord in perfect peace, and with the full assurance that Jesus had put away all his sins, had borne them all on the cross. For a few weeks he had been obliged to keep his bed, and he suffered terrible pain. This day week, as I was here in this room, busy with some work, I heard him call out suddenly, ‘Anna, Anna, come, come! the Lord Jesus has forgiven all my sins, as well as yours, and has let me know it! Yes, He has done everything for me; I have nothing to do—I need do nothing. Now I see it all; I can do nothing, and I need do nothing, for He has done everything! There is nothing left for me to do, but praise and bless His glorious name forever!’ What a joy this was for us both I need not tell you,” Mrs. B―continued; “but we were not to enjoy it for long down here together, for the very next day he entered peacefully into the joy of his Lord.”
Tears choked her voice, but her trust in the Lord was sweet. She knew her beloved husband had gone to be with Jesus, and she knew that she was on the way there too, to be forever with the Lord, where there is no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, but where she will see the glory of God, and praise Him and the Lamb forever and ever. S.