“I OFTEN think,” said Joe, a laboring man, “of what once happened to me many years ago, and it seemed so curious that I’ve often telled it to my mates and others, and I thinks about it scores of times. I was working at that time at K —for Lord W., draining, and every fortnight I had to walk to E― to fetch the wages for me and my mates. It was seven miles each way, and when I got to E― I used to always call at a public-house for a glass or two, for what I speak of took place long before I give my heart to the Lord, and at that time I liked my glass. After I got our wages I used to call again for another glass before returning with the money, and this went on pretty regular. A chap used to go to this same public-house, whom we called Jim. I knew him well, and he was a rough customer, I can tell you. In them days if anyone had spoken to Jim about his soul he would have thought nothing about knocking him down. He was one of the roughest chaps I ever knew. I generally saw him when I went to this public-house at E—, and very often we had a glass together.
“Well, I went one day to E―, and called for my glass as usual, and there was Jim. He seemed very queer, as I thought, and hadn’t much to say. I asked him what was the matter, and he said he felt badly and low, so I invited him to drink off his glass and have a drop with me, and he would no doubt soon be all right again.
“‘Nay,’ says Jim, ‘I’ll not have any more, and I’ll tell thee what, Joe, it strikes me I shan’t drink much more gin in this world.’ “His manner was so earnest that I couldn’t mistake his meaning, but I told him to hold his noise talking like that. ‘Thou’s got a bit low-spirited,’ I says; thou’ll be all right again soon. Come, have a drop.’
“‘No, I won’t have any more,’ he replies, ‘but if thou’s going back to K― I’ll walk a bit of the way wi’ thee.’
“‘Well, just as thou likes,’ says I; so I drank off my glass, and away we went.
“‘Joe,’ says he, I’m going to die.’
“‘Hold thy noise,’ I says. ‘What does to mean talking like that?’
“I tell thee, Joe,’ says he, ‘it’s right — I feel sure of it — and what’s worse, I know I’m lost.’ “‘Why,’ I says, ‘I never heard a chap talk so queer in my life. What’s t’ matter wi’ thee?’
“‘I don’t know,’ says he, but I’m miserable, and I feel sure I’m going to die, and I know I’m lost, and I don’t know what to do,’
“Why, if I were thee,’ I says, ‘I would go and see t’ parson.’
“‘Nay,’ says he, that’s no good. Thou knows he’s Lord W.’s brother, and he don’t care to talk to such chaps as us.’
“ ‘Well, I don’t know what to say to thee,’ says I. I’se wading through lots o’ prayers myself to hell — there’s nowt about that — but I remember when I were a lad my old grandmother used to read to me out of t’ Bible, and pray with me too, and I remember she used often to read a place somewhere where it says if we believe on Jesus we shall be saved, and not lost.’
“‘Ay,’ says Jim; ‘where’s that?’
“‘Why, I don’t know rightly,’ says I, ‘but I think it’s in John. I feel sure it’s in John, and I believe it’s somewhere about t’ third chapter. She often used to tell me about it.’
“‘What did she tell thee?’ says Jim.
“ ‘Why thou knows,’ I says, ‘she used to say ‘at what’s in t’ Bible must be true, and thou knows it must be true if it is in t’ Bible, and t’ Bible says somewhere, and I believe it’s somewhere about t’ third chapter of John, that if we believe in Jesus we shall be saved; and thou knows, as far as I can make out and remember, it’s in this way: we’ve never seen Jesus, but we have to believe in Him, and that’s same as seeing Him, and that’s faith, and that’s how we have to be saved.’ And we talked like that till he cried, and I cried, and we both seemed as if we wanted to be saved, especially Jim, and I, in my simple way, told him as much as I could remember of what my poor old grandmother used to say.
“At last he left me, and I said, If I were thee I would get t’ Bible when I got home and see for myself. I feel sure thou’ll find it somewhere about t’ third chapter of John, and thou knows what’s in t’ Bible must be true, and thou must pray,’ and poor Jim seemed very glad, and said he would, and so we parted.
“After I left him something so queer seemed to come over me, and I never felt so happy in my life, and I could hardly help shouting out as I went along, Glory, glory!’ But before I got to K — I got thinking about other things, and when I got there my mates had got a barrel of beer, and I joined them, and soon forgot all about it.
“A fortnight after, as usual, I went to E― for the wages, and as usual I called for my glass, and the first thing I heard was that poor Jim was dead. It did send a queer feeling over me, I can tell you, and I should have liked to have gone and asked his mother how he died, but I didn’t like, and as it was fifteen years after that before I fully gave my heart to the Lord, I never knew his end, but I’ve often wondered.”
What a wonderful instance we have in this short narrative of the marvelous grace of God! We can imagine we see the saintly old lady sowing the seed in faith, without perhaps seeing any results, and yet at a most unlikely time, to all human ideas, God in His grace uses the seed thus sown to direct the heart of a poor, lost sinner to the beautiful and loving message contained in John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16), and finally there is the answer to her prayers in the conversion of Joe himself. What a mine of truth there is in God’s word! “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” (Eccl. 11:66In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. (Ecclesiastes 11:6).) “Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:77So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:7).) F. C.