THE other day — a day of fitful sunshine and sudden showers — the driver, near to whom we were seated, made some passing comment on the uncertain weather, and the change incidental to time and all things earthly, which led us to speak to him about his soul, and the wisdom of preparation for eternity. To our delight he proved to be a bright and earnest christian, living in simple dependence upon and communion with God, and fully alive to the danger of attempting to walk in his own strength amid the many snares which beset the path of the believer in his pilgrimage below.
“God moves in a mysterious way,” said he, “and so does the devil; I believe he’s turned religious of late years, to throw us Christians off our guard. But as well put a hop-pole on this highroad, and expect it, without any support, to stand the storm, as expect a believer to resist temptation unless God help him.”
We had some further talk with our Christian driver, and found he had been converted about four years previously.
“I was then coachman to a clergyman,” he said, “and my master liked me to go to church. I was proud of my livery, and being an old soldier, kept myself smart, and considered myself a very good sort of a fellow, attending church so regularly and the like. But one night I had a dream, in which I thought the Lord appeared to me and said, “You are not saved — not saved.” This first awoke and then alarmed me; I could not shake off the impression it produced, which made me increasingly uneasy. Just then I came to live at S―, and going one night to a gospel meeting at the Soldiers’ Institute, my convictions were deepened, and the friends there spoke with me after the meeting, and asked me plainly whether or not I was saved. I did not like this at all, and went elsewhere the following Sunday, but I felt I must visit that hall once more, and I thought if they asked me again whether I was saved, I would say yes, I was, to stop any further questioning.
But when the time came, though the answer was ready on the tip of my tongue, I couldn’t get the lie out of my mouth, the Lord’s words in my dream were still so impressed on my mind. Thank God, it wasn’t long before I could say I was saved, and these were the words from God’s book which were used to let the light into my soul. “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.)
Oh, what a day that was! I shall never forget it. It was the most splendid day of my whole life. And now everything is so different — the sea, the fields, the trees, all speak of my Father. The good old book is all I want to read now, and, though everything here will change and decay, I think of the mansions in glory and the Lord’s coming again.”