“WE excavators are a bad set of men, we are the scum of the earth.” So spoke as fine and as honest-looking an Englishman as eyes could see―an open-faced, bold, strong man, a very model of the class to which he belonged, and which is so generally run down. But he would hear no apologies, nor listen to those who refused altogether his sweeping remarks on our friends the navvies. The navvy was bad, and he had been one of the vilest and wickedest of them; this he would not hear disputed. “I have sinned, and served the devil to the full of my strength and in many a county,” said he; but there he stood before his fellows, speaking, right out of his heart, of the love of Christ in dying for, and in saving him.
His wife had been like himself, which is saying as much as need be said; but somehow or other she had been led to a little out-of-the-way chapel, where a handful of earnest Christian laboring men, fishermen, and the like, prayed together, and spoke of Gods saving grace, as men alone do who realize the depths of the love of God in sending His Son to die for sinners. No set sermons did they preach, some of them could scarcely read, but theirs were words from the heart, convincing and convicting―sermons indeed, thrilling the souls of the hearers.
One evening this little company was singing and praying together, and, as they were upon their knees, the ganger’s wife could bear it no more, and she got up to go. Observing somebody leaving the place before the meeting was over, one of the men caught hold of what he said he found to be a woman’s jacket, and then quietly whisperer to its owner, “My good woman, stay a little longer.” So she sat down again; when; presently; she began to cry out for mercy. It seemed ai if the devil himself would not let loose of her, she had been a swearer and a fighter, and hell now appeared opening to receive her. But she was saved that night through sovereign grace; there was joy in the presence of the angels over her repenting soul, and the woman went home “in her right mind.”
About a fortnight after, the ganger himself came to the meeting, and, seeing him sit lingering after the greater part of the audience had left, one of the men asked him if he was seeking God. Very unexpected was the answer, given with a gruff, rough voice, and accompanied by a flashing eye and a clenched fist:― “What have all of you been doing to my wife? that’s what I have come here about. Now, the ganger was a notorious character, and it behoved the man to whom he spoke to be careful, for, to use his own words, “I thought I should have his big fist in my face.”
A wise answer about God and eternity was rendered, and the ganger left peaceably. Indeed so peaceably that he was entreated to come again, and seek and find for himself. When he was gone out, the band of gospel workers fell upon their knees and cried to God for his soul. They looked eagerly for his coming again, and so when he reappeared, in a few days, at their meeting, one of them politely said, “Let me take your cap,” and, having accomplished this civility, he added to his courtesy the discretion of putting it upon a peg three forms off the ganger, and, sitting down, said to himself, “Now you can’t get out till the end of the meeting.” And as the little chapel filled up, the ganger and his cap were separated by three rows of persons.
As the speakers related what God had done for them, and one by one gave witness to His grace, the sweat rolled down the ganger’s face. He looked at his cap and shuffled. At last, have his cap he would, though it were six forms off instead of three; so he got up and left the meeting, and went out into the open air. He said he felt faint, or something like it, which statement raised a smile, for navvies are not given to delicacy. The fresh air did not make him feel better, so in again he came. God had laid hold of him by His grace, as it is written― “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore, with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
“The devil would say to me,” were his words, “when I was in distress of soul, ‘It’s of no use your coming to Christ, for you won’t stick; you’ll only bring discredit on the whole cause of religion, so you are better away from it altogether.’” But God made me to come by His grace, and I find it better and better every day!
“Another thing by which Satan tried to hinder me, was my thinking that I must feel something inside me, something take hold of me, like, as it may be, as when the excitement of drink takes a man off his senses, I only don’t mean anything bad, but I thought some good thing should come into your heart which you would feel all of a sudden; and that without this I could not say I was converted. But it is not feeling, but believing, that the precious blood was shed for such as me; and, as I was one of the very worst, if I am saved, then, surely, all who are not so far down in sin as I was, can be saved too.
“We must not think that we are to have an easy time of it here,” he added. “Not a bit of it. Had we a nice little garden, with fruit and vegetables in it, what should we say it someone walked in and began to pull up one thing and another? We should pretty soon be telling him to go off. Now that is as it is with Satan; he sees a Christian coming into his garden and pulling out one big sinner and then another, and he can’t bear the sight. But let us get a great armful, let us have a big sheaf for the Lord.”
So the ganger was brought to God, as well as his wife, and now both rejoice in Christ Jesus.
“What I tell my old mates,” he said, “is this―Try it; try what the love of Christ to sinners is. You can but try, and then if you don’t find it good, why jack it (give it up). But when you’ve got it you won’t, for you can’t, and God won’t lose you or let you be lost. Now, since God has saved me, I mean, by His help, to witness for Him; and what we want is, not sermons, but a life that proves our sayings. I brought nothing but sin into this county” (Suffolk) “when I came to work here; but when I go out of it, I’ll take something with me, and the county shall lose nothing by it. I’ll take the grace of God in my heart, and I trust others will be saved like me. There’s plenty to put up with amongst our mates, for we are a rough set; but the worst thing is what’s in our own hearts. A man’s self is his greatest enemy. We need all the power from God to keep us; this He’ll do, but we must keep on looking to Him.”
Referring to one very wet day, he said, “There were none of them about at the job except just a few, and it was too wet to work, so I got to close quarters with two or three of them. There was a time when I used to say, on a wet day, ‘wet inside, as it’s wet out,’ and would drink and smoke my little black pipe; but I can thank God for a wet day now, for they are good days. I’ll tell you why, I have exchanged my little pipe for this pocket Testament, and oh! it is beautiful. I get at it on a wet day. It’s this I love now. Not that I threw away my pipe because I was tired of it―no, I loved my pipe well enough―smoking was to me a besetting sin. But it is not much to do for the Lord Jesus, to give that up, after He gave Himself up and died for me. So now it isn’t the pipe, it’s the Testament. This pocket Testament is beautiful, and I love it.”
And, considering that the ganger had been converted but a few months, his acquaintance with the word of God was remarkable. But, then, he took it as the word of God, and so read it, which is the sure way to get on in reading the Bible.
The joy of the little band of earnest men was increased tenfold by the grace of God to the ganger; and we heard him, on one occasion, give them this good piece of homely advice, which is as useful for all companies of workers and worshippers together as for those to whom he spoke― “We are happy now, and what we want is to keep close to God, not to preach ourselves, but Christ; and may we keep the devil out. Pray God to keep the devil out from amongst us, or he’ll spoil everything. The saying is, if a pig gets his nose in anywhere he’ll soon have his whole body in; and this is just as it is with the devil, so be afraid of the beginnings, pray God to keep him out.”
It was most edifying to hear the ganger speak of walking with God. He set the life of a Christian up as the great witness. “Make us Christ-like Christians,” he would often say in prayer. While, as for the rough world in which he lived, his words were― “Let us seek God’s help to brave what the world says. If they swear at us or curse us that don’t hurt us; and if it comes to getting some cracks, we are not worthy of the Master who was wounded for our transgressions, if we can’t take a few of them patiently. Though, mind,” and as he spoke, the cool of his face betokened that he was without doubt telling the truth, “nothing but God’s power can keep me, if any man lays his fist on me, but I do pray that I may be meek and gentle like my Master.”
To hear the sound, homely talk of a man who knew life without its varnish―whose lips, such being his habit, called things by their actual names was real profit. May God raise up amongst like-minded men true and devoted servants of His, for His own great name and glory; and may He give His people genuine sympathy with such men. Yes, and may the spirit of these his words, which the writer heard him utter in prayer, ring true and clear in all our hearts, who belong to Christ― “Lord, keep us united for Thee, let no sin come in to set us in pieces. It’s sin, Lord, that does this; oh! keep us right before Thee, right before the world, right in our own hearts. Keep us of one heart and soul, and let many sinners, such as we have been, be brought to the knowledge of Thy salvation.”