THE following incidents connected with a week-evening preaching of the gospel, occurred more than twenty years ago, and are recounted in the hope that the Lord will be pleased to make them of use to some poor stranger to that peace which is the privilege of all those that rest alone and securely on the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work.
Amongst the regular hearers at the preaching was a young wood-engraver, poor in the world's things, but rich in faith toward God, and on the evening referred to he came accompanied by his brother, a sailor boy, who had recently returned from the sea, and expected in a day or two to join another ship.
After the service, the preacher spoke to two or three of the strangers more particularly and individually about their souls, to the young sailor amongst the rest. The Lord had been working conviction of sin in his conscience during the preaching, and now (if we may so speak of His ways) appeared to deal with the lad as one whose case in a special way admitted of no delay.
While he was engaged in this personal intercourse, the light shone into his soul, and he was able to confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus (Rona. 10:9), believing in Him With the heart as the One who was delivered for his -offenses, and wad raised again for his justification (Rom. 25.) Tears of, joy flowed from his eyes as he rook leave of the preacher and accompanied his brother to his humble, lodging.
I felt drawn to follow these two dear lads, and soon overtaking them, heard from the sailor boy a little about his worldly occupation and its hardships, along with a further expression of his newly found joy in the Lord.
I said to him, “Well! for the voyage on which you are now entering, there is no danger that you will have a good captain and a careless pilot, or a careful pilot but a bad captain.”
“No!” he said, instantly catching the thought, and enlarging on it with unmistakable delight, “For Christ is my Captain and Mate, Bo'sun Bo'sim's Mate, Doctor, Pilot, and all.”
Thus had this sailor lad learned by the teaching of the same Spirit, the truth in which the apostle Paul rejoiced, when he wrote to the Christians in Colosse: "Christ is all" (Col. 3:1111Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11).)
A few more words, and we parted. In a day or two he sailed, and we have not net again.
May you, dear reader, learn as the apostle Paul and this sailor boy learned, that “Christ is all.”
Every desire of the heart towards Christ is of the Holy. Spirit, and in due time shall be fully satisfied. The soul that has got a glimpse of Christ' will ever after desire to know 'More of Him. Nothing will ever satisfy it but Himself.,