Forty Years of Anxiety.

IN her eighty-eighth year and not yet at peace with God, was the sad state of an old lady in Norfolk. She had several conversations with a Christian friend, who elicited the fact that for forty years she had been anxious about her soul and longing for the assurance of the forgiveness of sins.
Her anxiety deepened, and being in the dark as to God’s way of salvation, she bethought herself that perhaps she prayed too little. To remedy this, she made her way more frequently to her bedside and often stayed longer than hitherto. Alas for her hope! No peace resulted; and one day as she was kneeling there, the thought flashed across her, “I am like the Pharisees, who made long prayers, and the Lord said, ‘Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.’” She arose from her knees more perplexed than ever.
Not long after this her Christian friend again called upon her and sought to present to her Jesus, the risen Saviour, as the One who has done the work and has satisfied God as to every charge of guilt He had against her. But her old cry prevailed: “But, sir, you know I cannot feel it.” He left her after pointing out to her that it was not the inward look for feelings but the outward look of faith to Christ that gave assurance and peace.
Two days after this, as she was meditating upon the message from God she had heard, light broke into her soul, and for the first time in her long life she was able to look away from self and look to Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. Immediately she was set at liberty, and her heart was filled with joy.
Now her heart was so full that she longed to be able to let her friend, who had so faithfully presented the gospel to her, hear the good news. A letter must be written, and sitting down she thereupon wrote the following happy testimony: —
“SIR, ―I am sure you will forgive me for writing to you when you know what I am going to tell you. The blessed Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I am saved; not that He will save me, but He has saved me. Now I can say I am pardoned and free and ‘This is the Saviour for me, Oh, how I thank Him, and you, too, that I know I am saved, and may the Lord Jesus increase my faith! I felt that I must write to you as the time seemed so long before I expected to see you.’ — Yours sincerely, M. L.”
Thus the long-suffering of the God of all grace was manifested towards one whose life had been extended far beyond its allotted space, bringing her soul out of doubt and anxiety into the joy of the assurance of salvation and the knowledge of forgiveness of sins.
Perchance, unknown to all but God, you, dear reader, have been longing to have that certainty, as to your soul’s salvation, which your Christian friends speak of with such joy. You have, doubtless, often examined yourself and your conduct until, dissatisfied and discouraged, you have been on the verge of despair.
Turn your eyes and your heart away from yourself and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone can meet your need. His work at Calvary’s cross perfectly met all God’s righteous claims, and now God has placed Him at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as an expression of His perfect and complete satisfaction. It is the delight of God to say to everyone who trusts His beloved Son, “Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more.”
If, however, you have never been in anxiety about your eternal welfare, consider the intense importance of availing yourself of the present opportunity, which will never be repeated throughout eternity. Mercy, pardon, salvation, and eternal blessings are within your reach, for they are all found in Christ. Moreover, God’s message to you involves either your acceptance or refusal. Have you obeyed what God COMMANDS? for “God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:3030And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30)). If so, you will be prepared to receive what He COMMENDS, for “God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)).
F. S. M.― H.