GOD, in His great grace, was pleased, some years ago, to visit a family, consisting of five persons, and in the course of two weeks bring them out of darkness into light, and fill their hearts with rejoicing through the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mrs. W. was the first of the number who became exercised about her state of soul. Her mother, to whom she was fondly attached, was called suddenly from time into eternity, and Mrs. W. did not know whether she was saved. Her grief in this loss, and her concern lest possibly her mother had died unsaved, so weighed upon Mrs. W.’s heart, that for weeks she could scarcely eat anything. While she was thus troubled, and mourning over matters, these words came suddenly to her one night; “As sudden as this death has come into your home, so suddenly will judgment come upon you all and you will not be prepared to meet it.” The next night this question came to her, ‘Suppose that judgment should come tonight, are you prepared to meet it?’ She felt that she was not, and now she began to be much concerned for herself, and her household. She and her husband were members, in good standing of the Established Church, at the time, but for them it was only an empty form, and when eternal realities pressed upon the soul, they felt that there was nothing for them in: the profession they had made.
After some weeks of deepening exercise of soul, Mrs. W. went down one Lord’s day to the sea-shore, not far from her dwelling, to witness a baptism. This baptism was conducted by some simple Portuguese Christians who had left the Roman Catholic Church and were going on quietly and happily with the Lord; there was something in their earnestness of manner and their zeal that deeply impressed Mrs. W. When she got home she said to her family, “Somebody’s wrong; I believe these people are right, and we who are in the Church of England are wrong.” But seeing that she was in a wrong position did not set her soul free; it only served to deepen her concern.
One day she said to a Christian neighbor, “I believe in the scripture, but I do not understand how anyone can be saved; I do not believe anyone can be saved on earth.” “Yes,” the neighbor said to her, “a person can know here on earth what it is to be saved;” she then related how the Lord had dealt with her and how He had brought salvation to her. This again made a strong impression on Mrs. W.’s mind; she was now convinced that there was reality in these things.
The night after witnessing the baptism, she was led to search God’s word. While doing so, her attention was arrested by this verse— “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
She pondered these words and continued to search the scriptures diligently all that week, allowing herself little time for anything else. She was convinced that was God’s word, and God’s truth, but, as yet, she could not say that Jesus had died for her sins and that she was saved.
Saturday evening came; she knelt before retiring and asked the Lord to bless her while on her knees, or if not then, while in her bed. On waking the next morning, the burden was gone, and she rejoiced in the Lord as her Saviour.
ML 09/30/1900