MRS. W—lived in a little country village in Buckinghamshire. She was in the habit of attending the only chapel in the village. A servant of the Lord one day received a letter from his brother requesting him to come and preach as they had no minister. Said he, “I considered the matter, and on conditions I went.” Let us hear the story from his own lips.
“I took with me a good number of books, so that each person should have one. Time for the meeting came, and I gave orders to each deacon to see that everyone received a book.
“I had a good time that night, and the chapel was full, and among our number was Mrs. W—. The following day I went from door to door in the village. I came to one door and knocked. No answer came. I knocked again, but no answer. I then uplifted the latch and stepped inside. Seeing no one, I shouted, ‘Anybody in? anybody in?’ I listened and heard a weak voice swing, ‘Yes, come up here.’ It was rather dark, and I found it very difficult to find the staircase, having to pass through several doors, but at last I found it, and up I mounted.
“I found there a woman lying in bed, who greeted me with, ‘Ah! I thought ‘twas you, Mr. C—, come and sit down.’
“ ‘Well, what brings you here?’ said I.
“ ‘I’ll tell ye all about it,’ she replied. ‘It is about two years ago when my little boy was drowned. He was playing round our well, and you know, sir, he tumbled down, and was drowned.’ Here she began to cry bitterly, then she laughed, saying, ‘Ah! but I sees it all now.’
“I could not make the woman out. I thought she must be hysterical, so I said, ‘Come, Mrs. W—, whatever is the matter?’
“Holding a book up in her hand she said, ‘This is it, Mr. C—, I sees it all now.’
“Well, Mrs. W—, was it anything I said last night that helped you?’
“‘Oh no, it was nothing you said, it is this book,’ and she pressed it to her bosom.
“Taking the book from her, I saw what it was. The writer was speaking about children going to heaven, and explained how ‘the Son of man came to save that which was lost,’ and also that ‘the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost’ (see Matthew 18:11,11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11) and Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)).
“She then told me all the story. Said she: ‘When my little boy was drowned, I went to one of the deacons about him, and he told me that he had not gone to heaven, he had gone to hell. And I asked the clergyman too and all the deacons, and they all told me the same. They said children could not go to heaven because they could not believe. And, oh, sir, I have been in a dreadful state since. I have had to keep my bed, being so very weak, it troubling me so much, but oh! thank God! I see it all now. I shall meet my little boy again.’
“Truly that little book had been the means of giving her rest as to her little boy. We can all thank God for that.”
Is the reader in the same difficulty? Look then at the Scriptures. Do you not see “the Son of man came to save that which was lost”? (Matt. 18:1111For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11)). That refers to the little ones of whom Jesus speaks. If, on the other hand, you are a big grown-up sinner, like Zacchæus of old, He says, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)).
Another common delusion of today is, that if the child be not baptized and it dies, it will go to hell. Away with such a notion, dear reader, it is but a delusion of the devil, and is not the truth of God at all. It is not baptism that takes one to heaven, it is the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus came to save that which was lost, whether young or old. To this end He shed His own precious blood, and that is our title to heaven.
Well now, to come back to our story. “Said she: ‘I will tell ye how I got converted. It was just after my little boy was born. I had been anxious about my soul for a long time, but I did not know what to do, and how to pray I could not tell. But thinks I, I will go and be prayed for. And you know, sir, in the chapel there is a special seat for all those who want to be prayed for, and you have to go and sit there, and then the preacher knows you want to be prayed for. So away I went, and took my seat in the right place. The service commenced, he prayed, and then he prayed again, but he never so much as mentioned my name; no, he never prayed for me. I went away with my heart in my shoes, as they say. I thought I must be too bad a sinner, and he will not pray for me, but it only increased my anxiety. What to do I did not know. I did not know anyone to whom I could tell all my heart’s desire, so I made myself ill.
“ ‘My husband said, “Look here, you must have the doctor.” So he fetched him. He treated me for a few weeks, but one day he said, “Mrs. W—, you have something on your mind, and until you relieve yourself of it, you will never be well; now tell me what it is.”
“ ‘Well, you know, sir, I could not tell him. I knew he was not a Christian, and he could not help me. He left off coming, and so I got gradually worse and worse, and could hardly crawl about the house.
“ ‘My husband was not a Christian, and I knew he could not help me, and what to do I did not know. A few weeks went on, and I got so ill that I had to call a woman in to do the washing.
“‘As I lay in bed one morning, I remembered there was something she had not got as I wanted her to wash, so I just slips something on, and comes downstairs.
“‘Why, Mrs. W—, you just look as if you were going to die. Whatever is the matter?”
“‘That’s just how I feel; I think I shall die.”
“‘But, Mrs. W—, whatever is the matter?”
“And you know, sir, I saw in that woman’s eyes something I had never seen before. I felt I could trust her.
“‘Well, it is just like this,” said I; and I told her all about it.
“Then she wiped the suds off her hands, and says, “Why, woman, that is just what happened to me last week. Come now, down on your knees,” and we both went down. Then she started to pray, and, sir, she did pray, and as she prayed I felt the burden fall right off, like it did off Bunyan’s pilgrim, and oh, it was a happy feeling! Then when she had finished I started to pray for the first time, and we had a grand prayer meeting that morning, sir, in the scullery. And, sir, that is how I got converted.’”
E. W―L.