AT some distance from the village of B —, near one of the canals which run through Alsace-Lorraine, lived the keeper of a bridge and his wife. The dwelling-place of these worthy people was an isolated cottage, far from any other habitation. This solitude, however, was not oppressive to them, for, though in humble circumstances, they possessed the greatest of treasures. They both knew and loved the Lord Jesus, and rejoiced in the certainty of the forgiveness of their sins, and in the assurance of eternal life.
During the severe winter of 18 — there arrived one day from the Rhine a large boat, which was proceeding to Nancy, there to unlade her cargo. For some days the cold had been so intense that the canal was partly frozen, and the boatman had with difficulty come thus far. As it was in the evening that he had passed the bridge, it was necessary to stop for the night; but in the morning they found that the boat was completely ice-bound, and that there was no possibility of continuing the voyage.
This was far from a pleasant discovery for the boatman and his mate. If the stoppage had even occurred near to a town or a village it would not have been such a disagreeable matter, for they would have had opportunities for keeping company with men, and some recreation might have been found at the inn. But in this place there was nothing. Far or near, they could see no dwelling-place except the cottage of the keeper. It was really very vexatious; and it is not surprising that the boatman, out of temper, paced up and down the deck of his boat, complaining of this unlucky frost.
The prospect of being obliged to remain, perhaps for weeks, in this solitary region, seemed to him the dullest and most wearisome thing possible. His wife and his mate were on board with him, it is true, but how were they to spend their time in the long winter evenings? and besides, there would be the loss caused by the delay in his voyage.
The first thing he did on leaving the boat was to proceed to the keeper, and bewail his misadventure. The latter consoled him as best he could, and said that his house would be open to him every day, and at the same time invited him to come with his wife and his mate and spend the evening there. This kind invitation was gratefully accepted.
When night began to fall the three strangers made their appearance under the hospitable roof of the keeper, and spent the evening very pleasantly there. They spoke on many subjects, related the events of their lives, and told each other of the various experiences that they had had. The two women were soon quite at home together, and the time for retiring arrived without their being conscious of it. The boatman rose, and was giving the signal for departure, when our friend the keeper said to him, “My wife and I are in the habit of reading a chapter in the Bible every evening; will you attend our simple family worship? It would give us much pleasure.”
The strangers seemed a little surprised by this proposal, but remained. The keeper, taking his Bible, read a portion; then in a short prayer thanked God for His help and protection through the day, and asked Him to bless His Word to their souls. He also expressed his conviction that nothing happens by chance, but that the Almighty God directs all our ways, and that thus the occurrence of this day had been permitted by Him for the good of all.
The boatman and his wife were very much struck by what they had heard. They were completely ignorant of the things of God, not even possessing a Bible, and as they traveled about with their boat they seldom if ever set foot in a church. Careless and indifferent, they had until then lived day after day without God. But the Word of God immediately produced its blessed effect on their hearts. The following evening they appeared, and so on for three weeks, until the frost came to an end, and the boat was set free.
The twenty days of their enforced sojourn near the keeper of the bridge were not lost on them, and by degrees their eyes were opened. Every day they made fresh discoveries of the sad state of their souls before God. They saw with consternation how they had offended against Him, and how great their guilt was. They looked forward with terror to the future which awaits the sinner, and that which they had never before known came to them now with ever-increasing clearness, — they were lost, lost!
The keeper and his wife marked with joy, and thanksgivings to the Lord, the change which was working in their friends. They sought to point them to Jesus the Saviour of the lost, and to show them from Scripture the perfect work of redemption which He had accomplished for them. Every evening they drew to the throne of grace with them, and offered prayers and supplications for these trembling souls, that they might be able to comprehend the peace made by the blood of the cross. And, behold! before the ice had melted in the canal, the frozen layer which, unconsciously to themselves, was covering the hearts of these poor sinners, had melted beneath the beneficent rays of the sun of grace. And in proportion as the warmth of divine love filled them, the light shone into their darkness, and dispelled it. All three — the boatman, his wife, and his mate — were brought to a true repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus.
“Wonderful!” Such is the name that our God assumes; and truly how marvelous are His works, and He is ever the same. It was He who of old sent Philip the evangelist to the desert of Gaza to proclaim the gospel to the officer of the queen of Ethiopia; it was He who allowed His servants Paul and Silas to be thrown into a dungeon at Philippi in order that the jailer and his household should hear the word of life. It was He also who, on the night that the boat arrived near the keeper’s house, sent the frost which retained it, in order that those who commanded it should learn to know Jesus, and be saved.
As soon as navigation on the canal was free, the boatman continued his voyage, after having taken leave of the hospitable cottage and its inhabitants, and thanked them heartily. Like the Ethiopian, he “went on his way rejoicing.”
Some weeks later the keeper of the bridge received from him and his mate a letter, from which I shall give my readers some passages. They will thus see how powerfully the grace of God had wrought in those hearts.
The boatman wrote: ―
“Dear friends! We have received your letter, and it has made us so happy your replying to us. We thank you much for your letter, and your kind exhortations. It is indeed true that he who has the Word of God possesses a great treasure; but he who knows the Lord Jesus, and belongs to Him, has now in this world a foretaste of heavenly joy. He has peace in his heart, and he no longer desires to follow after the good things of this life, which may drag one down into perdition. We have made it a duty not merely to read the Word of God diligently, but also to conform our life to it. May God grant us His blessing, and the power which we need for this. At first it cost us much trouble and many struggles to pursue this end, but now, thanks be to God, we go on much better. The Bible is becoming more and more clear to us, and it is now a joy to us to read the Word of God, and to walk according to its instructions. We thank you also for your permission to keep the tracts some time longer....”
In his turn the boatman’s mate wrote as follows: — “Dear family! I add these lines to my master’s letter, to thank you a thousand times for the pocket-Bible that you have presented to me. It has been of great service to me, and I am so happy to possess it. For some weeks past I have been ill, owing to a fall I had on the boat, but I am somewhat better the last few days. I have rest for my heart, and in all truth I can say that I belong to the Lord Jesus; and more than this, that notwithstanding my illness I am always happy and contented.”
Such is the grace of God; it seeks out sinners and makes them happy for time and for eternity. My dear reader, this grace has sought you, and invites you also; have you responded to the call?
From the French.