No. 2.
AFTER you left me in the train, I asked the Lord to open the way for me, if it was His will I should so far break over all the rules of decorum (according to this world) and address the officer in the corner. I felt quite powerless to speak one word. I opened my Bible, and commenced to look at it, but could not read. I thought every moment. Perhaps he goes out next station, and what shall I do then? Nothing. My opportunity will be lost. I saw him pull out your book, look at the title, look at me, and put it in his pocket, open his bag, and take out two more yellow-backed books! He read a bit of one, then pitched it away, took the other, read a bit, looked over at me, shut it up, put all in the bag, took out your little one. I was praying for direction, when he changed his seat and came on my side. I looked at my book, and found it open at John 9. My eyes fell upon the 35th verse, and the Lord said to me, point him to the question in this verse. I at once moved up, held the Bible to him, and pointed to the query.
You should have seen his face! He turned round, pierced me with a contemptuous look, returned the book, saying, “Or cousin I do; do you take me for a heathen because I was reading any other book but that which you have had open for show, I suppose, for you certainly were not reading.”
I told him simply why I was not reading; that my heart was yearning over his soul; that I fell the difficulty of addressing him; but the Spirit of God had overcome that, and directed me not to speak to him, but to allow the Son of God to now, I said, remember your answer was not to me, but Him. I read the narrative, showed him how different was the blind man’s answer to his, told him I could not tell whether he was a heathen or a Christian; but God knew, and sent me to him with His word, which is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I again ventured to hold the same portion to him, saying, Many a man sleeps calmly on the brink of a precipice. How friendly the voice should be that awakes him. Jesus desires to awake you this day, and to send you on your way as rejoicing as He did this blind man. He turned and gave me another look, asked who you were. I told him. You are in earnest he said. I will tell you all about myself; for I suppose by this time you have discovered that I am not a converted man.
I said I suspected he either was not, or if he was, was like Lazarus before the grave-clothes were loosed off him.
I read this for him; it seemed to rivet him. He then said, I want to be a Christian this long time. My captain is converted, and only 33 years of age, and I see his happiness. I pray with all the energy of my NATURE to be made like him, and yet I can’t get to be. I’m in a bad school.
Oh! dear young man, I cried, you are indeed. You are all wrong. You can’t pray in the energy of your NATURE, because it is corrupt find abominable, and unrenewed and unholy, and prod hears no prayer offered in the energy of our nature―it must be in the energy of the Holy Ghost, received by reason of our union with a risen Christ, having been made partakers of His death, cleansed from sin in the blood of the Cross, born of God into His eternal kingdom, our sins ill buried with Him who bore them, and we risen with Him into newness of life.
I know all this, he said, but how do we get this Spirit? A friend told me yesterday that when GOD calls a man or woman He always gives the power to come to Him, and that there is not a bit of use in my bothering myself about religion until I feel the Spirit drawing me, and he showed me some passage in John to make it clear.
He said, perhaps I am not one of the elect it all; that if I was, I would get an unmistakable call as he did, and not have the power to refuse.
I tried to shew him how Satan quoted Scripture many a time, but that if he quoted he never quoted what other portions of the word agreed with it, and that proved, whoever quoted thus, to be a deceiver and misrepresenter of God’s character.
You have nothing to do with election, that is a secret thing belonging to God, who has a sovereign right to send you and me and all of us is rebels to hell; but, as hell-deserving sinners, we have to do with two things―one is the way sf escape God has provided, the other is that He commands us on peril of eternal death to accept it. Put yourself in the blind man’s place. God commends His love to you, and offers you salvation now in the words of His own Son.
But I don’t see Jesus, he said. Do you see Balbriggan? No; but I’m going there, unless something happens. Just so; and you must see Jesus by faith, to whom you will go, and be forever with, if you believe on Him as your only Saviour, unless that something happens called he taking possession of your heart by the evil spirit of unbelief, which alone can keep you from Teeing Him―Jesus now offering you His blood us an atonement for your sins.
You pray to be made like your captain; that shows you not to be praying in the Holy Ghost. It is to be made like unto Jesus we pray, who hath left us an example; and besides, you are trying to be a Christian yourself, and that great work must be begun, carried on, and completed by God Himself. I told him of the brazen serpent, held up Jesus to him, prayed God to bless he words spoken in great weakness, and gave him for his encouragement that verse: “To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” You can’t become a child of God until you believe yourself a lost sinner out of Christ, and believe in His ability, and accept His offer to save you from God’s wrath, which hangs over you until you are born again.
He here became softened, and wiped away the tear. I asked him, Did he believe in Jesus as having satisfied God for his sins, and borne the punishment due to him―death?
We were just coming up to the station. I pressed it, in prayer, and he said, “I think I do. I feel to have learned a great deal in a few words. I’m afraid to trust myself.” I said, “Aye, and you may safely never trust yourself, but trust Him who promises if you believe you shall never perish.”
He shook hands, saying, “Thank you very, very much. God bless you; pray for me. I hope I’m a believer; pray for me;” and thus we parted, never perhaps to meet until that day.
But ah, dear friend, I thought, as I came home in the train alone, what should we be surprised at in the Lord blessing us to poor souls? If He does not use us, it is because of our own unfaithfulness and fear of men. Our opportunities meet us at every step of our way. God has to say to us, “I never left you long without an opportunity of testifying for me; but often it does not suit you to testify for me, and you forget your calling, and then opportunities pass unused, and you wonder you have no trophies to cast at your Lord’s feet. Watch for souls.”