BACKWARD to the year 1838 we turn in thought, and in a village on the borders of Scotland we see a maiden diligently doing her household work one Lord’s Day morning. Is it the flush of early youth that makes her eye so bright, and her voice so blithe? It is youth certainly, but it is more, for the love of God has been shed abroad in her heart, and she is this morning rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven, “of peace with God, of hope of heaven.”
Prior to this date it might have been said regarding that place, “The word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” The Bible had an honored place in the majority of households, it is true, but important truths plainly written therein had to a large extent been lost sight of.
Far be it from us to speak disparagingly of those old divines who served their heavenly Father with reverence and godly fear; who loved the Bible, kept the Sabbath, upheld the “Kirk,” and who, to quote the words of an old writer, “would stand sax hours on a wat hillside listening to a sermon.” But a clear evangelical work begun in England came creeping northward, and souls that long had groped in darkness now saw great light, and many a one, the language of whose heart for years had been―
“When Thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclosed
In majesty severe,
And sit in judgment on my soul,
Oh, how shall I appear?”
now saw that the judgment they had dreaded had been fully borne by Jesus on the cross, and it was their portion to enjoy the blessings which accrued to them through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Was it then that the preachers at that time began to speak smooth things to the people, and to make light of the awful consequences of sin? Ah, no! peace and pardon will never be got in that way. But the Spirit of God opened their eyes to see that “whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever,” and since God had laid their sins on Jesus, and had shown how fully He was satisfied with His work by raising Him from the dead, that the believer in Jesus no longer need groan under the load of guilt. Nay, more, they saw that instead of it being presumption to believe that their sins were forgiven, they thereby set to their seal that God was true (John 3:3333He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. (John 3:33)).
The acceptance of this truth brought great joy to many homes, and to none more so than Isabella’s, for her father and mother as well as herself had been loosed from their bonds by the Lord. Her sister, too, a little girl of seven, as she sat on a seat in the meeting-room, her feet scarcely reaching the floor, listening to the words, “Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord,” also gave her heart to Jesus. The long lifetime of devoted service to God which followed proved it was no childish fancy, but that at that tender age she was born of God.
It was very necessary this Sunday to be early astir, as there was a meeting for prayer in a neighbor’s house at six o’clock in the morning, so Isabella’s agile form moved briskly round, and the domestic work was accomplished in time for her to enjoy the “sweet hour of prayer.” More “works of necessity” followed, and then a long tramp to the distant town, where some servants of Christ proclaimed the glorious gospel, which ever falls freshly on ears that already have tasted its purifying power.
About three in the afternoon, as they were wending their way home under a burning sun, Isabella said, “Oh, father, I quite forgot to take my breakfast this morning.” So great had been her joy in the Lord, so eager her desire to hear more of Him, that, like another, “she esteemed the words of his mouth more than her necessary food” (Job 23:1212Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12)). “Master, eat,” said the disciples to the Lord when He had been ministering the water of life to a needy soul, and He replied: “I have meat to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” Truly a little of the spirit of the Master had been caught by this young disciple.
“Ah!” you say, “that was simply the excitement of a young convert in the morning of life, when everything looked bright and fair; wait till years have brought trouble and care, and she will lose her enthusiasm.”
Yes, it certainly was life’s morning, and a morning without clouds too. If you are in that fortunate period, may it be yours to say, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Ps. 5:3). “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccles. 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1)) is a splendid injunction. Food and raiment have to be labored for, but “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:3333But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)) is a word we should all heed.
It was a wild, wet Sunday morning in the winter of 1898, and with difficulty we traversed the windswept streets to a place where some Christians sought to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Many who were wont to congregate there had been deterred by stress of weather, and it was with surprise we noticed an aged woman among the worshippers.
“Why did you venture out in such a tempest?” we asked her, when the meeting was over. A look of holy joy overspread her face as she answered: “It is worth encountering a storm to meet with Jesus. He is worthy to be praised.”
There was no gainsaying the ring of intense reality with which she spoke. Her eyes were dim from age, and her natural strength abated, but clearer than noonday was her delight in the Lord.
“He was the guide of my youth,” she said; “He will be my guide even unto death. He has kept me as the apple of His eye, and in affliction He hid me in the shadow of His hand, and soon He will receive me to glory.”
Perhaps someone says, “Well, it is very nice for the aged to be religious; when their life is well-nigh spent, it is quite appropriate that they should think on their latter end.”
My friend, this aged woman and the young girl are one and the same, with sixty years rolled in between. “In life’s gay morn” she applied her heart unto wisdom, and now at “eventide” she found the Lord her refuge and strength, His truth her shield and buckler.
What about the intervening years? How did she bear the burden and heat of the day? We asked her particularly about that. “I always found the Lord’s grace sufficient for every circumstance I have been in,” she said; and many details she enumerated of divine help received in time of need. We only adduce one incident which belongs to the “noonday” of her life.
Her eldest son had reached the age of fifteen years, and her heart’s desire and prayer for him was that he might be saved. From a child he had known the Scriptures, and very earnestly did she entreat him now when childhood was merging into youth to accept of Jesus as his Saviour. She felt he had come to the parting of the ways―either Christ or the world.
“One day,” she said, “I was on my knees scrubbing the floor, and praying all the time for my son, when this word came to me with power, ‘Thy son liveth!’ I had just got the floor all scrubbed when Willie came in, saying, ‘Mother, I am converted!’ What a joy it was to my heart that God had heard the voice of the lad. I wrestled in prayer with the Lord for every one of my children! and each one as he or she grew up, was brought to the knowledge of the Lord. Now I keep praying for my grandchildren, and I have the assurance they will all be saved, for the word is, ‘I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.’ (Isa. 44:33For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: (Isaiah 44:3))
Do we know anything, dear reader, of thus continuing instant in prayer?
“Thou art my strength, Lord Jesus;
Power and praise belong to Thee:
Thou art my song, Lord Jesus,
For Thy grace sufficeth me.
Till the tears of time be o’er,
Till the tempter tempt no more, ―
Thou art my strength:
Thou art my song in tribulation,
Thou art the horn of my salvation.”
M. M.