Captain W— was in command of one of the finest yachts in the world. He was a splendid man all round; a rare seaman, a well-read man, and physically of unusually fine build and commanding stature.
During the winter his yacht was "laid up," and his time was his own to spend as he pleased. Now the Captain was, above everything else, a Christian, and he devoted all the evenings of this period of leisure to evangelistic work.
One stormy winter's night, after conducting a service, as the rain was falling in torrents and his home was five miles off, he hired a cab, and was soon rattling along, cozily ensconced inside, while the storm beat upon the closed windows from without.
After the fatigue of walking the five miles to the place of meeting, and of conducting a long service, followed by two after-meetings, the rest was very pleasant. Suddenly, however, a fierce blast of wind and rain shook the vehicle, and he said, half aloud,
"That poor cabman! what a drenching he will get!"
All the man in the Captain rose in pity for the bodily discomfort of his driver. Then the thought occurred to him, with sudden and startling force,
"I wonder if his soul is saved;" and all the Christian in him was aroused for the poor man's soul. Acting promptly on his leadings, the captain opened the door, and called him in,
"Cabman, I want you a moment. It is an awful night for your body, exposed as it is; but I cannot be at rest as I think about your soul. Is it saved? Are you ready for death? Are you serving God?"
The cab was drawn close to the roadside, and, at the Captain's invitation, the cabman sat down opposite to him, that they might have a few minutes' conversation. It transpired that for some time the man had been troubled about his soul, and he welcomed the opportunity of learning the truth which now presented itself.
"Where is your difficulty, friend?" asked the Captain.
"Well, sir, you see, I've known all about these things ever since I was a little boy at Sunday school, but what I want now is to know how to get the benefit of Jesus Christ's death for me. I've done any amount of repentin' and prayin', and such like, of late; but I don't seem to get much farther, and tonight at tea-time my little one was singin',—
'It is not your tears of repentance, nor prayers, But the blood that atones for the soul.'
So now I'm fairly hung up, and don't know what to do."
Very simply, but very faithfully, Captain
W—showed the poor man that he had been looking within himself for some sort of comfortable feeling, instead of looking at Christ's work upon the cross for him.
"We are 'saved by grace' (free gift) `through faith,' " he said. "We believe and receive; our joy comes from the knowledge and acceptance of the facts that the Lord hath laid on Him' (Jesus) the iniquity'—the sin—`of us all,' and that He does accept Him as our Substitute."
That cabman went home at peace through believing God's statement as to the Lord Jesus Christ.