The ways of God in bringing sinners to Himself are wonderful, and, when His Holy Spirit works, nothing can withstand its blessed power. The one whose portrait is given with this article was an instance of this. Living as he did without hope and without God in the world all his life until his last illness. For thirty years now he has been in heaven, but the devil had few more faithful followers than he was until his last illness.
It was in the days of the early eighties, when God was giving us very great blessing at all our meetings, that 1 was asked by an Inspector of the Exeter Police, who had been converted at the meetings, to go and see this dying man. The Inspector told me that he had threatened to kill any clergyman or minister who came to see him, and one who was asked to go said he would as soon put his foot in hell as in his house.
When I was asked to go and see him I made it a matter of earnest prayer, and then I went. He lived in one of the cobbled back streets of our ancient city, and, when I reached his home and knocked at the door, his wife opened it: I said, “Can I see your husband?” For answer she put her fingers to her lips, enjoining silence on me. I said, “Where is he?” She did not answer, but pointed to an inner room, beyond the front room, which was kitchen and sitting-room combined. I walked through the outer room and went into the bedroom. I found Hurl lying on his bed, staring at me with great surprise and resentment in his eyes. I simply said, as I drew nearer to the bed, “I heard you were ill, and I came to ask how you were.” All the time I was praying to God to show me how to reach this sinner’s heart. I felt entirely dependent, knowing the character of the man. He had had “delirium tremens” seven times, and had often pursued his wife through the streets at night, threatening to kill her.
As he lay watching me, my constant prayer was, “O God, what shall I say; what shall I do?” Clearly and distinctly a voice answered to my soul, “Speak to him about Guppy.” The voice was the voice of the Spirit of God, and I obeyed it. Guppy had been converted at our meetings, and had been buried only a few days before I had no knowledge of this man’s acquaintance with Guppy. I did not know whether they were acquainted or not, but I at once said, “Did you know Guppy?” He looked at me in surprise, and replied, “I knew him well; we were boys together.” As I sat down by the bedside I answered, “Yes, he was a friend of mine as well, and I was with him just before he died.” I then told him all about Guppy, his conversion, what he said to me, and what I said to him. Guppy dead and gone to heaven was speaking through me to this poor soul. He could not refuse to listen, because I constantly said, “Guppy said this to me, and I said this to Guppy.” And, as I went on preaching the gospel of God’s grace to him through Guppy, he grew more and more interested, and I could see the Spirit of God was doing a work in that soul that would end in his being saved. At last I looked him straight in the face and said, as I stood over him, “And what of you? You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Do you know you are a sinner?” Slowly he answered “Yes.” I said, “God sent His Son to die for sinners.” And then, referring to his present condition, I said, “Do you think you are going to die, or going to get better?” He replied, “I think I shall die.” “Would you like to go to heaven?” “Yes.” “You must repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for sinners.” I then told him the story of the penitent thief, saved at the eleventh hour. I spoke of his condition―a vile sinner―of his position hanging over hell—of his cry to the Lord Jesus, “Lord, remember me”; and, as I told this wonderful story of redeeming love, he listened absorbed. I then said to him, “Will you pray the thief’s prayer to Jesus now?” And he said with trembling lips, “Lord, remember me.” And then I told him of the man who knew he was a sinner, and because he knew it could not lift up his face to heaven, but cried in his need, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”; and I said to him, “Now will you say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner?” And he said, as he lay there facing eternity, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And then I told him of Peter sinking beneath the waves, and how he prayed to Jesus, “Lord, save me”; and I told the poor sinner before me that he was sinking down to hell, and only One could save him, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. And I said, “Hurl, will you say, Lord, save me”; and he said earnestly, “Lord, save me.” And once again I spoke to him, and this time of the jailer at Philippi who, anxious about his soul, cried out to God’s servants, “What must I do to be saved” And I said, “Do you ask that question now?” By the grace of God be did. Then I repeated text after text to him. He told me he wanted to go to heaven. I asked him if I might pray with him, and he said “Yes.” On leaving, I asked him to think of Christ, and he promised he would. I said, as I shook hands with him, “Do you want me to come again? I shall not come unless you ask me.” He told me he wished me to come.
When I got outside the neighbors told me a little about his life. They said he was a drunkard, and had had “delirium tremens” several times. They told me he had kicked a woman to death, and had cursed and sworn all through his illness, and would let no one come near him. He had often kicked his wife into the gutter, and many other thing’s. However, I felt sure that God was going to save his precious soul.
The next day—February 27th 1884—I called to see him again, bringing with me a text on a card to put on the bottom of his bed, so that he could always see it. The text was:
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
He told me he had thought much about me during the night, that he had prayed to the Lord a good deal, and that he, wanted to be saved. His wife told me that he had not sworn at her since I was there.
We had a happy time together, reading the Bible and prayer to God, and when I left him he was earnestly seeking the Saviour. I gave him a Bible, which he read for himself. I had the joy at length of hearing him confess Christ. He was very happy as he lay talking to me of God’s goodness to him and of his past guilty life. He asked me to pray for his wife that she might be saved. His end was perfect peace, calmly trusting in his Saviour. I was not with him when he died, but I know where he is now, and look forward to meeting him soon in the presence of the Lord.
Heyman Wreford.