“THIS will be a good chance to get T — and B — to these meetings, where, if we keep praying for them, they may get saved.”
“A very good plan, Jack. I will wire for them to come on at once.”
The above is the substance of a conversation between master and servant in regard to the best possible way by which the two younger brothers of the latter might be brought under the sound of the gospel, in a village where God was working and saving many sinners.
Jack was a tailor with a Christian master in a rural district of the North of England. These special meetings had just started when God gave distinct proofs that a real work of grace was taking place. Jack’s master, after a good deal of pleading, got him to go, and, in a few days, after passing through deep exercise of soul, Jack found the Lord Jesus and was saved.
No sooner had he found Christ than — like Andrew (see John 1:40-4240One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John 1:40‑42)), who brought his brother Simon to Jesus — he began to think of the salvation of his two unsaved brothers, who wrought with their father at the same trade some twenty miles away. He though if he could only get them to these meetings, they would be almost sure to be saved.
Just at this time orders for “mourning’s” came in, which were wanted for the funeral of the “Squire.” To get them ready, it would require Jack and his master to work day and night. This, of course, had often been done in the past, and could easily be done again. But Jack, whose chief thought was how he might get his brothers saved, saw in this event a good excuse for bringing them over and getting them to the meetings, and this led him to make the above suggestion to his master, who, he knew, shared deeply in his desire for their blessing.
The proposed telegram, therefore, was sent to the father, which ran as follows: — “Squire dead; big order for mourning’s. Send T — and B — at once if you can spare them.” As trade at home was quiet, he gladly responded by sending on his two sons by an early train.
They had not been long at work, however, till they wished they had never come, for they feared they had been caught in a trap, as Jack and his master kept constantly at them about their souls’ salvation, and pleaded with them to go to the meetings. When the “mourning’s” were finished, they wanted to go home; but the master, who then knew the father could spare them, pressed them to stay a week or two longer, as he had plenty of work; and after a good bit of resistance, they yielded. It required, however, a great deal more earnest pleading to get them to the meetings. They were a “Church of England” family, and as such had a strong prejudice against all evangelical work in connection with “dissent,” but at bottom their great fear was that if they went they might get converted, a blessing they had no desire for — yea, dreaded — at the time.
It was a happy hopeful Friday night for Jack when he took with him, for the first time, his two brothers, and saw them safely seated beside him in that building where God had saved his own soul only a week or two before. The first meeting had a deep effect on them both. Not much sleep for them that night. Saturday night’s meeting convicted them still deeper. Sunday night’s meeting so broke them down that they stayed to the “second” or “anxious” meeting. B — ‘s own words to the writer will best describe what his soul passed through that night:—
“I had not been long in the meeting till I shook like an aspen leaf. My knees knocked against each other, and for the life of me I could not stop them. Several Christians in the second meeting came and exhorted me to trust Christ FULLY, as He only could save me. And while all this attention was being paid to me, my brother T —, who had at that moment been enabled to trust Christ and was saved, was so overjoyed that he started and sung an old Sunday School hymn right away. This only added to my misery, as it looked as if everybody was going to be saved but myself. Yet nobody in the world could have been more anxious than I then was. Still I could have wished that the walls had fallen in to let me out of the place.”
How like Jacob after his vision this was. Though God had spoken of nothing but blessing for poor Jacob, yet he said — “How DREADFUL is this place; this is none other but the house of God; and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:10-1710And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. (Genesis 28:10‑17)). How man fears nearness to God.
B — continued — “Some wanted me to go up to the front and be specially prayed for, but I said, ‘Can God not save me sitting here as well as going up to the front?’ ‘Yes,’ they said, ‘but it is making a public confession you want to be saved, and that you are not ashamed of being on the Lord’s side.’ This made me yield, but when I tried to rise I felt powerless to walk, my legs shook so dreadfully; I had therefore to be helped by others to the front. I was on my knees there, while others were praying for me, for about three-quarters of an hour, before I was able to rest my soul on Christ alone for salvation; but thank God! I would not rise till I knew I had trusted Him. I have often thought since, how much better it would have been if some of these dear, earnest, soul-loving, and soul-winning Christians that spoke to me and prayed for me, had also taken their Bibles and shown me from God’s own Word how a poor sinner could be saved; for I think there is nothing like the blessed Word of God for faith to lay hold of and rest on, as it puts the soul in living link with God Himself. To believe His Word is to believe Himself, like Abraham in Genesis 15:6,6And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) ‘Abraham believed God,’ &c. (Rom. 4:33For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3)). But thank God! He was graciously pleased to use the means of these dear Christian workers who prayed so earnestly for me, while one and another would come and exhort me to trust Christ FULLY, which ultimately I did. Since then, and that is a good few years ago, I can through grace say I hardly ever have had a doubt of my soul’s salvation.
“Well, that was a never-to-be-forgotten night in my history. We went home to our lodgings — three happy brothers — and there, before going to bed, we all went down on our knees, and each of us in turn poured out our hearts and thanked God for having saved us.”
Blessed sight, yes, for God — for all heaven — to look down upon. Has heaven, dear reader, ever beheld the same sight in you Have you ever gone down on your knees and thanked God for HAVING saved you? Now don’t misunderstand me; I don’t ask if ever you have gone on your knees and said a prayer? You may have said prayers from the moment you were able to lisp a word at your mother’s knee — as many times as you like in the day — till your hairs are gray with old age, and after all find yourself in a sinner’s hell for all eternity.
It’s only those who are saved and KNOW it that can do what these three brothers did that night “thank God for having saved them.” But if you have never done it in the past, you may do so before you lay this paper aside. If, like the three subjects of this story, you, as a LOST SINNER, trust Christ— who has died for “sinners” and perfectly satisfied God for our sins — He will save you at once. Then, but not till then, will you be able to go down on your knees and say to God — “Oh! blessed God and Father, I thank Thee from the bottom of my heart for HAVING saved my soul.”
God keep you from giving sleep to your eyes till you are able to truthfully use the above words.
J. M.