By the Editor
The Passing From us of Mr. Fred Smith.
January 21, 1923.
ONE of the most beautiful endings to a Christian’s life I am about to record. On Sunday morning, at five minutes to twelve, after the Breaking of Bread, our beloved brother Mr. Fred Smith, while giving an address, was taken suddenly ill and died in a few minutes. He passed away from the Table of the Lord, to be “at home with the Lord.”
When I came to the meeting, a little before the meeting, commenced, I found him sitting in his accustomed seat. As I passed to go to my seat, which was always next to his, we shook hands, and he gave me his last earthly greeting. “I am so glad to see you Doctor,” the same loving grip, and on his face the old loving smile that I had known for five and forty years, and which I had always loved and responded to. I said to him, “How are you?” He answered, “I feel like a king.” It was his way of saying, he felt very well, and looking at his face I told him he looked better than I had seen him for some time.
He gave out the first hymn, No. 39, in our Hymn Book―a hymn written by J. N. Darby―
Blest Father, infinite in grace,
Source of eternal joy:
Thou lead’st our hearts to that blest place
Where rest has no alloy.
Etc., etc.
He sang the hymn through. Later on in the meeting a brother gave out Hymn 180.
Hark! the choirs of angels crying,
Glory to the Lamb once slain,
None in heaven or earth denying
Tribute to the Saviour’s name.
While the hymn was being read, I heard him humming the tune to himself, and when the reading was over, he raised the tune loudly and clearly, and sang it all through. He stood to the singing of the hymns that morning, a thing he very rarely did on account of his bodily weakness. Not feeling well I was sitting at the back of our room, when he stood to give his last address. His voice was strong and resonant. He repeated the first three verses of John 14, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
There were two great truths that came out prominently in his address―his last address: ―
1. The inspiration of the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, and their testimony to Christ.
2. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jehovah of the Old Testament, was the Jesus of the New. He was Jehovah — Jesus.
He spoke of the Jews believing in God, but not in Christ, They were proud of being the people of God―he traced the history of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, and God’s provision for them all the time and all the way. How He fed them and clothed them, and how their clothes did not wear out nor their shoes. He spoke of the power of Israel’s God in creation, “In the beginning — God,” spoke of the wonders of the universe—the sun, and moon, and stars. Spoke of a wondrous telescope that brought many new stars into the field of vision, so that the astronomers, could not tell which were old and which were new—but, he said impressively, “He could tell, the Creator. He knew them all.” He led us on to Jesus, referring to John 14:1-3,1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1‑3) The disciples could not understand His going away — they had thought He would set up His Kingdom and reign as King, and that they would have a share in these earthly glories. He repeated, “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me.”
He repeated from memory from Luke 24, the 13th to 27th verses, how the Lord rebuked the unbelief of the two that walked to Emmaus.
When he came to the verse, “And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near”―he repeated, “Jesus Himself drew near.” Verse after verse he repeated solemnly, when he came to the verse, “And certain of them which were with us, went to the sepulcher and found it even so, as the women had said; but Him they saw not,” he repeated, “Him they saw not.”
He went on, “Then He said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things?” ―again the solemn repetition, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” It was all so real and solemn as he repeated it. He was dwelling on the glories of Jehovah—Jesus.
Then he spoke of His life on earth—His birth, how at twelve years of age, He confounded the doctors in the temple, then how He went a long way out of His way to see a poor lonely woman, of low repute, an outcast, at Jacob’s well. He continued in these words, “He knew she needed a Saviour.” When He met her, He said, “Give me to drink.” The poor woman immediately began to remonstrate with Him, for she said, “How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me which am a woman of Samaria?” For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. She found, however, that she could not get on with the Lord on those lines, and. Christ began to reveal. Himself to her. “Go call thy husband.” “I have no husband.” And Jesus said unto her, “Thou hast well said ‘I have no husband,’ for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.” The woman said unto Him, “Sir, I perceive that Thou art a Prophet.” Then she spoke of worship, and the Messiah coming who would tell us all things. Jesus said, “I that speak unto thee am He.”
“This poor woman,” our brother continued, “had met her Saviour” ―God manifest in flesh. She left her water pots and went into the city saying, “Come see a man that told Me all that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And many in the city believed on Him not only because of the woman’s words, but because they came and saw and heard for themselves.” Our dear brother then said, “There is just one more Scripture I want to mention, and then I finish” then came a pause. “It is a wonderful scripture,” he went on, then a longer pause. Then his eyes closed and he held out his right hand to feel for his chair, saying, “I won’t say any more now. I must sit down.” He would have fallen had not two brothers caught him, and held him. I came to his side and saw in a moment he was passing away. From the moment his eyes closed as he stood saying the last words they never opened on earth again. It was like a curtain falling between time and eternity. He never spoke again-not one word. He never told us the wonderful verse. He passed away in about three minutes after he had finished speaking—no movement, no struggle, “Put to sleep by Jesus.”
A Presence we could not see touched him and he slept to wake no more on earth. A Voice we could not hear said, “Come up higher.” All we saw was the calm face of our beloved brother, and many saw it through a mist of tears, but the Ministering angels of God were there. A weeping brother said, “It might have been any of us.” So it might have been. How easily he passed from the finite to the infinite. How natural and yet how solemn it all was. Speaking to us his last words in his own natural way, and then in a moment in heaven. He left his earthly home at ten o’clock to come to the meeting, and was “At home with the Lord” before twelve. He had repeated to us, “I go to prepare a place for you.” His place was prepared.
He seems to be speaking to his children, and to all of us who knew him now: We almost hear him say, “Let not your heart be troubled,” I am “at home with the Lord.” I shall never see you on earth again, but you must all come and meet me in heaven. I have lived among you in Exeter for forty-five years; we must spend eternity together. Be sure and come where I am.”
A Personal Ending
No one on earth knows what Mr. Smith’s home-going means to me. It means an earthly severance of a Christian friendship that never altered for forty-five years. We met in 1877. He asked me for a class in my Sunday school. I told him all the classes were supplied with teachers. He said, “I will bring my own class.” Next Sunday he came with a following of boys. From that time he was with me in all my public gospel work, at my children’s services, and in the open air. He was with me when I preached in; a hall at 101, Fore Street, Exeter, from September, 1880, to December, 1882. He was with me at the Royal Public Rooms from December, 1882, to April, 1884. He was with me at the Victoria Hall from April, 1884, to 1912.
When we took the Palladium for six months in the year for some years he was with me there. Wherever we were he was always the same―I could always feel love radiating from him to me all those years. He was never an opposer in anything for God and souls, but always a helper. I loved him for his work’s sake and for himself. He was a Christian gentleman, kind and courteous to all with whom he carne in contact. He hated what was false, but he loved the Truth. He was always ready to hide himself so that Christ might be seen. Dear faithful brother and fellow worker, I can truly say “Very pleasant hast thou been to me; thy love to me was wonderful.”
A Letter
This letter came to me the day after he passed away: ―
Dear Sir, — I sorrow with you in the loss of a faithful servant of, God―dear Mr. Smith. I knew him many years ago, and was often much cheered by his conversation. He was not ashamed of his Master. When the call-came he was found at work in the vineyard. What a privilege! You will miss him.
With kindest sympathy to the members of the congregation.
Yours, etc., etc., J. B.
I shall often speak of Mr. Smith again if I continue my articles, “The Ways of God.” — Editor.
A Word For March
I ask your prayers that God will bless our work this year and soon send us the 30,000 Testaments we need to fill our shelves, nearly empty now.
I ask also our friends to send us any back numbers of “Message from God,” or “Gospel Gleanings,” or “Glad-Tidings,” or “Bible Monthly,” or any other gospel books for our parcels. We are short of everything, so great has been, and is now, the demand at home and abroad. Yours for Christ’s sake,
Heyman Wreford.