MOTHER, will th' man speak till us if we gang till the meeting," inquired Isa J— of her mother, while getting ready to attend a Gospel preaching in the village of C one Lord's Day evening in September 1877.
“Yes, Isa," said her mother," he'll speak till ye if ye stay akin' the rest.”
“Weel, J—," she said to her companion, "a think we'll no gang. Weel, come; a think we'll gang an' sit gey near th' door, an' get oot as soon as he has clone preachin'." They both went to the meeting and sat on the end of a form near the door. That night the word was with power—and in power, too—to Isa and her companion.
The preacher in closing said, “I am sure some of you are very anxious to he out, but you are not leaving as you came in; you are under conviction of sin." He then solemnly appealed to them, and pressed the necessity of decision for Christ How, as this might be the last offer of salvation. The meeting closed, and the anxious were asked to remain. The majority left the room, and among the rest, indeed among the first, Isa and her companion; but when they got to the bottom of the stairs, Isa said to her companion, “J—, a think we'll gang in again." For a moment they weighed it, but with this decision, “We’ll gang hame; he's gaun to preach again on Wednesday night, we'll come back then." Dangerous decision, when the soul is in the balance. Wednesday night came round, and as the hour of the meeting drew near, Isa's sister said to her, "Are you gaun to the meeting, Isa?” “Oh," she replied, "a hinna time." "O Isa," said her sister, “ye have time for everything but the ane thing needful; come awa." With that she went with her sister, and she afterward said, " Just as sure as a was putting the shawl over my head a would be catchit that night; " and caught she was, but for eternal blessing.
The word was again in power, and with increasing power to Isa. She "stayed chin' the rest," and the man spoke to her of Christ, for the heaving breast and eyes suffused with tears had already arrested his attention. She was really anxious to be saved. Among other scriptures read and quoted to her were John 10:27, 28,27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27‑28) " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life: and they shall never perish," &c. “Now," said the preacher," haven't you heard His voice?" She said," Yes." Well, then, to such He says He gives "eternal life, and they shall never perish." For a moment she gazed at the word, evidently feeling the power of the eternal truth, then, with a deep sigh and faltering voice, said, “Weel, I’ll take Him." Did Isa know what unsearchable riches she fell heir to by that decision? Verily not; and far less did she understand how He whom she had taken valued what He had received in her. Another of His sheep that was lost; another given to Him by the Father out of the world over whom He rejoices, and whom He keeps and loves unto the end. But her cup was full; she left the room with joy unspeakable, and calling on a friend, she said, "M—, I'm saved; I've got Christ.” Then home to her mother, and with deep feeling said, "O mother, I've got the Lord; I'm saved.” That mother's heart was made glad that night, and had joy in common with the new-born soul. Was this simply an outburst of emotional feeling, or mere natural joy like the stony-ground hearer, soon to subside under the pressure of the trials in the way? No, but the fruit of the Spirit, the joy of a delivered soul now able to say, "Abba, Father," and Christ was her theme ever after.
How well for Isa that she went to the meeting, and that she "stayed chin' th' rest," for not only did “the man" that was preaching "speak till her," but the Man that "receiveth sinners" both spoke to her, and received her, having first wrought in her, and led her to feel her need of Him, and then to say, “I’ll take Him.”
But Isa had not the privilege of bearing testimony very long. On Monday evening, October 14, 1878, she said to a sister in the Lord, " I've been thinking so much about a verse in th' 16th o' John th' day, it has hardly ever been oot o' ma mind a' this day. `A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.' I wonder what it means. A little while, and ye shall not see me, because I go to the Father.' A dinna ken what it means." Before that week ended, He who has gone to the Father, and of whom she said, "I’ll take Him," had taken her home to be with Himself up there.
That same preacher, while holding meetings in a town on the borders, had a letter on Lord's Day morning, October 20, 1878, from a dear brother in the Lord, a fisherman, in which he said, “You will be sorry to hear that Isa J— is with us no more. She went to be with the Lord yesterday morning.” Sorry indeed to lose her fellowship here, but glad, for her sake, that she was home to be with Christ, which is "far better.”
“He and I in that bright glory,
One deep joy to share,—
Mine, to be forever with him;
His, that I am there.
Reader, what of you? have you taken Him? Can you say, I am saved? or are you anxious to be saved? If so, then come to Him. You will get a hearty welcome— and just as you are—from the One who "receiveth sinners and eateth with them.” He died for sinners, and is still “seeking and saving that which is lost." Do you know that you are lost? Then come to Him, He will in nowise cast you out (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)).
But perhaps you are not anxious now, though you once were, and have often felt under the preached Gospel that you ought to accept Christ and decide for Him. But you allowed something to binder that decision, and here you are, still unsaved; and your desire for salvation, that you once had, gone. Solemn position You may have refused your last offer of salvation,! Dear friend, take care, you are on dangerous ground for if you thus continue to trifle, you certainly will reject once too often the message of mercy. “God is not mocked.” The Lord Jesus says," He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:4848He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (John 12:48)).
But another may say, “That does not apply to me. I am not so bad; I am not lost; I was never anxious; I have attended lots of meetings; I can stand any amount of preaching, it never touches me. "Then, dear friend, does this apply to you? — “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:3, 43But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3‑4)). Satan may have blinded your mind, and hid these things from you; but remember, if the Gospel does not touch you, judgment will; and it is only in time that the sinner can make this bravado when in company with others, but when he stands alone in the judgment he will be speechless. Be warned, I pray you; you are a sinner, a lost sinner, and you need a Saviour, and there is a Saviour for you. Then bow to Him, and own your state before God, and accept salvation on His terms. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him " (Psa. 2:1212Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2:12)).
J. H.