THE following letter, which was printed as a tract, has been sent us by a friend who knew its author, now deceased, as a godly missionary in the town of Girvan, Ayrshire. The letter, we believe, will be read with pleasure.
GIRVAN, May, 1890.
DEAR FELLOW-TRAVELLER TO ETERNITY,—I love you sincerely, and now that I am laid aside through illness I would like to speak a word to you that perhaps you will listen to and the Lord will bless.
I knew a man in Christ who was in affliction but enjoying the smile of his Father in heaven, and by the aid of His Holy Spirit was enabled to say, “The will of the Lord be done.” Sometimes that man was charged with the sin of seeking to physicians rather than to God, but he knew that this accusation came not from one who loved his soul, because it was not strictly true; and so he answered by saying that he had done nothing more than Paul and his companions had done when the storm came on—they used helps by undergirding the ship. “Now,” he said, “if it be the will of my Father in heaven that my frail barque is to ride out the storm, and is permitted to run a few more short voyages, I will give Him thanks and praise, for there remaineth yet very ‘much land’ to be possessed.” But if otherwise ordered by the all-wise Sovereign, and if the old ship is to become a wreck, he would look for the help of the Holy Spirit to enable him to take up the anchors that bind him to this world, to hoist up the mainsail of faith in the atoning blood, and make for the shore. And if the hinder part of the vessel should be broken with the violence of the waves, he believed that the Great Captain would remain on board and enable him to grasp firmly the glorious plank of His finished work, and thus get safe to land.
When landed on the shores of eternity, he believed he would be kindly treated, not by barbarians, but by the servants of the King of kings, who would conduct him to His Father’s house, to behold His face in righteousness, and to be satisfied with His likeness. And when the Father saw him clad in the raiment of His Son, He would smile upon him, and the Son would say, “This is one of those whom Thou gavest me to keep, and in whom I see the travail of my soul, and am satisfied.” And oh! how this man will wonder to hear himself so spoken of in heaven! Then shall these ministering spirits who conducted him there break forth in a new song of praise to God and the Lamb, in which he will join, not faintly, as he often did on earth, but with a heart overflowing with gratitude and love. And he will be able to tell them something of the way in which the Lord God led him for many years, saving him from his sin, directing him in his difficulty, and when his heart was overwhelmed and in perplexity, leading him to the Rock that was higher than he. And thus they will see an additional proof of “the manifold wisdom of God”; and who can tell but he may be permitted to watch for and welcome the beloved friends who are yet to enter the pearly gates?
Now, dear friend, I have told you this story which has often put a new song in my mouth, and often caused tears of joy to flow from my eyes. But how is it with you? We take it kindly when asked regarding our bodily health. Surely you will not take it unkindly to be asked about the welfare of your soul? Did you ever see yourself as lost? Are you on the way to heaven? What think you of Christ, and are you trusting in His blood? If you are, then dissolution need not trouble you; Christ hath conquered death, and taken away its sting to every believer. Keep the eye of faith on the glorious Ark, and the swellings of Jordan cannot harm you. When a child, I used to look with awe at the dark shadow of a cloud rolling over the fields, but there was never anyone hurt by a shadow; neither will you be hurt by the shadow of death (Psalm xxiii. 4). It soon passes, and the returning splendour will seem all the brighter for it. So will it be with you and me “if we follow on to know the Lord.” May He grant us grace so to do! Amen, yea, and Amen.—Sincerely yours,
W. S., Missionary.
WHEN I look to my guiltiness, I see my salvation one of our Saviour’s greatest miracles, either in heaven or earth. I am sure I may defy any man to show me a greater wonder. But seeing I have no wares, no hire, no money for Christ, He must either take me with want, misery, corruption, or then want me.—Rutherford.