16. Chapter XI - VICTORY OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS

Chapter XI VICTORY OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS AN INCIDENT WITH THE CHAPMAN-ALEXANDER MISSION. DR. CHAPMAN’S TESTIMONY OF HIS SOLEMN AUDIENCE WITH THE KING OF KINGS, AND ITS EFFECT UPON HIS OWN PRAYER-LIFE AND FAITH

ONE of the red-letter days in my history in connection with Hyde was in connection with one of the missions which Chapman and Alexander conducted in one of the towns in Western England. Mr. Hyde was staying with us in my home and we happened to be without deputation work for some days, and we heard that a mission was to be conducted by Messrs. Chapman and Alexander, and I suggested that we should attend this mission for three days. We engaged small rooms in a quiet hotel. For the first afternoon we had two of the Lord’s Children with us, a man and wife who had been greatly blessed in the 1904-5 Revival, and Mr. Hyde’s company was made a great blessing to them.

Mr. Hyde had never met Mr. Chapman, but, as they both belonged to the same Church, Mr. Hyde was anxious to meet him, we reached the town about mid-day on a Thurs­day, the first service was to be held at 2 o’clock. After a little food we made our way towards the service, so as to secure a good seat, as we expected a great throng. It was some little disappointment to me personally to find the street comparatively empty. When in sight of the Hall we saw Mr. Chapman and party coming and we waited for them and Mr. Hyde immediately went and introduced himself to Mr. Chapman. Possibly Mr. Chap­man had heard his name as a missionary of his own Church but little did he guess the help that this missionary was to render him in his mission and in his life. Very few people were in the Hall, but a few more came by a o’clock.

There was nothing very remarkable in the service, it was good and I enjoyed it, but we were all so disappointed at the congregation, that we all felt more or less depressed. I met one of the ministers and expressed my dis­appointment, and he said that such missions were not popular in their town, and evidently he was very well satisfied. At night we had a larger congregation, but there was no enthu­siasm. We thoroughly enjoyed the service but were surprised at the lack of zeal and response at the meeting. It was very evident that Mr. Chapman, and the others who were helping him were also disappointed. Hyde said very little. That night one of the leading elders of one of the Churches, an old friend of mine, joined us at supper and he was surprised that we had come all the way to attend a mission l 1 ! He had heard of it but had not attended the meetings. We persuaded him to interest himself in the work and he promised to attend if he could.

It was suggested by Mr. Chapman that the ministers and leaders should meet together the next day for a quiet talk and prayer to see whether anything could be done to rouse the people to attend the services. Mr. Hyde and myself were asked to be present and it was at this meeting that we realized the great need of prayer. The ministers present, and they were a good number, seemed to treat the whole mission as some little side-show. Mr. Chapman’s address was intense, but the remarks made by some of the ministers revealed a state of appalling indifference, so that even Dr. Chapman with a sad countenance said that if that was the spirit in which the leaders faced the mission that he had nothing more to say, and asked the people to excuse him, and went out. That to some extent sobered the most frivolous, and the few earnest souls had their way. I noticed Hyde’s head getting lower and lower, and his face wore that burdened look he always had when the burden of prayer was coming on him. He spoke but little to any one that night and the next afternoon we had to leave, for we both had preaching engagements on the Sunday ; but he came to me and asked me to engage his room for him for the following week that he intended coming back on Monday morning.

’ I cannot leave a brother minister to bear this burden alone,’ he said. I secured the room for him, he spoke with power at two or three services on the Sunday and returned by train early on Monday. Knowing the weak state of his health, and fearing lest the burden should be too much for him, I wrote (unknown to Hyde) a line to Dr. Chapman asking him, if possible, to arrange for some one to be with Hyde so as to help him in his work of inter­cession. Mr. Chapman very kindly arranged for a worthy, sympathetic helper in the person of Mr. Davis of the Pocket Testament League, and the two being kindred spirits became very friendly.

What was the result of this intercession ? Let Mr. Chapman’s letter tell-’ At one of our missions in England the audience was extremely small, results seemed impossible, but I received a letter from a missionary that an American missionary, known as Praying Hyde, would be in the place to pray God’s blessing down upon our work. Almost instantly the tide changed—the Hall was packed and my first invitation meant fifty men for Jesus Christ. As we were leaving I said, Mr. Hyde I want you to pray for me.’ He came to my room, turned the key in the door, dropped on his knees, waited five minutes without a single syllable coming from his lips. I could hear my own heart thumping and his beating. I felt the hot tears running down my face. I knew I was with God. Then with upturned face, down which tears streamed he said Oh / God / ’ Then for five minutes at least he was still again, and then when he knew that he was talking to God, his arm went round my shoulder, and then came up from the depth of his heart such petitions for men as I have never heard before, and I rose from my knees to know what .real prayer was. We have gone round the world and back again, believing that prayer is mighty, and we believe it as never before.’

Mr. Hyde remained in the place for a whole week and then crawled back to us. I saw at once that he had been wrestling with the Lord and had gained the victory, but it had almost been too much for his physical strength. The following day he could scarcely speak, he was so weak but he smiled and whispered to me as I bent over him, The burden was very heavy, but my dear Saviour’s burden for me took Him down to the grave.’ From other sources we heard what a great success the mission had been, how the churches were revived and many were brought to the Light. I was specially interested to read of a stirring address given at a Presbytery a few weeks afterwards by the very elder who had joined us at supper and was scarcely interested enough to attend the mission ; but he did attend and was gloriously blessed and his account of the mission and the blessing which accompanied it stirred the whole Presbytery. How much had Hyde’s prayer to do with this ?

Thinking over Hyde’s share in the work, I could not help comparing his devotion and my lack of responsibility. He realized the need in a way that I did not. He was willing to sacrifice everything so that Christ’s Name should be honoured in that town. How willing he was to work out of sight, he never thought of himself ; he just saw the town, the condition of the churches, the indifference of the ministers as Christ Himself saw these things, and instead of criticizing and blaming the men he took their burden and carried it to the Lord. Not one word of criticism did I hear, not one word of what he had done, but he did speak of the glory of Christ manifested, of the powerful messages delivered by Messrs. Chap­man and Alexander and especially of the power of intercession which his companion Mr. Davies had received. Oh for that absence of self in me I For the power of prayer, and the Spirit’s insight to see the need all around.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus : Who . . . humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, skewing. Grace o one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hat& shewn Grace unto yon.

—Ephesians iv. 32. Darby’s Translation.

Self is the whole evil of fallen nature : self-denial is one capacity of icing saved ; humility is 010 saviour , Self is the root, the branches, the tree, of all the evil of our fallen state. Alt the evils of fallen angels and men have their birth in the pride of self. On the other hand, all the virtues of the heavenly life are the virtues of humility. It is humility alone that makes the un­passable gull between heaven and hell. What is then, or in what lies, the great struggle for eternal life^fIt all lies in the strife between pride and humility : pride and humility are the two master Powers, the two kingdoms in strife for the eternal Possession of man. There never was, nor ever will be, but one humility, and that is the one humility of Christ . . He therefore only fights the good fight whose strife is that the self-idolatrous nature which he hath from Adam may be brought to death by the suPernatural humility of Christ brought o life in him.

—WILLIAM LAW.