65 Sermon Illustrations on Faith in Trials

Men do not refuse to cross the ocean because of storms; or to travel by rail because of accidents; or to enter into business because of losses; or to fight in the battle-field because of cannon, sword, deaths; or to study science and philosophy, because of mysteries; nor should men object to the study and practice of religion, because of the various difficulties which may stand connected with it. Bate.

Dr. John Evans, the author of some excellent sermons on the Christian temper, introduced, on one occasion, a sermon to young people, in the following manner:—Shall I be allowed to preface this discourse with relating a passage concerning an acquaintance of mine, who has been many years dead, but which I remember to have received, when young, from himself? When he was an apprentice in this city, the civil war began; his inclination led him into the army, where he had a captain's commission. It was fashionable for all the men of that army to carry a Bible along with them; which, therefore, he and many others did, who yet made little use of it, and hardly had any sense of serious religion. At length he was commanded, with his company, to storm a fort, wherein they were, for a short time, exposed to the thickest of the enemy's fire. When he had accomplished his enterprise, and the heat of the action was over, he found that a musket ball had lodged in his Bible, which was in his pocket, upon such a part of his body, that it must necessarily have proved mortal to him, had it not been for this seasonable and well-placed piece of armor. Upon a nearer observation, he found the ball had made its way so far in his Bible, as to rest directly upon that part of the first unbroken leaf, where the words of my text are found. It was Eccles. 11: 9; "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." As the surprising deliverance, you may apprehend, much affected him, so a passage, which his conscience told him was very apposite to his case, and which Providence in so remarkable a way pointed to his observation, made the deepest and best impression on his mind; and, by the grace of God, he from that time attended to religion in earnest, and continued in the practice of it to a good old age; frequently making the remark with pleasure, that his Bible had been the salvation both of his body and his soul.

# 63. Conversion of the Learned and Eminent.

The Rev. John Butterworth, a minister of England, speaking of his religious experiences, says, "One day as I was reading in a book called the 'Marrow of Modern Divinity,' a sentence from Luther was quoted, which was this, 'I would run into the arms of Christ, if he stood with a drawn sword in his hand.' This thought came bolting into my mind—'so will I too;' and those words of Job occurred—'Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.' My burden dropped off; my soul was filled with joy and peace through believing in Christ; a venturesome believing, as Mr. Belcher calls it, was the means of setting me at liberty; nor have I ever been in such perplexity, respecting my interest in Christ, since that time; though I have had various trials in other respects."

"Some impressions," says a young man, who went out as a missionary to seldom to be found in like cases. Mr. Cathcart describes his plan and object in the following words:—"A memorial of acts of kindness, that as memory is liable to fail, and as the kindness and friendship of former times may be forgotten, the remembrance of friendly offices done to the writer or to his family, or to his particular friends, might be preserved, in order that he may himself repay the debt in grateful acknowledgements while he lived, and that his family after him might know to whom their father owed obligations, and might feel every debt of gratitude due by him as obligations on themselves."

A pious captain, when sailing down the Mississippi, had the misfortune to have his vessel so much injured, that there was great danger of the loss of both ship and cargo. Though placed in this perilous situation, he manifested a composure which evinced that his mind was stayed on his God, while he omitted nothing that could be done to save the property intrusted to his care.

While in this situation, there came to his aid one of the pilots on that station, who, by his own account, neither feared God nor regarded man; and, after offering his services, began to storm and swear. After a little time, however, he began to contrast his conduct with the captain's and said to himself, "How is it that, while I have nothing at risk, I am swearing as though it were mine; and the captain, who has property and reputation at stake, seems perfectly calm? It must be his religion, and, as I have a Bible on board my boat, I will immediately commence reading it, and see if I can find what his religion is." He did read, and the Spirit of God applied the truth. He became convinced that he was a lost sinner, and that without the religion which he had seen so impressively exhibited, he must be lost. Conviction resulted in conversion; and he afterwards called on the captain, to tell him what the Lord had done for his soul. # 191. In Illness.

The celebrated philanthropist, Howard, who spent the best part of his life in traveling over all the countries of Europe,— "to plunge into the infection of hospitals,—to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain,—to remember the forgotten, and to visit the forsaken, under all climes,"—was not unhappy amidst his toils. In a letter from Riga, during his last journey, he says, "I hope I have sources of enjoyment that depend not on the particular spot I inhabit; a rightly cultivated mind, under the power of religion and the exercise of beneficent dispositions, affords a ground of satisfaction little affected by heres and theres."

The following is language held by a Colporteur of the American Tract Society, in Florida:—

"A colporteur must count the cost, admonished by Him who came to seek and to save that which was lost. Bodily strength and vigor of health are prerequisites. He must be willing to abide with the poorest and most ignorant of our fellow-men, and be content with the humblest fare; cheerfully endure cold and heat, hunger and thirst, labor and fatigue, if souls may be benefited and the kingdom of our Redeemer promoted. Above all, he needs an entire reliance on the Divine aid and guidance, and must have his own heart subdued by the Spirit of God.

"Though I have sunk in the bogs, and have extricated myself only by excessive labor; have broken down in the midst of a difficult stream, in the sickly and hot season, and waded out with my boxes of books; have been lost two days in the woods without food for myself or horse; have lain in the wild forest far from any habitation while the storm was raging about me, or only the bowling of wolves and of other wild beasts was heard; yet these trials of hunger, thirst, and exposure are of little account, if I can but win souls to Christ."

In a publication of the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, which abounds with excellent sentiments, entitled "A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females," is the following narrative:

The amazing influence of one Christian, who shows in her life the spirit of Christ, is illustrated in a striking manner, in the life of a lady who died not long since, in one of the principal cities of the United States. I am not permitted to give her name, nor all the particulars of her life. But what I relate may be relied upon, not only as facts, but as far below the whole truth. She had been for a long time afflicted with a drunken husband. At length the sheriff came, and swept off all her property, not excepting her household furniture, to discharge his grog bills. At this distressing crisis, she retired to an upper room, laid her babe upon the bare floor, kneeled down over it, and offered up the following petition: "O Lord, if thou wilt in any way remove from me this affliction, I will serve thee upon bread and water, all the days of my life." The Lord took her at her word. Her besotted husband immediately disappeared, and was never heard of again till after her death. The church would now have maintained her, but she would not consent to become a charge of others. Although in feeble health, and afflicted with the sick headache, she opened a small school, from which she obtained a bare subsistence; though it was often no more than what was contained in the condition of her prayer—literally bread and water. She was a lady of pleasing address, and of a mild and gentle disposition. "In her lips was the law of kindness." Yet she possessed an energy of character and a spirit of perseverance, which the power of faith alone can impart. When she undertook any Christian enterprise, she was discouraged by no obstacles, and appalled by no difficulties. She resided in the most wicked and abandoned part of the city, which afforded a great field of labor. Her benevolent heart was pained at seeing the grogshops open upon the holy Sabbath. She undertook the difficult and almost hopeless task of closing these sinks of moral pollution upon the Lord's day, and succeeded. This was accomplished by the mild influence of persuasion, flowing from the lips of kindness, and clothed with that power which always accompanies the true spirit of the gospel. But she was not satisfied with seeing the front doors and windows of these houses closed. She would, therefore, upon the morning of the Sabbath, pass round, and enter these shops through the dwellings occupied by the families of the keepers, where she often found them engaged secretly in this wickedness. She would then remonstrate with them, until she persuaded them to abandon it, and attend public worship. In this manner, she abolished, almost entirely, the sale of liquors upon the Sabbath, in the worst part of the city.

She also looked after the poor, that the gospel might be preached to them. She carried with her the number of those pews in the church which were unoccupied. And upon Sabbath mornings, she made it her business to go out into the streets and lanes of the city, and persuade the poor to come in and fill up these vacant seats. By her perseverance and energy, she would remove every objection, until she had brought them to the house of God. She was incessant and untiring in every effort for doing good. She would establish a Sabbath school, and superintend it until she saw it flourishing, and then deliver it into the hands of some suitable person, and go and establish another. She collected together a Bible class of apprentices, which she taught herself. Her pastor one day visited it, and found half of them in tears, under deep conviction. She was faithful to the church and to impenitent sinners. It was her habitual practice to reprove sin, and to warn sinners wherever she found them. At the time of her death, she had under her care a number of pious young men preparing for the ministry. These she had looked after, and brought out of obscurity. As soon as their piety had been sufficiently proved, she would bring them to the notice of her Christian friends. She persuaded pious teachers to give them gratuitous instruction, and pious booksellers to supply them with books. In the same way, she procured their board, in the families of wealthy Christians. And she formed little societies of ladies, to supply them with clothing. There was probably no person in the city whose death would have occasioned the shedding of more tears, or called forth more sincere and heartfelt grief. Her memory is still deeply cherished in the heart of her pastor. He has been heard to say, that he should not have felt so severely the loss of six of the most devoted men in his church.