Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1866-03-12
Z EL[GI 10 U s.
A WORK OF GRACE.

Many years. since, gay and fashionable pair
lived near me, and attended my ministry. The
wife was beautiful, social and admired The
husband was rich and worldly, and delighted
in the admiration which, in society, his wife
received. They lived a reckless, gay, worldly
life. Except in the worship of an occasional
Sunday morning, they knew nothing Of relig-
ion, and cared for nothing they heard even
| then.
| Bat in the wonders Of grace, this gay and
| fashionable woman was converted there and in
the mest open and decided manner renounced
her life of folly aRd cast her lot among the
| followers Of the Lord. Her sudden change Of
life and purpose intensely enrsged her unso n
| verted husband, who had no sympathy wi tn
her, and could not understand her. He tried
| in every possible manner to overthrow her
| Plans, and drive her from her choice. He for
bade her union with ths church in any person d.
| al act. He watched ct the gates o. the church
yard, to prevent her entrance by force. So far
was this hostility carried, that at last she found
access to the church for her appointed bap-
tism only through the window 10 the rear
Thus matters went on for weeks, every day
bringing me some new tidings of his violence
aid her sufferings. How much their domestic
affairs were known to others never knew.
The people and the generation have since
passed away, Their young children are now
mature, and several OF them parents them
Selves
Some weeks OF this new history had passed
when late one evening. after had retired to
my chamber for the night, my door-bell was
violently pulled, and q messenger stated that
Mrs. --desired to see me Immediately. |
dressed myself and went, anticipating some
new scene OF violence, and simply saying to
my wife where was going, in case might be
prevented from returning. The streets were
solitary and still. As | assembled the steps, the
door was quietly opened to me, and was di-
rected to the parlor, where, to my surprise,
found the tw0 sitting together on the sofa
with no other persons present. The man look
cd up to me in agony of tears, as in astonish-
ment, sat by his side, and asked an explana-
tion.
"oh, sir" he cried, ''csn be saved-ean
be saved7i
"Yes, surely" l snewered; "but you amaze
ne-whst has led you to this 7"
"This angel" he replied with eagernes&-
"Yoa know how hated her religion. But you
do not know how hated you. thought you
the blacklist OF human beings You had bro
ken up my happiness, you had destroyed my
| peace, you had separated my family, and you
had aienated my wife from me. laid it ali
to you. was Intensely enraged with you
| have several times watched for you at night,
with the intention of killing you. But it is all
over now. | AN thankful to see you. But shis
angel wife-l have cursed her, l have petse.
cuted her in every way, have bea ten her,
have pulled her down by the hair; and she has
received it all in silence and meekness. She
has never said one unkiud word in reply but
she has prayed for me, and loved me. And |
can stand 1t 10 10 iger. | am miserable, be-
cause am so guilty. have rebslled SO hot
rioly. l have boen loved AID treated so af-
fsctiouately Oun hs s.ved2
Ihe wife sat silently aai lear tbs VIII Ole
and then geudy said;
"Ny dear husband seemed to be u distressd
tonight, that took the liberty 20 send for
you"
How fresh and vivid is that whole sceas be
fore me as write, and all its incidents and de-
tails which will not describe.
With what delight did preach the Saviou:'s
lsve to this lost one, thus aroused by that love
to view his own voluntary and aggravated
guilt
We passed more than an hour thus together,
and closed our conversation with earnest pray
| er. Blessed indeed was the result. The strong
| man armed had found stronger than he who
| had taken from him all his armour wherein he
| trusted, ana spoiled his goods. He was sub
dued by love, converted by Divine power. He
too came into the Saviour's flock, and on the
side of Jesus.
| How changed the mad one became, ''sittiug
| at the feet OF Jesus clothed and in his right
| mind" he witnessed among US Ior years
| good confession-he was honorsd and beloved
| in the church-a pattern OF genteness and o.
| delity at home and abroad.
After some years of earnest Christian life on
earth, his course was flashed and his rest oo-
tanned. have since hardly passed the house
10 which they lived without recalling to my
mind this whole remarkable scene-that pop
ulsr display of grace-that voluntary wan
derer, and the wonderful love and mercy which
in so much rebellion he received. He assumed
all the responsibility of the guilty wandering
upon himself he learned to give all the glory
of his recovery to that amazing grace, which
had plucked nim as a brand from the burning,
ana loved him when ne was dead in sius.-Dr.
TUne,