Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-10-25
Spurgeon's Conversion.

J ssra rt Spurge0n UOuYeTSlou' .-lFrH
had been about five years in the most
lfearfnl distress Of mind as a lad. 1t any
human being ever felt more OF the terrors
of God S law, L can. indeed, pity and sym
patI.ize with him. Bunyan's 'Gract
/ Alouadil,g'' contains, in the main, my
!. history Some abysses he went into never
trod; but some into which plunged he
seems never to have known.
| thought The sun was plotted out of my
\ sky--that I had SO sinned ,'galnst God
\ that there, was no hope for me- prayed :
tie Lord knowetll how l prayed; but
| never had gin pse Of all answer that /
knew of. Il searched the word of God; the
i promises were more alarming than the
i threatenings. l read of the privileges OF
I the people of God, but with the fullest
persuasion that they were not for me. The
secret of nv distress was this: | did not
know the gospel. | was in Christian
land, had Christian parents. but l do
not fully understand the freeness and
simplicity of tie gospel plan.
| ]3I attended all the places of worship IN
the town where lived, but 1 honestly be-
lieye did not hear the gospel fully preach
ed. + do not blame the men, however.
One man preached the divine sovereignty.
I could lear him with pleasure; but OF
what use was that to poor sinner who
wished to know what he should do to be
saved. There was another admirable man
who always preached the law; but what
was the use Of blowing up ground that
wanted to be sowed? Another was a
great practical preacher. heard him,
but it was very much like commanding
| officer teaching the manoeuvres Of war to
| 4 set Of men without feet. What could l
| do? All his exhortations were lost upon
| me. / knew it was said, ''Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved;'' but I did not know what it was to
believe ia Christ.
1 sometimes think that 1 might have
been in darkness and despair now, had it
not been the goodness of God in sending
/ the snow-storm one Sunday morning,
when was going to place of worship.
When I could go no farther, turned
down court, and came to a little PRINT
4 tive Methodist chapel. The Primitive
Methodists are a very useful body, taking
!. the poorest of the POOR and lifting them up
from the dust heap to sit among princes.
In the chapel there might have been a
dozen or fifteen people. The minister did
not come that morning showed up, l sup
i n oh q
or something of that sort, went up to the
pulpit to preach.
Now, it is we'll that ministers should be
! instructed; but this man was really stupid,
as you would say. . If a man could have
spoiled sermon, he would have done it.
He was obliged to stick to his text, for the
simple reason that be had nothing else to
say. The text was, ''Look unto me, and
be ye saved, all ye ends Of the earth" He
did not even pronounce the words rightly
but that did not matter.
There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope
for me in the text. He began thus: S'My
dear friends, this is very simple text in
deed. It says, Look. Now, that does
not take a great deal of effort. 1t amt
lifting your foot Or your finger; it's just
look Well, man need not go to col
lege to learn to look. You may be the
biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man
need not be worth thousand year, to
look. ANY one can look; child can look.
! But this is what the text says. Then it
says, Look unto me- Ay,'' said he, in
broad Essex, many on ye are looking to
yourselves. No use looking there. No:
look to him by and by. Jesus says, Look
unto me- Some Of you say, 4 must wait
tie. Spirits working You have no bust
ness with that just now. Look to Christ
Ii runs, Look unto me-"
! Then the good man followed up his text
in this way: ''Look unto me; am sweat
| ing great drops Of blood.-Look unto me-
I am hanging on the cross. Look 1 am
dead and buried. Look unto me; 1 rise
again. Look unto me; ascend; I am sit
ting at the Fathers right hand. Oh, look
to me!'' When he had got about that
length and managed to spin out ten minutes
or so, he was at the length of his tether.-
Then he looked at me under the gallery,
and, dare say, with so few present, he
knew me to be a stranger. He then said,
E"Young man, you look very miserable"
Well l did; but / had not been accustomed
to nave remarks made on my personal ap.
pearance from the pulpit before. However
it was good blow struck. He continued
''And you will always be miserable
miserable in life and death-if you do not
obey my text, But if you obey now. this
moment, you will be saved"
Then he shouted, as only a Primitive
Methodist can, "Young man, look te
Jesus Christ; look now!'' He made me
start in my seat but did look to Jesus
\ Christ, there and then. The cloud was
gone, the darkness of five years rolledaway
and that moment T saw the sun; and ]
1 could have risen that moment and sung
with the most enthusiastic of them of the
precious blood OF Christ, and the simple
faith which looks alone to him. Oh, thai
; somebody had told me that before!-Trus1
Christ, and you shall be saved.-It was, nc
doubt, wisely ordered, and 1 must evel
say, .,.
:. i,.5. '.E'er since by faith saw the stream
.s.t, t Thy flowing wounds suppy,s
/ liy,i ID, Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till l de.'' 80.
TEACH CHILDREN How TO EARN AMI
USE MoNEY.-If you are troubled with q