"Born of the Spirit;" or, Gems from the Book of LifeOsborne, Zenas
Religion
"Born of the Spirit;" or, Gems from the Book of Life
Osborne, Zenas
Free Methodist Church of North America; Osborne, Zenas
Whenever I closed my eyes to sleep
I seemed to be surrounded by the damned in hell. O, what a view I
had of the lost! How I seemed to hear the wailings of despair, and
realized that this was the doom of the wicked. After this I became
more wicked than before. I was a complete adept in wickedness. I
had been free from all parental restraint from the time I was about
twelve years old. I mingled in all kinds of society; hence I had an
excellent opportunity for learning much of the evil that exists at
the present day. I learned too much.
I wonder that God did not cut me off in my sins, after grieving his
spirit so long. _He is not willing that any should perish._ I had
felt for several years that I should not have the strivings of the
Spirit but once more, and then, if I did not yield, I should be left
to myself, abandoned of God.
On the fifth of February, 1857, God met me in the road. These words
came with great force to my mind: “Choose you this day whom ye will
serve. _Come, decide the matter now._ If you mean to serve the devil
the remainder of your life, say so right _here_. Have this matter
_settled forever_. If you mean to give yourself to God, do it _now_!
This is the time.”
These were awful moments to me. “Choose you this day whom ye will
serve.” I was pressed to a decision. My immortal spirit seemed to
balance between heaven and hell. Heaven, with all that is lovely,
joys immortal forever at God’s right hand, seemed to be clearly
presented on the one hand; and the damnation of hell on the other.
_Which will you have?_ I resolved from that time, henceforth and
forever, to seek after and serve God with all my redeemed powers.
That evening I erected a family altar, and commenced calling upon the
name of the Lord. The next morning I thanked God for keeping me and
mine through the night; and when seated around the table I thanked
God for the food prepared for us. This was really a great cross. I
had _vowed_ to God, the residue of my life should be spent in His
service. I continued to seek the Lord by doing everything I thought a
Christian ought to do. I made it a specialty to get religion. I cried
unto the Lord with all my heart, and the more I prayed the worse I
felt. For three days and nights I was wrestling with God in prayer. I
confessed my sins. I did all that I could. After continuing in this
way for about three days, it occurred to me that there was no mercy
for me. I had sinned away the day of grace. These were truly awful
moments to me. No hope! No mercy! No salvation! Right here the spirit
whispered to my aching heart, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved;” and blessed be God, right here I was enabled
to believe that Jesus Christ was my Saviour. My weight of guilt was
gone. Joy and peace filled my heart. Old things had passed away, and
behold! _all_ things had become new. I sprang to my feet and praised
God aloud! At this point in my experience, my feelings are well
described in those beautiful lines of Dr.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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