He had reached the high ground with his friends. There was a sudden spur
on the range of low cliffs just where the people were most numerous.
They had come from all quarters to witness the wonders of this lurid
eve, and, as was the case at Wesley's preaching, everyone was asking of
everyone else how so large an assembly could be brought together in a
neighbourhood that was certainly not densely populated. On each side
of him and on the beach below there were crowds, and on every face the
crimson of the sinking sun flamed. He went out to the furthest point of
the cliff-spur and stood there silent, with uplifted arms.
In a moment the whisper spread:
“Mr. Wesley has come--Mr. Wesley is preaching!”
There was the sound of many feet trampling down the pebbles of the
beach. The people flowed toward him like a great wave slowly moving over
that place now forsaken by the waves. The young men and maidens who had
been engaged in that fierce wild dance among the wiry herbage flocked
toward him, their faces shining from their exertions, and stood catching
their breath. The old men who had been staring stolidly through the
great ribs of the hulk, slouched through the ooze and stood sideways
beneath him, their hands, like the gnarled joints of a thorn, scooped
behind their ears lest they should lose a word. The women, with
disordered hair, tears on their faces, the terror of anticipation
in their eyes, waited on the ground, some kneeling, others seated in
various postures.
Then there came a deep hush.
He stood there, a solitary figure, black against the crimson background
of the western sky, his arms still upraised. It might have been a statue
carved out of dark marble that stood on the spur of the cliff.
And then he began to speak.
His hands were still uplifted in the attitude of benediction; and the
words that came from him were the words of the Benediction.
“The Peace of God which passeth all understanding.”
The Peace of God--that was the message which he delivered to that
agitated multitude, and it fell upon their ears, soothing all who heard
and banishing their fears. He gave them the message of the Father to His
children--a message of love, of tenderness--a promise of protection, of
infinite pity, of a compassion that knew no limits--outliving the life
of the world, knowing no change through all ages, the only thing that
suffered no change--a compassion which, being eternal, would outlive
Time itself--a compassion which brought with it every blessing that man
could know--nay, more--more than man could think of; a compassion that
brought with it the supreme blessing that could come to man--the Peace
of God which passeth all understanding!
He never travelled outside this message of Divine Peace, although he
spoke for a full hour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account