The Sheepfold and the Common; Or, Within and Without. Vol. 1 (of 2)East, Timothy
Religion
The Sheepfold and the Common; Or, Within and Without. Vol. 1 (of 2)
East, Timothy
Christian life; Christian life -- Pictorial works
On the Sabbath evening we were at Fairmount, the Rev. Mr. Morris
was expected to preach a charity sermon for the school which was
established and superintended by Mrs. Stevens. He came early in
the afternoon, and after tea, while he withdrew to prepare for
the pulpit, I retired for meditation; and in passing through the
hall, my attention was arrested by a female, who was waiting with
her little girl to see Mrs. Stevens. She informed me that her
parents had never given her any religious instruction; that no one
ever taught her to read the Scriptures, or keep holy the Sabbath
day; and that, till recently, she had no expectation of living in
another world after death. When about eighteen years of age, having
lost her father and mother, she married a soldier, who belonged
to a foot regiment, and she was permitted to go with him to the
continent. While sojourning among strangers, she was exposed to
the most extreme hardships; but her greatest trial was the death
of her husband, who was killed just before the birth of her child.
After his decease she returned to England, and settled in her native
village; where, like the majority around her, she lived without God,
without Christ, and without hope, till after the erection of the
chapel. Having often felt the disadvantages of her inability to read
or write, she resolved, if possible, to give her child an education;
and as soon as she heard of the establishment of this school, she
applied for her admission, and her request was granted. The children
were taught in the afternoon of the Sabbath, and they usually
attended the public service in the evening, with their parents.
On one occasion Mr. Stevens addressed his rustic audience from the
following words: "Come, see a man, which told me all things that
ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John iv. 29). As he proceeded
to unveil the hidden mysteries of the heart, the conscience of this
widow began to smite her; she could not imagine from what source he
had derived such an accurate knowledge of her character and history;
she felt self-condemned; and had it not been for the invitation
which was given to the weary and heavy laden, to come to Jesus
Christ, she must, to quote her own language, "have gone home in
despair." But the wound was no sooner inflicted than it was healed;
and though her views of the scheme of salvation were circumscribed,
yet they were clear, and operated with so much force on her moral
character, that she was become a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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