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
"I read the account of Covey, but his daring courage when going
into battle, which forced him to risk disobedience to orders rather
than skulk from the advancing foe, made a stronger impression on my
imagination than his after conversion did on my heart. It carried
me back also to the scenes which my old friend, Captain Dunlop, had
often pictured to me, of his hairbreadth escapes from danger; and
then his last words recurred to my memory with terrible force--'Mr.
Tennent, I am a wreck, and lost.' I put the tracts again into my
pocket, as I thought, and sat in terrible and depressing cogitations
for a long time; but providentially I had put back only one of them;
the other had fallen on the ground, and a slight breeze blew it just
under the notice of my eye. I took it, and read the title--_Poor
Joseph; an Authentic Narrative_.[5]
[5] A poor, half-witted man, named Joseph, whose employment was to
go on errands and carry parcels, passing through London streets one
day, heard psalm-singing in the house of God; he went into it; it
was Dr. Calamy's church, St. Mary's, Aldermanbury. The preacher read
his text from 1 Tim. i. 15--"This is a faithful saying, and worthy
of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am chief." From this he preached, in the clearest
manner, the ancient and apostolic gospel, and Joseph, in rags,
gazing with astonishment, never took his eyes from the preacher, but
drank in with eagerness all he said, and trudging homeward, he was
heard thus muttering to himself, "Joseph never heard this before!
Christ Jesus, the God who made all things, came into the world to
save sinners like Joseph; and this is true, and it is a 'faithful
saying!'" Not long after this Joseph was seized with a fever,
and was dangerously ill. As he tossed upon his bed, his constant
language was, "Joseph is the chief of sinners, but Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners, and Joseph loves him for this." His
neighbours who came to see him wondered on hearing him always dwell
on this, and only this.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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