08. Decide at Once
Decide at Once
WISE DEVIL.—It is said that a preacher once had a dream in which he was shown the abode of the lost. Here a company of demons were discussing the best means for destroying the souls of men. One said, “I will go to earth and tell them that the Bible is a fable, and not of God.” “No, that wont do,” said another, “I will go and tell them that there is no Saviour, no Heaven, no Hell.” At these words a fiendish smile lit up their faces. “No, continued another, that will fail, you cannot make men believe that.” At this the old Serpent arose himself, and remarked, “I will journey leisurely to the world of men. I will tell them that there is a God, a Saviour, a Heaven—yes, and a Hell, too, but I will tell them that there is no need of being in a hurry;take plenty time”: and all agreed that he should go.
CHRIST OF THE BALL.—A young lady became under conviction at a meeting, and felt that she should yield to Christ. But, if memory serves us right, she had promised a young man to accompany him to a ball to be held in the future. That night, before retiring, she wrote something like this: “One year from tonight I will become a Christian,” then she lay down to rest, but sleep she could not. Then she arose and wrote: “Six months from tonight I will give my heart to God,” and again lay down, but no rest to body or soul could she find. Thus, again and again, she arose and shortened the time, until at last she wrote: “To-morrow I will become a Christian,” but refused to settle it then and there. In the morning she did not appear, and friends, on going to her room, found her body cold and silent in the embrace of death, the spirit having departed to meet the realties beyond.
FAG END.—An aged man who had served the world, the flesh and the Devil, during a long life, came down to the chilly waves of death. A Christian by his bedside strove to point him to Jesus, but the dying man exclaimed, in substance: “No, I have neglected a kind and merciful God all my life, served the Devil faithfully, and now I will not insult God by throwing the wasted end of my sinful life in His face.”
STARVED IN THE END.—It is said that Duke d’Alva starved his prisoners after he had given them quarter, saying, “Though I promised your lives, I promised not to find you meat.” Thus, in much the same manner, do the world and the Devil deceive their votaries in the end.
WESLEY’S ANSWER.—A lady once asked Wesley, “Supposing that you knew you were to die at twelve o’clock tomorrow night, how would you spend the intervening time?” “How, madam?” he replied, “why, just as I intend to spend it now. I should preach this evening at Gloucester, and again at five tomorrow morning; after that I should ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon and meet the society in the evening; I should then repair to friend Martin’s house, who expects to entertain me, converse and pray with the family, as usual; retire at ten o’clock, commend myself to my Heavenly Father; lie down to rest, and wake up in glory.”
DYING REGRETS.—When Woolsey, the Catholic Cardinal, came to die, he said, “Had I but served God as faithfully as I served the King, He would not have given me over in my gray hairs.” When the great Randolph came down to the river of death, he cried out: “Remorse, remorse! Let me see the word. Show it to me in a dictionary. Write it. Ah! remorse, you don’t know what that means!”