HOW THE LORD CONTROLS EVEN THE LOCOMOTIVE AND THE RAILROAD TRAIN.
A remarkable instance of how the Lord controlled circ.u.mstances for the detention of one train, and speeded the arrival of the other, in answer to the prayer of a poor widow, who was in anxiety and distress, is thus known to the editor of _The Watchman and Reflector_:
"Not long ago an engineer brought his train to a stand at a little Ma.s.sachusetts village, where the pa.s.sengers have five minutes for lunch.
A lady came along the platform and said: "The conductor tells me the train at the junction in P---- leaves fifteen minutes before our arrival. It is Sat.u.r.day night, that is the last train. I have a very sick child in the car, and no money for a hotel, and none for a private conveyance for the long, long journey into the country. What shall I do?" "Well," said the engineer, "I wish I could tell you." "Would it be possible for you to hurry a little?" said the anxious, tearful mother.
"No, madam, I have the time-table, and the rules say I must run by it."
She turned sorrowfully away, leaving the bronzed face of the engineer wet with tears. Presently she returned and said, "Are you a Christian?"
"I trust I am," was the reply. "Will you pray with me that the Lord may, in some way, delay the train at the junction?" "Why, yes, I will pray with you, but I have not much faith." Just then, the conductor cried, "All aboard." The poor woman hurried back to her deformed and sick child, and away went the train, climbing the grade. "Somehow," says the engineer, "everything worked to a charm. _As I prayed, I couldn"t help letting my engine out just a little_. We hardly stopped at the first station, people got on and off with wonderful alacrity, the conductor"s lantern was in the air in half a minute, and then away again. Once over the summit, it was dreadful easy to give her a little more, and then a little more, as I prayed, till she seemed to shoot through the air like an arrow. Somehow I couldn"t hold her, knowing I had the road, and so we dashed up to the junction six minutes ahead of time." There stood the train, and the conductor with his lantern on his arm. "Well," said he, "_will you tell me what I am waiting here for? Somehow I felt I must wait your coming to-night, but I don"t know why_." "I guess," said the brother conductor, "it is for this woman, with her sick and deformed child, dreadfully anxious to get home this Sat.u.r.day night." But the man on the engine and the grateful mother think they can tell why the train waited. G.o.d held it to answer their prayers."
Think of this wonderful improbability according to natural circ.u.mstances. These trains never connected with each other, nor were intended to. There was no message sent ahead to stop. There was not the slightest business reason for waiting, yet the second conductor, on arrival of the first, asks this question, "_What am I waiting for_," and the answer of the first is more singular, "I don"t know."
ANOTHER INSTANCE OF SUPERHUMAN CONTROL OF THE LOCOMOTIVE, IN ANSWER TO PRAYER.
An exact parallel instance to the foregoing is given in the experience of a correspondent of _The Christian_, which occurred in the latter part of November, 1864, while traveling with her aged father and two small girls:
"We started from New Hampshire on Thursday morning, expecting to have ample time to get through to Indiana before Sat.u.r.day night; but, after we crossed the St. Lawrence River, the next day, I think, there was a smash-up on a freight train, which hindered our train about two hours. I began to feel anxious, as I knew our limited means would not permit us to stop long on the way. After the cars had started again, I inquired of the conductor what time we should get to Toledo, fearing we should not reach there in time for the down train. _He said it would be impossible to gain the time._ Soon they changed conductors, and I made a similar inquiry, getting about the same answer. Still I hoped, till we reached the Detroit River. Here I found that, though they had put on all the steam they dared to, they were _almost an hour behind time_, so I should have to stay over till Sunday night.
"After getting seated in the cars on the other side, I ventured to ask the conductor if we should get to Toledo in time for the down train. He readily said, "_No, madam, impossible! If we put on all the steam, we dare to, we shall be more than half an hour behind time._ If we were on some trains we might hope they would wait; but on this, _never! He is the most exact conductor you ever saw. He was never known to wait a second, say nothing about a minute, beyond the time._" I then inquired if we could not stay at the depot. He said, No; we should all freeze to death, for the fire is out till Sunday evening.
"A gentleman sitting in front of us said he would show us a good hotel near by, as he was acquainted there. I thanked him, but sunk back on my seat. Covering my eyes with my hand, and raising my heart to G.o.d, I said, "O, G.o.d, if thou art my Father, and I am thy child, put it into the heart of that conductor to wait till we get there."
"Soon I became calm, and fell asleep, not realizing that G.o.d would answer my poor prayer; but, when we reached Toledo, to the astonishment of us all, there stood the conductor, _wanting to know the reason why he had to wait_, when our conductor told him there was a lady with her crippled father and two little daughters, who were going down on that train.
"Soon as all were out of the car, both conductors came with their lanterns and gave their aid in helping my father to the other train, where they had reserved seats by keeping the door locked. All was hurry and confusion to me, as I had my eye on father, fearing he might fall, it being very slippery, when the baggage-master said, "Your checks, madam!" I handed them to him, and rushed into the car; but, before I got seated, the car started, and I had no checks for my baggage. Again my heart cried out, "O, Thou that hearest prayer, take care of my baggage!"
believing He could do that as well as make the conductor wait. In a few moments the conductor came to me with a face radiant with smiles, saying, "_Madam, I waited a whole half hour for you_,--_a thing I never did before since I was a conductor, so much as to wait one minute after my time_." He said, "I know it was your father that I was waiting for, because there was nothing else on the train for which I could have waited." I exclaimed, in a half suppressed tone, "Praise the Lord!" I could not help it; it gushed out. Then he said, "_At the very moment all were on board, and I was ready to start, such a feeling came over me as I never had in my life before. I could not start_. Something kept saying to me, _you must wait_, for there is something pending on that train you must wait for. I waited, and here you are, all safe." Again my heart said, Praise the Lord! and he started to leave me, when I said, "But there is one thing." "What is it?" was his quick reply. "I gave the baggage-master my checks, and have none in return." "What were the numbers?" I told him. "I have them," he said, handing them to me, "but your baggage will not be there till Monday morning. We had no time to put it on, we had waited so long.""
ANOTHER WONDERFUL RECORD OF $25.
_A Christian minister_, living in Northern Indiana, was in want, and knelt in prayer again and again before his Father in heaven. His quarterly allowance had been withheld, and want stared him in the face.
Constrained by urgent need, and shut up to G.o.d for help, he pleaded repeatedly for a supply of his temporal wants. Now see how extraordinary was the plan of the Lord to send relief.
"In one of the lovely homes of Ma.s.sachusetts, while the snow was falling and the winds were howling without, a lady sat on one side of the cheerful fire, knitting a little stocking for her oldest grandson, and her husband, opposite to her, was reading aloud a missionary paper, when the following pa.s.sage arrested the attention of the lady and fastened itself in her memory.
""In consequence of failure to obtain my salary when due, I have been so oppressed with care and want, as to make it painfully difficult to perform my duties as a minister. There is very little prospect, seemingly, of improvement in this respect for some time to come. What I say of my own painfully inadequate support, is substantially true of nearly all your missionaries in this State. You, of course, cannot be blamed for this. You are but the almoners of the churches, and can be expected to appropriate only what they furnish. _This, however, the Master will charge to somebody as a grievous fault;_ for it is not His will that his ministers should labor unrequited."
"This extract was without name or date. It was simply headed "from a missionary in Northern Indiana." Scores of readers probably gave it only a pa.s.sing glance. Not so the lady who sat knitting by the fire and heard her husband read it. The words sank into her mind, and dwelt in her thoughts. The clause, "_This, however, the Master will charge to somebody as a grievous fault_," especially seemed to follow her wherever she went. The case, she said, haunted her. She seemed to be herself that very "_somebody_" who was to answer at the bar of G.o.d for the curtailed supplies and straitened means of this humble minister.
"Impelled by an unseen, but, as she believes, a divine presence and power, after asking counsel and guidance of the Lord, she took twenty- five dollars which were at her own disposal, and requested her husband to give it to the Rev. Dr. H------ for the writer of the above communication, if he could devise any way to obtain the writer"s address.
"Doctor H------ is a prompt man, who does not let gold destined to such an end rest in his pocket. Familiar with the various organizations of the benevolent societies, and only too happy to have an agency in supplying the wants of a laborer in Christ"s vineyard, he soon started the money on its appointed errand. Early in April, the lady in her rural home had the happiness of receiving the following note, of which we omit nothing, save the names of persons and places:
""DEAR MADAM.--I have just received a draft for twenty-five dollars, as a special donation from you. This I do with profound grat.i.tude to you for this unselfish and Christ-like deed, and to Him who put it into your heart to do it. How you, _a lady a thousand miles away, could know that I was, and had been for some time, urged by unusual need to pray for succor and worldly support with unwonted fervency, is a matter of more than curious inquiry. It is an answer to my prayer, for the Lord employs the instrumentality of his children to answer prayer, and, when it is necessary, he moves them to it. This is not the first nor second time that I have been laid under special obligation by Christian sympathy and timely aid_. May He who said, He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose his reward, repay you a thousand-fold for this favor."
"Does not this little incident ill.u.s.trate the power of prayer? The man of G.o.d, weary and heavy-laden, in his closet in Indiana, spread his case before the Lord. A disciple in Eastern Ma.s.sachusetts, _a thousand miles away_ from the spot where the prayer was offered, who did not know anything about him or his need, is touched with his wants, and moved to send him immediate aid."
MR. SPURGEON"S COW.
"My grandfather was a very poor minister, and kept a cow, which was a very great help in the support of his children--he had ten of them;--and the cow took the "staggers" and died. "What will you do now?" said my grandmother. "I cannot tell what we shall do now," said he, "but I know what G.o.d will do: G.o.d will provide for us. We must have milk for the children."
"The next morning, there came 20 to him. He had never made application to the fund for the relief of ministers; but, on that day, there were 5 left when they had divided the money, and one said, "There is poor Mr.
Spurgeon down in Ess.e.x, suppose we send it to him." The chairman--a Mr.
Morley of his day--said, "We had better make it 10, and I"ll give 5."
Another 5 was offered by another member, if a like amount could be raised, to make it up to 20; which was done. They knew nothing about my grandfather"s cow; but G.o.d did, you see; and there was the new cow for him. And those gentlemen in London were not aware of the importance of the service which they had rendered.
CHARLES SPURGEON."
"TRUST IN THE LORD."
"A poor negro woman, after the death of her husband, had no means of support for herself and two little children, except the labor of her own hands; yet she found means out of her deep poverty to give something for the promotion of the cause of her Redeemer, and would never fail to pay, on the very day it became due, her regular subscription to the church of which she was a member. In a hard Winter she had found great difficulty in supplying the pressing needs of her little family; yet the few pence for religious purposes had been regularly put by.
"As one season for the contribution came round, she had only a little corn, a single salt herring, and a five-cent piece remaining of her little store. Yet she did not waver; she ground the corn, prepared her children"s supper, and then, with a light heart and cheerful countenance, set out to meeting, where she gave joyfully the five cents, _the last she had in the world_.
"Returning from the church, she pa.s.sed the house of a lady to whom, a long time before, she had sold a piece of pork, so long indeed that she had entirely forgotten the circ.u.mstance. But, seeing her this morning, the lady called her in, apologized for having been so tardy in the settlement, and then inquired how much it was. Old Sukey did not know, and the lady, determined to be on the safe side, gave her two dollars, besides directing her housekeeper to put up a basket of flour, sugar, coffee, and other luxuries for her use. Poor Sukey returned home with a joyful heart, saying, as she displayed her treasures, "See, my children, the Lord is a good paymaster, giving us "a hundred-fold even in this present life, and in the world to come life everlasting.""
EXACTLY EIGHTY DOLLARS.--"THEY ARE SAFE THAT TRUST IN THEE."
A clergyman somewhat advanced in years recently related to a correspondent of _The Messenger_ an incident in his own life, which well ill.u.s.trates the provident care of our heavenly Father over his children.
"His first church was at V----, and, though he labored diligently, working with his own hands for his support, he became eighty dollars in debt. It was a grievous burden, and all his efforts to remove it proved unavailing. One day, when he felt especially cast down, he retired to pray over the matter, and on his knees he besought the Lord to aid, as he despaired of help from any other source. He felt strengthened and hopeful when he left his closet, and entered his church on Sabbath morning with a lighter heart than usual. As he pa.s.sed the door a young lady met him, and placed in his hand _fifty dollars_, saying that _twenty_ was to go for the Sabbath-school library, and the remaining _thirty_ was for himself. He was so surprised that he scarcely trusted his senses, and asked her not less than three times, that he might not be mistaken. As he preached that day, G.o.d seemed "a very present help."
At the close of the service, a young man, noted for his free-hearted, impulsive character, stepped up and requested that he would perform a marriage ceremony for him the next week. He did so, and received for his services a bill, which he placed in his pocket, and, on looking at it afterwards, found it _fifty dollars_, thus making up _exactly the eighty_ he had prayed the Lord to send him."
We too often forget that G.o.d is as willing to listen to our temporal wants as to our spiritual, and that "no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly."
A PRAYER FOR FOUR DOLLARS.
A Home Missionary from Brooklyn called one day upon an editor to gather some tracts for distribution which he had published. The editor became interested in the story of his visits among the poor, and though at first not specially moved to give money at that time, yet toward the last, putting his hand into his pocket he pulled out all the bills there were there, $4, and gave them to the missionary with these words: "There is something which may come useful." The gift was all forgotten until a few days afterward the missionary returned and said to the editor, "After I left you I received a letter from a poor lady who had been owing money for rent for several months, which she could not possibly pay. That very morning the landlord came and said that if she could only raise $4 he would excuse the rest; but she did not have the $4. I did not know where to get it. I happened to drop in to see you; did not tell you anything of the need, and asked for nothing; yet you gave me the exact $4 to answer that poor woman"s prayer."
An infinite Creator and G.o.d had brought these circ.u.mstances together in this exact way. Neither the editor nor missionary had ever met before.
The missionary did not know that the lady was in distress. Who was it that sent the landlord to the lady and fixed that amount of $4 in his mind? Who was it that sent the home missionary to the office of a person he had never seen or known? Who was it that knew of the $4 waiting in that pocket and prompted that hand to take it out and give it away? Who was it that led that missionary to obtain and send relief just as she was praying for that special amount?
_Was it chance or science? No, No. It was the will of a loving G.o.d_.
"AUNT SALLY"S" FAITH.